La Leona

I didn't know what to expect from this movie which popped up on YouTube as I was searching for something to watch. I was amazed at the good script, quality acting and how touching the movie is. It does remind me of The Elephant Man and make me wonder why we treat someone differently or judge them or shun them because they look different. Such prejudice apparently also resides in children who most probably learn from the adults. We also see how inhumane the medical profession can be especially in the earlier era. It's also an inspirational movie as we see the main character grows to become self-sufficient and pursue her goals. Highly recommend this movie for all.

I saw this movie with an audience, and quite a few had a visible (and intended )emotional reaction to it. Obviously it's able to touch people on an emotional level. In that regard, the movie is quite successful.

Before I saw this movie, I was annoyed by how much of the story was spoiled by trailers. But after watching it, you realize that the story itself is not the important part of this movie. It's establishing relationships between Eva (the girl) and the people in her life. This is also where the movie gains its emotional strength. This part of the movie is probably also the best one, as the feelings the characters have for each other is easily felt as you watch the movie.

But I was there was more. The plot is mostly predictable, and even its most dramatic moments is quickly dropped shortly after happening. The movie goes as a swift pace past anything actually happening, but spends a lot of time on the moments where there's not much going on at all. Where young Eva is exploring the limits of her household, and trying to get a glimpse of the world outside of it. There's enough happening in this movie to warrant its two hour runtime, but the time could have been spent a lot better.

The last part of the movie is almost like fast forward, most likely only so that they could get to the ending scene in a way that carried some emotional impact. Perhaps more of the movie could be spent on these parts of her life, instead of her childhood? In the end, it's a movie that follows the beats you expect it to. On a technical level it (mostly) impresses, especially the make up. The dialects are all over the place, taking a bit of the realism away, but the acting is mostly of high quality.

Its a beautiful and sad fairytale. I guess reality it's much worse. That is why it is predictable storytelling to give us hope and not to much despair.

A well done movie that allows you to understand the development of a character and it shows a different take on how society views you if you're different. The viewer goes through the emotions of the characters and you can understand and empathise to each one of them.

What a such good movie made by norwegians, they derserve an award.