3 reviews
This movie is an incredible mesh of storytelling and style.
I first saw this film at a festival in Texas, and I was immediately blown away. The camera work in "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" is a thing of slow beauty, in tune not only with the haunting use of light, but also with the revelations contained within the story. The camera plays the role of a character that truly encompasses the viewing experience, unlike most films where the viewer is an omniscient third party simply watching things happen. Szasz blows out the windows in many of the shots, using white light and sterile environments to bring out the humanity in his characters. The story throws you for a loop - Szasz pulls you in one direction, giving you evidence upon evidence that all seems to add up, only to surprise the viewer by skillfully revealing the true reasons behind these strange events. The climactic scene is as emotionally powerful as it is aesthetically beautiful.
The only bad thing I can say about this film is that a few of the people I've shown it to didn't fully understand the ending. However, I never felt any confusion after watching it, and most people responded as I did. Szasz doesn't dumb down the story for you; he leaves a gap and expects the viewer to make the logical connections. He is subtle without being vague. All in all, you will be hard pressed to find a better way to spend 30 minutes of your life than watching this film.
I first saw this film at a festival in Texas, and I was immediately blown away. The camera work in "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" is a thing of slow beauty, in tune not only with the haunting use of light, but also with the revelations contained within the story. The camera plays the role of a character that truly encompasses the viewing experience, unlike most films where the viewer is an omniscient third party simply watching things happen. Szasz blows out the windows in many of the shots, using white light and sterile environments to bring out the humanity in his characters. The story throws you for a loop - Szasz pulls you in one direction, giving you evidence upon evidence that all seems to add up, only to surprise the viewer by skillfully revealing the true reasons behind these strange events. The climactic scene is as emotionally powerful as it is aesthetically beautiful.
The only bad thing I can say about this film is that a few of the people I've shown it to didn't fully understand the ending. However, I never felt any confusion after watching it, and most people responded as I did. Szasz doesn't dumb down the story for you; he leaves a gap and expects the viewer to make the logical connections. He is subtle without being vague. All in all, you will be hard pressed to find a better way to spend 30 minutes of your life than watching this film.
- avianchaos
- Mar 24, 2006
- Permalink
- luvingbooks
- Nov 12, 2006
- Permalink
Just saw this at the Cackalacky Film Festival in Charlotte, NC. It's hard to imagine a more concentrated and haunting portrait of dread (overwhelming all the way up to the revelation), grief, loss, fear, and isolation.
It's so potent that I can't imagine many people wanting to watch it several times - probably just twice in order to appreciate how they put everything together. This is the kind of movie that still delivers an emotional punch (right to the gut) when you think about it days (weeks? months?) later. The performances are subtle, nuanced, and powerful - very believable for this situation.
The filming and editing show great skill and an awareness of how and when to use jarring and "edgy" stuff **in order to serve the story and emotional arc** No flashy or pretentious "style for style's sake."
The short version of this all is: see this film. Not many other films (or songs, or paintings, etc.) have captured what "Now You See Me" captures. It is brave and true.
It's so potent that I can't imagine many people wanting to watch it several times - probably just twice in order to appreciate how they put everything together. This is the kind of movie that still delivers an emotional punch (right to the gut) when you think about it days (weeks? months?) later. The performances are subtle, nuanced, and powerful - very believable for this situation.
The filming and editing show great skill and an awareness of how and when to use jarring and "edgy" stuff **in order to serve the story and emotional arc** No flashy or pretentious "style for style's sake."
The short version of this all is: see this film. Not many other films (or songs, or paintings, etc.) have captured what "Now You See Me" captures. It is brave and true.
- ambassadortex
- Oct 22, 2006
- Permalink