mattrochman

The Shape of Water (2017)

Unexpectedly interesting and original

I approached this film with a sense of scepticism and was happy to switch it off any moment I thought it was pretentious style over substance or became boring/strange/contrives. Though to my pleasant surprise, I became drawn into it and found it highly original.

It is set in the 1960s and certainly has a style and feel that is unique, but that didn't overshadow a rather curious storyline with fitting, well crafted dialogue that completed the picture, so to speak.

It is fair to say that it has a good dose of fantasy about it, but there is emotional depth to the relationships between all the characters; and while the concurrent subplots could arguably be far fetched, you do feel like you're in a really enjoyable suspension of disbelief, meaning that you don't find the need to stand back and pick out it's improbabilities. I was hesitant and being a best picture academy award winning film, I went in expecting something different to what I saw. I would watch again and would recommend, though it is an adult film!

Very good, great cinematography too and I was impressed. Honestly I think it's a fair winner of a best picture Oscar that year, though not one of the best films I ever seen. Just a great production from original material.

Glass Onion (2022)

Fun, well made, well acted sequel

Rian Johnson really has a knack for grabbing the audience early and taking us on an engaging journey.

Similar in feel to knives out, it was sheer cinematic fun and joy an escapism - something we need in these times!

Highly recommend, the acting of every single cast member was fantastic and the screenplay is well crafted.

Some minor things that didn't seem necessary or make much sense, like the mysterious thing shot into every guests mouth before boarding the boat, and this did add to the fairly lengthy running time, but minor quibbles. Really had a fun night out and unraveling the mystery piqued everyone's curiosity.

Love, Simon (2018)

Surprisingly excellent and revealing attitude shifts at the 2020 mark

I almost feel as though young teenagers should watch this film as a form of social education that derives from coming-of-age films.

Growing up the 1980s and 1990s, in my generation (X) our coming-of-age / high school films which shaped our perspectives were the usual suspects - the Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's, Dazed & Confused, Good Will Hunting all provided insights mixed with good story telling and humour.

This is the first big studio film where the main protagonist is gay, but had broad messaging for everyone about coming out to the world as your authentic self.

Despite the interjections of high school social media (some of which was concerning, but that's the modern world), it did seem that the era approaching 2020 is when high school kids don't seem to care if some of their classmates are gay and provide surprising support.

But the focus is the protagonist coming out and gives an insight into that journey that many young teenagers should be aware of - that it's a personal struggle for the individual in most cases and despite an amazing shift in attitudes, it is difficult for family to adjust in the early days, even if they are open minded.

The big sit down chat between Jennifer Garner and Nick Robinson was superb acting and scripting, and marked a high point that leaves a lasting impression.

It does have the "peachy perfect high school" cast and feel, sort of similar to American Pie I guess, but the character development is intense and the depth is surprising given the initial impressions from the first 2-3 minutes was that we're in for a happy shallow nothing film.

Is great to see that acceptance has really flowed into modern teenage attitudes as reflected in this film.

Very good watch, deserves its high rating here. I would watch it again and teenagers would indeed benefit from the insights and lessons of this movie in the modern era.

Tenet (2020)

To much complexity for a complex concept

Chris Nolan's wife said that Leonard DiCaprio made a very big contribution to the script from Inception. In a nutshell, it sounded like Leo found the original script to be too complex and confusing for the viewer, and helped them pull back to a script and series of scenes that the relatively intelligent audience member can understand, appreciate and enjoy.... even if somethings require a second watch or a long thought at dinner after the movie.

Tenet is a good example of no one picking up Nolan's script and not pulling it back and doing the same thing done with Inception.

Enough has been said about the sound issues with the film - definitely if you run it through a good home theatre system, the voices are under done while the background noise is massively overbearing.

But the main issue of this film is that it took a workable time-travel concept and added some unnecessary complexity to it. Further more, it ran a questionable plot with emotional dimensions and character motivational complexity that made things even more baffling, but for no great payoff or benefit in the end.

I do "get it" and appreciated Nolan taking on the challenge, but topping it all off with the temporal pincer move is really where the whole thing became way too complicated for the viewer to piece together on the first viewing.

I watched it 3 times and while the second time helped me clarify or correct my understanding of various elements, I actually decided the film was over done on the third viewing and lowered my opinion of it.

I'd love to write up what they should have done, but let's just say that the plot line need to be simpler so the focus on the temporal concepts were given better treatment.

Penguin Bloom (2020)

Brilliant, simple and emotional

This was a magnificent watch with some mindblowing performances and credible and compelling storytelling.

Moreover, it has this simplicity that makes the film realistic. We are somewhat dropped into a family that is dealing with the aftermath of tragedy, but with a human-emotion focus.

While some other scriptwriters may have chosen to focus on post-tragedy sporting achievements and overcoming adversity using a mix of emotional and practical standpoints, the scriptwriters here really focus on mental anguish, learning to cope and somehow trying to re-find hope. But at no point does it descend into Hollywood shmultz, instead keeping things totally realistic and down to earth.

It is a tear-jerker, so for viewers who are known to weep a little during films, this one my require at least a pocket pack of tissues.

I wished more films like this were made. The story, at the end of the day, is straightforward and for that reason, the viewer doesn't end up being sidetracked with bizarre or strangely complex subplots. But it says so much with so little. Even it's central metaphor may be fairly obvious, though I don't think films should be frowned upon for weaving subtlety and obscurity into its metaphoric dimensions.

Wonderful film for Australia too - and hopefully captures the eye of award bodies. Rachel House's performance was a striking aspect. Go see it.

Cobra Kai: King Cobra (2021)

The Jump-The-Shark episode

Cobra Kai seasons 1 and 2 were great. By episode 3 of this S3, I started to feel the plot was becoming a little too busy, too emotional and most of all, unbelievable. Ridiculous coincidences and character interactions started appearing which made me wonder where season 3 was ultimately headed.

In this episode, we start to see exactly what I feared: Migel would not start walking/standing again by the best surgeons in LA but by his alcoholic karate sensei and a harness hanging from the roof. Please...?

This was also the episode where they got Daniel (yet again) trying to shut down Cobra Kai, giving the feeling that they rebirthed parts of season 1 and 2.

It really became lame around this episode and from this point, the rest of season 3 becomes uninspired to watch. Particularly the changes in allegiances that occur all over the place and don't 100% make sense or feel remotely credible.

Not impressed and hold grave concerns for season 4.

Cobra Kai (2018)

Stop at end of season 2

The first two seasons were surprisingly entertaining and showed unexpected depth while throwing a spotlight on the modern world late teens grow up in. The karate was great too and reignited interest in the franchise 30 years later, something difficult to achieve.

But my god.... Season three is one giant jump the shark moment beyond belief. Ridiculous coincidences, shmultzy, badly scripted with characters constantly and non sensically switch sides, mixed in with rehashing of bits from season 2. Most of all, credibility of key plot points are ridiculous in season 3 and I'm almost inclined to stop watching to see what happens in season 4.

Damn shame. I'd give season 1 and 2 about 9 out of 10. Season 3 gets 3 out of 10, so my overall score is 7.

Do do watch season 1 and 2 if you haven't already. Then perhaps leave it there

1917 (2019)

Stunning cinematic masterpiece

Sorry to repeat something said by other reviewers: I'm not a great fan of war movies, though some I do like.

1917 was a breathtaking film. A lot can be said about the 'single shot' concept, but I would more say that the cinematography was a masterclass, the performances were remarkable by the entire cast and there was something so real and realistic about it all.

It deserves the best picture oscar as much as it deserves a place in movie history. Might not be one to watch twice, but the grit and realism combined seamlessly with top grade production qualities to deliver a film that turns a fairly straightforward and believable plot into a magnetic piece of cinematic history.

Knives Out (2019)

Ripping fun and engaging

This is quirky, funny, engaging, enjoyable and very well acted.

From the moment the film opened, I was hooked and it didn't let go for a second. One of the best films of the year, perfect balance of intrigue and humour and the performances were absolutely spot on. It's pure enjoyment.

I'm looking forward to watching this again and really recommend that everyone sees it. It should entertain everyone.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Manufactured, non-fitting conclusion rich with throwbacks and nods

Feels as though they didn't know how to pull together threads from the first two films and manufactured a conclusion that didn't quite seem to ring true. Such a shame because The Last Jedi was actually an interesting chapter that felt like it set the sequels up for an interesting conclusion.

The film had good action sequences and many parts were very engaging. However, the throwbacks and nods to previous star wars entries seemed endless. The funny chess-style game on the falcon with the Chewie, the "new hope" style bar, the x-wing covered in swampy weeds, .... etc.. It's almost like they cut and pasted lots of iconic visuals from preceding star wars and it really became obvious that they battled for originality to be frank about it. And bringing back Palpatine similarly lacked originality, particularly as a half force spirit thing that had been a puppet master all along.

The big battle at the end was utterly unsatisfying and introducing new 'force' powers over-cluttered things further.

The original star wars had patient story telling and character development that was a key ingredient. This is mostly absent with action substituting for words and a largely pointless story in the backbone. As for Finn and Poe, I really felt no connection with them in any of the episodes and the magic feels faded with this latest addition. I hope that this is the end of the Star Wars saga (aside from spin-offs which are fine).

I nonetheless give the film a 5 because the effects are good and most of the battle sequences are fun to watch.

Ad Astra (2019)

Shallow film attempting to be deep

This film is not worth seeing. It's long, it contains parts that could easily be left on the cutting room floor and featured this constant monologue from Pitt about personal relationships that became vacuous and dull.

There seemed to be this theme around psychological stability and a future where people's mental state is monitored ridiculously. If all this was supposed to add up to some deep insight, it never delivered to any degree and instead seemed to rehash an old concept of searching of intelligent life out in space compels a reflection on our own relationships and connections with others. Overall, this aspect of the film was constipated overall.

The ending of the film was a total let down and completely unsatisfying. To a large degree, the film was more boring than anything else and it never achieved high notes. Avoid this one, deserves a short run at the cinemas.

The Lion King (2019)

Pointless remake, strange average review score

This really was not worth making. The first one was a masterpiece, so the thinking behind a carbon copy with different performers and visuals is baffling.

I might be in the minority, but the stage show did little for me - a lame remake. Somehow this film gives me the same feeling.

when I flicked through hundreds of reviews on IMBD, I see that other reviewers are panning it beyond belief. How it is achieving an average score about 7 can only be explained by the number of people giving it an undeserving "10".

Awaiting more original content rather than remakes. Some classics should simply be left untouched. They could do a bonanza remake of Mary Poppins with unbelievable effects, but redoing a historical masterpiece is unnecessary - as is the case with the Lion King.

Lean on Pete (2017)

Magnificent and upsetting

Lean on Pete was an unexpected stroke of brilliance. The direction is spot on, characters and acting are sublime and there is a strong degree of engaging realism running through the film.

It is upsetting, in a sobering and ruminating. Definitely need to be in the mood to digest a lot about a young man in a massively difficult position that most of us cannot imagine as it delves into him dealing with depressing realities while in search for a positive figure in his life.

I thought it was magnificent cinema, rich with technique and character development without ever accidentally becoming over the top or peachy pie American at any point. Has left an indelible mark on me as a person and cinema lover.

Les Misérables (2012)

What a disappointment

Les Miserables in one of the best stage musicals ever made. Unfortunately, the transition to film on this occasion was poor and surprisingly, the cast was about 70% of the problem.

Val Jean should be a powerful voice that projects intensity and wisdom. Jackman was light-musical and it really didn't cut it....

Crowe was wooden and completely miscast. That's a part that a good actor could flesh out, but Rusty was complete underwhelming. His voice was nothing to write home about.

Marius, Enjorlas,... fairly weak when they should project a bit of power and substance. Anna Hathaway was OK, but the part of Fontine is strange. It does not feature in most of the show, yet often draws praise. Didn't deserve the Oscar.

The most dreadful aspect was the Thenardiers. Sasha and Helen BC had limitless opportunities to give a great injection of comic relief and really have fun with it. Instead, they ended up totally stale, uninspired and somewhat creepy. The actors almost skipped over (Rather than emphasize) their great lines.

In the end, this was a real disappointment for someone who was a big fan. Didn't even think much of the sets and staging. What they should have done is made a movie using a good ensemble cast built of Les Mis stage performers from around the world. Bringing in the big names actually backfired on this occasion.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Predictable and soppy European-based film made by Americans

Overall, this is a fairly poor film. The first half was moderately enjoyable, though it was easy to predict how things would unfold.

Once the main character gets a career break and heads to Paris (ie.. the second half of the film), it becomes bland, pointless and boring. In fact, at times I felt like two different films were made and joined together as it transitioned from a mildly amusing drama to a melodramatic vapid Hollywood drama.

Spielberg and Oprah were producers - Americans making a European film... Needless to say that it has some ridiculous touches as a result. For instance, the main character starts having wine with dinner ... in Paris .. to indicate that he's dulling his pain by turning to drinking. Laughable.

About 50 minutes of the last hour could (should) have been left on the cutting room floor. The love aspect of the film was totally predictable, though unconvincing. The "quickie" they have towards the end of the film was a truly eye-rolling addition.

Strangely it also fails as a foodie film. Aside from the overly predictable and silly "French with Indian influences" cuisine thing, there are flat out mistakes from anyone who knows a thing or two about French cooking. Hollandaise sauce is made with clarified butter, not oil. The latter is used to make mayonnaise. Furthermore, you would never take Hollandaise sauce on a picnic as the butter would solidify. One of many.

Nit picking aside, it's ultimately hard to identify where the film is a legitimate success and it's not recommended viewing!

Der kommer en dag (2016)

A harrowing film with brilliant performances

This is a sad film. The conclusion indicates that it was based on a number of orphanages in Denmark and you could sense that certain acts and situations arose from real life stories.

The actor playing the headmaster gave a powerhouse performance that swells the viewer with hatred and disdain for him. The sympathetic female teacher was also played with stunning dramatic effect. The two boys seemed fairly young, but managed to carry the intensity and sorrow of the film with amazing maturity and brilliant execution.

This is hardly a film for casual Friday night viewing. It is about two brothers who are sent to a home for boys because their very sick mother is unable to care for them. Within the home, they experience violent and cold abuse from both teachers and friends. It is so sad to think that such an era really existed (and probably still does in some parts of the world).

It's the sort of film that deserves critical acclaim and awards. The sorrow arising from the film will stay with me for some time.

Jason Bourne (2016)

Lame and rehashed plot snippets

This never really should have been made.

Apparently, Damon would never return to the Bourne series unless:

1) Greengrass was the director (with this dizzy inducing, silly frantic, hand-held camera work that makes it impossible to follow the action)

2) The script was good.

Well (1) was a bad idea and it failed on point (2).Why would Bourne have turned to a life of fist-fighting for money???

The plot was thin and pointless. But what's worse is that it rehashed a lot of things from the Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum.

• A leading female close to Bourne from the previous films is shot dead by a sniper early (Supremacy)
• A lady inside the CIA starts with trying to hunt down Bourne, but eventually understands and helps him out (Supremacy and Ultimatum)
• Unnecessary car chase at the end (Supremacy)
• Fight was the main opponent ends up with Bourne just managing to strangle him before being strangled himself (ultimatum). - Senior CIA director up to his ears in "it" (ultimatum) ....etc...

Any Questions for Ben? (2012)

A rather weak waddle through an interesting subject, with super funny credits scene

Any Questions for Ben does deal with an interesting subject: the changes in your thinking and approach to life that occurs as you approach 30.

However, there's a few problems with the production qualities of the film that generally lets it down. First, none of the actors look like they're in their late 20s. More like mid 30s and somehow that takes credibility out of it.

Second, they gave him the wrong job and life for someone having that late-20s crisis. He's dating models, attending leading social events, driving sports cars and living the dream. Someone in that position having some sort of existential crisis seems comically unbelievable. Almost seems like a whinging playboy at times.

Product placement was rich. Editing was snappy and dizzy. Pop rock music blasted in and out - and who on earth still does fade-to-black at the end of a scene?

The film was way too long. Lots of things could have been left on the cutting room floor. It was apparently expensive to make, yet there's a pointless indulgent skiing trip in New Zealand and an unnecessary trip to Yemen at the end.

The interplay between the characters was rather funny at times. The writers certainly have a good way of portraying awkward social situations and funny eccentricities in people we can relate to.

The most unusual thing about this film is that its only mildly amusing for the most part, the scene where he's been interviewed by customs when the credits roll is absolutely hysterical.

Arrival (2016)

Highly intellectual and brilliant film (explanation included)

This film is magnificent. It's is a real mind journey and don't be disheartened if you had trouble putting the pieces together immediately. I have included my explanation below.

Like the film Contact, this film examines the realistic questions and conundrums that humans would likely face if we made contact with an alien race. How would we communicate? What would be their purpose?.etc..

So yes - this is not anything like Independence Day. There are no alien craft with green lasers... thank god...

The intellectual aspects of the film are complex and they are handled in just the right way. They don't handhold and overtly explain everything, rather engaging the viewer to think about it and ponder deeps questions well after the film has ended.

A surprisingly grand film, great script, great film making, brilliant acting. Should be given at least an Oscar of two. It has made it into my top 10 favorite films of all times.

****MY EXPLANATION***** You know the expression "you never forget how to ride a bike?" That's because, when you hop on a bike after no doing it for years, your brain draws on memories of how to ride and how to balance from your past.

Well, by learning the alien language, the Louise gradually gained more clear insights into the future. You could call them 'flashforwards' but they are really memories from the future.

We only know time to be linear: past, present and future. You can draw on the past in the present. But in this film, the alien language gives you memories of the future that you can draw upon to use in the present. Yes this does raise a rather curious "time" paradox. But that's the gist of it. That's why she can draw on a future memory meeting the Chinese General and use it in the present. That's why she can also draw on the future book she will write explaining alien language so she can communicate with the black ink stuff in the present.

Like the name "Hannah" - understanding the alien language allowed her to read time forward and backwards. Imagine if you could write a sentence with both hands at the same time, each coming from the opposite direction and meeting in the middle. This line was said in the film and parallels the way aliens look at and deal with time. That's why their communications are complex (and symbolically circular rather than linear). It would seem that the ability to flashforward is explained in the film with "learning a new language rewires your brain and thinking."

The purpose of the future daughter who will get a terminal illness is dealing with fate. If we were able to flashforward (have future memories) would we change our decisions in the present? Wisely it doesn't answer this directly, but deals with it deeply. Something for the viewer to wonder on the way home, but also raises an interesting paradox in itself: Maybe she had memories of the future because that was never going to change her mind in the present. Perhaps that was the key to unlocking the ability or part of it.

One unexplained aspect: why did Ian (Renner) not also have flash forwards? Perhaps Louise was the only one truly capable of processing it in her mind.

The Revenant (2015)

Alejandro does it again

Alejandro G. Iñárritu .... Yet another film that is critically acclaimed for reasons that escape me.

All the hallmarks of his films are in this one: - It's overly long... Did I mention that it's too long? - The story is shallow and borders on non-existent - It's far-fetched (many other reviewers point out specific areas) - You find yourself thinking about whether to abandon the film half way through, but convince yourself to keep watching because it must either get better or something interesting is about to happen. But that fails to materialise.

The film making was pretentious in the extreme. Leo was good and it was refreshing to see him playing a different character. He seems to be the same character in most of his films. I don't think he deserves an Oscar (full stop) but this is probably one of his better performances. With that said, the role and the film itself was largely Oscar-bait.

Overall, it was very boring and lacked magic. It was very visceral, but I felt that it was trading substance for style. Don't bother, though it's not as bad as the dreadful 'Birdman.'

Truth (2015)

All the hallmarks of liberal filmaking

This film demonstrates a clear political bias - which is fine.

However, when the political bias reworks history and throws in rather questionable assertions to conform to a typical (liberal) narrative, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that it badly taints the film.

Most liberal hallmarks were covered:

1) The film bends the facts and jumps to highly questionable conclusions, yet the title includes (or is) the word "Truth."

2) The view that Republicans effectively manage the mainstream media and can force out journalists they don't like.

3) Liberal-bias in media is ignored, downplayed or regarded as sensible people simply giving the facts and truth.

4) Facts and scenarios significantly undermining their retelling of history are simply ignored or sidestepped - like the full history of the source of the documents.

5) Liberals who paid a price for their own sloppiness or wilfull blindness are touted as crusaders of truth (or martyrs as some have said).

Performances were reasonably good and that's where I gave it marks.

But the distortion of history goes way past any reasonable sense of 'poetic license' and while I'm not American, I recall the events covered in the film and it's clear that the makers of the film hoped out memories had faded significantly.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Overall, a fairly weak effort

I was going to give this film 4/10. However, way too many people clearly walked out of this film and gave it 10/10 on IMDb without proper objective assessment and were too caught up in the hype. One thing I can say for sure: this film should not be in the top 250 films of all time and should not have an overall rating of 8.6. To bring balance to the force, I'm going to slightly under-rate it.

On a positive note, the opening was fairly good and action scenes involve ships battling it out were fun. At times, shades of the original trilogy came through.

But what others say is very true. It's almost like they took the base story line of Episode 4 (A New Hope) and "reworked" it. What's worse is that they also seemed to have their version of the bar scene and as expected, it was like a Jim Henson eye candy festival of strange looking characters, some playing music. Both broadly and in the detail, there was a real over arching lack of creativity and too much revisiting of previous films.

There seemed to be a bit of conflict in the imagining of the new trilogy, as the writers wanted to preserve ties with the old, but roll in a new generation of heroes to push the story forward. Harrison Ford looked too old for playing Han Solo again and didn't add much to the film by being included in it. Leia seemed tired and weak overall. Luke Skywalker: well here's my big spoiler: I can't believe how much he was billed as a leading cast member, yet is in the film for about 90 seconds at the end and doesn't say a word.

I'm afraid that the lack of character development and patient story telling was obvious as well. Alec Guiness sitting down and recounting "before the empire... before the dark times" was part of the original Star Wars magic. With this film, it seemed that they tried to cram lots of action in for no good reason and this came at the expense of the audience learning more about the characters' backgrounds and recent history of their universe. Most characters seemed stressed and few had charisma.

After the dust settled on the initial reactions to this film, I saw a lot of people being very critical of it and I started to suspect that it might be like Attack of the Clones: initial reactions were big, but it was ultimately a forgettable Star Wars that one really doesn't bother re-watching. With this in mind, I'd have to say that it's better than I thought it would be.

But after all other criticisms, the big one that annoyed me was the implausibility and stupidity of the character's capabilities. Poe was able to jump into a tie fighter and outrun and out-gun experienced pilots. Rey suddenly knows how to do a Jedi mind trick and fight (and nearly defeat) Kylo in a light saber duel with no training. Finn was strangely able to land blows as well, when Kylo seemed powerful enough to Jedi choke them without a fight. And why exactly did he bother wearing a mask at times? I wouldn't really bother watching it again, but I felt it was just good enough to entice me into seeing the next one.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Pathetic and stupid film, dressed up as artistic and complex

This film truly was awful. I was keen to see it, but within 30 minutes, I debated whether I should turn it off or keep going. I chose the latter and it will be a decision I regret for some time.

Michael Keaton was fairly good, as was Ed Norton. But their characters were neither likable nor multi-faceted. Somehow this film feels like it would find favour amongst US actors who have been on the Broadway circuit and foolishly believe that there is such thing as a "New York state of mind." It tries to deal with some interesting themes - 'feelings of irrelevance as we age' being the main one. However it doesn't flesh it out enough and keeps interrupting itself with these stupid injections of his superhero character from yesteryear.

The only advice I have is this: if you feel like turning it off 30 mins in, go ahead and do so. It doesn't hit any great heights and is more-or-less the same style and feel the whole way through.

Before Sunset (2004)

Stunning - another snapshot of life in your 30s

Loved the first film and this second film was just as good. Surprisingly short, yet shot in 'real time', the acting is strong and the script is a magnificent piece of work.

Some may feel that this was more mature than the first film, but in ways, that's how it should be. The film is completely about two characters and the world around them is passingly incidental. However, years have gone by and they are now in their 30s, dealing with concepts of marriages and relationships that are running into difficulties and pondering questions of faithfulness to practicality vs daring pursuit of happiness... and perhaps fate.

Could not take my eyes off the film and the ending hits the mark perfectly. I particularly loved how the performances were top notch and natural, nothing went 'over the top' and the dialogue captures the spirit of the first film without trying hard to reproduce or 'go own better'.

Highly recommended and this "Before..." series is magic and moving, as is the scenery and direction. Surprised that it's an American production. Can't wait to see the final installment and Boyhood.

Before Sunrise (1995)

A simply brilliant snapshot of life at that age at that time

It's rare that I give a film 10 out of 10. I am one to regularly give films harsh reviews (even supposedly good ones).

This was simply captivating cinema and I'm strangely annoyed that I hadn't seen it sooner.

It's not about the story. It's about the people in it. The acting is brilliantly natural and I couldn't help by look back at my times of my early 20s, where your eyes are opening to the realities of life and the world, holding onto optimism, coming to grips with the concept of love, dealing with disappointment and resentment, social awkwardness; and contemplating ones own mortality.

These things form the basis of many conversations throughout the film as two travelers almost "suspend reality" while they fall in love over night, then grapple with it all ending at sunrise. There is this magnificent line when Ethan Hawke said "we're back in real time" which evokes strong memories of magical European nights that you never wanted to end and time feels like it stops.

It moved me deeply, but not in a depressing way. It simply stirred a lot of reflection on the past and the way we all were once upon a time. For those who have traveled to Europe and had many random nights, this provides so many snapshots that you will be able to related to.

Best of all, it didn't fall into mushiness and become a sloppy Hollywood love film with a happy ending. It was a deep, but totally realistic, well made film, with great scenic contrast and mesmerizing direction. I can't recommend this enough and look forward to the sequels.