askerb Reviews

Il posto (1961)

Decent first half of the film and a messy second half

[4/10 · 27 June 2023]

Sometimes I'm a bit conflicted when rating films like this one because I can sort of see why other people would like it in terms of characters, story, cinematography etc.-frankly, I did not enjoy the film very much but I won't be bashing the film and act like whomever appreciates the film is a pretentious pseudointellectual since I myself have watched slow-paced arthouse films that I liked which were deemed pretentious and pseudointellectual by others.

Going into this film I did not have any prior expectations and I actually quite enjoyed it for the film 30-45 minutes or so, but then it became a bit of a blurry snoozefest in my opinion. It felt all over the place and I could not see a coherent theme, it didn't even seem to provide me the satisfaction of phenomenological insight that other neorealist film seemed to be capable of even though other reviews here seem to differ in that regard.

During the second half of the film everything felt cluttered and almost claustrophobic. The office rooms and hallways without windows were incredibly dull and I didn't feel much aesthetic pleasure. Perhaps this was an intentional directional choice to highlight certain elements of capitalism or whatever, but to me it just felt dull and boring.

For the last 30 minutes I was honestly just waiting for the film to end. The connection I felt with the lead character and the young girl had vaporized, I couldn't really string together the thematic coherence, didn't get much aesthetic pleasure or intellectual insight, nor the phenomenological insight that other neorealist films seem to provide. 4/10 would probably not watch again.

Physical: 100 (2023– )

Great premise but lacking in execution

[6/10 · 15 February 2023]

The premise is interesting: gather the 100 greatest physiques with a variety in strength and weaknesses. Let them compete in a bunch of challenges to determine the greatest physique. Women and gymnasts might have an advantage in flexibility challenges, bodybuilders an advantage in challenges of raw strength, athletes an advantage when it comes to "Jack of all trades"-challenges etc. It presents an interesting question of what constitutes the greatest physique-not in the sense of aesthetics but in utility.

The show starts off encapsulating that very aspect with a competition of hanging. Who will have the upper hand? The strongest person? The lightest? The gymnast? It makes you think and feel from the get-go that this show actually has a chance of illuminating what constitutes the greatest physique in a general sense.

But it falls short. A couple of episodes in it starts to become group challenges where the mental aspect suddenly impose a much greater importance as well as rewarding teamwork. Surely, the prize of "the greatest physique" must be an individual one unless it's a competition for conjoined twins, and seeing this tv show isn't the challenges ought to be individual as much as possible.

Other than that the scenery is great, and the cast are likeable. Even though I oppose the group challenges I can't deny it is great entertainment and well made. I would recommend this show to other people, but I certainly hope the creators will prioritize individuality more in a broader range of physical challenges in case we see another season of this show.

6/10.