Backlight

It's of no surprise that Fernando Fragata's Backlight made the list of the Top 10 most profitable Portuguese films by the Portuguese Film Institute. Backlight is without a doubt a great film. It also turned out to be a very controversial film, simply because not a lot of films like this come out of Portugal. Despite the fact that the film was shot entirely in the USA and is in English Language, it's still a Portuguese film, because the writer/director/producer Fernando Fragata is Portuguese.

I have seen many films with interlocking stories and about a lot of different people and their lives, but rarely we find it as emotional and well-made as this. The plot was iffy to me at first, but after the first 10 minutes I got really into it. Backlight really surprised me in the way that actually none of the characters know each other at first. The screenplay was very clever to just have like a glimpse into these people's lives. I thought it made the story unpredictable, and when the heavy parts come, you are really into it and I found myself totally absorbed. The characters are very fleshed out making you invest emotionally in each one with no effort.

The performances all around were brilliant, but to me the stand-out was Skyler Day. I thought her story was the strongest, weirdest and sometimes funniest at the same time, and it was really well written. I thought her acting was phenomenal, and I think she is predestined to have a successful career. Joaquim de Almeida and Scott Bailey were very good too, in a more subtle way. I thought the direction and cinematography was phenomenal. The grand finale has one of the most amazing and beautiful slow-motion sequences in cinema history.

This film has great exterior shots of the American west and some really bad acting. The theme is OK--that coincidence may be more than just that. So what else is there to say?IF you have never been to the west or you want to recapture an experience, then you must see this film.

So is this film fun: yes and no. If you can afford Mania's awful acting, then this film clearly is recommended for you!

First off, the film has an interesting screenplay. The scenes in the Mohave Desert are striking. That said, it's difficult to understand the actors speaking during the film, with the constant barrage of the overly loud soundtrack! So, very disappointing sound engineering. Needless to say, it makes trying to watch the film very annoying. Another thing to note, was the angry mom. I felt it was acted poorly, with no help from the script she had to read.

Skipped through a few minutes of it. Looks like total boring crap. Hilarious fake reviews give it a 10. The script? Brilliant! The acting...excellent! Sure thing. Maybe actually make something good so the reviews don't need to be fake. Check it out if you still want to.

This was not a bad film. It had an interesting story - a chain of events, although they did not seem connect, eventually made a full circle. Dialogue were sometimes disjointed, from time to time, it sounded like 'reading a script', not like real conversation, but it was not that bad. Half of actors were decent; the other half were trying-too-hard. Production value was more or less like a TV show. It was enjoyable until... the music score; it was horror. Why did the director repeat the same score through out the movie? Why did the director feel the need filling every minute of movie with sound (that same movie score)? Why? It really drove me nut.