A Imagem de um Pesadelo

This is the third Raoul Ruiz film I have watched recently (after "Three Lives and Only One Death" and "Genealogies of a Crime"), and it is easily the best of the three. Why? Because it's less talky and pseudo-philosophical, more colorful and cinematic. Imaginatively directed and sprinkled with all sorts of quirky visual surprises (some of which are directly linked to its title) and surreal ideas (a painting that gets different every time you look at it), it captures the netherworld between dream and reality better than any "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. And if all the pieces of the puzzle don't fit together at the end (though a second viewing will help you clear up a few details), at least you can feel the director's joy in assembling them anyway. (***)

Even with great set design and cinematography, this muddle of a mystery will leave many questions and confusion, long after it's over. Good, dual character arcs for both William Baldwin and Annie Parrilaud; however, neither seem to connect with the final denouement.I kept hoping I would understand the final outcome, but still remain unsure of what it all meant.It has a Hitchcock/De Palma/Shayamalan director's twist, but it doesn't seem to tie up all the loose ends.It is recommended, however, for anyone interested in post-traumatic stress syndrome, abnormal psychology, or readers of 19th century author,William James.

Did see Shattered Image tonight with Billy Baldwin and Anne Parillaud. Terrible. Audience tittered and laughed openly the first half hour, then even that entertainment value waned as the jerking back and forth between supposed reality and supposed nightmare simply became fatiguing. Some glaring imperfections, such as unconvincing Jamaican accents and an outdoor scene where it's raining only on the lead characters' car. Badly researched too. Many loose details are left banging about randomly in this film, without fulfilling the implied promise that their presence will be explained by the end. It's a lot like the later works of director Joseph Losey--Dark Ceremony; The Go-Between--films that tease the audience by not telling us everything but ultimately don't have that much to say.

Lynch meets Luc Besson's "La Femme Nikita", in this rare below average film of Ruiz. Something like Konchalovsky work on Tango and Cash. Ruiz blamed it on the producers and the crew. The camerawork does show the brilliance of a typical Ruiz film. Add to it a painting that keeps changing!

This is one of those movies. Despite the agony, I hung in there for 40 minutes, but I could take no more. I guess everyone has their limits. This movie was incredibly bad! What were the people who made this movie thinking?