sneakydude

Saw this just now in a small indie cinema in Heidelberg, Germany and I have to say, it was a romp. In my humble opinion this film manages to be both Wes Anderson's funniest picture so far and his most melancholic. The utter uncompromising stylishness of his other work is also present here, perhaps even heightened, but in contrast to The Life Aquatic (and to a certain degree The Darjeeling Limited), the emphasis here is firmly on plot. The brave and often odd visuals never overwhelm the story and the audience never feels like they are not quite in on the joke, like in The Life Aquatic. The tone does tend to become a bit erratic, especially in the last third of the film when Anderson seems to want to pack so much into every frame that the film becomes a bit cartoonish at times (hence the not-perfect score from me). All in all, though, the plot is very balanced and the pacing is great. The two young leads are superb and the brave move by Anderson to place unknown actors front and centre pays off beautifully. The rest of the cast is on paper even more star-studded than The Royal Tenenbaums and yet Anderson never steers into unnecessary character development just to accommodate his stars. A touch here and a touch there are more than enough to paint a picture of a group of people who are eerily similar in their dissatisfaction with their lives and yet react quite differently to the two young lovers' dash (literally) for happiness. In conclusion, a must-see for Anderson fans and highly recommended for everyone else.

There are two markedly different strands within the Coen Brothers' work: the crime black comedy, championed by the much acclaimed "Fargo", and the less heralded, but equally if not more fascinating character study, "Barton Fink" being the notable example. "A Serious Man"'s aim is clearly revisiting that somewhat forgotten second strand of the Bros' work, and boy does it deliver. Until today I thought "Barton Fink" was their best work. I am not so sure anymore. Being brilliantly acted, wonderfully shot, beautifully designed and ingeniously written are just some of the immense qualities of this picture. Seldom can a story of so little a scope become so greatly engaging and moving. Scene after scene, we somewhat cruelly delight in the protagonist's sufferings. The script makes one wonder whether he is headed towards a meltdown, a cathartic experience, or maybe... but let me not spoil anything. Let us just say that the ending is quite philosophical and will doubtlessly continue to spark debate among moviegoers.

A brilliant film from an era when Bulgarian cinema did not need to be pompous to be poignant. Held together by the lead Veselin Prahov this seemingly simple story delivers on so many levels. Today it works both as a light-hearted retrospection and as incisive social commentary. The tone is pitch-perfect throughout and not a single scene seems out of place. I was perhaps slightly more impacted than the average audience member would be, as the film is shot just a block away from where I grew up as a kid myself, in a house not much different from the protagonist's, but regardless this is a wonderful thought-provoking picture that is so much more than the sum of its seemingly modest parts.