Reviews

This is a classic case of "The Emperors New Clothes" - the hype makes everyone think it should be good, but if you look closely, there's not much there. The cast has the unenviable task of fighting a very poorly constructed script, and they do an enviable job. The performances, however, are one of the few things going for this film.

The script feels like a first draft, and comes off like a checklist of Keat's life. There is no dramatic arc. A good script will have elements established early on that pay off later in the script, but this has none of that. Anything that is introduced is dealt with immediately, and then you move on to the next item, so there is no sense of structure, dramatic tension or story arc. It literally feels like a checklist. The dialogue alternates between clumsy and awful, and the reading of the poetry always seems artificial and overwrought. I also wonder if a lot of footage ended up on the cutting room floor, as there are huge leaps in logic and there is little emotional continuity. There is no sense of the character's relationships to each other and I did not believe that there was any spark of true love between the two main protagonists! The film kept trying to tell you they were in love, but it just wasn't actually there (despite strong performances).

The costumes and sets are wonderful, but the camera work and lighting is dodgy. The film has numerous soft shots and strange use of hand-held, where the camera seems to accidentally move and bump with no sense of intent. The framing is often downright awkward and strange, and aside from a number of scattered "beauty shots", the cinematography is pretty poor.

This was quite a disappointing film, despite the hype. I feel like I am the little girl in Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emporers New Clothes" who says, "But, he's not wearing anything!"

This is a film that badly needed an editor and even more badly needed a cinematographer. All I could think while watching the film is "Imagine what this film could have been". It was an interesting concept that failed. The performances were good, and it had some "moments", but no story of any significance and no reason to really care. I read that the project started as a music video and "grew" into a movie. Well, that explains it's problem. It's a 5 minute film that runs for 88 minutes. I have a feeling this is like "the emperor with no clothes"; the hype makes people believe that it should be good, so then think it must be good.

What a pleasure to see a film like this from Canada! With our penchant for serious, naval gazing, "deep", issue-laden movies, it is so refreshing to find a solid story with solid characters that is entertaining, creative and unexpected. Along with Les Invasions Barbares, this is a banner year for Canada!

Hopefully La Grand Seduction will be our "Waking Ned Devine" or "Full Monty"...a breakout film that will be received and recognized around the world. It is a long time since I've had tears in my eyes from laughing in a film. It is true that the sudden turn of events at the very end of the film is a little forced, but the rest of the film is so great that it is easily forgiven.

I definitely recommend catching this one in theatres soon!

The other review is very generous. Talk about unrealistic characters in unrealistic situations. This is like one of those cheesy blue movies, or a soap opera, but given some "deep" subject matter to make it seem more serious. If you want to see a bunch of aimless characters wander through a script fraught with confusion and convenient plot turns trying to find characters that they never do find, then this is the move for you. It's too bad because there is some good talent in this film, but wasted on this one! How do scripts like this get approval from all those people listed in the credits? It's an embarrassment for a Canadian film. Go see Les Invasions Barbares and The Grand Seduction instead.

Wow. Haven't seen something this poorly written and conceived for a while. How did it get funding from all those participants listed in the credits? CHUM...Telefilm Canada...Movie Central... They must be embarrassed now.

This was a 5 minute concept dragged out into 100 minutes or so that felt like 3 hours or so. There were some good actors in this film, but there wasn't any good acting. The characters were shallow and boring. The project badly needed an editor who could trim about 30 minutes of non-communicative reactions shots of actors with no emotion (who obviously don't understand or care about the characters they are playing). The whole film felt very amatuerish all round, like super 8 films I used to see in high school. This film was completely lacking in any coherent direction or compelling plot. Any one of the main characters could have died or disappeared at any point in the film and I wouldn't have cared. Their problems were silly and juvenile (as was the script)so there was no chance of having any kind of emotional involvement in their "predicaments". I can't even begin to describe how stupid it was, except to say that it felt like it was conceived, written and directed by a couple of puerile high school students who drink too much beer and think everything is funny. However, if you haven't partaken in the case of beer...and you've matured since then..it all looks very childish.

Avoid this film.

It is sad to see a film like this; that has had so much heart and soul so obviously put into it, but have it not really work in the end. I really wanted it to work, but it just didn't come through. The biggest problem was the script's tendency to rely on convenient (but highly improbable) circumstance...like characters just "happening" to run into each other at just the right time to force the plot to work. In the end, it just didn't all hang together. Some good performances still did not make it believable, but it was still enjoyable to watch.

It is a real shame this film was shot on video, because it is incredibly close to being Canada's "Lawrence of Arabia". The soft, fuzzy images are the only distraction in an otherwise amazing experience. This is truly an epic film, and a near masterpiece. It is probably Canada's first "actual" Canadian Film, being entirely written and created by the Inuit people of Igloolik. It is definitley worth seeing.

This is a good film! Good, solid performances. A clever idea that is well carried out. The images were rather bland, but that is really the only down-side. Good solid screenwriting for a change, too. One of the best of this year's Genie crop. Definitely worth seeing.

This is a really bad movie. Several of us watched it together and spent a lot of the movie glancing at each other with "What the hell is this?" looks. None of the characters are appealing, the main character is totally unsympathetic. At no point in the movie do you care about anybody. Performances are bad. The script is juvenile and silly..hard to believe it was written by an adult (Maybe it wasn't). It is not smart enough to be an art movie, not clever enough to be a cult film. It is poorly shot and poorly acted. AVOID!

Unfortunately, as good as the film is, and as 'accurately' as Middle Earth' has been portrayed, Peter Jackson has made an action film of Lord of the Rings. This is not the spirit of the book, nor Tolkein's intent, I am sure. The film has obviously been geared to teenage audiences to the detriment of the atmosphere and intent of the book, which is much more about fantasy, magic, history and depth of character than it is about sword fighting and kickboxing. I am afraid that the film has been over-hyped, due to it's visual splendor, but it is not Lord of the Rings.

I had a gut feeling, when I heard that Peter Jackson was hired to direct the film, that it was not going to be 'right'. He is simply too focused on blood, gore and snappy action. Fight sequences that should have had 10 orcs and been a simple scuffle had 100 orcs and lasted for 20 minutes, while important character development and story points in between were rushed so fast that you missed the moment.

I am sure the film is great for those who have either once-read, not read or have basic knowledge of LOTR, but if you have really read, re-read, researched and come to understand the Trilogy on all it's levels, the film will be a disappointment.

Totally Overrated! This would make a pretty good student film, but that's about it. It certainly shows what hype can do. The story is only good for about 20 minutes, then you're just waiting for the end...nothing new happens after the first act. The kids get lost and stay lost for the remaining 40 minutes. The acting is not bad, but the characters are hateful people that you're sick of being with after about 1/2 hour. The worst thing is that the film isn't scary! It's hyped as a horror film, but there's no fear! This is mostly due to the distracting camera work and the stupidity of the characters and their situation. Anyone with half a brain could get out of that forest. Because the characters are irritating, and stupid, you lose all sympathy with them, and then your suspension of disbelief goes away as well. I saw the film with an audience of suburban teenagers (the target audience), but they were obviously bored, too. One guy made the loud comment "Is that IT?" when the movie finally ended. Overhyped for sure!

The best way for me to describe Europa, which is high on the list of my favourite films, is the exclamation that came from a companion after the film ended: "I didn't know films could be made like that". Entirely original in it's visual style, it is one of the best examples of what cinema can be. It's as far away from the "master and coverage" style of shooting as one can get; perfectly integrating many layers of image, sound, effects, props, dialogue, voice over, performance, editing, lighting, etc... all equal, none predominant. Despite Hollywood's "dialogue" myopia, cinema is not about dialogue, nor is it about beautiful lighting, action or music. It works best when all the elements are on an equal footing, where ONLY the BLENDING of those elements, in the order or combination in which they are presented, will communicate the idea. Reduce or eliminate the contribution of one element, and the film has no meaning. "Europa" is what cinema should strive to be.