This Must Be the Place

I can't lie, i was expecting a "normal" movie by an Italian director, like Muccino's movies- not great, a little weak here and there and kinda boring-! "This Must Be the Place" instead is a great flick, probably the best movie of 2011, great story, amazing acting, a photography that leave you speechless. It's a must see. Plus it make you smile, it's ironic, Sean Penn has fun with his character, he plays with it, his moves and his voice are always perfect, it good to see an actor in such a great shape. This is one of those pictures that remind you why going to the movie is such an amazing thing to do!

Ciao ciao, Alberto

I'm a DVD man.Films are my most important relaxation methodology. For me, the whole purpose of a film is to transport me into another reality, even a 'factually historic' film does this, for that reality was never subjectively mine. Occasionally a film comes along that is so incredible in it's ability to 'transform my reality' that it becomes embedded not only in my memory but leaves laser-like traces sparkling in my consciousness.

This was such a film for me.

No spoilers here, but some aspects of the photography are amazing,simply beyond surrealistic,more glowingly minimalistic in their utter magnificence. How the hell can you make a supermarket shopping trip into an adventure journey through a time-warped window of photographic beauty? Watch out for the car at the gas station scene. It's a visually structured scene that hit my eyes with astonishment.

The acting is superb.Yet, that word seems so inadequate to describe Sean Penn's utterly mind-blowing performance. I had to keep reminding myself that this was Sean Penn and these continued reminders simply made his performance all the more brilliant.

In the manner of an 'old Master',Paolo Sorrentino places layer after layer of subtle strokes to compose a mesmerizing work. He takes his time about it, as though each stroke of his brush must be precisely executed so that the whole may be that 'other reality' I seek in my film watching.

If you will watch this then you must prepare yourself to surrender totally into ' it's reality'- I found it well worth the capitulation.

This film has beautiful performances and words - it's the moments that end up holding the most merit. Otherwise, a lot of it is lost on a practical level. For example, I didn't understand most of the characters' relationships on a completely literal level. How were Mary and her mother related to Cheyenne? What did Mary say in the first scene at the mall coffee shop? Between the unintelligible way they spoke and the (refreshing) non-expositional quality of the movie, you just have to take it as it comes. Much of the dialogue is poetic and nuanced, the performances from each actor are strong, and the photography is fun. I found it to be poetic and wonderful despite its befuddling aspects.

How refreshing it is to sit through an inspirational and yet entertaining story. If you fell in love with Sean Pen during the trailer, you will definitely be happy to know that those two hours will not disappoint you.

"This Must be the Place" brings back Penn and his wonderful talent to depict a strange character that doesn't seem to connect with the world around him. It's a delicious journey through the ups and downs of life and the numerous ways of facing them. It's about love and family, courage and determination in searching for what makes sense to you in spite of what people may think. Penn is extraordinarily funny in a simple way, unpretentiously humble and somehow adorable as a man who sees the world differently from everybody else. I had a wonderful time watching this movie, without that feeling of betrayal left by so many deceitful trailers.

I thought this would be a better movie. The premise is quite interesting and I usually like these artsy dramedies. This one on the other hand tries to be more artsy than it really is.

At first I didn't like how Sean Penn portrayed Cheyenne, but later on in the movie I completely forgot that I was watching Mr. Penn. So I guess the performance is good, and maybe I just didn't find the character to be a very interesting or likable.

This movie is slow, and I don't even mind slow movies. Hell I usually think the slower the better, but this just drags forever. The plot doesn't take off until half way thru and even then it feels like you've already watched this movie for hours.

There's an insane amount of camera trickery, almost every scene uses some camera dolly or crane thing, even if it serves no purpose other than moving the camera around in an "imaginative way". It was really distracting and I didn't find the camera work that fun to look at.

The script leaves a lot of stuff untold. There is talk about people who are seemingly important, but they are never explained who they are and while you have ideas, it's not something you'd like to spend any energy guessing. Some movies make these mind games fun, but here they're just annoying. I noticed myself thinking all the time if I had missed something, but reading at the forums here, I don't think I missed anything. This movie just doesn't inspire you to figure out those loose endings at all.

In the end I gather I just don't like the directors way of making movies. The story is quite interesting, but the way it's told just wasn't my cup of tea.