Lua de Júpiter

Do you need a miracle to try to become a better person? Or maybe more? And can you actually be a better person, if you try to? You will not necessarily get a conclusive answer to these questions, but what you definitely get if you watch Jupiter's moon, is a relatively entertaining story wrapped into a migrant-sci-fi coating, wonderful camera work, really good action scenes, and some food for thought. Some of the scenes -- both inside and outside ones -- are excellent, acting is also OK. A surprisingly good movie, although you probably need to be in the right mood to really enjoy it.

Who would have thought that the first Hungarian superhero would be a refugee? Jupiter's Moon (Jupiter holdja) is not just another movie about men flying around in capes, but about a Syrian boy with mysterious supernatural abilities. The director, Kornél Mundruczó, is famous for his social awareness and his films frequently show the struggle of underdogs. The director decided to focus on the subject of immigration after the chaotic scenes at Budapest's main railway station Keleti pályaudvar in 2015. Mundruczó portrayal does not judge the particular situation and avoids the direct political resonances, but instead he shares his impressions on the general mood in Hungary.

Half fantasy, half drama, Jupiter's Moon is a unique blend of breath-taking action scenes and dark satire questioning the nature of fate and beliefs. The title refers to Jupiter's moon called Europa, reflecting on the current questions our continent needs to face. The story starts at the southern border of Hungary, where the Syrian boy, Aryan, is shot by the border patrol and suddenly starts to float through the air. The refugee camp's Hungarian doctor discovers the strange event and tries to help the boy. The doctor however has ulterior motives and hope to make money from the miracle. The two travel to the capital and meet with very different people who are seeking some kind of salvation.

Set somewhere in the near future, the neon-glowing Budapest is different from what we know today. There is a heavy police presence, disturbing noise and blinking lights everywhere. The audience can feel the paranoia in the air coming across the screen.

The movie is clever enough not to explain the extraordinary and shows us a sharp tableau of an odd journey. The unexpected friendship holds the story together, but every scene and character reflect on the general fear of the unknown. Jupiter's Moon is gritty, heavy and unsettling, but also thought-provoking and rare. Mundruczó successfully captures the turbulent times we are living in.

What a letdown. The first 20 minutes had me on the edge of my seat, the movie throws you directly into the action, introduces characters well, delivers fast paced action beautifully shot, which reminded me of "Children of Men". So there I was, presented an intriguing mixture between social commentary and superhero entertainment. What followed? A script that wants to much and lacks the boldness to go one way but decides to stumble upon many. The images are intriguing but even after half of the movie I got a bit bored of it. It stretched so long that in the end I didnt even care what happened. Well, even if I had cared - what was I waiting for? Where was all of this going? Sure, a kid being hunted down by a policeman and protected by a doctor - but you couldnt go any better way with a set up like this?

Modern superhero movies and Hollywood in general often faces the judgement of hiding a weak script behind grandiose looks - I dont see why this movie shouldnt be judged and found guilty by the same sentence.

My review is not political nor about propaganda as i saw some, I don't care about those I just wanted to see a movie, and Jupiter's Moon is a movie, not a documentary!

So, the story was well written and took a direction I did not liked, but is for that a bad movie? No! it's a very good movie and the story hooked me up to the end.

Acting: A very good surprise, Those are real actors, all of them! Acting was great in all sense and all way. Hungary has GREAT actors, period.

It's "noir", i am not a fan of noir movies, and did not expect this movie get on this side, but overall it was a nice noir movie.

In my opinion It's a 6/10 star movie, but like I said above the acting was very good so an easy 8/10 for the actors, they deserve it ;)

Strikingly original concept, which boldly merges the gritty with the fantastical. Extremely well-directed: the flying/floating/swirling scenes, the car & the foot chase, the panoramic city shots, they all rival (if not surpass) any Hollywood blockbuster. They are astonishing. The problem is with the script development: it's overlong, uneven and somewhat unfocused. Nevertheless, the film is so technically accomplished that before it had even finished I said "this could be Kornél Mundruczó's ticket to Hollywood, if he wishes it to be". Then I checked IMDb and, what do you know, somebody agreed with me: now he is making a film with Gal Gadot and Bradley Cooper! **1/2 out of 4.