Cardiac161

I'm not sure if this should be in the International DVD Forum but since this film is out on Reg.1 dvd, I humbly decided to post it here.

Can anyone comment on this Barbet Schroeder film? Reason is after catching City of God, I am in the mood for a gritty Latin American film that shows the violence of a 3rd World society and its consequences.

Thanks!!!

rkndkn

Thumbs up! I liked this movie! (Though I'm one of those who found "City of God" a tad overrated. )

Supreme Sean

Grade: D+. The point the film was trying to make in that violence and death are everyday occurrences in Colombia is established well. Too well, in fact, when our depressed writer protagonist keeps spouting off about why he hates life every 5 minutes. He keeps pointing out how selfish human beings are throughout the movie, over........and over again.A couple of poorly directed, nonsensical dream sequences are thrown in to convey something about something. I don't know. Also, the recurrent episodes of violence in the film are poorly executed, unrealistic, and a bit of exploitation. Many scenes involve our assassin character shooting numerous people who mildly piss him off. We see no consequences for the actions, and get little revelation into why the assassin is killing everyone. The writer and the assassin are just two of the underwritten, two dimensional characters we encounter in the film. The movie also lacks resolution at the end.

The much criticized Shroeder film, Murder By Numbers, did a much better job of showing realistic violence , and the consequences of it, in my opinion. Filled with characters that were actually three-dimensional, and free of pretension. But it isn't foreign, and stars Sandra Bullock, so it can't be important.