till2dawn Reviews

The Tracey Fragments (2007)

Very original, but not that much more

[6/10 · 9 February 2007]

I saw this movie at the Berlin Film Festival and did not know nothing about it before. There will be people that will call this a "masterpiece" or "pure art", and there will be a lot more people that will call this "bullshit". I wouldn't argue with neither of them. If you want to enjoy this movie, you will have to buy every idea the director came up with, otherwise you will want to leave the cinema. At every moment of the movie, the picture is split up into lots of little pictures, often showing the same scene from different camera angles. This can be exhausting at times, but it can also be very exciting.

You suddenly realize that you as a member of the audience are part of the film-making process. You are the one to edit to movie, to decide whether you want the see the long or the close shot. I found this a very interesting approach to the process of making a movie. But still, sometimes the film seems to be so random, trying hard to be special and smart. You might have to watch it a second time to really check if there's is a kind of inner logic to every scene. The movie has great moments and is full of original ideas, though sometimes it is only original for the purpose of being original and nothing else. Apart from the interesting picture language, I have to mention the gorgeous Ellen Page, who is - ultimately - THE most talented young actress there is today. I'm looking forward to her future projects.

Children of Men (2006)

Great effort, doesn't work completely though

[7/10 · 20 November 2006]

I was really looking forward to see this film. The plot sounded like one of the most interesting in a long time and Cuaróns "Y tu mamá también" is one of my favourite movies. I'm kind of sorry to admit that the film itself didn't work out as well as I expected. "Children of Men" is great as a cinematic experience. It's beautifully shot in depressing colors, painting a future that has maybe already begun. Even if there might be one "Report Illegal Immigrants" sign too many, this future vision works as a thinking experiment and lets us all reflect about the time we are living in.

What did not work for me is the story itself. I can't help myself, but this whole birth/pregnancy/baby protecting/hunting thing could just never compete with the look and the setting of the movie. Even if all the actors do a great job (especially Clive Owen), the story just lacks credibility within Cuaróns 2029 world. Nevertheless, I would recommend the movie because of its courage, the acting and the beautiful look. It just could have been so much more...

Starfish Hotel (2006)

Great experience, worth a look

[8/10 · 11 August 2006]

I don't agree with the comment I just read about this film, because I felt that this movie had indeed something very original, even if the similarities to other movies is obvious. Director Williams pointed out that he hadn't seen Donnie Darko before writing this script, so we just believe him or we don't. He certainly uses locations, aspects from other movies or books, but "Starfish Hotel" is still a fascinating experience.

It reminded me of watching Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" for the first time. I didn't really understand the film as a whole, but just felt that it isn't just random weirdness. You really get the feeling that there is a certain sense behind every scene and you start thinking about it a lot. Is it all shown in the correct chronological order? Is it all reality or is it partly a dream? Is maybe everything just in the head of this novel writer who we see from time to time? Yet while watching the movie I had different theories and I believe that I would appreciate this movie more, watching it a second time in the future. Just like "Mulholland Drive", which I believed to understand after watching it the third or fourth time. The problem is that I probably will not have the possibility to watch "Starfish Hotel" a second time if it's not discovered as a worthy movie for releasing it on DVD.

Maybe I'm just wrong. Maybe it's just random weirdness and completely stolen from other movies and books, but I just had the feeling it was not. I know a lot of similar movies that are just weird and nothing else and I'm not thinking about them anymore after leaving the cinema. "Starfish Hotel" is not one of them. I thought about it a lot after watching it and are still thinking about it. It is definitely worth a look if you look these kind of movies.

Yu-wol-ui il-gi (2005)

Funny, sad, touching... a great movie!

[9/10 · 11 August 2006]

I really didn't expect a lot, watching this on the Fantasy Filmfest between two movies that interested me more than a "Korean detective story". But "Bystanders" is so much more than that.

I will not give anyway anything about the story, because it's such a great experience, watching this and getting more and more details about the background of. I'm not saying there are really exciting and surprising twists and turns, it's not that kind of movie, but you certainly are stunned when another part of the story is revealed. There may be "too many endings" as another user pointed out in a comment, but it still worked for me. None of the final scenes is unsatisfying, even if you maybe get the feeling that it's just "too much".

What makes this movie so special is the topic it is dealing with. It is not just a police-murderer-story, it reveals a shocking look at the Asian education system with all the pressure students have to deal with - teachers, parents and fellow students - and the brutal consequences. It works as a political/social movie, it works as a police thriller and it even works as a comedy, because the two cops that are supposed to solve the case are just funny as hell. It is sometimes strange to experience the fast change between really funny scenes and sad, dramatic moments, but then you realize that this is not that different from the real life.

I was really impressed by this movie, by its humor, its deeply touching scenes, the brilliant actors and the beautiful cinematography. It deserves a larger audience than minor festivals.

Burnt Out (2005)

Astonishing debut

[10/10 · 2 June 2006]

I don't want to give away anything about the story or the characters, I just feel I have to write this because I cannot stand reading ignorant user comments about this great movie. This film was the first in a long time that I reacted to emotionally. It is so realistic and powerful it's sometimes painful to watch.

It is one of the few movies where the violent actions of the characters fit perfectly to the inner process every character finds himself in. The exchange between the slower sequences and the short and abrupt acts of violence is done so wonderfully I can't praise it enough. When you tell the story of this movie to a friend he is probably going to say that it doesn't sound that realistic but if you just look at each action for itself you realize that it really could happen (and has happened) like this.

"Sauf le respect que je vous dois" is a complex movie, I'm sure you will find more things each time you watch it. It is well written, I loved the cinematography and the flow of the scenes and the actors are unbelievably good. Hard to believe that this is the first feature of the director who added some interesting thoughts in the Q&A session after the screening I had the pleasure to attend (in Berlin). I hope this film gets a lot more attention because it really is a movie about our modern times and a precise observation of the situation many employees find themselves in. It is NOT a thriller just because someone is running away from the police. And though you may consider it "very french" because of the few dialogue that is used in some scenes, this french style never fitted so well to a story like it does here.