The above tag is a bit glib -- to be honest I'm still processing this stunning film.
Yep, it's long, not getting around that. And there's precious little dialogue -- but that can be a good thing. I also have to say right here that I usually have very little patience for the sort of film that is more akin to painting -- which is how some of the other reviewers seem to classify this movie. Films that have bored me silly include "The Thin Red Line" and everything I've seen by Antonioni, who I find more or less completely detestable.
On the other hand, I love Wenders at his best. So what's the difference?
It may be that, even more than Wenders, this film is utterly sincere in its convictions. Antonioni's films are about people without the capacity for love or joy. Like in Wenders films, this is a film about people learning to, perhaps, regain that capacity. For that, I can take the somber mode (especially since there are some lovely comic moments).
I could go on (and just may, elsewhere), but as I said, I'm still processing the movie. I can only add that I nearly broke down crying about five or six times and that the opening sequence left with a reaction I can't really describe, only that I felt I had a taste of what post-traumatic stress might feel like.
More than gorgeous.
Yep, it's long, not getting around that. And there's precious little dialogue -- but that can be a good thing. I also have to say right here that I usually have very little patience for the sort of film that is more akin to painting -- which is how some of the other reviewers seem to classify this movie. Films that have bored me silly include "The Thin Red Line" and everything I've seen by Antonioni, who I find more or less completely detestable.
On the other hand, I love Wenders at his best. So what's the difference?
It may be that, even more than Wenders, this film is utterly sincere in its convictions. Antonioni's films are about people without the capacity for love or joy. Like in Wenders films, this is a film about people learning to, perhaps, regain that capacity. For that, I can take the somber mode (especially since there are some lovely comic moments).
I could go on (and just may, elsewhere), but as I said, I'm still processing the movie. I can only add that I nearly broke down crying about five or six times and that the opening sequence left with a reaction I can't really describe, only that I felt I had a taste of what post-traumatic stress might feel like.
More than gorgeous.