Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000

John Berger is perhaps my favorite novelist and clearly this script is another of his fine works. The cinematography is exquisite. We should all be thankful for (and watch more) films such as this one that manage to avoid the all too familiar and successful models from which Hollywood refuses to deviate.

This movie may seem an essay on political realities of 70's, but in fact it's so much more. It's like a flower blooming, I enjoyed every moment of it - because it's about life, and eternal questions, and existence. Seventies were a golden age of cinema, I believe - not as naive as sixties already, not yet too commercialised as eighties. Directors had an opportunity of discussing profound questions, and taking their time to do it. The movie is not a bit outdated, and it never will. Tanner is a genius of drawing a picture of ordinary people everyday lives, through which an eternal light shines. It's true to the core - a real art. A movie that makes you better.

I first saw this film when it was new. When I saw the title in a local video store, I couldn't resist the chance to see it again on the eve of Jonah's 25th birthday. Some of the political rhetoric is dated, but in some ways it's amazing how little has changed. The film is in some ways about taking stock of one's life. And seeing it twice, almost 25 years apart, certainly helped me to do that.

This movie elegantly captures the zeitgeist of ca 1975, seen through individual lives of some Genevans who in minor ways attempt to keep the sparkle of rebellion alive while their dreams from 1968 fade away, facing the reality of the 1970s. Its blend of tongue-in-cheek comedy and melancholy sadness makes it impossible to forget once you've seen it.

Nice, small, intellectual film that criticizes the political system of its time. Even though the situation hasn't changed much yet. It even more criticizes the consumer society and economy for its lack of humanity. It makes clear, that the government has complete control over the masses, over me and over you - we have nothing.

Economy is going to eat itself up until chaos will rule again and nobody has control anymore.

The characters in the film try to change something, but it seems to go nowhere. They have good intentions, but simply lack the power. Just as these characters, we also get suppressed by our government. This film is not just about Switzerland of France. It's about democracy and free market economy. The film can make people realize how hopeless our existence is. How decadent our lives are...

Watching this film certainly isn't a waste of time. If you like your films a little more ambitious, it doesn't fail to entertain. And even if you can't begin "doing" anything with its message, the film is full of interesting facts about society and simply about the way it is.

9/10 for a smart, critical film that is able to change opinions and views.

PS: If you ask yourself whether you should watch it on TV today, or not...DON'T MISS IT! BECOME SOMEONE ELSE!