Dandelion

There isn't much to say about Dandelion that the film doesn't say for itself. Form the beautiful shots of Idaho fields to the perfectly understated acting, Dandelion is its own greatest compliment. The editing, although only using very few techniques succeeds in making the most powerful transistions possible. As well, for a movie of its length and bare bones story it is amazing that the film never feels boring. Most directors would have felt like making Dandelion a short, but in its full length one can see its true colors. Anyone who watches independent film will not be surprised by the plot, but the beauty with which Dandelion executes the simple story is a testament to artistic film making.

a very delicate movie illustrating how close freedom and sacrifice may match in human relationships. dialogues often strip the character's inner self to their respective bare essence, and everyone is respected here, not judged. to me, there's few films that expose the emotional impact of words as detailed as this movie. and the director took great care to recognize nature's tranquilly (and enormity in some case) as a safe haven to retreat if you have problems. some may actively choose it as a last haven, some may decide to seek freedom in other ways. to complete the movie's religious feel, the music's one with a lot of what's happening you should see the movie being seated in a quiet corner

Wow, I just watched this movie for the first time and actually never heard of it before yesterday. I was amazed by this incredible work of art. I have seen Vincent Karthiser before in Another Day In Paradise, and was impressed with that performance, but this one is in another dimension. This is a beautiful but very sad movie, a hard thing to accomplish with this depth of emotion. All the lead actors are at the top of their game, and the last 10 minutes of the film are an emotional roller-coaster. I can't recommend this any more highly, I gave it 10 stars. I knew almost nothing about the story before I watched it, and within the first minute I was hooked. All I can say is, wow what a fantastic way to spend an hour and a half.

In my opinion, everything in this film is superior. The acting was incredible, storyline, plot and screen writing were very realistic. Some might say that the writing had too many curse words in it, but I think that it really showed realism. I actually cried a little during this film, and that's saying something, because I never cry during movies. I always look at them like a critic and manage not to cry during sad dramas. This one was very well casted, makeup was well done...and everything else. The Mullich parents, I think, had the best acting, especially Arliss Howard (Luke), since his character was very deep and complex. I think he pulled it off quite nicely. Taryn Manning and Vincent Kartheiser acted their characters incredibly well, the realism of it all just blew me away. I thought that everything seemed real and was all very well done. I applaud everyone involved and I would recommend this film to a great number of people.

I saw this movie at the Rotterdam-FilmFestival in Februari. It was a stormy dark day, a kind of weather which is also predominant in Dandelion.

The Director was present and after the movie he told us a little bit about why he made the movie. He wanted to show in what circumstances the teenagers in the Midwest grow-up, how sad there existence can be.

I didn't fully agree with him, because I think you can also extract positive things from Dandelion, for instance that teenagers can be happy with each other, even when there parents are very unhappy. But the final conclusion is indeed that the unhappiness of parents rests heavily on their children and passes inevitably on to them.

I was pleasantly surprised by the actors' wonderful playing and I hope I will see more of them. It's a pity that so few 'alternative' American movies reach Europe. So, to encourage Directors of these kinds of movies to go on like this, I gave a 9, instead of an 8.