I can't help but feel that if we (my wife, son, and I) had not read the book that we would have been totally lost. I imagine that those seeing the film without first reading the book wouldn't have been able to follow it.
The problem is the difficulty in conveying a very deep spiritual concept without too much (boring) dialog, and to their credit, they did not do that. But that might have been the film's great weakness, as well as its great strength. How do they convey the Insights in a filmic way when words and pictures just don't do them justice? How, in the course of 90 minutes can one grasp their depth when it really takes a lifetime to understand and absorb them?
The film style itself had the feel of a TV movie done in wide screen. The direction was a little choppy, the editing uneven. The cinematography bordered on greatness but lacked a crispness. The film stock was grainy, which prevented them from reaching a particular goal: a "brilliance" that would have added to 3 key elements: 1) the beautiful vistas were muted in color and did not "pop" they way they should have, 2) depth of field would have added an element of "clarity (both spiritual and filmic) if the foregrounds and backgrounds could have been kept in focus at the same time, and 3) the "vibrations" that caused them to be invisible and the "glow" when the "got it" could have been better if there was greater contrast against regular "sight."
OK. Now that that is said, it really was entertaining. True to the novel there was plenty of action that kept the viewer interested, the acting was very bold, the characters were well developed, and the story was well paced. The acting was good, especially the great Portugese actor Joaquim de Almeida as Father Sanchez, and Obba Babatundé as Miguel.
I gave this film a vote of 7/10, meaning it was above average and one I would recommend to others, but not until they have read the book.
When we saw it, it was playing in only one theater in all of Southern California, so you may have to wait until the DVD comes out. Be sure to pick up the book first.
The problem is the difficulty in conveying a very deep spiritual concept without too much (boring) dialog, and to their credit, they did not do that. But that might have been the film's great weakness, as well as its great strength. How do they convey the Insights in a filmic way when words and pictures just don't do them justice? How, in the course of 90 minutes can one grasp their depth when it really takes a lifetime to understand and absorb them?
The film style itself had the feel of a TV movie done in wide screen. The direction was a little choppy, the editing uneven. The cinematography bordered on greatness but lacked a crispness. The film stock was grainy, which prevented them from reaching a particular goal: a "brilliance" that would have added to 3 key elements: 1) the beautiful vistas were muted in color and did not "pop" they way they should have, 2) depth of field would have added an element of "clarity (both spiritual and filmic) if the foregrounds and backgrounds could have been kept in focus at the same time, and 3) the "vibrations" that caused them to be invisible and the "glow" when the "got it" could have been better if there was greater contrast against regular "sight."
OK. Now that that is said, it really was entertaining. True to the novel there was plenty of action that kept the viewer interested, the acting was very bold, the characters were well developed, and the story was well paced. The acting was good, especially the great Portugese actor Joaquim de Almeida as Father Sanchez, and Obba Babatundé as Miguel.
I gave this film a vote of 7/10, meaning it was above average and one I would recommend to others, but not until they have read the book.
When we saw it, it was playing in only one theater in all of Southern California, so you may have to wait until the DVD comes out. Be sure to pick up the book first.