shuawilmot

The story is interesting, but not particularly memorable. The movie has some compelling emotional scenes, especially in tender mother-daughter type dyads, and some genuinely triumphant moments that viewers will feel excited about. Some of the payoff of these moments could be undermined if the viewer is already too turned off by any of the following things that distracted me: cliché dialogue, the villain's gruff voice (not to mention the poor dubbing), Dakota Johnson's meh performance, or the uninteresting color palettes. The glimpses into the future are mostly well done, uniquely stylized, and enhance the action sequences. The mood is engaging, overall, will earnest intensity akin to a teenage horror/suspense film. In the last few scenes, however, the mood feels very off; the main character has a complete demeaner shift after the climax.

There is one impressive long take at the train station that shows each of the three Spider-Girls before Cassandra meets them, but most of the other camera work is not compelling.

The short is not even twenty minutes long and I cried more than once. The story is told with meaningful moments and raw humanity. It's a fictional Iranian narrative that reveals a lot of Truth. It's an inspiration for revolutionaries and the complacent alike.

The young actors perform well, and the filmmaker uses what resources are available to tell a unique and convincing story. In just the first few minutes, the viewer will already know and care about the central characters and their cultural context. From there, several scenes leave a lasting impact. I would recommend this to anyone, and it's a must-see for metalheads.

I met the film's director, Allan, this morning. I just now got back from watching this mockumentary as part of a film festival, and Allan shared the very interesting story of its misappropriation due to Meat Loaf's legal situations at the time.

It was a fun viewing, and it would have been even without Allan there (though he's great). I enjoyed the humor, especially the interview scenes in which ML's acting became quite natural in an otherwise melodramatic production. The concert footage is historical and adds to the overall experience, although the tour sequence drags on, and the narrative of the two brothers is underdeveloped through that section. The film ends with good payoff. I would recommend it to classic Rock fans, especially those who love Meat Loaf, and even those who don't.