Hard to explain why this movie is so enjoyable. It looks great but then plenty of movies look great. It's well acted but then... You get my drift. I felt this movie captured an understated elegance that permeated every scene, every camera move, every set. One is drawn into a strange atmosphere of greyness and fog, enhanced by beautiful cinematography. Mads Mikkelsen is as usual superb and his character (POTENTIAL SPOILER) develops into quite a dark one. We're quite far, here, from Hollywood standards, which adds appeal to the movie. Despite the lack of strong action or anything really "exciting", it's as entertaining as any blockbuster I've seen. Heartily recommended.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Brotherhood of Tears
(2013)
Totally dug it
12 October 2013
I totally dug this movie, very different from what's usually made in France. Stylishly shot, it features a Jeremie Renier in top form. I used to find him a bit on the shallow side before but he's really grown into a very strong actor.
This film has a strong identity, visually, musically and story-wise which won't appeal to everyone, especially to people who love to know beforehand exactly what they're going to see. As we follow Gabriel through his rags to riches story, it's impossible to tell where the plot is going to take us next. The audience is kept on their feet, I actually felt really tense at the end. Is it a thriller? A horror movie? A drama? It's all of the above.
As for the ending itself, I think it's a fantastic concept, one I wouldn't be surprised to see remade. It's just dealt with a bit too quickly, the movie could've used another 2 minutes of extra time.
Special kudos to young Melusine Mayance, and two thumbs up for a rather unusual soundtrack. All in all a very, very special, boundary-pushing movie, hope to see more of these coming from and to France in the future!
This film has a strong identity, visually, musically and story-wise which won't appeal to everyone, especially to people who love to know beforehand exactly what they're going to see. As we follow Gabriel through his rags to riches story, it's impossible to tell where the plot is going to take us next. The audience is kept on their feet, I actually felt really tense at the end. Is it a thriller? A horror movie? A drama? It's all of the above.
As for the ending itself, I think it's a fantastic concept, one I wouldn't be surprised to see remade. It's just dealt with a bit too quickly, the movie could've used another 2 minutes of extra time.
Special kudos to young Melusine Mayance, and two thumbs up for a rather unusual soundtrack. All in all a very, very special, boundary-pushing movie, hope to see more of these coming from and to France in the future!
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