I liked this film overall
593694
I liked this film overall. What it lacked was more of a history of eating disorders and why they happen. The most disturbing sub-plot of the film was how quickly the program devolved into an authoritative state. Counselors at rehabs often have limited education and experience. I felt the staff had an overall demeaning judgmental attitude toward their patients. The staff seemed more fascinated with their own power and ability to dominate. This dynamic has been well documented in social psychology. The whole educational and organizational model of rehabs needs to be completely re-examined. The staff were clearly unqualified, under educated in psychology, unsympathetic and sadistic.
976116
I enjoy it to watch this film. I like it to see new bad characters.  But i won't watch it again. Basically I felt the pace of the film was a little too fast.
1559929
I am still not sure what the exact point of this film was - even after giving myself a day to think about it - but I guess it was about the need to understand and appreciate people as they truly are. The only reason for my uncertainty here, is that I am not sure the film actually achieved this, if this really was the intention behind making this film.

I think the main reason why I struggled with this film is that by the end I felt the racial and cultural stereotypes I had been exposed to, were actually reinforced in this film. I just felt that watching the film did nothing really to change my perception of people in India and Pakistan... but then again, maybe that was the point of this film. Maybe it was about us (the audience) having to realise that people are different, see the world differently, have different cultural, social and religious values etc., and just - well - realising that we are all different to each other.

Despite this, I did feel it was good that we saw something of the changing nature of Indian society. India is a rapidly changing country, and many western businesses now have call-centres in major cities (this was a recurring joke through the film). I also thought that it was good to show that people in these counties are proud, and fiercely protective of honor and decency. If anything, it is not so much we learning about these people from what makes them laugh, as learning about the importance of cultural, familial and social values - something being eroded more and more in so-called advanced western societies.

Probably the best scenes in the film for communicating the message of understanding each other, was where Albert was attempting improvisational comedy. The first attempt in India was a disaster, simply because he changed all the suggestions his audience had made - the very things which would make them laugh - for things he could make work into his routine as he saw fit to. Compared to him doing the same routine in Pakistan - where he actually used the audience's suggestions - we began to appreciate the idea that in order to see things from other people's point-of-view, we first need to listen to them, then respect their ideas, and then use them where we can. At times like this one felt there was a message behind the film, but I wish more time had been spent reflecting on the matter in subsequent dialogues.

This was a mish-mash of a film - trying to be too many things for too many people. Part Albert Brooks comedic vehicle, part moral vehicle, and part political commentary, it skimmed the surface of a number of issues, where it could have dwelt on one or two of them with greater effect.
2484354
I wasn't sure about this film but found the premise interesting. Although ambivalent about the ending, I found the comparative approach to illustrating how pornography and romance films both (albeit in very distinct ways) harbor the potential to distort relationship expectations compelling. The film does a much better job addressing the allure and function of pornography in the male character's life than it does fleshing out how romance films affect the female lead. This asymmetry has to do with the narration coming from within the male character and his perspective though; so the viewer only observes the external actions of the female character. As one might expect then, the female lead appears less complex than the male lead, but the "female experience" is expanded through the supporting female character. In addition, it might be noted that although consumption of pornography is mapped to the white US American male body, its desires, and its gender formation, and romance films to the white US American female body, its desires, and its gender formation, this stereotypical dichotomy and gendered understanding must be considered as an imposed frame. A more cynical attitude might write this film off as reinforcing a constellation of sexist ideologies, which it does in some ways no matter how generous an attitude one tries to hold. Still, the film includes some very insightful and interesting ways of thinking about how pornography functions in the imaginaries.
1305275
I enjoyed this film, though it was also painful to watch. I speak Hebrew fluently, which allowed me to catch nuances English language only viewers might miss--especially from the filmmaker's mother, Chana, who is both compassionate and, like many Israeli Jews of her generation, especially those with "yekke" parents (German Jews), self-protective and deeply ambivalent about the journey her son insists on taking. To her credit, she accompanies him, and for me, the heart of the story lay in that mother/son relationship and the journey, which despite many revelations, contains mysteries that cannot be answered; all the players (the Jewish Kuchlers and the German couple with whom they continued a warm social relationship after the war) are gone by the time the Kuchler's grandson begins his quest to understand the relationship between the two couples.

I disagree with some of the reviewers' take on the filmmaker's interaction with the German daughter of the filmmaker's grandparents' Nazi friend. I don't think he was trying to shame the daughter, but rather, telling the truth mattered, and although he appreciated her welcoming him and his mother into her home, what he found was fact, which he chose not to whitewash. When we're talking about something as brutal as genocide, and complicity or active involvement in that genocide, truth trumps the niceties of social interaction. I've spent time in Berlin, and when I was a kid in Israel, had close German non-Jewish friends whose families likely historically included Nazis, and what mattered to me was that we talked truthfully about the past. It's not about shaming people who weren't even born during the Nazi era (which the daughter in fact was, albeit a very young child during that time), but at least for me, there cannot be any real healing without first coming to terms with what happened, including, in this case, the fact that a man the Jewish filmmaker's grandparents loved, and who called himself "the Jews' best friend," was in fact, a perpetrator of war crimes who denied the less savory parts of his past.

The story spoke to me on other levels as well--about memory and identity, about love and the ways we approach the stories and people that make us who we are, what we keep (in every sense--just see the overwhelming collections unearthed in the titular apartment), and what we choose to ignore about our lives and the people we hold dear. In some ways, the two older women, Chana and Edda (sp?), are what interested me most here. Both of them are the inheritors of their parents' legacies, literally and figuratively, and neither asked the real questions until the filmmaker insisted on following the mystery of the friendship between their respective parents.

A compelling story, deeply felt by this viewer. Recommended, especially if you can tolerate that not all mysteries are meant to be solved entirely. This is not a Hollywood or Hallmark drama about the Holocaust, but a man's search to understand his family's journey. The facts can be researched, and certain long-held secrets revealed, but the why and how of the human heart often remain clouded by all that is left unsaid, the questions never asked.
4607609
I didn't know what to expect with this film but I enjoyed it. NOT BAD!
1489473
I find that Danish movies have a great sense of realism and honesty, it makes the characters very likable. This film throws the narrative structure upside down but I still connected with the characters. I also enjoyed the film because I'd spent a short time in Copenhagen....I tracked where the characters were going on google maps while I watched the movie!
3750595
I really enjoyed this film!! I recommend this for viewing again and again.
2366504
This is a film I foresee growing in stature through effusive word of mouth from those who relate to its relationship roller coaster aspect. It does a lot of genre surfing, with a thoroughly original approach to all, while showing perceptive insight in to human connectivity. The lead girl is also a real find. Distinctive as it may be, I downgrade it a bit on the star scale for what I perceived as a cumulative absence of "punch." I didn't walk away quite as tickled or haunted as I may have hoped.
245832
I enjoyed this film and, with only a few reservations, recommend it as a fine way to kill an evening with a the girl friend or a buddy.

One shouldn't bring presumptions and expectations along when seeing any film for the first time. Just hit play, sit back, and soak it in the first go around. Having said that, for me, the first go around felt kind of flat.

Ben Kingsley, for all the hype about his character "Don", doesn't present us with a two dimensional character. Don Logan isn't simply an insane antisocial tough guy but a genuinely complex emotional character study.

While the emotional payoff of the film isn't all that it could have been, it's redeemed in part by Ray Winstone's warm and endearing performance. Winstone does a superb job playing opposite the films antagonists as a truly sympathetic character.

Also, the chemistry between the four friends in the first half of the film is just marvelous, the whole supporting cast really give the film it's structure.

Ian McShane is really a sight to behold. In many ways Ian McShane's Teddy Bass character is even more frightening than Kingsley, with Teddy there are no clues as to what motivates his malevolence.

And, despite the critics, I though the dream sequences involving the anthropomorphic rabbit-man were terrific, almost the most intensely unsettling part of the film. Watch the body language of the rabbit-man, that is the sexy beast.

The cinematography is done with a light and easy touch. It's some of the best unassuming and inobtrusive dp work i've seen in a while. It has just enough flash to suite the genre without anchoring it in predictability

There certainly were moments in the film when I said to myself,"wow what a great shot" or just loved the acting skill on display throughout the film. However, I think where the film faltered was in maintaining a consistant air of dread or tension.

Of course, without this, there can't be any real emotional payoff.

The scene upon which the film is supposed to pivot also fell somewhat short, despite my liking the scene, it wasn't presented with a solid enough feel to give it the gravitas it needed. Without the umph in this scene the second half of the movie doesn't build to anything meaningful. In spite of all of that the film is still a joy to watch.
2710095
This is a pleasurable film to watch.  I don't play chess, and my husband does, and this movie made me want to make the effort to learn.  I always enjoy movies where an individual finds out something unexpected about themselves that adds another dimension to their personality and life, along the lines of The Visitor and I am sure countless other films.  Many times they have given themselves over to a somewhat monotonous, and dutiful existence, and did not realize the level of dissatisfaction they actually had with their lives.  Now this is my personal opinion, but the way the main character handled her new interest in chess with regard to her husband and child was not particularly proper, but I know things are done for the sake of film drama and humans don't necessarily make the best decisions when they are trying to figure themselves out.  Either way though, anyone who takes the time to watch this film will be pleased, I think.
3854318
Having read the novel upon which the film was based, I was pleased to see the characters and plots fleshed out. Of necessity, the film compressed various threads of the story to short but telling clips, and glossed over some others. That said, the film stands alone with its ironic humor and great casting. The not-so-common-sensical lead was played convincingly, but I especially liked the somewhat addled scholar (Benny), who bumbles his way brilliantly to the very last frame.
2022915
I liked this film, but it is very understandable why some would not find it interesting.

It would be very easy for this film to receive treatment like that seen on MST3K, where the show's hosts make fun of the film while watching it.  Not that this film deserves it, but the subtitled translations are a bit odd, mostly because there are phrasings and sayings in French which do not translate well to English.

There are also some exaggerated moments.  I mean, okay, it's nitroglycerine, but the amount of fear involved seems arch.  The point of the film is fear, of course, but it seems overmuch at times.  I also had the sense that some dangers could have been avoided (although the point is that Jo is overly cautious, and Mario isn't).

The ending is classic, though.  Not many directors would try and pull that sort of thing off these days, because these days, money is key, and endings like that tend not to make money.

So, why after my criticisms would I give the film four stars of five?  Because of its uncompromising portrayal of everyday schmoes in dangerous situations.  The very lack of charisma in the stars is extraordinary, and the ordinariness of the plot is extraordinary.  For a film to concentrate its focus on such matters is interesting in and of itself.  However, I would say this: The film caters to a sophisticated audience.  Go and get tired of films, and then see this one.
4796006
I enjoyed this film. It reminded me of the 1950s and early 1960''s war films. Patriotic,
filled with attractive and well known actors; it moved right along. The message - the
importance of art, the life of the mind, creativity and the worth of culture - was made
clear . I did not think it was too heavy-handed, perhaps due to the cast.

I did not think this was a great film. But It did get me more interested in who the
'Monuments Men' were, what their project was and about some of the art and other
 valuables they sought and found or didn't find.
130970
Although I am glad to finally see this film, it is lovely and well cast (love seeing the late Lee Remick), it is not a film I'd likely view more than once.  I can't recall what I paid for it, but I hope it wasn't much.  I will pass it on to friends to enjoy.
131994
I really enjoyed the film. I am usually a fairly tough critic when it comes to Christian cinema (cinema in general), but I am more critical with Christian cinema because the message is so crucial. Overall the movie is well done, the overall acting is good, there are some rough patches, i.e. some music issues and a few weirdly delivered lines (not unlike many other movies), but the story is layered and has many beautiful subtle moments that resonate. This movie takes some risks with the story telling and content, but it is not unnecessary or graphic which is a relief. I also like that it is not completely predictable. There is a tension that is there, and that is part of what makes it a good story.
3962662
Not bad actually. I didn't see the Theatrical Release, so this was my first impression. I only had 2 caveats with the film that I couldn't looks past, but I thought it was decent.