For all who like a film with a plot
344712
One of my old favorites which has been not available over the years.
A musical with the communication medium of hand puppets.
The depiction of human nature of a fledgling young girl on the threshold of maturity is superb.
3910748
The movie itself is a masterpiece. The angles that were shown are spectacular. They're clear and full of life. Now to the plot; it was full of mystery. My family and didn't know what was going on until the main character did that in itself makes it a good movie. We rally enjoyed the emotions it brought us. Ultimately, "The Dressmaker"  is now a favorite of mine and hope that there will be more creative masterpieces such as this.
4850487
I've read much about this rarely-vetted film but had given up hope of ever seeing it.  Simply put, it's a treat.  Sellers is subtle, funny, and sympathetic; the kids are real-to-life and the images of the English slums are unforgettable.  If you enjoyed 'Henry Orient' and 'Being There,' 'The Optimists,' while perhaps a bit overlong, is essential viewing.
892752
`Proof' plays out with a lot of similarities to the brilliant `A Beautiful Mind', but it approaches its subject differently enough to make it its own film and not a carbon copy of success.  Adapted from the play of the same name, `Proof' covers the week following the death of brilliant yet mentally disturbed mathematician Robert (Hopkins).  His youngest daughter Catherine (Paltrow) had been taking care of him for the past five years, sacrificing her dreams of higher education to watch after her lonely and dying father.  After his death she has to deal with his ex-student Hal (Gyllenhaal) who is searching through Roberts notebooks in order to find proof that even in his insanity he was still brilliant as well as her sister Claire (Davis) who never gave either of them the time of day but is determined to help now that their father is dead.

What makes this film memorable is the layered performances by the entire cast.  Gwyneth gives a very structured performance, giving us varying degrees of emotions and unraveling her characters inner workings to us gradually.  Anthony Hopkins is such a wonderful treat here, truly mesmerizing, and Hope Davis takes the whole unsympathetic sister role to the next level.  I truly hated her even though I'm convinced she didn't mean any harm.  To me Jake Gyllenhaal is really stepping up to plate.  He had an amazing year last year with three brilliant performances, one of which lead him to an Oscar nomination (all three of his roles, from Brokeback Mountain to Proof to Jarhead were wonderfully layered and all three different from the next making him a true cinematic chameleon).  Although his character is minimal in this film he really commands the screen while he's on and makes for a wonderful treat.

While I'm not a mathematician, nor do I even understand half of what made the characters in this film so smart (all that talk of proofs and primes goes right over my head) one can still be enthralled by the underlying and motivating factor to this film.  This is a film about grief and acceptance, especially of ones self, and realizing that we are all capable of great things.  As Catherine deals with the loss of her father whom she no doubt loved very much she also is faced with the idea that she may very well have not only inherited his genius but also his dementia.  And when those closest to you are convinced you're following in his downward spiral you begin to believe in the possibility, almost convincing yourself of what you are certain could never be.  While not as brilliant or emotionally abrasive as `A Beautiful Mind', `Proof' still works hard to strike the right chords, and thanks to impressive performances by the entire cast it hits most of them right on the head.
2357100
Best Film I have watched in a long time.
The Cast is Outstanding , The Plot perfect
Recommend to all over 18
4709756
The jury in our house is still out on this one. We agreed it is a well made film and the cinematography is exquisite. We even, although in my case grudgingly, agreed that the narrative worked. You have to concentrate and I mean concentrate to put all the pieces of story, dialogue and image into context to get the whole story. In the end is the story worth the effort. I think so. The theme is not one often taken on by cinema as story-telling and it does not hold back on the emotional punches. So if you like your film viewing to be a challenge, a bit of eye to brain puzzle co-ordination then this could work well for you. Now for the down side. Why do we have to have every movie populated by beautiful (and I mean generally Anglo stereo types of blonde/buxom and well a bit shallow) putting bums on seats sex, tits and eye candy and smouldering blokes with chips on their shoulder and quippy put downs. I guess it sells. But it gets in the way of the meat of being engaged, made to think, emote and not just entertained. Secondly, trite shots shot beautifully just become naff when it is obvious they are unbelievable. In this the star for me was the two male leads-father and son and the interaction between them coming to terms and making sense on collision course of something neither had the skills to deal with. Yeah, I'm being obtuse because in no way do I want to give the plot away. So if the crack in this review resonates, have a watch and see what you think. One reviewer, not on this site, said they had to watch it three times to get it-a picture/pattern forming.
1877933
I had been intending to see this film for some time because I heard it was good and I am glad I finally got around to it. To review it though is a little more difficult. This movie contains a plot that slowly unfolds, revealing several twists, which I would not want to spoil for the masses. The film opens with Eddie Fleming(Hugo Weaving) sleeping on his couch when all of a sudden some police inspectors break down his door and come charging in. Eddie is so frightened he wets himself. He is then arrested, although the police refuse to tell he what is going on. They take Eddie and a couple bags of his things(that can only be assumed are some sort of evidence) to the station. The inspectors lock Eddie in an interogation room shortly before conducting what they call a "formal interview" with him. This is all I can really say about the story. Almost the entire film is centered around the interview. What I can say, however, is that despite some slow pacing this is a very well made and entertaining movie. The cinematography is very stylized. Monahan uses lots of deep focas, fish eye lens, and Dutch tilts. The lighting in the film is dark with very high contrast. All this helps the audiences sense of confusion as to why Eddie is being detained. The editing conveys the gradual unraveling of the events that have led to Eddie's arrest masterfully.
Also I would like to make a note of the casting. The actors in this movie did a very good job. The two lead characters played by Weaving and Tony Martin(Detective Steele) were very engaging at there sort of cat and mouse game during the interview. But in particular Weaving is great. American audiences know Weaving as Agent Smith from the Matrix, but what they may not know is that he is a fine character actor(see Pracilla Queen of the Desert if you don't believe me).
This film may not be for everyone. Because of it's slow pacing and totally character driven plot I am not sure I would recommend it to people who want to see action. This being said, the director has done a fine job, with a good script, and he keeps the film interesting from start to finish. Anybody who likes films that keep you guessing will get a kick out of this.
3205251
Soft and subtle European film making at its finest (definitely a film vs a movie).  Outstanding performances from the young actors. Recommended for those who enjoy a film that doesn't progress at a break-neck speed, and for those who will enjoy filling in the blanks and drawing personal conclusions about the meaning of the very nuanced plot.
1626923
I will say up front that the music, story, voice work in Japanese (I didn't watch English version), plot twists...it's just really lovely. The only weakness is some of the roughness in animating the human movement...but it's a minor quibble. This is a lovely, lovely film.

I won't say it has a happy-happy ending. I will say it has a beautiful ending, and everything that leads up to it is rather thrilling. It has some humor, some suspense, some sadness, some romance, and a lot that makes you wish you were young and had these great friends again, like we did in those days when we didn't have to worry about adult concerns, we were all about school-buddies-budding loves-etc.

I also love the idea of what ends up mattering the most--what would YOU travel back in tme for?--and how sometimes we do get a chance to fix things, or we mess it up more; but nothing can be perfect, even when we wish it so. We just do our best and hope for better.

I don't want to give too many specifics and mess up this film experience for you. Try to avoid spoilers. Trust me: This is best seen without knowing much of the plot other than, "Girl (Makoto) who has two guy best-buddies with whom she shares most of her time finds her and their lives changing--and those in her wider circle-- when she acquires the ability to time leap." That's all you need to know. More will spoil it for sure.

Enjoy this beautiful animated film. It made me laugh, sit up and wait breathlessly for the next development, and cry a little. It broke my heart just a bit, then mended it some, too. Beautiful.
3854247
I tend to give good movies extra points for being original; especially in an industry where some claim there are no more original ideas.  Director Guillmero Del Toro has made a masterful film that should be seen only by serious film buffs.  And please folks with children; this aint for kids.  That "R" rating is there for a reason.

The film: beautiful to look at.  The cinematography is first-rate, so much so that the CGI elements are blended into the film to the extent that you can not discern the real from the fake.

The acting: top notch with everyone delivering excellent performances which is saying a lot because I don't speak Spanish.  The standout's are the Captain and his nemesis and the central character, Ofelia.

The story: (slight SPOILER ALERT) as I mentioned before is an original tale that manifests its reality by borrowing many elements and themes from other genres.  I won't quibble with whether this is a fairy-tale or not.  That's up to the egg-heads in film school to sort out (or it's whatever Del Toro says it is).

I will say that while the fantasty elements are prevail, they do so within the confines of a tragedy.  It is here the film really succeeds most effectively.  Del Toro does as good a job as has ever been done of weaving together reality and the surreal elements.

As Ofelia goes on her various quests, meeting the new creatures and monsters along the way, I was reminded of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy's travails to get home.  Indeed, Ofelia is trying to get home too, though where in fact is that home is the ambiguity that Del Toro leaves the viewer to sort out; though he leaves a heck of a big hint in the film (think of the scene preceding Ofelia's abduction of her infant brother from the Captain).

And the Captain...that's the Bridge Over the River Kwai reference.  It's what happens when you drop a sadist soldier accustomed to brutalizing those beneath him into a situation where innocents are within his reach.

I think this film will age well with time.  Hopefully the industry sees fit to keep it in rotation on cable and it finds a larger audience on DVD.  It's that good, and that's something I haven't been able to say about a film in a long time.
2374656
'The Station Agent ' is the kind of superb film you want to share with everyone! It is a slow feel good film with no real direction nor any real ending.

Fin, a four foot five inch small person, played by Peter Dinklage, has inherited an outpost dilapidated train Agent's Station in the wilds of New Jersey. This is a small desolate town, and the train station is right up Fin's alley. He is a man turned into himself, it appears after much teasing and bullying as a child and as an adult, he prefers time to himself. He has turned into a loner for self preservation.  He finds this agent station fits him well. And, then, comes along Joe, played by Bobby Cannavale, a high strung, talkative, Cuban who is running his dad's food truck. He parks the truck near Fin's new home, so coffee is readily available.  Fin is run into, literally, by Olivia, played by Patricia Clarkson.. She is an artist, mourning her lost marriage and her dead son. These three people come together, unusual friends, but each of them have a need that the other seems to fill. Fast friends they become after several stops and go. Chole, a young black girl is attracted to Fin, and he feels comfortable with her. Fin takes daily walks to learn about the town and to follow the trains, his obsession. Soon, his friends are walking with him. Through trials and tribulations, this film fills a need within all of us. The acting is superb, the filming lovely and the storyline, so important in this day and age of estrangement from each other.

Highly Recommended. Walk don't run to see this film.  prisrob 09-07-12

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391562
Although The Photographer has received many poor ratings and reviews (especially at such places as IMDb), this film is a true gem. In order to appreciate this film to its full potential, one must first open his/her mind. Beginning this story with the expectation of a wealthily produced Hollywood film will only set someone up for disappointment.

As for a small budget, less known film; The Photographer is one of, if not, the best. Granted the story is a bit far-fetched, along with a few characters, the film itself portrays the story excellently. This is a film where there are only a few actors, but only a few are needed to portray what is intended.

The Serendipity Factor: This film includes a few, subtle relations to itself which I call The Serendipity Factor. During the film there are times when things are set up to relate to one another and to give the viewer that little tinkling feeling when knowing that they've 'figured something out' or that they know a bit more than the characters in the film. However 'immature' these things may be in some films, Jeremy Stein does an excellent job of incorporately only a few, subtle ones that give the story an extra punch.

Filming location and lighting do a great job influencing the dark light under which this story is told. Camera movements add to a viewers continuous pondering as to what exactly is going on or what will next happen.

Overall the actors do a great job, namely Reg Rogers who plays the main character Max Martin. This is definitely a great film to watch on a weekend when you're feeling independent and want to boost your own morale a few points.
55916
For many people, "Bright Star" will be a solitary pleasure. I can't imagine anyone enjoying this film who did not already know something about the poet John Keats, even if that something is a shadowy remembrance of a Brit Lit survey in college. If you're contemplating acquiring this film, a quick look at an outline of Keats's biography (there are lots of possibilities online) will bring you up to speed. Even so, a drama set in Regency England that details a delicate love affair---well, let's just say that some people near and dear to me would be fast asleep in under ten minutes.

I loved "Bright Star." The focus of the film is Fanny Brawne, Keats's beloved, not Keats himself, and she is beautifully played by Abbie Cornish, who is anything but ethereal, thank goodness. She is warm and rather bosomy in her high-waisted gowns whose fabrics show the imperfect press of the flat iron and the wrinkles of daily living. (There is even a scene in which her mother is shown ironing.) Sometimes the stitches show too, a reminder that sewing was a creative outlet for Fanny, as it was for many women in this period.

The key idea in this film is Keats's love of the sensual, which Fanny comes to share, even though she confesses to not understanding much about poetry. It's no accident that the film maker, Jane Campion, chooses to incorporate lines from  "Ode to a Nightingale" from among the famous odes, since any number of scenes in the film are all about yielding to a "drowsy numbness" in which ordinary life is suspended and the senses become intensely heightened. Thus, within the domestic, even mundane household interiors of Hampstead interiors, as well as in its fields and parks, butterflies and flowers, birds and music, lush colors and tender kisses, appear and reappear. As Keats tells Fanny when he tries to explain the experience of reading a poem, one does not immediately think of the shore when one jumps in the water; one experiences the water. And so she does, often alone, stretched out on her bed with her eyes shut or dreaming in a corner.

Watching a visually gorgeous film like "Bright Star" unfold is a bit like reading an ode by Keats.  At the film's end, one is tolled back to reality and remembers: "Adieu, the fancy cannot cheat so well/As she is famed to do, deceiving elf."
M. Feldman
4108018
For those of us that don't expect our films to adhere to strict reality ALL of the time, this is a great find. I really liked this film and I gladly add it to my DVD collection. I think 8/10 is a perfect rating for it. It's a hearwarming love story that made me laugh out loud, cry a few tears and, even at age 42, made me sometimes cringe in embarassment with a pillow over my face saying, "Oh God, no. Please tell me he did not just do that, did he?"

We all wish we could go back and take a mulligan on various decisions in our lives and change them. Ask that person out, don't eat the brown acid, etc. Tim, the main character, and the other paternal male members of his family can travel in time. He also learns the unexpected consequences of doing so when he starts changing things.

For you time travel aficionados out there, this is where the movie ignores the "Butterfly effect" side of time travel and instead uses a more appropriate "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" Whoesque route to follow. It's not perfect and it was never meant to be.  It's a plot device, not the entire point of the story.

The casting and the soundtrack help make up for any plot holes in the story. There are many famlilar faces you have seen before that live up to expectations as well as a few actors that make you pull up IMDB so you can figure out where you know them from (at least 3 of them have appeared in episodes of Doctor Who.)

As the one-star reviews show, this movie isn't for everyone, but it is still a great Date Night rental movie with your significant other, a bowl of popcorn and and extra pillow to groan in once or twice (but in a good way.) If you are obsessed with plot holes and it ruins your enjoyment of a film, please BUY THIS FILM and give it to a friend.
1611686
There is a plot, sort of. A murder that is never solved with enigmatic clues, signifiers that never match a signified. The film is all subtext, no text, and all surface, no depth. But this is not a complaint. The surface has a sinister glitter and the film hints that there is indeed nothing behind it. What you see is what there is. This is not to say the film has no political meaning. It clearly enough shows the exemption of privilege from responsibility which should be no news to us in the Republican ascendency. But the real meaning of the film is not its content but its very taking style, a triumph of imagery over substance, thus ultimate postmodernism.
1617288
Enjoy this unique film, definitely recommend.
717009
The film is sold in a case that is one of those rare modern instances where function meets design. The disc fits snugly, yet, accessible with a simple light fingertip touch that does not force the disc down onto the plastic, saving the disc from scratches and even fingerprints. It is a shame not every DVD has such a housing.

The films sound and picture are clear and crisp on this DVD, running at 115 minutes in both Polish and French languages. This is not a film you are going to enjoy online without English subtitles because you will need these to follow the drama. As one reviewer for Salon alluded to in a review, the drama in this film is undemonstrative so youll need the language more so than the flickering images. As you would expect from a foreign film making the grade in Hollywood, this DVD has English subtitles. The direction and acting are fine for what is presented as story.

Where the film fails to live up to its promise, becoming a trite atheistic clich rather than an exploration of faith-based belief, is either the fault of the original idea by Philippe Maynial or (in collaboration with) the translation of his idea by screenwriters Sabrina B. Karine & Alice Vial. At this early stage in the story-making process, what could have been an engaging and complex unraveling that examines the human condition of behaviour founded on Gods love becomes a tepid love song to self-doubt scatted out by a jaded lover in a darkened windowless room. The whole film is built atop the Mother Superiors monstrous action, which examines public relations narrative control more than it explores any faith-based storyline to carry on and accept because God knows what He is doing. Had it done that, the caricatures of the Mother Superior and the Sisters would have been more than the two-dimensional roles the actors were forced to play. Exploring the nature of a relationship with God during times of great questioning, as one might reasonably expect occurs in a convent where the Sisters have been brutally raped by their wartime liberators, is not what this film is about. If any spiritual message is given it is an apologetic for an absent Father because of the faithlessness acts of His people. This was not satisfying.

In the end, everything can be explained as a Divine test of refinement, and those Sisters who do not make the grade are left to wander hitchhiking down  their darkened road alone. Their rape was a deserved punishment like Jonah deserved to be swallowed by a big fish. This is almost insulting. I was looking for a statement with more meaning than this when I viewed this film. I do not see what the hype is about this film unless it comes from reviewers who have watched too much afternoon television.

Was this meant to be the trite apologetic it is: a small story about personal drama revolving around the care of innocents borne from criminal/physical/spiritual violations? The back of the box does not sell it like that stating: the nuns increasingly turn to non-believer Mathilde as their beliefs and traditions clash with the harsh realities of a war-torn land. This pitch does not paint Mathilde as the Messianic figure she is in the film, rather, it colours her as an unbeliever or wolf within the henhouse. The test of faith upon the Sisters is not from Mathilde but from their leader: and this begs the question do the originators of the screenplay have any faith to explore? Ive seen more exploration of doubt in the epistolary of Thomas Moore or the comparative works of John Donne than what this film offers. I am left with the thought that the film would have been far more engaging, and its tableau far grander, if the writers had any faith in God with which to grapple.