WARNING: SPOILERS SCATTERED ALL OVER THE CRITIC!!
There are ways to make a slow-paced movie and keep it from being an obnoxious waste of time. Such as basing it on a "strong" story (Boys Don't Cry) or basing it on exaggerated cheap propaganda of a particular nation and throwing sh*t against another particular nation (Idi I Smotri), or forcing the viewer to think about a various set of issues simultaneously while following the movie (Dzien Swira). There comes the great detail about Noi Albinoi, there's no such thing in this movie! It's still slow as heck, yet it never gets boring in spite of the lack of any of the techniques above.
A typical American viewer would find this movie redundant, because he can't understand it. I found it such a subtle and profound way of "shooting" the viewer, that the ending leaves you with stuff to think about. The fortune teller told Noi he saw death in the cup, and everyone died, BUT Noi. He was shooting the ice, did that trigger the deathly avalanche? He's harmless but also a pain in the ass, EVERYONE he loved died all of a sudden although he never made them suffer during their lives. Is he an angel of death? I think these are well worth mentioning among the details that make this a great movie.
As for Noi, it's sad. There are many wunderkinds who get wasted just because they say no to the underpar rules of the society, possibly drawn by people with hazelnut sized brains. Many rebellious youngsters or those who were such when they were young will find a piece of themselves in Noi. I did. Even though this packaged rebellion is not exactly the main theme of the movie, it's also worth mentioning as it constitutes a significant part of the message the movie is trying to beam. I find it appalling that someone could say this movie is a copy of some Hollywood flicks, and most Scandinavian flicks. It's Hollywood's job to steal from Europeans, not the other way around. I don't know if I should laugh or cry at that, but I certainly pity such meaningless comments. Noi Albinoi IS a great movie, it's just that not every viewer is sufficiently educated to understand it.
8.5/10
There are ways to make a slow-paced movie and keep it from being an obnoxious waste of time. Such as basing it on a "strong" story (Boys Don't Cry) or basing it on exaggerated cheap propaganda of a particular nation and throwing sh*t against another particular nation (Idi I Smotri), or forcing the viewer to think about a various set of issues simultaneously while following the movie (Dzien Swira). There comes the great detail about Noi Albinoi, there's no such thing in this movie! It's still slow as heck, yet it never gets boring in spite of the lack of any of the techniques above.
A typical American viewer would find this movie redundant, because he can't understand it. I found it such a subtle and profound way of "shooting" the viewer, that the ending leaves you with stuff to think about. The fortune teller told Noi he saw death in the cup, and everyone died, BUT Noi. He was shooting the ice, did that trigger the deathly avalanche? He's harmless but also a pain in the ass, EVERYONE he loved died all of a sudden although he never made them suffer during their lives. Is he an angel of death? I think these are well worth mentioning among the details that make this a great movie.
As for Noi, it's sad. There are many wunderkinds who get wasted just because they say no to the underpar rules of the society, possibly drawn by people with hazelnut sized brains. Many rebellious youngsters or those who were such when they were young will find a piece of themselves in Noi. I did. Even though this packaged rebellion is not exactly the main theme of the movie, it's also worth mentioning as it constitutes a significant part of the message the movie is trying to beam. I find it appalling that someone could say this movie is a copy of some Hollywood flicks, and most Scandinavian flicks. It's Hollywood's job to steal from Europeans, not the other way around. I don't know if I should laugh or cry at that, but I certainly pity such meaningless comments. Noi Albinoi IS a great movie, it's just that not every viewer is sufficiently educated to understand it.
8.5/10