Reviews

This is one of the finest films I have seen all year and I am certain that this film will stay with you for a long, long time.

Uncle Boonmee belongs to a category of films that harks back to the days of the invention of the moving image; when audience members were stunned in disbelief to see pictures and images in motion. The dawn of cinema came about as an experience and a work of art, much like a painting that people could experience and interpret how they liked. It is great to see film makers in todays commercial age still holding on to that vision and delivering the same.

The story, if there is one, is about the protagonist Boonmee who, close to the end of his current life, recollects how this one went by, with the help of ghosts and spirits of the forest where he lives. He has the ability to go back and forth into his past and future lives and relate his memories.

The movie, like other mood-pieces, can be fairly divisive with its audience. People who are not prepared for it will be left confounded whereas a small minority for whom the movie is made will leave the cinema stunned at the experience of it all. Therefore, this movie should rather be called an experience instead of a movie.

It is a little surprising that it won the Palm D'Or at Cannes, but not because it does not deserve it, but because it surprises me that the judges actually saw the beauty behind it. I say this one deserves the award more than the others did.

Inside Job belongs to a genre of new documentaries, like The Cove, Dear Zachary and Bowling For Columbine, that are not only made to document the background of a phenomenon but also to encourage people to do something about it. Dividing itself into five sections of a 'report', the film looks at the background and effect of the recession and its effect on politics, the world, society, the economy, public welfare, education, the present and the near and distant future.

Inside Job is undeniably motivational and does well to extract the hypocrisies and selfishness of the main perpetrators and other persons linked with the crisis. Indside Job depicts the global financial from only one perspective and does not give due weighting to the alternate point of view. Of course, it does not help that the main protagonists involved in the entire affair are obviously missing from this documentary, a fact that is rubbed on to the audience time and again.

On the flip side, economics, being a head scratcher for several budding commerce students by nature, the spoken narrative of figures and key personnel could perhaps have been better explained with a clearer use of graphics. However since the film makers are not lecturers it would be too much to expect them to be aware of the concepts of pedagogy.

Well crafted and edited, Inside Job is a good introduction to the cause and effect of the financial crisis, it falls just short of being the definitive version. It is a good watch nevertheless and provides sufficient food for thought and plenty of opportunity for future cocktail party discussion.

Pyaasa is a fairly unique Hindi movie. The story is reasonably complex and the direction and acting grounded in reality. However, calling this film a classic is an over-exaggeration.

One of the biggest problems with the movie is that it is difficult for the audience members to identify with the lead character. It is clear that the protagonist is chronically depressed; however the story indicates that this depression is rooted beyond his circumstances. However it does not investigate much in this direction.

Secondly. the story employs some cheap tactics to get out of tricky situations. Particular cases in point are the escape from the asylum, and his self-announcement through poetry on arrival. This shows a lack of imagination on the part of the story writer.

The story indicates female repression, through the characters of the mother, and the past girlfriend who accept the decisions of the male members of their family without question. This thread is also left hanging and is not investigated further.

The last big problem with the movie is that of hypocrisy. The film preaches human values of non-materialism and places them at a higher pedestal than others; however the film itself is designed to make money for the makers. This is clear in hindsight with the following development: when the director's next movie did not make money, he stopped directing movies completely.

Other than the direction and the story, the music and poetry in the film are very good. However poetry lovers would probably be better off reading a good book of poetry instead of looking for high quality literature in this movie. The songs, on the other hand, are considered to be all time classics in Indian cinema.

Lastly, the cinematography is excellent and there is beautiful use of light and shadows. So overall, it is a reasonably good film but certainly not a classic.

I went for the movie with high expectations; however other than fantastic visuals of the Kashmir valley, this documentary doesn't offer much else. It is very clear how little the film makers understand about the Kashmir issue. Their sense of film making is also very naive. Several of their comments are hilariously ignorant. The locals, however, are excellent and their honesty is genuine. The Hindu lady whom they contacted in the film is enigmatic.

On the positive side, the visuals are astounding and will probably make you wish to visit the place as soon as possible. The film makers have also chosen a 'safe' topic which will arouse the interest of people; however they haven't done justice to it. The movie is marketed as an Indian and a Pakistani perspective on Kashmir; however the film is completely based on the Indian side of Kashmir with no reference to the Pakistani side; and the film makers have chosen to completely ignore the Chinese side (including the map).

So my overall verdict is that this movie is great to watch for the scenery but is shallow and one should not expect much insight.

I watched this movie because everyone I knew had been raving about it. I haven't watched Shahrukh Khan's version; but did watch the one with Dilip Kumar and thought that it was superlative. Unfortunately, Dev D left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

The film has very poor direction. However to counteract it, the film makers have included copious amount of gratuitous sex to attract the attention of Indian audiences. The music is very good; however unfortunately it does not offer much else. It is really upsetting to watch the poor directorial effort. The acting of Abhay Deol and Paro is OK. Chanda is played very poorly. Forget about this one unless you wish to watch off screen lovemaking and dialogues with double entendre (to skirt around the censors).

Go for the original instead.

After years of hunting this movie down I finally got a chance to watch it in my university library (the movie is still banned in New Zealand and can only be watched for study purposes). I left the library in awe and dismayed that a movie as brilliant as this has been branded as unsuitable for the general public. In all honesty, I don't believe that anyone not interested in Miike would be interested in watching the whole movie; and those courageous (or perverse) enough to do so will never forget it for the rest of their lives.

The premise of the movie is relatively simple(!) and numerous movies have been made with this concept - a family is breaking up and is helped by a stranger/angel to come together. Using this as the blue print, Miike has then taken the poetic and artistic license to demonstrate their dysfunction and their consequently dysfunctional reunion. The results are hilarious and not all that shocking for Miike fans.

The brilliance and class of Miike is evident in each scene and characters. Even though Visitor Q does not belong to the category of Audition, Ichi The Killer and Gozu, it is easily one of the best black comedies I have seen and sits comfortably on the premier tier with the likes of Solondz's Happiness.

I for one believe that the ban should be lifted, particularly in free speech societies like New Zealand. There are movies aplenty that have ventured into the areas that this movie has been out-casted for e.g.: Salo, Gozu, The War Zone, Gojitmal. All of these are freely available. Visitor Q is seriously not all that bad.

Something tells me that this heartbreaking documentary is going to stay with me for a long, long time. This movie depicts in painful detail the horrors of dolphin fishing (yes, you heard me right) which has been occurring for a long time in a secretive place called Taiji in Japan. How secretive? Even the common Japanese do not know that it is taking place in their country. The film takes its time in unfolding the horrors and conspiracy layer by layer and ends with a bang. It plays out like a suspense thriller but is far more effective than any suspense thrillers because this takes place in real life. I certainly will do my best to promote it to the others and support the cause. The direction is fantastic and several underwater shots seem to be taken right off Earth or National Geographic, which looks great on the big screen. This documentary has been made by activists that have been crying out loud to deaf ears for the past three decades. I am certain that this is not the last we will hear of it. This film should certainly make an impact and change a few things in the world.

I just returned from having watched this lovely film and I feel bad for having watched it without my friends. That's right, this is one of those films that young people should go to watch with their friends. However, it is not trashy Hollywood fare, rather the film moves from genre to genre with ease. It covers comedy, slapstick, drama, excruciating torture, gore, erotica and a plot so twisted it sometimes feel like a complete figment of the protagonist's imagination. Its a simple story of an accomplished author who tries his hand at writing erotic stories as an sport since it was banned in Korea at the time. In the process of writing these stories he uses people for inspiration. And then, there is also the plot where the king and queen get involved (you should get a fair idea where I'm coming from). So all in all, its total entertainment and an lovely film to watch with buddies. However it may not have lasting power and you may not remember it the following day, but you certainly will have fun watching it.

PS: The other person who's commented on this film has mistakenly identified the queen as the king's favourite concubine, which is incorrect since the film clearly indicates that the character is the queen's.

Waltz With Bashir is amongst the finest animation films I've seen. It is a very disturbing comment on war and its consequences both on countries and on people of both sides. No doubt this approach has been taken by numerous other film makers; however what sets Waltz With Bashir apart is that it takes a documentary approach and compares Israel's activities in Lebanon with atrocities in the past wars.

Other than documenting events, the film also consists of surreal dream sequences and real life incidents. Thus the film emerges as a unique combination of the real and the unreal. The hand drawn animation also makes it a delight to watch. The colour gave it the right atmosphere of claustrophobia in open spaces and the background score is fabulous.

It is certainly not, as the Director of NZ Film Festival announced before the screening, a 'feel-good film'. It should appeal to people who have an interest in animation, documentaries, war and current affairs. 10 out of 10.

I just finished watching this four hour epic and something tells me that this is going to remain with me for a long, long time. I was glad I entered the cinema hall with no foreknowledge of what the film was about or anything about the story, except that it was directed by Edward Yang, whose Yi Yi I liked. Am I not glad I did that? The entire film, especially the second half, is an emotional powerhouse. Its funny, sociological and emotionally brutal.

The four hour run time was quite a deterrent however I planned it well and took one bathroom break but it was all worth it in the end. I would not recommend that you read anything of the story before you watch the film because several of the reviews above have spoilers in them. All I'll say is that it is about street gangs, but like nothing you've ever seen. It about lost childhood and children growing up so fast that its scary. The fact that all of this really happened makes it chilling.

I'm surprised that not many people have seen this film yet because it certainly deserves a classic status. The direction is probably one of the best I've ever experienced and I will definitely seek out other Edward Yang movies to watch.

The acting by all the teenage actors and children is nothing short of brilliant and I can see that some of the key actors never acted in another movie again which I believe is a waste.

I don't think its out on video as yet, however I would highly recommend that you seek it out. In my opinion the film demands total attention and is best watched on the big screen rather than on video.

The Wave rides high (pun intended) on the new wave of film makers from Germany. The movie itself is shaped like a proverbial wave, starts gently and slowly gathers momentum and before you know it it turns into a powerhouse. The movie will amuse you, frighten you, disturb you and enthrall you completely.

The movie takes a lesson in human psychology and shows how it is possible for a person with oratory skills and confidence to start a movement that turns into a revolution with frightening possibilities. It explains a lot about world history and current affairs.

Theme apart, I don't usually like to discuss any movie's story but I suppose if you're here you would've read the other reviews and summaries and would know a fair bit already. Putting it mildly, the movie deals with a classroom experiment about autocracy which has interesting positive and negative consequences.

The direction is sharp and spot on. The director is able to delve deeply into the minds of the various characters and explain their behaviour and position in the society that is created. It is all done realistically. The acting by and large is very good; however a few of the actors displayed a scope for further improvement. However this does not take away much from the movie experience. There are certain similarities with another great German film, Das Experiment, but not many.

I am certainly going to suggest this film to people I know including people who live on a staple of Hollywood blockbusters and like to keep away from festival films. So if you get the opportunity to watch it, please do.

Wow, this one took me by surprise. As a matter of fact I had no idea how this film would develop even when I was half-way done watching it, but then the real story kicks off and its exciting and hilarious thereafter. The premise is fairly simple about a guy who keeps landing in exponentially ridiculous situations. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. And each situation has a sense of deja vu to it and is great fun to watch. Can't say much about the acting and direction, which were very, very good nevertheless. However the script is supremely intelligent and ensures that every loose thread is perfectly, and I mean, perfectly tied up.

Time travel can be real head bender. Frequency and The Butterfly Effect are good examples of comparable movies of this genre (and the Back To The Future sequels are terrible ones) and Timecrimes sits comfortably in that group.

I'll be glad to recommend it to all my friends who have the patience to read subtitles.

This film made me feel like I had just undertaken a short vacation to a European city and returned. I basked in the splendour of visuals, sound and delightful observations of the city, its sounds and its people, particularly the young women, going about doing their thing. It made me smile, laugh and delighted me to simply observe.

I sincerely believe that it is extremely difficult for directors to make a good mood piece which keeps the viewer interested and does not lull him/her to sleep. Very few directors have this ability and I was thrilled to have experienced the keen sense of observation of the director of this film. I think I can actually count the total number of dialogues on my fingertips. There is a story in the background, but it is really not important to this film.

So before watching this, remember that you will be observing a piece of art in motion and not a movie with a particular story. This is how I believe cinema was supposed to be when it first was invented over a 120 years ago - as a medium of art in motion, and not for storytelling as it has been diluted to over the past century.

So, brilliant job, director, for you have realised the true meaning of cinema and have delivered us an excellent piece for the years to come. I sincerely hope I see more work from you heading into this direction in the future.

This one started out with a lot happening with too many characters doing their thing and it took me a while to really get a grasp of what was actually going on. I was a bit fidgety for the first 30 minutes or so. However once I realised what was going on, I sat transfixed.

The movie is not so much about the story , which is fairly simple about a heist gone wrong, and to a certain extent predictable . It is more of a comment on Mexican society and the class struggle. And since I myself come from a society not too different from the one depicted, I could completely relate with the happenings. Other than that, the film also covers issues like families struggling to keep together, the lack of communication, xenophobia, self-righteousness and the basic human instinct of violence, rage and revenge.

The direction is simply brilliant and it is equally matched with the acting by every single character. The only other film I can compare this to is the great Italian film, L'Aria Salata. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to watch it and I highly recommend it for all people seriously interested in cinema. It will leave you thinking for a long time afterwards. I would definitely watch it a second time.

I just completed watching this harrowing documentary and it is only now that, having got the time to catch my breath, I am able to review it.

To begin with, I'd recommend not reading any of the other reviews so that you start watching it with absolutely no foreknowledge, and so that the film gets the opportunity to have the impact that it is designed to have, which, in my opinion, would only be fair to the director. Therefore without revealing the story I would only like to mention that this is a documentary that the film maker has made in remembrance of his close friend and his family; and its a bloody good watch.

The direction is great and the best part is that this documentary is made in 'real time'; which means that events unfold as the film progresses. This is probably something that I've never experienced in any other documentary before, since most of them are made in retrospect. It makes its point clean and crisp and it will certainly not be a waste of your time and money.

The film progresses in a quick and efficient manner and the time just seems to fly. The film is narrated in a very smart way with plenty of smash cuts. This documentary plays like a big budget commercial Hollywood film and will probably have you glued right up to the last minute.

So its good stuff. If you get the chance to watch it I'd recommend it. If you don't, well that's just too bad.

Its difficult to assess and review this film because it comprises of so many different directors and direction styles that grading this movie would be quite unfair to them all. Certain segments are simply brilliant whereas certain leave us with a 'wtf was that all about?' emotion. The film as a whole feels like skimming through the personal diaries of various directors wherein we may sometimes come across gems whereas certain sections only make sense to the film makers themselves.

Nevertheless, it is an essential watch for people who love experimental cinema because as an experimental film, it works brilliantly. It will probably make you feel how all movies make you feel. Take it as a taster of all the various genres of movies presented in bite sized pieces. The movie consists of humour, thrills, horror, autobiographies, biographies, drama, romance, erotica, documentaries, surrealism viz every single genre that exists...alas...no animation.

It is a very personal selection and everyone is guaranteed to find something that he/she likes. Overall this is a great collection of shorts and a must see. The star grading reflects how I perceived the movie as a whole - recommended.

The ability of the movie of keeping its audience interested right up to the end by constructing the movie almost entirely out of slow, long, lingering shots reflects the brilliance of the director. Very few directors have this ability. Wong Kar Wai is one that comes to mind. Gus van Sant on the other hand has been fairly erratic: Elephant was good but Last Days lulled me to sleep. So it is refreshing to see a director having the grasp and control of production.

Coming back to the film, it is a simple story of a married couple where the man has a brief fling with a woman in a different town, which is resolved eventually. It may also get fairly predictable, although it wasn't for me.

It is clear that the director is having fun with the audience by using intelligent shock tactics. However, ironic as it may sound, this is a perfect film for people who wish to wish to watch a movie to relax and enjoy good cinema. A few of the people may not like the epilogue, but to me it was revealing and it was an interesting variation to regular cinema. So it doesn't really matter whether we like it or not, it is a unique experience that I haven't seen in movies before.

The acting is also excellent with all the performers giving a heartfelt and honest performance.

So kudos to the director and we hope she comes up with more such stuff in the future.

The movie's story is pretty good and well thought out. The acting is very convincing too, and the characters of Toni and the mother have acted very well. It was also good to see that the director has not gone out of his way in over dramatising the proceedings and has dealt with the sensitive circumstances in a delicate way. Certain scenes and story lines of this film will stay with me for a period of time.

So in a nutshell, this film may be recommended to others as it is indeed pretty good; however it is not a great film as there was something missing. However I cannot put my finger to it and explain what exactly is. The movie is recommended for its sensitive story.

I've seen both The Exorcism of Emily Rose and this one and found Requiem to be far better and realistic than the other. Emily Rose, in my opinion, was supposed to be commercial Hollywood film. It lulled me to sleep whereas Requiem kept me interested during its entirety. The chief reason for this being the phenomenal performance by the lead actress.

The direction of the film is great as well, since it clearly allows the viewers to form their own decision whether the girl is possessed or schizophrenic. Viewers make their decisions based on which side of the faith they lie. It runs a bit slow but is an excellent psycho-drama devoid of any gratuitous scary scenes.

So overall, in case you like scary stuff, watch Emily Rose; which is not such a great scary movie either. However, if you like psychological dramas and do not wish to watch movies that make you jump out of your seat, watch this one.

This movie is highly recommended. However be warned that it is not a commercial film, it is more earthy than that. The story and acting is realistic which is where the real horror and suspense lies. Our emotions during this movie are similar to the actual emotions we feel in real life probably because the movie is almost shot in real time which simply extends the anxiety we feel and the relief is sparse and takes a while to arrive, again as in real life.

I've never quite seen a movie like this before. It started out pretty boring and banal and as the movie progressed I experienced each of the following emotions in sequence: sleaze, pity, stomach-turning horror, shock, human drama, suspense and even more tension and suspense.

I cannot remember any other movie doing this so effectively.

How does one write a review for El Topo? It is such a personal experience that I will write my own opinion of the movie.

For certain, I was chuckling almost throughout the film but it was not because of the jokes on screen but due to the unreal sequences and nonsense that was going on. I loved the way the people spouted blood. I also loved the bizarre courtship rituals. However I am pretty certain that in most of these scenes Jodorowski was trying to create a very serious environment. For instance the scene with the exploitation of the monks was intended to be shocking and a serious comment on society; but it turns out to be hilarious due to the bad acting and bizarreness.

Some more things that I gathered was that the director was fairly chauvinistic and egoistic. What with writing a film and casting oneself as an all-powerful messiah who is irresistible to women and unbeatable in gun fights. Not to mention highly philosophical and a saviour. Ah, talking of women, they are nothing more than objects rather than humans. They are depicted as dogs that are meant for satisfaction and the worship of men. I'm not too sure where the director was trying to go with this.

I am a big fan of surreal art; however surrealism is an attempt towards straightening out preconceived societal norms and blind faith. I am not too certain what comment was the director trying to make in this film. All I gathered was that he was self-indulgent and trying to depict himself the way he saw himself in his own eyes, as a superior alpha-male, which shows his huge ego.

Towards the end I started falling asleep and couldn't wait for it to get over. I thought that the movie was half-an-hour too long and it couldn't maintain my interest for 2 hours.

Would I watch the movie again, I probably would because it is indeed very funny. However I'm not too certain if I'd like to give The Holy Mountain a go primarily because I presume that it also will be as religious as this one was. So a good attempt and I'd recommend this movie to others interested in bizarre films; however its not one of the greatest ones I've seen. Funny though.

.......

I saw The Holy Mountain 2 weeks after writing this review and was absolutely stunned by it. Certainly far superior in quality, grandeur and bravado than this one. Cheers.

It will probably help if you did a little reading up on what the movie was about before you watched it. For a person who likes to start a movie cold, the film confused me in the beginning. Then in due course of time I understood the rhythm but was still confused with the alteration of colour and B&W shots of essentially the same scene.

So the movie gets off to a bad start by assuming that audience members are already in the know. It was interesting to see how various aspects of Demy's film making were influenced by his childhood experiences. However as in the case of most artists and intellectuals, this is to be expected.

Other than providing an insight, the interspersing of Demy's movie clips in between also provided a sense of familiarity and comedy.

Having been made by the wife of the main protagonist, the film felt fairly self-indulgent. It was like Shahjehan constructing the Taj Mahal - a beautiful construction for personal satisfaction for the others to see and admire.

The story is fairly simple, straight forward and predictable but its execution is charming. I for one came off this film highly inspired and more determined to follow my dreams.

4 stars for the optimism, feelgoodness and acting.

Loved the soundtrack. Once the CD enters my stereo system, it stays there for a long time. I had seen the movie before I became familiar with the CD and I remembering not liking the movie too much.

Anyways I decided to give the film another chance purely based on my fondness for the songs. Unfortunately I was left sorely disappointed. Most of the song play only for a few seconds and almost half of the soundtrack is played by the time the first party is over and by the 26 minute mark almost 3/4th of the soundtrack is already played, which leaves another 60 minutes of drab movie to wait for the next track. Nannou is the only track that is played completely and that too is during the credits.

Soundtrack lovers better keep away from the movie, it disappoints. 2 stars for the great music.

Oh my God, that was one hell of a head trip. I had seen the movie way back in 1996 but being naive couldn't understand anything and thought that it was a waste of good money. But this time around, I was left astounded and have been thinking about the movie all morning.

The movie moves at a brisk pace and does not drone unnecessarily. But perhaps the play itself is well paced, I'm not aware since I haven't read it yet.

It is a courageous attempt on the part of the director and full marks to him and his film makers for their imagination and creativity. Great acting and cinematography too. Highly recommended.

I used to hate Shakespeare in school but this movie has developed an interest in me now and I think I will read a little more of him.

I must say that watching the film on DVD with subtitles is pretty helpful since the Shakespearean dialogue and poetry takes a few moments to get your head across.