I had to laugh: all the reviews waxing poetic and rhapsodizing over the story, the cast, the directorial debut. 9 stars, 8 stars. Then, the last review is a complete refutation of all the rest, wonderfully witty in its simplicity: "What a Bore." Hahaha. Too funny.
This movie isn't a complete bore. It has a few redeeming qualities. It is a glimpse into another country, another time, another set of values. That said, I really don't know many people who would truly enjoy this film. I nearly stopped watching it a couple of times. And I will watch any movie on nearly any subject, made in any country----so long as it is well done. The only reason I hung in there was to see how Shutu bites the dust.
This film is s-l-o-w. The bouncing back and forth between English and subtitles is a bit awkward. The whole movie has a sort of primitive, novice film-making feel to it. I sort of expected that, after sitting through the strange "Thank you to you and heartfelt thanks to you" bits dragging on and on before the story even started.
This is another one of those "In the first five minutes we'll tell you who dies and then we'll spend another 90 minutes showing you how and why" movies. From the very beginning you know that it's Shutu who is going to wind up being smoothed into the fetal position in the trunk of the car. Also, within the first 10 minutes or so, you suspect it's that awful whiny kid who is going to be his undoing.
Spoiler alert (in case you're a sadist, I don't want to ruin this for you): burning bugs with a magnifying glass and sunlight is really not my cup of tea. And it seems so out of place here. Isn't Shutu supposed to be the "sensitive one?" Is this cruel act supposed to foreshadow his own senseless self-destruction? (I wasn't at all surprised that the spoiled brat of a kid didn't turn a hair at killing something just for the fun of it.)
Yeah. I blame her. I think Shutu could have survived failing his exams, disappointing his mother, getting bullied by the studly guy and then being rejected by studly guy's cast off "bit on the side." Shutu could have weathered all of that.
It is the kid who pushed Shutu over the edge. He was so good to her. She turned out to be a jealous little bitch who made him out to be the bad guy. Sure, the rest of Shutu's family were a bunch of shallow, self-centered jerks. But they were all happy jerks. If not for that conniving brat . . .
The kid is the villain. Shame on her. I hope she loses sleep over causing such a sweet, kind guy to blow his own brains out. Somehow I doubt she will care one lousy little iota.
I think my favorite part of this movie was seeing the little tiny white letters: "Smoking Kills," every time someone lit up a cigarette. Now that's a terrific innovation we should definitely be including in all films, old and new.
This movie isn't a complete bore. It has a few redeeming qualities. It is a glimpse into another country, another time, another set of values. That said, I really don't know many people who would truly enjoy this film. I nearly stopped watching it a couple of times. And I will watch any movie on nearly any subject, made in any country----so long as it is well done. The only reason I hung in there was to see how Shutu bites the dust.
This film is s-l-o-w. The bouncing back and forth between English and subtitles is a bit awkward. The whole movie has a sort of primitive, novice film-making feel to it. I sort of expected that, after sitting through the strange "Thank you to you and heartfelt thanks to you" bits dragging on and on before the story even started.
This is another one of those "In the first five minutes we'll tell you who dies and then we'll spend another 90 minutes showing you how and why" movies. From the very beginning you know that it's Shutu who is going to wind up being smoothed into the fetal position in the trunk of the car. Also, within the first 10 minutes or so, you suspect it's that awful whiny kid who is going to be his undoing.
Spoiler alert (in case you're a sadist, I don't want to ruin this for you): burning bugs with a magnifying glass and sunlight is really not my cup of tea. And it seems so out of place here. Isn't Shutu supposed to be the "sensitive one?" Is this cruel act supposed to foreshadow his own senseless self-destruction? (I wasn't at all surprised that the spoiled brat of a kid didn't turn a hair at killing something just for the fun of it.)
Yeah. I blame her. I think Shutu could have survived failing his exams, disappointing his mother, getting bullied by the studly guy and then being rejected by studly guy's cast off "bit on the side." Shutu could have weathered all of that.
It is the kid who pushed Shutu over the edge. He was so good to her. She turned out to be a jealous little bitch who made him out to be the bad guy. Sure, the rest of Shutu's family were a bunch of shallow, self-centered jerks. But they were all happy jerks. If not for that conniving brat . . .
The kid is the villain. Shame on her. I hope she loses sleep over causing such a sweet, kind guy to blow his own brains out. Somehow I doubt she will care one lousy little iota.
I think my favorite part of this movie was seeing the little tiny white letters: "Smoking Kills," every time someone lit up a cigarette. Now that's a terrific innovation we should definitely be including in all films, old and new.