I first saw this film at Cinequest (San Jose Film Festival) in 2008. Each year I see about 15 films at that festival, and this was by far my favorite; it was also one of my favorite films of the entire year. The pace is languid, as appropriate for the story and setting. True to the title, I perceived many of the scenes as a delicate and cherished still shot brought to life for a short while. The story is simple: singer and reluctant prostitute at a town bar seeks escape from her situtation and rents a loft from an aging and frail portrait photographer; reluctantly he accepts her help in lieu of rent. The acting, cinematography and even the story made this a great film. I am not a great critic of acting skills, but I felt the two main actors did a superb job. Watch this film if you can find it and I assure that you will be invested in the lives of these two remarkable people.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Look Both Ways
(2005)
Superb and Sublime
23 July 2006
I don't give it a 10, because the style is not totally agreeable to me (I'm too old). But this film was a shocking surprise for all its richness. When my friend said "Australian film", I immediately said, "Yes, it's been too long since I've seen one. I always like their films".
I had recently watched the older American film , Grand Canyon, and found apt comparisons. But here's what my companion and I loved about "Look Both Ways" - the characters were real, the scenery real, the main topic (death) made us squirm, but we recognized the reality that we would rather avoid. THe acting was superb, I especially believed Justine Clark as Meryl - her face IS the person who conjures those troubling cartoons. The film, the actors, the scenery was so unpretentious that we could believe it all. The cartoon flashes are peculiar, but we loved the artwork - can we buy copies? Loved the soundtrack too.
Grand Canyon, by contrast, is too clearly a story by a screenwriter, it has the production values of Hollywood (the better side of Hollywood, but still slick), it has well-known, attractive and very good actors. The story flows so well ... but you KNOW you're watching a fictional story that is acted and produced by world class talent. In other words, you cannot mistake it for reality.
I had recently watched the older American film , Grand Canyon, and found apt comparisons. But here's what my companion and I loved about "Look Both Ways" - the characters were real, the scenery real, the main topic (death) made us squirm, but we recognized the reality that we would rather avoid. THe acting was superb, I especially believed Justine Clark as Meryl - her face IS the person who conjures those troubling cartoons. The film, the actors, the scenery was so unpretentious that we could believe it all. The cartoon flashes are peculiar, but we loved the artwork - can we buy copies? Loved the soundtrack too.
Grand Canyon, by contrast, is too clearly a story by a screenwriter, it has the production values of Hollywood (the better side of Hollywood, but still slick), it has well-known, attractive and very good actors. The story flows so well ... but you KNOW you're watching a fictional story that is acted and produced by world class talent. In other words, you cannot mistake it for reality.
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