CineasteNorth

A cinematic achievement. Gorgeously shot in rich colors so saturated you feel like you can touch them. The performances are all standout -- atrue ensemble. But the honors here go to Ryan Coogler who achieved the telling of a vampire tale in a new vein, one that shocks and awes in ways you don't expect. Sexy, dangerous, heartbreaking and ultimately transcendent. The script crackles with memorable dialouge. The music is hypnotizing, and elevates the story beyond a mere vampire tale. It's not a musical but there is a lot of music for a vampire movie. It's a spectacular score that carries the film forward. The time travelling musical montage in the centre of the film alone, deserves special note. (you'll know when it happens) A someone who is not usually drawn to this genre of films, I was quickly caught up in all of it. I've watched it four times this year, and could easily sit down for a fifth helping. It's that good. I hope this film delivers to Ryan Coogler and the cast all the honors it deserves.

Absolutely riveting. The slow quiet pace takes a minute to get accustomed to. I think it enhances the main point of the film. The heart of the love story is when the two main characters, who have fallen rapidly and deeply in love with each other, embark on a trip to document folk music in small towns and villages in Maine. This part of the film is its beating heart -- the unbridled joy between two people who are madly in love and who share a passion. Music.

Their separation from each other for various reasons, is the heartbreak that follows the passion. Secrets are slowly revealed. Those secrets come in waves; at first years and then decades later, unravelling a tale of the burning embers of a true love that cannot be extinguished. The performances are excellent and the cinematography is award worthy, traveling from the bleak landscape of Kentucky, to the splendours of Rome and London between the world wars.

Some people never recover from the passionate intensity of their first true love; some people are devoured by the longing for it, afterwards. An absolutely stunning film.

I've never seen any of Oscar Hermanus' films, but this one made me want to seek out all of them.

Consistent observational humour delivered at breakneck speed. If you like your comedy BPM at 120 or higher, this high octane comedian will have you in stitches.