Luz

An impressive little artsy film. Some really haunting imagery. I personally just needed a little more story. I mean, it's there. There is a narrative thread in there, but I personally would have enjoyed a more flushed out story. Nevertheless, it's a intriguing watch. Definitely some things in here I've never seen before. Enjoyed it.

Interesting little movie about demonic possession. The pacing is a little slow, and some of the sequences are deliberately confusing (unnecessarily, I think). But the attempt to make a real mind-eff movie ultimately fails because it's not coherent OR confusing enough to be really compelling (if that makes sense).

I did enjoy the story and the lead actress's performance. And I also enjoyed the woman who played Nora.

It's short, so if you've got 70 minutes to kill, it's not the worst thing you can watch.

I give Luz a 5 out of 10. I do this because I at least owe the makers of this movie their due. I think they did what they set out to do. The problem is that they didn't include the audience. A movie can be a lot of things; smart, angry, dijointed, simplistic, action packed, erotic, whatever.... But doesn't it still have to be appealing? Otherwise what's the point?

Trust me. Whatever underlying tones or metaphors are present with this movie will not be reached by hardly anyone. And I would contest that those who claim to understand what's going on with this movie are fooling you and themselves.

These art movies can continue to be produced the way they are. That's fine and even great, but give the audience a payoff, or something. Anything at all. This movie doesn't deliver anything for the effort you will put into watching it.

The visual look of Luz is out of this world and has a vibe all its own. If you just happened upon this film on cable one night, you could easily think someone like Dario Argento had a hand in producing this at some point in the mid or late 80's. It has a gritty, 16mm aesthetic that's hypnotizing and makes the film hard to shake once its over. I only wish I could say the same about the threadbare story that does anything but linger with the viewer.

Acting is strong across the board with everyone giving convincingly wild and bizarre performances and there are some great images that will stick with you, but Luz could have used a few more drafts of the script before it went into production. Also, at barely 70 minutes, there are moments of the film that seem endless. It's pretty lightweight in terms of story, but it's a great exercise in style and mood.

If you require a cohesive story to enjoy a movie, just skip this. It's fully abstract, surreal, and non-linear, through and through. I still don't know what happened but I'm glad I watched it once. The movie is only 70 minutes long, so really it's no longer than a long episode of series programming. It goes by very quickly thanks mostly to very striking and atmospheric visuals, downright bizarre dialogue, AND some effectively creepy performances from nearly the entire cast, ESPECIALLY red-headed Julia Riedler who really stole the show, managing to give her intriguing character some serious complexity with not much to even work with, story wise. The music and photography were also both fantastic! Really, the main flaw is simply that... I have no idea what any of it is supposed to mean, in any manner, whatsoever. LOL. But, hey, it sure beats this years other surreal horror option, IN FABRIC. :)