August 32nd on Earth

Not too shabby for a debut feature, August 32nd on Earth brings its whacky premise to cinematic life in a simple, amusing fashion, and is a well crafted, wonderfully photographed & finely performed dramedy that commences Denis Villeneuve's filmmaking journey on a promising note, if not a memorable one.

This film is a delignt! Pascale Bussières is, as always, seductive and enchanting. Alexis Martin is touching and funny. I hope a translation in English will bring out the subtle humor of Simone (Pascale Bussières)and her friend (Alexis Martin). Just for the love letter and the scene of Alexis in a Japanese-like room mimicing weightlessness, this film is a must! All about the problems of the X generation, "Un 32 août sur terre" also offers a broad reflection on sex relations and the meaning of life. The scenes in Salt Lake City are superb. The plot ? A woman crashes with her car in the night, her whole life will be upset. See the rest !

You can see DVs eye for directing and cinematography throughout. It was a thought provoking story that was derailed by the most out there left turn I've ever seen. Saying there a crazy twist isn't a spoiler as you won't see it coming.

This film was one of three movies at the Hyderabad Film Festival in January 1999 that caught my eye.

For a first feature film by a director, this effort is commendable. No doubt this Canadian was helped with the choice of a stunning actress, a good editor, and above average cinematography. The weakest point was the script.

I look forward to seeing more films by this director and the lead actress Pascale Bussières. Denis Villeneuve has talent, it only needs to be developed further through experience.

I've watched all his mainstream films, but they were too good to understand in every aspect, especially the deep hidden meanings beyond those spectacular visuals, stunning cinematography as in BLADE RUNNER 2049, actions in SICARIO, and emotional and dramatic thrills in INCENDIES and PRISONERS. But after watching a small and mediocre films as this, now I understand why Villeneuve is special. He made full use of one accident scene and all the desert scenes making the film look almost as beautiful as car chasing scenes in THE DARK KNIGHT and the space sequences in GRAVITY, INTERSTELLAR, etc respectively. He managed to give an average script a direction which is more than extraordinarily.

Also the performances of both leads were great. The cab driver subplot also had a promising thriller content, which could've been more useful if the film had been a thriller.

Overall, beautiful direction and great performances make this mediocre story to be more than one time watch. 7/10 (6 for script, 8 for acting, 9 for direction )