Michael's Movie Grade: A-
A haunting, powerful and thought provoking work of art.
This is one of those films that will be debated by movie buffs for decades to come. It takes no time explaining things to you, often not caring if you "get it" or not. It not only moves at a slow pace, but demands your attention rather than catching it. It seemed to me that when I saw it, most people walked out of the theater not quite knowing what to make of it. For filmmakers to willingly and purposely create a feeling like that is extremely brave and deserves to be applauded.
Everything in this movie is allegorical, sometimes in a more clear way and sometimes in a way that is anything but. I will not pretend that I understood it all on my first viewing. However I know that with repeat viewings, more and more will become clear. This however is something that I truly appreciate. It is too rare to come out of movies and spend the whole way home still actively engaged in the film and that was the experience I had here.
Yet beyond just the allegories there was much that stayed vividly in my mind after watching. Many filmmakers have tried to create fairytales for adults and most of them have fallen for short of the ones we grew up with as kids. Yet this movie captures this fairy tale atmosphere perfectly. As soon as the film started I found myself completely transported into the world of the story. This is a fantasy world, that felt as real to me as those in any classic fairy tale. There is a dreamlike quality throughout the film. Sometimes it feels like an odd but vivid dream that when we wake we will try and make sense of but as it is happening nothing could feel more real. At other times it is a nightmare, where logic and reason are absent and only the horrible feeling of something not being quite right remains. Because of this dreamlike feeling the entire movie kept me feeling ill at ease but completely drawn in. This quality is enhanced by the incredible cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo and the completely sure of himself direction by David Lowery. These along with the slower pace and the scenes simply with our main character walking through these beautiful environments, make this film a unique experience completely different from anything you would see in a mainstream movie.
This film may not be for everyone, but for those who this is for will find it a fantastic work of art and will treasure it.
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