pedgarshannon

I have to admit being mesmerized yet perplexed by this film. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but I found all the characters to be dull, witless, zombies. Both story lines contain long scenes of people just sitting around with vapid expressions on their faces. What's with that? What was the film maker trying to convey?

The two story lines seem to have no meaningful connection. The train ride serves as a kind of lead-in to the rural farm story (which takes places a few months prior). But the drama of the farm family ends on an ambiguous note with no apparent connection to the train ride, (other than the conceit that the story was supposedly being related by one of the passengers). The train ride segment then resumes, inexplicably, and also ends on a meaningless note. I am left scratching my head in confusion.

That said, the visuals in this film are engrossing, and the glimpses into rural Indian life during the 80's are fascinating. I just wish the story(s) made some sense.

The film seems to lack a dramatic structure in favor of mood and visuals. All the same, I enjoyed it and I recommend the experience.

If you require lots of noise, mindless action, car chases, impossible jumps, and shoot-'em-ups with infinite ammo, this movie is not for you. If you have the attention span of a child, this movie is not for you. If you don't like to think about philosophical questions, this movie is not for you. But if you like languorous, elegiac, and introspective movies, and if you like thought-provoking but disconcerting projections of current technological trends, then this will be just your cup of tea: it's Terrence Malick meets Black Mirror.

Several other reviewers have remarked how this film seems to be lacking any real visceral punch that one would expect from a movie about the Holocaust. When I finished watching it, my reaction was, indeed, "meh".

This is no Sophie's Choice, no Pianist, no Schindler's List, no Defiance, no Triumph of the Spirit, no Pawnbroker. The necessary elements seem to be present, but the chemistry is lacking. And I discovered the reason: an excess of estrogen.

It was the "making of" featurette that revealed the cause: this movie was made by women--- producers, writers, director--- and it shows. The featurette even proclaims that the story is told from a "feminine" point of view. The star herself opines that "to be a hero, you don't have to fight and kill; you can be a hero with compassion".

Well, yes, that's certainly true. So just be aware of what you're getting here... it's a chick flick. And a rather interesting study in that regard, from a film-making perspective. But... "meh"....