Am Ende des Weges

This is what movies are about:

It's a compelling story, flawless acting with spot-on casting choices, deftly directed, and with camera work supports the story with warm tones. I don't know of one person who has seen this and doesn't rave. The Oscar race begins here. It's wonderful to be rapt in a film that doesn't need explosions, chases or CGI to make the film work.

Every person involved in the making of this film is an artisan. If your a budding filmmaker, class is in session - a must see.

Duval and Spacek are in their prime - there's also a lesson here that youth and beauty are only skin deep... and talent grows with age.

Get Low and its cast were very well-received last night at Austin's Paramount Theatre as part of the SXSW Film Festival. This is the type of well-written, well-acted serious film that gets made all too rarely today. The excellent cast was led by three aging legends – the cantankerous Robert Duvall, the hilarious Bill Murray and elegant Sissy Spacek – all of whom attended the SXSW performance and answered questions. They have lost nothing with age. One-time child star Lucas Black has begun to come into his own as an actor as well. Get Low is an example of the type of wonderful film making that can be done with excellent actors working on a minimal budget. The period setting in depression era Tennessee was entirely believable. The film is both very funny and deeply moving.

Very loosely-based on real events, the film tells the story of a backwoods hermit – played by Duvall with grace and spirit – who decides to hold his own funeral while he is still alive. The story is about loneliness, guilt, redemption, forgiveness, love, and human mortality. There have been few recent films that explore such difficult territory and do so with such humanity, decency and humor. I hope that this film gets a theatrical release so that more people can enjoy this rare treat.

A charming sleeper of a tale set in the 1930s. A reclusive hermit, the subject of mistrust and rumor by generations of local townsfolk, nearing the end of his life suddenly decides to throw himself a funeral party and invites the entire town. Superlative and nuanced performances are turned in by Robert Duvall, as the old man, Sissy Spacek, as a widowed former acquaintance, and Bill Murray, as the funeral director who agrees to organize the event. Fantastic supporting performances are also given by Lucas Black, as the Funeral director's more moral assistant, and Bill Cobbs, as the Reverend who comes to speak at the funeral. The director, Aaron Schneider, captures the period extremely well and the cinematography and musical score are wonderful. The movie handles tough subjects like death, regret, suspicion and guilt with wisdom and a gentle humor that allows the audience to take it all in like one big ice cream sundae. Bravo ! Go see it ! Tell your friends to go see it !!

It's hard to classify this movie, so I'll just say it's a lot different from most fare you see at the theater these days.

What it offers up, I thought, was superb acting and cinematography. It's no surprise the acting is good when you have the likes of Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacey and Lucas Black. All of them are excellent.

This is so beautifully filmed you swear you are right in the middle of rural America in the 1930s. Shot-after-shot is a marvel. The story is slow but it should keep your interest as you wonder what "Felix Bush" (Duvall) is going to do at the end. You're never quite what he's going to say and do, at any time, actually, which keeps the story intriguing. I guess you could say that for anyone was had been a hermit for 40 years, living alone in the woods.

I suspect this film didn't get the publicity and acclaim it should have gotten, despite it's well-known cast. It's a "sleeper," and highly-recommended.

"Get Low" is a film inspired by Felix Bushaloo "Uncle Bush" Breazeale. And, how close this film is to his later life is anyone's guess, as I could find nothing about the man on the Internet apart from his name and that this film was inspired by his funeral. But inspired is a loaded term....it can mean the story is close to the truth or has almost nothing to do with it!

After watching the movie, I was left totally impressed with all the acting and not nearly impressed by the story itself. As for the acting, you'd expect perfection from Robert Duvall, but pretty much everyone was exceptional in the film....and this says a lot about the quality of the director as well. As far as the story goes, I felt like there was a huge buildup until the big reveal...and the big reveal wasn't enough to satisfy me after such a long wait.

The story is set in the late 1930s in the rural South. Felix has been a nasty hermit for decades and folks are shocked when he comes to town....and even more shocked when he announces that he's planning a funeral BEFORE he dies...so he can attend as well and listen to everyone's stories about him. I could say more....but you should just see it.

Overall, this is a fine example of acting being even better than the story....and for the quality of the acting, that alone is reason enough to see the film.

By the way, this film does something that has become popular in modern films...showing someone throwing up in vivid detail. Why?! You can hear a person retching or see them from behind....but why this disgusting need to show vomit? I don't get it.