lazarid

The film touches subjects which although very important, remain out of focus in almost all contemporary narratives. As the title «Les miserables» indicates, the protagonists are the victims of a system which breeds inequality and marginalization of a large proportion of the population. The story develops linearly, the scenes stay within the essential statements, spectacularly false impressions are omitted and the message comes through effectively. My feeling was that there was really no plot but an ordinary, documentary like, day to day happening in one of the ghettos of civilized Paris in France. What I found very interesting and revealing was the depiction of the inability of western societies to assimilate, integrate and absorb different cultures. I was left wondering.

There is no need to make a movie if you have nothing to say. Because if you do, you trap a number of unfortunate people to a theatre which you transform into a torture chamber. You bombard them with incomprehensible pictures, very badly cinematographed, making no sense whatsoever. If you think that the spectators can solve a non-existing puzzle, you are mistaken. I suggest that you can try to do something else, be a photographer or a painter, but not a film maker.

A good film. It describes efficiently, the dreams and the aims of a considerable percentage of the contemporary youth in the U.S.A. Clearly states the dilemma college students face, when confronted with their future prospects. The choice between a 'normal' life (predictable, comfortable and relatively well envisaged) and an unconventional but exciting road to self-fulfilment. The luxury of this kind of choice, although restricted to affluent youngsters of a 'rich' country, is surprisingly difficult to make given the environment, the family conditions and the social expectations. The film presented to me a critical view of a 'foreigner' (the director is from the UK) to real contemporary problems the youth in the U.S.A. face. The 'documentary-like' scenes (talk to the camera, interviews, references to real persons) were excellent additions to the narrative flow.