rustique

Really loved Hereditary. I don't mind movies that take their time. But I was rather dissapointed by midsommar. It felt like a remix of hereditary. Main character in mourning, pagan rituals, genetically challenged child that scribbles, naked chanters,... and of course the end is predictable as Aster wanted to pay hommage to a certain movie. Aster said this is a breakup movie like he said hereditary was a movie about mourning. but the end result is neither fish nor meat Aster has potential but he needs to do some critical thinking.

summary: A schoolteacher (Miereveld or "nest of ants") is entranced by one of his students (Fran). Not being able to have his love fulfilled he tries to escape it and moves house and job. Working for the justice department he is invited by the coroner to join a post mortem examination which leads to an encounter with his former student and the possibility to no longer escape his love.

review: The theme of escape is very prevalent throughout all facets of this movie. The off-voice narration creates a sort of detachment that reflects the detachment of the character with reality and even with the feelings inside him. Seldom the characters speak while facing the camera and the music is a wonderful accompaniment to the narrative: fairy-like and enchanting or confusing and detached. As the inner feelings and reflections of the characters are the main subject of this movie, it is strongly narrative driven rather than driven by actions and therefor it might not suit every 21st century viewer. But I strongly urge people to allow themselves to follow the reflections and balance on the stream of consciousness of the characters and see where it takes them. Near the end different elements fall into place although it may be a place that not everyone likes or even understands. Strong visuals, strong music, strong acting, but not suitable for a day when you're on the couch struck by the flu.

It is surprising that there are no Belgian comments on this series. As a Belgian girl i grew up with these and there has never been anything that could remotely match this. Yes they were cute, adorable and their personalities just drew you into the stories. they had wonderful adventures but never the gooey type like the Carebears. Peyo, the creator of the comics and series did sometimes get his inspiration from current events. There is one book that deals with a language issue (should a blowpipe be called blowsmurf or smurfpipe?) that is a parody on the language issues that still exist in Belgium. But i can assure there was no antisemitism or KKK or even communist intentions. The coexisting was more an idea of peace and harmony than it was about communism. Yes, there are morals to the stories sometimes but they are never really the in you face kind of morals you find in current cartoons or Disney movies. it is the kind of show that never goes out of date. the comics are still being made although peyo has died and the quality of the stories is appalling. Stick to the original stuff, it's timeless.