Reviews

I'm not sure who rates this film a "1," but all I can say is that these people must have their own mental problems to deal with, because it's a good film. Maybe they think it's a documentary about themselves, and they're embarrassed. I don't know. But THE FILM IS SOLID, well-written, well-directed, excellent cinematography, and solid acting. I'm not sure what else you can ask for in a short film. Other than a little T&A.

They say I need 10 lines to post a comment, so I guess I'll have to elaborate. I feel I pretty much summed up my thoughts already, but in this case, I'll point out the weaknesses of the film, so we have both sides of the story. Production Design - creative and interesting, but definitely representative of a lower budget. Special Effects - well done, blood and guts, etc., but nothing innovative or new (well done nonetheless). I don't know what else. It's hard to critique it because it was all good. And I don't mean to single out the departments mentioned above, but I have to get those 10 lines! Really, given a limited budget and resources, it was the best it could be, in my opinion. A well made short film worth watching!

One of the best films in years, and in artistic cinematic terms, one of the best films I've ever seen. That's a heavy statement to make, but off the top of my head, I cannot think of another film that explores the inner workings of a character so intimately and believably, while blending cinematography, sound effects, and musical score in such harmony -- but in a fashion we (as American's at least) are not trained to enjoy. I felt the French influence strongly cinematically and, of course in the dialogue, but the writing and acting was so fluid it felt like the subtitles weren't even there.

The film deals with a rare physical condition, and I was physically there with the character from start to finish. I felt each moment as if it were my own. That is a rare accomplishment in cinema. Julian Schnabel directed a stellar cast. Mathieu Amalric was unusually charming as Jean-Dominique Bauby, and Max Von Sydow was heartbreaking as his lonely widower father. The female leads were all equally impressive as they were beautiful. I don not mean to generalize them, but they were all so excellent that they blend seamlessly in my mind, in terms of performance.

Overall, this film was as pure a cinematic experience as I've witnessed in a long time. A true artist turns out a film that is truly a piece of art. Julian Schnabel takes his time in between films, but with work like this, there's no need to rush. Like a good painting, one can enjoy it for a lifetime.

Perhaps I've been fortunate to have avoided all the garbage out there for so long, but for the first 26 years of my life, I have never seen a movie so bad. Usually I will watch a bad movie just to see what I would do better (I'm a Producer), but this one was so bad that I couldn't bear the thought of wasting one more minute of my life viewing it. Acting, Directing, Lighting, Sound... well, you get the idea -- EVERYTHING about this movie was bad. And by bad, I mean horrible. And by horrible, I don't mean good horror. I mean horror in knowing I have to use up my costly gasoline just to return this POS to the video store. To the cast & crew: sorry I hated it so much. At least you got distribution.