Used and Borrowed Time

A flawless movie with a deep heart touching story.

Great casting, excellent acting, and over the top directing.

This is a great mix, and the artistic style makes the film memorable.

Reminds me of Federico Fellini movies.

"Used and Borrowed Time" shows that repentance haunts us as individuals throughout our lives if the guilt we carry is not properly faced. Even though we can somehow choose our regrets, there are some aspects in life that the unconscious never overcomes, even when we think we consciously get over these issues. Through the scenery and introduction of the characters, the plot may not be evident at first, but the screenwriter gives us hints about what we need to be aware of before the opening of the actual story. Beginning in present day New York, in one of the most inclusively diverse states, we somehow end up with its doppelganger-dark twin-, Alabama of 1960's, where the plot takes form and shows us the difficulties and penances that occurred during that period through the eyes of an unfortunate encounter of a youthful loving couple-both from different strata of society- at the mercy of a "God-loving" disruptive White family. In effect, both sides of the parties suffer as the victims of the White family's beliefs-mutually, the young couple and the fearful God's family. This film showcases ingenuity and scrutiny in the details that the untrained audience can easily overlook, yet still successfully delivers the author's message while maintaining tension and leaving the audience to question how the story might end after each episode.

The sponsoring producer of this singular cinematic work is a council of the Avant-Garde which is strangely appropriate for a film that borrows heavily from both Fellini and Tarantino. The former because every frame is literally decorated with visual madness and the latter because the dialogue is designed to shock audiences out of their chairs with imagery that runs amok and taste that frequently visits the gutter of modern America.

If you are still with me, I can report that the plot is really only a canvas for the artist to apply her colorful brushstrokes of character and setting. We have an eclectic musical combo as a recurring element placed respectfully front and center in the mix while the action swirls about them like some mad tea party in the woods.

I gave this tour-de-force a rating of "6" because, after the first episode, I needed to take a mental break from the mash-up shenanigans of societal pressures foisted upon my brain. When I am ready for more in-your-face schooling, then I may return but, be fore-warned, binge watching is highly discouraged.

The movie "Used and Borrowed Time", unmasks the core of the Alabama mindset of the 60's and depicts the key issues of that society. The writer and director opened up the Pandora box of fears, unleashing desire, and the basic need of being loved. The abundant dialogue enriched the soul of all of the characters, expressing their complexity of beliefs and the intricacies of their life choices. Although it is a long film, it is only with a keen understanding of the timeline of the events as lived by the main character, Eva, can we deeply feel that her open wounds must be torn open again to accept and come to terms with her fate. The actors are amazing, exhibiting a love-hate relationship toward their own characters. It is obvious that it is painful to revisit the historical plagues of America, and to discuss these topics today. The director served as the voice for those who are afraid to speak about these terrifying scenarios even to this day. I feel that the director has done an excellent job of portraying a slice of truth from the past.

The film does a brilliant job of bringing to light the hypocrisy and blatant racism that plagued Alabama in the 1960's, while touching on how racism was/is not exclusively between whites and blacks but rather transcending the color of peoples skin as well as their religion, the way in which the main character is transported to/from the past underscores the inescapable fact the struggle remains very real to this day.