5 reviews
I think I enjoyed "The Souvenir Part II" even more than the first installment. I didn't actually enjoy the first one much while in the act of watching it, and it wasn't until days later, when I realized I couldn't stop thinking about it, that its specialness hit home. But it's still a frustrating experience to watch an entire movie about a woman letting a man treat her badly for two hours, even if that experience is a common one in the real world.
It's not really a spoiler to reveal that the man has died before the second episode begins, and that this film focuses on our heroine's attempts to work through her grief and insecurities by directing a student film. "The Souvenir Part II" is much more meta than the first one, and it's much more about the process of making a movie, which I find fascinating. This is one of the best movies about making movies I've ever seen. Think of it as a "Day for Night" for a student filmmaker.
Will there be a "Souvenir Part III?" If there is, count me in.
Grade: A.
It's not really a spoiler to reveal that the man has died before the second episode begins, and that this film focuses on our heroine's attempts to work through her grief and insecurities by directing a student film. "The Souvenir Part II" is much more meta than the first one, and it's much more about the process of making a movie, which I find fascinating. This is one of the best movies about making movies I've ever seen. Think of it as a "Day for Night" for a student filmmaker.
Will there be a "Souvenir Part III?" If there is, count me in.
Grade: A.
- evanston_dad
- Jul 5, 2022
- Permalink
It seriously threatened to take the first spot on my list of the best films of 2021. Unbelievable! I didn't receive well the first film because I think I wasn't prepared for it when I saw it, and that is - I have to rewatch it, but that's an incredibly challenging film. In this one, you can get aboard trouble-free. And I'm not saying this is a more conventional film. It's not. Hogg managed to "reach out" to the viewer (at least to me) smoothly this time around while at the same time preserving the same confident, sumptuous directing style she displayed in the first film. Where the two films differ quite a bit is the writing. Here, there's a good deal of dialogue. Characters express themselves a lot, whereas, in the first film, you have to drain your intuition empty to understand what's going on; what's the motivation behind the characters' actions. And while I think that's what Hogg intended with the first film, and it wasn't an anomaly of the movie, I have to admit I didn't get along with it. Anyway, the rewatch is on the way, so I'll settle the score with the first film shortly.
Back to Part II, I loved it! There's a peaceful vibe that's so welcoming naive with its brute honesty yet disarming with its gentle way of coming to meet us. Honor Swinton gives a nuanced performance, fully embracing the pure nature of her character. And her performance gets even better and more genuine, almost unselfconscious when she's acting alongside Tilda. Double-Swinton powerhouse! Here, Hogg showcases a bit of her humor through my favorite character in the film: Patrick. I love hysteric characters, and this guy was my poison. - "You're forcing me to have a tantrum." I yelp-laughed at that. He almost ruined the rest of the movie for me because, after the scene where the line above takes place, I was in such a hurry for the film to end so I could go back and watch the scene on loop. Anyway, 'The Souvenir, Part II' is such a rich film. And it's this richness that allows for it to connect with everyone. I think everyone would find a piece in it they will relate to if they let themself reminisce in Hogg's confessional cinematics.
Back to Part II, I loved it! There's a peaceful vibe that's so welcoming naive with its brute honesty yet disarming with its gentle way of coming to meet us. Honor Swinton gives a nuanced performance, fully embracing the pure nature of her character. And her performance gets even better and more genuine, almost unselfconscious when she's acting alongside Tilda. Double-Swinton powerhouse! Here, Hogg showcases a bit of her humor through my favorite character in the film: Patrick. I love hysteric characters, and this guy was my poison. - "You're forcing me to have a tantrum." I yelp-laughed at that. He almost ruined the rest of the movie for me because, after the scene where the line above takes place, I was in such a hurry for the film to end so I could go back and watch the scene on loop. Anyway, 'The Souvenir, Part II' is such a rich film. And it's this richness that allows for it to connect with everyone. I think everyone would find a piece in it they will relate to if they let themself reminisce in Hogg's confessional cinematics.
- shabanavdulaj
- Mar 23, 2022
- Permalink
Normally, I differ taking notes while watching a movie since I prefer to analyze them from a fresh point of view, remembering only what comes to mind at the moment. It's an exercise in which I've gotten used to remembering more of a movie everytime, which is why it felt quite exotic to do it in this one. A part of me feels glad I did it, because I feel like it analyzes the way I was processing the film quite well:
1. Joanna Hogg is pretty good at directing, but always, in all her scenes, something seems to need polishing (sound, lighting, even certain frames are missing).
2. The trailer is SO misleading.
3. It's up to the first 30 minutes that they show us a plot point that doesn't relate to the first installment. Until those 30 minutes, the plot remains STATIC.
From this moment on, I begin to remember that the purpose of cinema is not to be pleasant. In fact, many times, it is anything but.
4. The quite meta aspect of the film I think perfectly conveys the intentions of the first part. It makes me think that everything I'm writing in here is part of what is being criticized.
Spoiler alert: yes it was.
5. It just takes too long to develop that idea. Enough to make you wonder why it's divided into 2 parts, when it couldn't have possibly had the same impact if it wasn't.
6. It's criticizing the way filmmakers, especially aspiring ones, don't have that freedom to tell a story like people would think they do. And the lack of support to be able to land their ideas, due to the fact that they have a great lack of experience.
Even if there is initiative from people to understand the story they want to tell, this film shows that we will never get the true feeling that it evokes from the director as long as we are third parties.
7. The first film shows the lack of understanding of the people towards the story, this part tells that same lack of understanding, but at the moment of telling it.
8. Leads me to believe that it bends the rules in the beginning to make that point of view known. I don't fully understand if that decision works for me per se, but at least I can say I do understand it.
Second spoiler alert: it ended up working almost perfectly.
It's funny to think that both installments of The Souvenir opened my eyes in such different ways about the form and narratives you want to tell when making films. This itself just goes to show how detailed Joanna Hogg's direction is. You understand why there are two films, the reason behind the lines of entire scenes that seem to deliver nothing. These are things that, when you see them unfold on screen, do not stop conjuring rejection, for the same aspect of which we have cataloged films as "bad" or "good". When it comes to telling why, we have created an automated and repetitive mechanism that is only called to action when criticizing something. This film is an attempt, one of the most successful I've seen lately, to make us open our eyes.
The truth is, I needed this. I needed a movie to silence my criticism and make me reconsider. It is an extremely particular feeling that I think I will never neglect.
1. Joanna Hogg is pretty good at directing, but always, in all her scenes, something seems to need polishing (sound, lighting, even certain frames are missing).
2. The trailer is SO misleading.
3. It's up to the first 30 minutes that they show us a plot point that doesn't relate to the first installment. Until those 30 minutes, the plot remains STATIC.
From this moment on, I begin to remember that the purpose of cinema is not to be pleasant. In fact, many times, it is anything but.
4. The quite meta aspect of the film I think perfectly conveys the intentions of the first part. It makes me think that everything I'm writing in here is part of what is being criticized.
Spoiler alert: yes it was.
5. It just takes too long to develop that idea. Enough to make you wonder why it's divided into 2 parts, when it couldn't have possibly had the same impact if it wasn't.
6. It's criticizing the way filmmakers, especially aspiring ones, don't have that freedom to tell a story like people would think they do. And the lack of support to be able to land their ideas, due to the fact that they have a great lack of experience.
Even if there is initiative from people to understand the story they want to tell, this film shows that we will never get the true feeling that it evokes from the director as long as we are third parties.
7. The first film shows the lack of understanding of the people towards the story, this part tells that same lack of understanding, but at the moment of telling it.
8. Leads me to believe that it bends the rules in the beginning to make that point of view known. I don't fully understand if that decision works for me per se, but at least I can say I do understand it.
Second spoiler alert: it ended up working almost perfectly.
It's funny to think that both installments of The Souvenir opened my eyes in such different ways about the form and narratives you want to tell when making films. This itself just goes to show how detailed Joanna Hogg's direction is. You understand why there are two films, the reason behind the lines of entire scenes that seem to deliver nothing. These are things that, when you see them unfold on screen, do not stop conjuring rejection, for the same aspect of which we have cataloged films as "bad" or "good". When it comes to telling why, we have created an automated and repetitive mechanism that is only called to action when criticizing something. This film is an attempt, one of the most successful I've seen lately, to make us open our eyes.
The truth is, I needed this. I needed a movie to silence my criticism and make me reconsider. It is an extremely particular feeling that I think I will never neglect.
- alejandroalcantara_
- Mar 11, 2022
- Permalink
The first Souvenir film might have left you devastated. The second one leaves you chastened, but also hopeful. Still grieving over the death of her troubled boyfriend, a young film student discovers a new angle in her filmmaking repertoire and turns it toward her final project in order to graduate, much to the dismay of her instructors. She puts all her heart and soul into making this film, even when there's discord and frustration among her cast and crew.
Some might regard the film's conclusion as meandering or puzzling, but I actually think it rescues the film from a mediocre finish and instead chooses to bend the line between life and an artist's vision. More to the point, it underscores the hard-earned journey from loss to grieving to renewal. Our protagonist suffered a tragic loss, but in the end, is still young and starts to look at everything that lies ahead. It's about finding the strength within oneself to finally move on. It's a tantalizing second chapter and a flawless way to follow up. Grandly recommended.
Some might regard the film's conclusion as meandering or puzzling, but I actually think it rescues the film from a mediocre finish and instead chooses to bend the line between life and an artist's vision. More to the point, it underscores the hard-earned journey from loss to grieving to renewal. Our protagonist suffered a tragic loss, but in the end, is still young and starts to look at everything that lies ahead. It's about finding the strength within oneself to finally move on. It's a tantalizing second chapter and a flawless way to follow up. Grandly recommended.
- BadRoosevelt
- Mar 16, 2024
- Permalink
Extraordinary second part of this fabulous diptych that is Souvenir. If the first one presented the characters, the conflict and its "resolution", the second one explores the delicate grieving process and its way out through creativity and film making. There are possibly very few active filmmakers as sensitive as Joanna Hogg. And, of course, her great find is the fabulous interpreter she found to portray what we assume is her own life experience. Metacine for glory (the film within the film reminded me those wonderful cinematic pieces signed by Powell/Pressburguer) . One of the best films of 2022.