thebeachlife

Bird is a great movie that wonderfully takes the theme of magic and the idea of superpowers in an unusual context. Andrea Arnold brings this idea to the place that, as we might wrongly believe, is devoid of magic, where the toughest and the most miserable abide. Where addiction, delusion, violence and constant falling into pregnancy are main and prevailing. A place that desperately needs some magic. A place where magic eventually happens and it makes our hearts smile.

Superb photography, masterful acting, excellent sound from Burial. Highly recommended for everyone who genuinely loves cinema!

A literature teacher returns to Iran after the revolution in 1979 and with her own eyes, which get wetter and wetter as the film goes on, sees the changes that happen in her beautiful country and how women suffer injustice, violence, and some of them are violently raped and executed. It looks unbearable but she stays and even continues to teach this banned Western literature in secret. Her story is heartbreaking, and with her eyes we see other stories and broken lives; but what is even more important is that maybe, hopefully, in the future the people of Iran will be able to watch this. As part of their history. As part of their troubled past.

The film is named after a primary school pupil Armand whose mother Elizabeth is invited to the school with regard to the incident that happened between Armand and another pupil. The other pupil's parents appear as well, and little by little we discover what happened, or, to be more exact, we discover that the whole story is confusing and extremely complex. The genre is dancing between a drama (yes, at times it seems overly dramatic), a thriller, a detective story and even a musical. There are various cinematic ideas used really curiously to show moments of helplessness, confusion or fear. All in all, the film ends leaving us with more questions than answers. I'd definitely recommend this one to everyone who likes experimental cinema.