skysaxon

I don't know if it is the director or the actors but there is no chemistry anywhere in this film. It plays like two actors trying to be the archetypal pushy male and the bored female and not quite pulling it off. Also, the tame sex scenes have been obviously exploited by the film makers to publicize the movie. Gosling is a fine actor; here he is given too much freedom as he doesn't seem to have any idea about how the masses make love or feel. His performance is the first failure of his career. But, it's not all his fault.

It's as if the copious rehearsal time has robbed the essence of what happens in real life. We act out our lives in surprising and inexplicable turns. There are no surprises here. Extensive acting play has taken the place of the spontaneity and complexity of real life. Then again, nobody will know the difference. This is a movie you're supposed to like. Even if it has nothing to do with the life you're living. It's what directors and actors think we are like but we are not that simple. Ever.

Perhaps it is because I've become addicted to classic cinema the last few years, but I find modern movies to be increasing shrill, clumsily assembled and soulless. One of the few directors breaking new ground while keeping his feet firmly planted in classic film making, Apichatpong Weerasethakul has crafted a work of art that defies simplistic interpretation.

Using the environment as the soundtrack instead of grating, discordant music so often spoiling films of our era, Boonmee bathes the viewer in succulent imagery, real life sounds and a spiritual depth that rings so true to the reality of our everyday lives, despite being set in rural Thailand. Like Antonioni, Weerasethakul understands the power of silence and the clarity of image.

Though not for everyone, it is a must see for anyone who treasures cinema. To my eyes and ears, it is a masterpiece. It is the way I wish more movies would be made - honestly, lovingly and lasting. And where else would you see a catfish making love to a princess and have it be so elegant. And where else would you found a line as beautiful and profound as, "Heaven is overrated. There is nothing there".

Marred by overacting from one of the major actors (Lesley Manville as Mary) and a cloying, invasive score, this film could have been great. Critics surely loved it for how it represents an underrepresented segment of British society. Granted, there is a naturalness to relationship of the married couple that has been a long time coming. Too bad it's mired in exaggerated situations that are used to amplify the steadiness of the couple. It's a little too obvious contrivance. More for sociologists than film lovers, there's not enough here of interest to those other than people involved in the socio-economic conditions of the characters portrayed. And that violiny score...pure torture.