Reviews

A great film about the struggles and decline of relationships. Sarah Polley is excellent as usual, she can just do no wrong in my book. Her character is a somber, depressed young women after her relationship with Brenden Fletcher changes from its romantic beginning to a lonely, neglected existence. The older couple of Dianne Ladd and Sean McCann is a particularly vicious pairing, they are very, very cruel to each other. Nice music/background sounds creating an atmospheric feel that puts one in touch with the mood of the film,... changes, life, pain, love, a story about these simple and complicated things.

A documentary about the so called "Chechen Mafia Don" Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev narrated mostly by himself as the camera follows him throughout the film. Very interesting in the point of his belief from a very young age in the resistance of Russian rule. From a labourer loading rail cars to the security service defense leader of Chechnya. An amazing rise to a very powerful position, a protector of all Chechnyans, and seemingly so, both rich and poor, unlike most people in power who seem to only protect their own. It's a deeper sense of belonging, togetherness, a rebel state, refusing outside rule and rebuilding their country and bombed, wasteland-like cities.

A good movie, the discussions of the afterlife, the soul, love, the interesting storyline, camera angles/effects, quite well done, serious and thought provoking. Until a 15+ minute part that turned into an almost slapstick style, totally silly comedy that had no connection with the rest of the film. That sort of ruined it, didn't get that at all, other than that a good movie, would've been much better if it stuck to the direction it was going in.

Here's another example of the genius of Iranian film, stories about circumstances so simple and everyday yet so suspenseful. A tale about an arranged marriage between a man and a woman, each from a different ethnic group that live in the same town but do not get along. The wedding is an attempt to stop the contempt between the two groups but stubbornness and egos flare and the bride and groom part ways, the groom leaving town to return later with a newly purchased bus to use as a money-making plan. He does well, charging the villagers to go to the city, where before they could only walk or go by horse and cart. But his bride, from the rival clan, out of spite and wanting revenge for the failed wedding, urges her brother to also buy a bus and start his own business of transport. Now with 2 busses in the town vying for the villagers money and loyalty it turns into a melee of anger and confrontation, splitting the townspeople further. It leaves you wondering if there is any hope. An excellent story showing peoples' nasty and sometimes childish sides, the pain and hate that grudges can cause, a simple village with big problems.

I don't know what the previous reviewer was watching but I guess that's what reviews are, personal taste. Missed in this movie was the depth, a very deep film, many layers of emotion, affecting. Undercurrents of withheld love because of submission to societal beliefs, taboos of the times and classes, race relations not being in a very good state of equality, guilt, yearning, hate, confusion, very dark emotionally I thought, under the skin, you have to submit to the aire of it, a flowing movie, not slow as stated before, release yourself to the flow of the film, the emotions will show themselves, characters reveal their flaws, their nasty insides, excellent and actually very cruel!