Dina

I watched this movie today and I was positively surprised. This movie was documentary packed, but still tasteful and fun to watch. I haven't seen the prequel and still enjoyed this movie a lot. If you want to see a good movie with comedy, this is a must watch!

Dina reaches for a stranger's hand, unaware of the social constructs that have ruled this action taboo. She's a woman that overflows with honesty and is incapable of deceit. Grasping the assistant's hand, Dina compassionately squeezes, knowing that a drill in her mouth pales in comparison to the blades of her past.

After far too long, Dina has chosen to marry again. Scott is the most personable Walmart employee in town, and has an obsession for his sports teams and Evanescence. Dina's vice is plush toys the Kardashians. Together they only share interest in one another.

Scott's ESPN app chimes audible tension as Dina sighs at her scatterbrained finance. Dina's not-so-subtle seductions fly clear over Scott's head, but it is impossible to scold his density. The truth is that Scott's confidence has always been in limited supply, while Dina has floated to the surface of hell.

Scott tells Dina that he would be dead if he had lived her life. They are trying to savage their remaining years, but childlike innocence might clog their engines. Terrors of Dina's past spill out of her mouth, but the faucet of exposition is throttled to perfection by the filmmakers.

Love hands out second chances, and patience does not always appear kind. The complexities of joining grow more compelling when the subjects are honest to a fault. Life becomes more the television programming, evolving into terrible foot massages and onomatopoeic kisses.

Dina offers the intangible "perspective". She becomes irritated, but always for appropriate reasons. More so, she articulates her frustrations openly. This skill has been pushed into the recesses of human expression. Peering into Dina's struggles and triumphs inspire a straight-forward, authentic approach to living, one that looks a little funny, but the laughter fills the gashes.

Where to start? The colors were very pale pastels in a fog. The filming of many talking heads scenes was done at a distance so no heads or mouths talking were seen and I could not understand what was being said. I did not understand the point of the movie at all. I could not finish watching it as it was so annoying director wise.

I am always grateful to find non-mainstream movies that appeal to my off-the-beaten-path taste and Dina now tops my list. What a wonderful, beautifully told story. Everything about this movie appeals to me from the story to the snippets of daily life to the challenges and successes. Lovely and worth watching again and again.

The filmmaker's ability to take such intimate, personal scenes and tell such a powerful story truly honors these two people. If you are empathetic with those who are challenged and struggle to find meaningful relationships I think it would be hard to not be quickly drawn in to this story. Dina has had significant life experience - Scott's world has been much more limited. But his love of Dina and his wish to succeed in this marriage won me over repeatedly. Dina was surprising in her ability to articulate what she needed from Scott. His appreciation of Dina's past said so much about his character. Dina's accident was revealed in such a stark and stunning manner. This is not a commercial film but I hope it continues to find an audience. This is the most moving film I've seen in decades.