Burning Man

"Burning Man" is one movie which can be tagged under Art-house. Stories about grieving men ain't that novel nowadays, yet Burning Man slaps at the very thought of giving us yet another clichéd piece, this one with all its brilliance is indeed refreshing a watch for the story it deals with.

The drama which unfolds in reverse chronological order - just like in "memento" - goes deep into the lives of the characters, all shown so roughly with incoherent fragments from the story that we feel like watching digged out incidents from the protagonist's memory. It did irk me at first, and i really had to be patient to get the hang of it. Its awfully slow at times that you would start hating it or, the worse, might stop watching it just like my cousin :D - I hate to stall in between. After I finished watching the movie, was amazed by the simplicity of the plot, which was fed to the viewer in a rather unconventional but powerful manner.

The pain the characters go through was brilliantly acted and shot. With some absorbing performances - my first Mathew Goode movie and am already a fan - amazing locale and soulful background score, this drama easily gets into my top Art-House Movies list - stressing on the term "Art house", for it might not be enjoyable outing for all. A good watch for serious movie buffs. 7/10

Tom Keaton (Matthew Goode) is struggling with a mess of sexual encounters with various women after the death of his wife Sarah. He is estranged from his son Oscar. He's a top chef in a chic restaurant.

The acting is good here. The reason for his dysfunction is compelling. However, many movies nowadays think they need the added tension of shredding the time line. They think they need to confuse the viewers so they have the added tension of trying to figure out the storyline. Instead, they should have the confidence in the story to allow it to unfold. Sure flashbacks may be preferable to a strictly linear time line but there's no need to put the film thru a blender.

BURNING MAN is possibly the shiniest wildest and most dazzling new Australian film this year. Absolutely modern in tone and emphatically heartless this is the jigsaw-puzzle depiction of one very confident handsome man imploding and emotionally fracturing. I could suggest it is emotional Inception requiring 2 viewings to slot it all together. However you might not want to because, as gorgeous a leading man as he is, and as sexually magnetic as every woman he meets finds him, and as slick as the film making clearly is, he is not a very nice person for 108 of the 109 minutes on screen. BURNING MAN is a heterosexual version of Matthew Goode's own recent film A SINGLE MAN which won an Oscar last year for someone else. Set in Bondi Sydney this chef with a lonely egg beater and a bewildered son gets mangled in a car crash to jiggle himself through his life flashing by long enough for us to know he actually fell in love (hence kid) ... perfect performances, confusing casing and in need of an edit, BURNING MAN is terrific and annoying all at once. Great film making and aggravatingly modern. Imagine Jamie Oliver played by Tom Hardy. Hump on the hotplate, anyone? wanna watch? All that and more.... then there's the wanking scene.....

Initially I was dazzled. I didn't mind that I was being toyed with, because watching this brilliant piece of manufactured cinema-conjuring was exciting. I was always aware that I was watching a clever movie, rather than being immersed in an emotional experience. But once I'd worked out what was going on and who was who I become tired of the repetitive backwards/forwards structure, and the lack of anything to say, apart from the fact that the smarty-pants hero finds grieving a tough call. The central character - played with about three expressions by Matthew Goode - suffers a tragedy and tries to cope by behaving like an adolescent on a bender, which, I assume, is supposed to be endearing, but is mostly tedious and repetitive. He and his beloved wife are well suited, as she is equally pleased with herself. Their son, the only character I really cared about is worth watching; as is Essie Davis, as his aunt. There are a few touching moments, but they are far outweighed by scenes that you've seen before, in better and worse dramas on TV and in other movies, and even already in this film... on and on and on with no progression. The Script Editors should re-train. This would make a terrific short; unfortunately it's a long.

this is a great movie. One of the best portrayals I have seen of a man experiencing loss and grief. The burn he is acting and the way it is expressed is portrayed in a realistic way. Men can grieve in the arms of others and to the soft well intentioned actions and ministrations of those around them. I find most men do work through the issues with space to brew and rage, talk is important but space to work it out is better.Sitting on the kitchen floor with a bottle of red wine at 2 in the morning nutting it out with someone who cares is where the healing starts. A real visceral portrayal...thank God the only therapist in sight was an ex-shag. The redemption of this guys sad state is due to something greater then himself, his son and the need to carry on. OK, there are a few tears to be had.