First, I've seen Keira Knightley in this role for too many times. I am more and more convinced that she keeps being called to this movies because of her looks. I mean - Atonement, The Edge of Love, even Anna Karenina or The Duchess deliver the same vibes from Keira that this film does.
Then, some shots were aesthetically beautiful but the plotline never really gets under our skin, and the scene in the woods with three of the main characters... First I am pretty sure our Rachel had left her jacked inside the restaurant. Then which kind of fire gun, back in the 40s, would be able to fire a perfect shot to the front head to a passenger sit, from a dark wood, into a moving vehicle? Then how come the girl appeared in the wood, just like that?
At times it was beautiful and nostalgic, at times it seemed lazy and relied too much on Keira's looks to go through its lenght.
Reviews
7 Reviews
José and Pilar
(2010)
Jose's honesty and Pilar's unconditional support
10 October 2018
I have watched it maybe three or four times over the years. I love the scenery, which is their homeplace, but mostly the way the camera captures it. Love Pilar's beauty and energetic mind. Love how Saramago is a sort of philosopher without being it, specially when he says he is tired of the efford of "looking smart/pretending to be intelligent". I love how they love each other so much, and how they devoted themselves to each other and to the happy marriage and union of Portugal with Spain throughout literature. I keep watching it and learning more from both. How authentic he was, can you blame him for being a comunist and an atheist? That's just who he was. Well wrapped in his beliefs. Love them, love the work the director made with such precious material.
Two Is a Family
(2016)
Shaking plot, heartfelt interpretations
21 September 2018
Once I learnt that "Two is a family" was a remake of a Mexican film, I understood all the mixed feelings I had while watching it. It does have that forced happiness and joy that all Mexican telenovelas seem to have, in which people go from laughter at tears in one blink. But that's not the point here. The thing is: the movie goes everywhere. It should be about a man's redemption, regarding his reckless behavior and lying tendencies. Then I thought it should be about a mother returning to take away a loving daughter from her brave dad, and it became a court drama. But soon after it was about dad letting go of the girl, and in the final chapter it becomes something else. So I went to watch some of the original's scenes (I don't mean to be mean, but truth is I wouldn't find Eugenio Derbez, with that weak chin, a womanizer... it wouldn't convince me, latino or not latino). I wish it had a plot which was straightforward, because there's a big message in there, something that is always delicate and heartbreaking whenever you find it in art (literature, cinema). The message doesn't even get to you, because the main character never really redeems himself. However, some of the moment were truly tender and beautiful, both Omar and Gloria Colston completely steal the scene, and supporting actors like Clémence Poésy and Antoine Bertrand were very intense and solid as well, in their portraits. I just felt the direction was sometimes lost and the voice went shaking, I didn't find what was being delivered was pertinent or interesting at times (like the school scene with Sam being the new janitor at Gloria's school, or the scene in which Sam jumps off a 11th floor). Overall I felt the movie was too long, that story could've been beautifully packed, it had lots of potential, but I somehow feel it got lost behind all sparkles and fireworks, easy laughter and Omar's genuine talent to make us smile.
A Ghost Story
(2017)
What a beautifully doomed place to be
12 September 2018
I knew from the moment that I saw the trailer that this move would break my heart. I believe any human who's ever wondered about life's purpose or the afterdeath felt swept off his feet by this piece. It spoke to me in particular, for it brings back the feeling and my deep beliefs after my grandmother's death in 2017 and then my father's death in 2018. I couldn't help but feel - actually, but be sure - that they were very close by. Of course there'll never (who knows?) be proof of that, but truth is I woke up to my grandmother's voice calling my name out loud. I knew where she needed me to be, and I went straight to grandpa's to keep him company, for he was crushed after her death. I felt she was around making sure we were all ok, much as she had done during chemo. I had to tell her to let go, and that's when she abandoned the threatments, for they were making her worse and she had little energy (or life) to spare at that point. As per her afterdeath, I knew there were a few words she needed to hear from me, and I waited for her tomb to be finished to tell her what I needed her to know, and what she needed to hear before leaving. I wanted her to see her final resting place and then set her free.
This movie made me realize that either our ghosts are right there, or we project them, the whole of us isn't really gone after our body collapses. I also happen to love both Mara & Casey Affleck, to see them together in such a sensitive piece of art moved me all the more. I knew exactly what he needed to be free, to be gone. I didn't find the ghost funny or ridiculous - I think that's how you'd see it if you don't care to see beneath the surface. I loved the reflections the movied took me through, I suffered from them, as any other human with the sense of how unstable everything really is, how everything might be finished in a blink, or how a comet may pass by and all our daily issues fade into cosmic dust. It trully broke me, it put me into tears. I had to smoke two cigarrettes in a row and sit outside, staring at the night skies, and ask myself how much more we have to endure before finally being released into space. I love, and therefore I am not free. Much like our C. in the movie.
Thanks so much, it really did add something to my life. I won't even dare to suggest it to most of the people around me, for I know it is reserved for those few who'd cry their hearts out if they'd dare to understand.
Thank you, it's pretty much all I can say. C.
This movie made me realize that either our ghosts are right there, or we project them, the whole of us isn't really gone after our body collapses. I also happen to love both Mara & Casey Affleck, to see them together in such a sensitive piece of art moved me all the more. I knew exactly what he needed to be free, to be gone. I didn't find the ghost funny or ridiculous - I think that's how you'd see it if you don't care to see beneath the surface. I loved the reflections the movied took me through, I suffered from them, as any other human with the sense of how unstable everything really is, how everything might be finished in a blink, or how a comet may pass by and all our daily issues fade into cosmic dust. It trully broke me, it put me into tears. I had to smoke two cigarrettes in a row and sit outside, staring at the night skies, and ask myself how much more we have to endure before finally being released into space. I love, and therefore I am not free. Much like our C. in the movie.
Thanks so much, it really did add something to my life. I won't even dare to suggest it to most of the people around me, for I know it is reserved for those few who'd cry their hearts out if they'd dare to understand.
Thank you, it's pretty much all I can say. C.
Coco
(I) (2017)
Moving and pertinent
3 August 2018
I don't think Coco could've been launched at a better moment in History. Watching the colorful and realistic portraits of Mexicans and their cultures, I thought it was great that Disney gave Mexico a reason to be proud of themselves, while Trump keeps on humiliating the country with his outrageous speaches. This is my particular view. Now, about the movie itself... I am a writer. I've watched about 80% of Disney movies, and still I was surprised. Maybe I didn't board with much faith, because people kept telling my I'd love it. But when the twist came, and I was unaware, I burst into tears. Now, I am a 28 year old person, I did not expect the story to be so engaging, or their message to be so heart breaking, it transceeds generations and brings us closer to our families and dreams. Unfortunately, my grandmother passes away one year ago, so it made me understand the importance of REMEMBERING even more. Not only remembering, but also keeping the traditions alive and never let the flame of our ancesters perish. I absolutely love this picture, and I'll go back to it many, many times in my life.
La La Land
(2016)
True they can't sing or dance - but does that has to be the soul of a musical?
19 January 2017
La La Land... I was seriously in suspicion about it. I'm not very much into Musicals (apart from The Sound of Music and Singing in the Rain), but both Emma and Ryan stole the picture. The movie isn't about dancing or singing well... It is about the land of dreams (wich could be L.A. or your neighborhood, it just puts more pressure into them since it is L.A.). To me, this movie is about two young people still very attached to their childhood dream, and struggling to keep it afloat while everyone asks them to grow-up. What's beautiful to me - heart clinging beautiful - is that they believe in each other so much. They help the other get there, but it is a lonely road out there. Its tribute to jazz and is also touching, so both characters have really solid dreams, and both are being dragged away from them for failure and background noise pressure.
Though none of them can sing or dance so well, I don't think that was the point. It wasn't supposed to be flawless - I believe this movie wants to keep it real. You may feel like you're walking on clouds, but you're not such a good dancer, and there's some tenderness in being kind of clumsy. I believe it is intentional. The love between Mia and Sebastian is easy to believe, it is respectful and tender and inspiring. Either romantically or not, everyone should have a Mia or a Sebastian in his life, to help us and motivate us when doors slam on our face. I absolutely loved the ending, which, in my opinion, consolidates it as a modern day love story.
Though none of them can sing or dance so well, I don't think that was the point. It wasn't supposed to be flawless - I believe this movie wants to keep it real. You may feel like you're walking on clouds, but you're not such a good dancer, and there's some tenderness in being kind of clumsy. I believe it is intentional. The love between Mia and Sebastian is easy to believe, it is respectful and tender and inspiring. Either romantically or not, everyone should have a Mia or a Sebastian in his life, to help us and motivate us when doors slam on our face. I absolutely loved the ending, which, in my opinion, consolidates it as a modern day love story.
Brooklyn
(2015)
The fool's gold
17 February 2016
Pyrite, that's exactly what this film should've been called. Both the book from Irish writer Colm Tóibín and the film are ingloriously flat and plain. The tale is lost, it is not about a generation or the History of immigration in Ireland, the narrative is weak and gets lost. It is about young Eilis, a young girl with no power of decision, no opinion, no move throughout the book... In the film, the director tried to save it a little bit. The director hid Eilis flaw's (which could be explored both by the writer and the director to compose a good story, I am not defending perfection) in order to make people empathize with her. Truth is: the book is so lame the director had to improvise. And then, because he had no working material, she is light and empty and superfluous, in both supports.
What I consider to be important: there are many characters in Literature and cinema that are absolutely hateful. But not Eilis. She is so bad depicted that... you never really believe she exits. She never leaves the sketches of these artists and never becomes alive. So to me it is all fake, both book and film. They kept reminding me "is doesn't feel real because it isn't real, it's a circus".
And this is my opinion. I won't forget this so soon because it is an artistic fraud. I hope it doesn't get any awards, or I won't be able to trust the better judgement of the Academy ever again.
What I consider to be important: there are many characters in Literature and cinema that are absolutely hateful. But not Eilis. She is so bad depicted that... you never really believe she exits. She never leaves the sketches of these artists and never becomes alive. So to me it is all fake, both book and film. They kept reminding me "is doesn't feel real because it isn't real, it's a circus".
And this is my opinion. I won't forget this so soon because it is an artistic fraud. I hope it doesn't get any awards, or I won't be able to trust the better judgement of the Academy ever again.
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