A quick review from me. I wasn't going to review but but when I see people saying it's slow, boring, bloated... I feel it's unfair. This film was quite good, had something to say... the problem is, it wasn't sure what it was.
When I got to the end and saw it's from a book it all made sense. This feels like a story that was too short, not too long. If it were a mini series I think it could have done great things and really fleshed out its themes.
But as it stands, it felt fragmented. I'm not sure what the core story was that it wanted to tell. There was too many situations, too many characters and mini arcs and incidents. I could point to a couple of people or story elements that if you removed them the film would be no worse off, and perhaps even tighter - and that's where it feels unfocused.
Beautifully shot, and very evocative of the times it portrays. Particularly around the carnivals. I enjoyed it, but felt it could have been more.
When I got to the end and saw it's from a book it all made sense. This feels like a story that was too short, not too long. If it were a mini series I think it could have done great things and really fleshed out its themes.
But as it stands, it felt fragmented. I'm not sure what the core story was that it wanted to tell. There was too many situations, too many characters and mini arcs and incidents. I could point to a couple of people or story elements that if you removed them the film would be no worse off, and perhaps even tighter - and that's where it feels unfocused.
Beautifully shot, and very evocative of the times it portrays. Particularly around the carnivals. I enjoyed it, but felt it could have been more.