Carmen

I'm a big fan of Natascha Mcelhone and I'm so glad I have seen her performances in other films, before watching this. I can't remember having dragged myself through a worse movie in many, many, many years. It's awful. The story is thin at best and the acting is amateurish beyond belief and the songs from this will keep me up at night for weeks to come. Scenery is nice though, that's it. I'm sorry, but there's absolutely nothing to like about this movie, except for how gorgeous Natasha McElhone looks, while she does her lines with a bad accent. I've seen school plays more convincing than this garbage. Please do not trust high star reviews of this, you will not be rewarded for your time, nor patience.

Thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a 50 year old Catholic woman relegated to serving her much older priest brother. When he dies and she is left alone with no money, she gets creative. Most of the film is about her innovative and sometimes surprising choices as she survives and transforms.

Set in Malta, the scenery and architecture are beautiful. Most of the plot is situational, so there is little character development, aside from Carmen herself.

If you are looking for realism, this not your movie. If you enjoy imagining alternate realities, ridiculous events, and happy, though implausible endings, this is it! You won't be sorry.

In a sleepy town on Malta, Carmen (Natascha McElhone) has been taking care of her brother, the local priest, since she was 16 years old. One day, he drops dead and she is left all alone in the world. A new priest is taking over with his own sister housekeeper. Carmen is expected to leave for her family even though she has none. She finds herself taking confessions from the town folks and searching for a life of her own.

Sin is the central theme of this movie. It's the heartbreaking reveal. Rita is obsessed with it. The women in town suffered under it. The movie should open with the priest berating the women and warning against the sin of disobeying their husbands. That would set up the rest of the movie much better. I really love the confessions. It is noticeable that McElhone is changing her hair color along the way. That may be too much. She should keep her greys. This is a wonderful little movie.

A little independent arthouse film, that is quite charming and enjoyable, if you are able to dispend some disbelief about the credibility of the story, which I didnt find hard to do, because this movie has got such an endearing story.

Not any bad? Well, this is probably best suited for a (patience) arthouse audience, who dont mind watching a story unravel slowly.

The good: beautifully photographed, well acted, with an uplifting, endearing story about a woman who accidentally gets mistaken for a priest and decides to seize this opportunity to do some good with her newfound status.

Left me with a smile on my face. Lovely!

A feel-good little film detailing how little sprinklings of humaneness and liberalism can overcome systemic failures in society and the church.

The film is the journey of the titular character traversing from being stifled for many decades to discovering how to be happy once again.

The ending is seemingly deliberately unrealistically over-optimistic, and that's the point. It is a film designed to lift one's spirits and see the good in the world again.

While certainly not for everyone - for example, it won't be for those who like only realistic dramas and those who strongly adhere to the stringent side of Catholicism - personally, I feel in love with it.

It doesn't overstay its welcome and has a few laugh-out-loud moments too, especially in the opening third. Recommended.