Given the exalted praise this film gets from other viewers, it seems clear to me that I either simply didn't understand the movie, or I simply have different tastes in movies than the other people who have reviewed this film.
The biggest reason why this film even gets a "3" for me was the cinematography, which was sweeping and beautiful and not the least bit afraid of absolute concentration. It's so pleasantly different from the rapid jump-cut editing of today's blockbusters here in the United States, and I was glad to look at a tree or a picture longer than most modern movies would allow.
**SPOILER ALERT** My main fault with this movie is the screenplay. It's a contrived mess. The hero, Alexander, just happens to be taking stock in his life and where his life has led him when nuclear war breaks out, and the postman who's read more books and has more whimsy than your local hippie librarian just so happens to know a lonely witch who can undo all that has been done in return for a "favor"? It strains credibility to an absolute fault, and the plot line sounds like the work of a child just beginning to write in cursive.
Then there are the situations and characters that take you absolutely nowhere. Alexander's wife -- what purpose did she serve other than being the obligatory hysteric in a crisis film? And her rambling about loving one man and marrying another? Where does this train of thought go? Nowhere!!!! Do we see her analyze her marriage and seek to do anything about her plight? NO!!! It's a line that makes no sense in the film and has no resolution at all, and yet ENTIRE FILMS have been made about that very feeling! There are so many lines that don't make sense in light of everything going on, and it just feels contrived and meandering.
I understand there might be a cultural difference in storytelling that's at work here. Perhaps I like more concise storytelling and much less contrived plot lines.
The biggest reason why this film even gets a "3" for me was the cinematography, which was sweeping and beautiful and not the least bit afraid of absolute concentration. It's so pleasantly different from the rapid jump-cut editing of today's blockbusters here in the United States, and I was glad to look at a tree or a picture longer than most modern movies would allow.
**SPOILER ALERT** My main fault with this movie is the screenplay. It's a contrived mess. The hero, Alexander, just happens to be taking stock in his life and where his life has led him when nuclear war breaks out, and the postman who's read more books and has more whimsy than your local hippie librarian just so happens to know a lonely witch who can undo all that has been done in return for a "favor"? It strains credibility to an absolute fault, and the plot line sounds like the work of a child just beginning to write in cursive.
Then there are the situations and characters that take you absolutely nowhere. Alexander's wife -- what purpose did she serve other than being the obligatory hysteric in a crisis film? And her rambling about loving one man and marrying another? Where does this train of thought go? Nowhere!!!! Do we see her analyze her marriage and seek to do anything about her plight? NO!!! It's a line that makes no sense in the film and has no resolution at all, and yet ENTIRE FILMS have been made about that very feeling! There are so many lines that don't make sense in light of everything going on, and it just feels contrived and meandering.
I understand there might be a cultural difference in storytelling that's at work here. Perhaps I like more concise storytelling and much less contrived plot lines.