My Blueberry Nights

The film is all about mood. If you are not in it, you will not like the movie. My recommendation is to watch it at night, in bed, with no worries on your mind or things to do. It is not something really great, but it soothes the soul like one of those old road books.

The story itself is more of a three parter, each section detailing a mindset and the situations that define it. You see the hopeless romantic, the one person who let the other inside instead of just sticking to the outside, and for whom losing the other is worst than death; then there is the rebellious daughter that loves and hates her father until it's to late to do anything either way; and of course, the story of Nora Joneses and Jude Law's characters.

Bottom line: lay comfy in your bed and listen to the slow rhythms of the music while digesting the human nature presented in the film. In the end it is worth watching.

Movie Review: My Blueberry Nights (2008) By Ken Lee

The filmic language of this film is unmistakably WKW, and it won't be wrong for one to say it's reminiscent of his earlier works, chief of which, "Chungking Express"; but it doesn't surpass past achievements, and does not bring us to the "next level", figuratively speaking.

A sentiment that may at once appears to be a bit too harsh, necessarily, this may be. But we do come to expect more from WKW, almost a master, in this age of ours.

Weak plot aside, this film benefits from some truly wonderful (supporting) casts throughout, especially from David Strathairn and Rachel Weisz, except for the most important - the ingénue character that Norah portrays. Symptomatic of this problem is, despite limited screen time together, one can't help wanting to find out more about the Katya character, who seems to share more on screen chemistry with Jeremy (Jude Law) in that cameo, and their past relationship seems a very promising spin-off, in its own right.

And if a post-modern pastiche can be made unto this film, imagine if it's the doll eye Faye Wong (of Chungking Express' fame) with Jude Law in this film...

Ten minutes into the film, when the "Yumeiji theme" (in harmonica) used so prevalently in "In the Mood for Love" was played in the background, I was almost teary eyes. This is one for WKW's fans, even if it's not for the ages.

A young woman, getting over a relationship, travels across America to earn money and see the country.

I found this to be hypnotic, soothing experience, much like In The Mood For Love. It really does set up an atmosphere that makes you feel like you're really there. I think it's a pretty hollow film, which has turned a lot of people off, but i think there's enough there on the surface. I think the film looked great - the colors and charming set design. Jones was pretty decent, Kar Wai wisely filling the film with interesting characters/actors so she doesn't have to carry the whole film. Natalie Portman seems a little miscast (she looks barely a day over 20 so i don't know why she plays characters out of her depth), but i found Strathairn and Rachel Weisz heartbreaking and Law hasn't been so appealing in years. A nice surprise considering my low expectations.

This was a smart sweet movie. Very nicely done with some beautiful scenes! Majestic pictures really. And it had a nice story and some good characters with great performances specially by Rachel Weisz and Strathairn! It had good witty dialogs and had some funny moments. It's one of those movies that has everything to be good. Never Amazing, never something out of this world, but good! Makes you feel good after wards! But because of the editing and the great shots, this movie could have been far better than the average sweet smart movie.

The main reason why it's just good is because of the lead actress which was Norah Jones. And I'm very sorry to say she didn't convince me at all. It even became annoying at some points! And since she is narrating some bits and appearing in most of the movie.. it kinda ruined it a bit for me. It's really hard to comprehend why she was given the part. But if you can forget about her acting.. I think the movie is really good.

In one word: predictable. I'm sorry, I really did want to like this. After all, the Chinese Director - Wong Kar Wai – is famous in the world of independent World Cinema and this has been his long awaited first English language film. And of course the cast is both extremely beautiful and undeniably talented – just not at working opposite each other.

It has to be said: when Jude Law is good he's mind blowing, but when he's bad he's unwatchable. Unfortunately these days, more often then not, I cringe when he comes on the screen. It's such a shame, especially as he's so nice to look at, but rather then growing as an actor he seems to be becoming a caricature of himself. I mean, his character Jeremy is supposed to be a Mancuniann in New York – but he can't even pull that off believably! I was curious to see what Norah Jones would be like on the big screen. My verdict: stick to the singing. The first half an hour was painfully forced and not helped by Law's dry performance. It did get marginally better as Elizabeth (Jones' character) leaves Jeremy's blueberry pies behind and goes on a self-discovering journey across America, though this might be more due to a wonderful performance by her co-stars.

David Strathairn especially deserves recognition. His portrayal of alcoholic cop Arnie is superb. Unable to accept that his marriage to Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz) is over, he befriends Elizabeth when she takes on two waitressing jobs in his local bar and dinner. An argument with devastating results ensues, and we see Weisz at her best – ruthless and sexy yet vulnerable. Natalie Portman's performance as a crazy gambling addict is equally great, although her acting opposite Jones never felt comfortable.

Finally, Wai is renowned for his creative cinematography, and at least in that respect My Bluberry Nights didn't disappoint. Maybe if you watched this with the volume set on mute you'd see this as the masterpiece it's trying to be. But while tension can enhance a film, I felt like this was just full of confusion. Artistic indie flick or traditional Hollywood blockbuster? Well, neither really, just a lot of unnerving insecurity.

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