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judy-bernstein82
Reviews
Amatieris (2008)
Some nice moments, stumbles on pacing
Saw this film at Cinema Spring festival in Vilnius, Lithuania. The film has some serious pacing issues and directing tends to be extremely simplistic, even to the point of becoming boring. Also, it relies heavily on dialog and explaining the main plot points. The fact that it's a film by 1st time writer/director clearly shows on screen. But initially expecting another copy-cat drug abuse story, I was delighted to see that they have avoided it. The ending actually manages to make a point. Also, they've used some very interesting editing choices and the main actor carries the weight. No surprises, but nice debut and worth checking if interested in local Baltic films.
Cold Souls (2009)
A nice, little gem
I read that director Sophie Barthes goes mad if she' s asked about the similarities between "Could Souls" and Kaufmann's "Synecdoche, New York". I see nothing mad about it. Both films are very similar in their "philosophical" approach and sometimes even in coverage - camera angles, pacing etc. Also Giammati's tormented soul rings the bell reminding about Hoffman in "Synecdoche". Their major difference though, is that you can still make sense of what happens in "Could Souls" and follow the plot, while "Synecdoche" sinks in ideas that are simply impossible or boring on screen. Parekh's cinematography - lyrical, but simple and to the point - is a great treat as always. Giammati's performance - lovable, if predictable. After all, a nice, little independent gem after a glass of wine in a restaurant.