Narcosis

I never leave a review, but with this film I have to. It really did blow my mind. It is such a romantic, comforting, lovely and cinematic piece of work. If you thinkl the acting is superb (which it is) you should listen to the music. Both very atmospheric and at times almost bombastic (is this a word?) but always serving the story and the emotional core of the characters. Everything works perfectly in this film, and the second part brought me to tears (and the rest of the theatre too) while the ending is even more perfect. I really like to watch Dutch films, buit this one really stood out. It is amazing that this is a debut. The director is on top of his game, and I am looking forward to his next work. I hope they win an Oscar. The really deserve it.

Unless you love whatching Thekla a lot in close up, unless you like long silences, unless you like that every scènes bottom line is 'we miss John very much', unless you don't like dialogues, Narcosis is quite a good movie. For me it was too much of the same over and over again. The bottom line was too much leading in the movie. More variations in dialogs, plotcontent, filmshots, lighting, music would be very welcome to me. Why were the characters displayed quite dark and not so colorful? I thought the movie (I heared a radio interview with the filmmaker) would be comforting when dealing with a personal loss, but those expectations weren't met for me. The constant worrisome attitude of the characters did not help.

Narcosis starts with an interesting premise, exploring grief and loss. The underwater scenes and desolate landscapes are visually stunning, and at times it's engaging to watch the characters' internal conflicts.

The pacing is quite slow, and the narrative sometimes feels fragmented, with shifts between past and present that can be disjointed. The emotional depth of the story doesn't resonate as strongly as expected, and the meditative tone occasionally borders on monotonous. After all the visual beauty and dramatic setup, I personally felt underwhelmed.

In short: Visually captivating and creatively ambitious, but the pacing and emotional impact leave something to be desired.

Rating: 4/10.

Watched the movie in Leiden, and everyone around me was silent and sobbing. So beautifully done. Haven't seen such a beautiful film in a long time. Actors are totally believable, nowhere too much or too little. Camera is brilliant work, location of the house is great and super romantic, and at the same time everything about the house reminds you of John (the father). The pain of his loss is shown in three totally different ways. All three of them, the mother and her children, grieve in totally different ways, which makes it so relatable for everyone. Can we also hand out a a Golden Calf to these two chldren?

Thank you makers for this wonderful piece of film. Top.

I saw the story line and I thought it would be a good movie . However the acting was very bad , actors talking in a movie like in theater reciting Shakespeare except it's no poetry and every day dialogues. It so surreal that the time you realize it's fake. The soundtrack try to reinforce the simulacra of emotion and then I could not find any empathy for the mother even if it's a drama. The filming , the dynamic or more the lack of it , the cheap dialogues make you want to leave the screening. Lot of scenes should been retaken because of the bad acting . It's a pity .A waste of time and money. I would skip.