zenn_mind

The movie provides a safety of anonymity over its characters by never giving away the location of the setting, an isolated dream taking place beyond the pale of society with its own mechanism, but sometimes a lucid dream gives life to what is kept in the deep hollows of the collective consciousness.

Alexander, a young boy of sensibility, lives among a community of children and women overseen by just one man, Gregori. The film documents the manipulation that takes place as the group exist to function for a cause of its own and juxtaposes the fanaticism, of a controlled and ultimately an abusive nature, with the open wonder of the innocence of childhood.

The mechanisms of Oedipal crisis is at work and Alexander opens his eyes to the world around him, made significant with the arrival of a baby brother. However, the much debated theme, commonly based on the Freudian concept of repressed sexuality, makes its transition much quicker to the stages of puberty and adulthood as the boy begins to realize his actions must now carry the consequences of social responsibility, or the lack thereof.

The film ends abruptly to prevent something really serious from happening. Instead, it leaves us on a poignant note of a scene, reminding us of Ezekiel 25:17, with boy Alexander emanating a plea for deliverance through his being as he stares down the only responsible man in his eyes.

Dream-like, painstaking and most certainly a unique film experience that's put the young director on my radar.

Men's lifestyle and luxury magazine rolled into one and made into a movie, the product placement and formulaic cinematography works as a sedative that sets the tone of the movie throughout, in danger of falling asleep.

We don't really wake up until 2/3 of the way in with restrained James facing torture by painful methods but by this stage the film has taken too long to set the pieces in motion, a story that struggles to link the villains of the past to the current plot which is just as good for an excuse to make one slick looking film.

The dilemma may be an existential one for James. Death follows wherever he goes, it's just part of the job, and the women manage to fall easily onto his lap . But has he ever thought about retiring or getting a different job? The thought may have crossed his mind between the shenanigans in his moment of inner silence to realise that the bling and the blood won't save him for being without a plan. Deep thoughts, but when you are this good at portraying the modern lifestyle the question may as well remain a rhetorical one. It's not that Bond has nothing to say, he just prefers not to.

Predestination forms a full circle as it ends, at the moment very aptly chosen by the producers and frankly the art of storytelling outshines all else in this.

The theory of time travel is observed to best avoid any obvious contradictions, this mixed with gender role reversal makes it a very interesting watch. Self absorbing narcissism is justified by scenes that act as revolving doors into sections of time, whose consequences are a glove tight fit to the entirety of the story line. Having just finished it, I realised how much I appreciate being able to take away from it the perfection of the mind that is both haunting and restless as each jigsaw puzzle seeks out one another guided by the precision of a watchmaker.

One of better films Hawke's been seen in lately.