Las vidas posibles de Mr. Nobody

Just caught the north American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. This is my first IMDb comment, doing it cause i saw no one else has written anything yet.

Jaco is an absolutely brilliant writer/director. I haven't seen too many art-house films, but I was pleasantly surprised by the tone which wasn't too serious, or pretentious. There were laugh out loud moments during a movie with themes concerning choice, destiny, and metaphysics.

I was enamoured by the love story, it was feel good without being Hollywood.

The visuals were amazing. I believe that Jaco explained that he used different DP's to film the different possible lives of Mr. Nobody. There were scenes set in the year 2092 that were absolutely stunning on the big screen.

I found the soundtrack to be awesome. Any movie with "Mr. Sandman" and "Where is my mind?" is alright by me.

The movie was extremely imaginative, original, funny, and will probably have me thinking about it and my own life for days after viewing.

Of course I understand if someone says/thinks this is pretentious. But if you're a fan of weird Science Fiction and/or Terry Gilliam, you should feel right at home. This really out there movie, gives you a lot to think about (if you're up for it). It's also kind of a twisted version of Lola Runs.

It just takes that "what would happen if" concept to another level (or is it dimension?). Every decision you make has consequences. The bigger the decision the bigger the consequences obviously. Which doesn't mean that small things don't matter. Quite the opposite, but the movie has to concentrate on a few things and it does so very well. Nicely acted and maybe not the easiest movie to follow this is executed very well ...

This film is not for everyone. It has a sprawling, non-linear, non-conventional approach to storytelling. It follows the life (lives) of a man called Nemo Nobody (Jared Leto) whose life could have followed multiple different paths depending upon the smallest of chance occurrences.

Whereas films such as Sliding Doors follow a simple two-path narrative, this film has multiple branches. The achievement is that all of them are interesting (in different ways) and it never feels confused.

The central theme is love, and how random chances affect who we love, and how that love changes. There is joy, loss, betrayal, grief and a whole swath of other emotions on display here. My only complaint is that there is no really satisfying conclusion to the film, but I am not even sure that such a thing is possible.

If you are willing to try something different, something unconventional, that doesn't necessarily make sense, then give this a try. If nothing else, it will give you something to think about.

This beautiful surreal movie is full of memorable lines that will make you reconsider your outlook on life, but this one is my favorite:

"At my age, the candles cost more than the cake. I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid I haven't been alive enough. It should be written on every schoolroom blackboard: Life is a playground - or nothing."

9/10

This is the first time I have felt the need to post a review of a film, but the experience that this movie provided was so unique and profoundly moving that I feel compelled to post something of my thoughts.

I have just finished watching Mr Nobody after knowing nothing about the movie beforehand (perhaps a good thing as I may have avoided it otherwise), but was simply astonished by the originality, cinematography, acting, script, soundtrack and profoundly thought provoking ideas.

I realise that this film will not be to everyones taste, certainly I think it will not be fully comprehended by the younger generation as it does require a certain lifetime of experiences to relate, such as birth, love, marriage, children, separation, divorce, death, life changing choices etc.., but nevertheless it does make you deeply consider your own past decisions and future choices, and everyone of all ages will have made and will make these decisions.

The production values are very high and would not look out of place in a 'hollywood blockbuster' but it is the mix of cinematography and music mingled with the dramatic scenarios that make it truly memorable.

It is a difficult film to describe as it does not follow a traditional narrative structure, but that is what makes it so unique and truly memorable. An experience that will hopefully stay with you long after you have seen it. It certainly made for a hugely memorable experience for me. Others may differ in opinion, but I don't think anyone can argue that it is not intelligent, fresh, original and thought provoking.

Well done to all involved in providing something original, intelligent and very entertaining.