BermudezLievano

Alejandro Amenábar is a very young and talented director, born in Chile and raised in Spain. He revolutionized Spanish cinema when he arrived on the scene with Thesis, at only 24 years of age. The came Abre los ojos, a very powerful second film that immediately put him aside some of the leading directors there, like Pedro Almodóvar, Carlos Saura, or Fernando Trueba. The others is only his third film and you can now see a hint of who may become one of the best around in a couple of years (he's only 29).

The best comparison I can make of this film is to a piece of clockwork. Precise, exact, nothing is gratuitous or excessive.... What a subtle charm this film works on you as a spectator. The screenplay is one of the best of this genre I have seen in the last few years, very carefully revised and misleading, yet at the end everything makes perfect sense, not the mention on the second time you watch it.

It is true that many of the film's features and details may be traced to classic films of the genre, but there is nothing wrong with that. The director himself said it was an homage to directors like Alfred Hitchcock (to whom he has been compared somewhat prematurely.... he may reach such height but he still has a long road to walk). That is one of the great things about the film; it takes the best of the genre, the best that has been made by the best directors... it's a film lover's delight.

I had never thought Nicole Kidman could have been at the height of the project, as I really have never considered her a great actress. All I can say is I am still dumbfounded by her extraordinary performance... really, a large percentage of the film's success can be related to her. Sober and discreet when needed, yet grand all the same... It does remind some of the most elegant names of classic Hollywood cinema like the Bette Davis of All about Eve or the Katharine Hepburn of The African queen. But it would be really selfish to give her all the credit when she was supported by an extraordinary cast. Fionnula Flanagan (the sweet old lady from Waking Ned Devine) is trully magnificent as the governess, Mrs. Mills, and very surprising performances of a mute and an old gardener are given by Elaine Cassidy and Eric Sykes. The children (Alakina Mann and James Bentley) are also fantastic.

Finally, I cannot but mention the crew of the film. It is even a more fantastic job when you consider that the film (many people don't realize this) is chiefly a Spanish production. The production design by Benjamín Fernández and specially the cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe are extraordinary. Just as in the best painting of figures like Goya or Rembrandt, light and shadow reveal the objects and the people.

I do not hesitate to say that this is really one of the best films of the year 2001. I am still waiting to watch Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, La stanza del figlio, The shipping news, The hours and Italiensk for begyndere, but I know it will remain amongst those at the top. A 10/10 is really fair for a film that has it all, a perfect machinery that arrives at a time when we seriously need intelligent films and not blockbuster deceptions. I can only say I hope its director won't jump to Hollywood in search of big-time projects that waste his potential.

It is a film to feast on.. to savour, to enjoy, to remember....

I saw this film at the inaugural ceremony of this year's Bogota International Film Festival. I really wasn't very enthusiastic about a film I thought wasn't going to be anything special, but having free entries and looking forward to the ceremony itself, I went to see it. As soon as the film started I realized I had been mistaken about it. And by the end I was so glad I hadn't missed it! This is truly one of the best films made in Colombia in the past ten years. The film is set in the 1930's or 40's in a small Colombian town and tells the story of three children who go through all sorts of adventures and misventures in order to become invisible. The protagonist's motivation is the secret love he has for his neighbour, a very beautiful but unkind little girl (only she is also secretly in love with him). The story is narrated by this protagonist around fifty years afterwards, and the tone of the story is the perfect one: an epic tone that gives the children's adventures enormous proportions. The film is full of tender and hilarious moments that bring many spectators close to tears and remind all of our childhoods. Technically speaking, the film is also remarkable!! The quality of this film is quite good for a Colombian one, and I specially liked the cinematography. So, if you can catch this film... I recommend it.

Before watching Run Lola Run, I was absolutely sure it was an incredible film and that I was going to praise it; well, it surprised me even more and now I worship it! It is really one of the best films I have seen in the last two years, just beside Almodóvar's All About My Mother.

What's so great about this German film? Well, everything is. Starting with the directing by Tom Tykwer. A masterpiece, a work of art. The movement of the camera is striking, yet it blends in with the story perfectly, and these movements are clearly needed for the story (it's NOT a director trying to impress you with his originality!). The best thing I thought was the editing; it reminds me of the cinema of Hitchcock, Buñuel or Eisenstein. The enormous amount of details that Tykwer conveys through editing is extraordinary and just this makes the film very worth watching. Also very interesting and appealing are the very strong screenplay by Tykwer and the faboulous cinematography by Frank Griebe. Not to mention the soundtrack, an incredible medley of different styles, that blend in perfectly in every moment of the film.

The structure of the story is definitely not one you see everyday, but the strength of it doesn't merely lie in the fact it's very original; it truly is a perfect screenplay, not a second of film is wasted, not a second is eraseable. It reminded me very much of Julio Medem's The Lovers of the Arctic Circle. As for Franka Potente, I think she is a great discovery; I hand't seen any of her work before and she has quite an acting capacity, same as supporting actors Herbert Knaup (Lola's father) and Nina Petri (Jutta).

So, I truly think you should watch this excellent film.