Caminhos Desconhecidos

I hadn't heard of this movie before I watched it but it turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years. I can't believe no-one has told me about it. Sure, it's not neat and polished ( messy as the critics have it) but that's part of its appeal. Its fresh, off-beat, raw, dark, warm and full of heart and insight. The acting is terrific and touching throughout, particularly Steve Coogan and Hilary Duff. You really feel these people are lost and falling apart, looking for someone or something to grab hold of. And you never know where the film is going to take you. I found it enthralling and rewarding and the soundtrack is excellent too. Its one of those films you want to champion - so I did.

This movie is hard to describe without possibly wrecking the viewing experience, but as this is not for everyone, I will try to talk around it, without giving away too much. At its core it is a strikingly realistic mystery, involving the death of a special education teacher. The people in this story are misfits, realistically portrayed, but very unusual people. Taken in total their strangeness makes the entire situation feel unreal, as real things often feel when you know enough of the truth about them.

Do not expect the people and events in this story to make some statement about people or events in general. This is about specific people and specific events. Do not look for comedy or jokes here. Do not expect a great deal of violence or a high body count. Though the sexual activity of some of these people may be disturbing to some viewers, do not come looking to see a lot of naked bodies, this is not a skin flick. In short, this is not designed to appeal to any mass audience, leave your expectations at the door - whatever they are - they are very likely to be disappointed.

The excellent script, by Jonathan Glatzer and Robert Lawson, leads us through the discovery that a mystery exists, why we should care about finding out the truth, who are the people involved, and what is the truth about them and their role in what happened. Marvelous direction by Jonathan Glatzer and an extraordinary cast (including Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby and others) produce an almost flawless film. Makes me really wonder why 9 out of 10 critics gave this film negative reviews. I think that says something about why so many terrible movies keep being made.

If you are wondering why anyone should bother with this movie when it only concerns what happens to a bunch of misfits that you might not relate to - the answer is that this movie is about the nature of truth. How illusory, how dangerous, and how hard to deal with, truth can be. It is about how difficult finding out the truth can be and how careful one must be with what one finds out. Actions have consequences and real truth is seldom purely good, or satisfactory or pleasing, and one must always filter what they reveal to others lest they do more harm than good.

Perhaps that is why so many do not care for this film - it is not going to leave you satisfied or pleased, do not expect to feel like cheering afterwards, but if you want to see something that may give you something to think about this film is well worth your time.

I really thought this film was made with an honesty few teen centered films usually possess. Intriguing performances and slightly surreal situations make the film well worth the watch. Coogan is delightfully flawed and the surrounding cast truly resonates. Although I was prepared to be distracted by Hilary Duff, I thought she shined brightly and held her own quite well. The truth is that most filmmakers when tackling tougher issues as ones presented in What Goes Up tend to talk down and diminish their audience while the makers of this film seem undaunted by the regular Hollywood mission of going for cheap humor and glamorized sexuality. There is a gravity here that hangs like a thick cloud over this cast and I suspect this movie will be looked upon later as having more layers than it would initially seem.

"What Goes Up" tells the story of Campbell Babbitt, an emotionally damaged journalist from NYC who goes to Concord (NH) to cover the hometown hooplah for the Space Shuttle Challenger launch. After having found out about an old friend of his' apparently suicide he becomes entangled in the petty businesses of his late friend's student and tries to uncover the truth of his death.

Or at least this is the most probable synopsis, 'cuz the movie ain't discernible at all. It aims to be profound and leave a certain message, but still, it's really convoluted & unclear. The cast has some potential and big names (Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Josh Peck etc.) but no one of them seems to be at easy with the script and what they have to do.

The movie certainly has some interesting scenes, but near the end it delivers the most outrageous scene you can shoot at least from my point of view, something really abhorrent! It gives me an ante-litteram Euphoria vibe at times throughout its entire length, something that I really despise.

The only positive thing I found out about it it's the fact that Hilary & Josh have become great friends years after the shooting & releasing of this film and both still cannot make sense of what this movie should be.

Maybe in the future I'll be able to re-evaluate "What Goes Up" but for now my vote is negative!

Great introduction to movies by Jonathan Glatzer, this movie told us a story that is unique and bizarre about a small town teacher who has recently died and those around him that was affected. As one of the students quotes every Action has a Reaction and that is what drives this movie forward.

Olivia Thirbly and Josh Peck give us what we have come to expect from these young rising stars, Steve Coogan and Molly Shannon did not disappoint on most accounts, however I feel as though Hilary Duff needs to attune herself more proper to these roles. She is making the right steps into a direction out of Disney and I feel this will be an experience that will help her develop her acting talents for future roles.

The premise of this movie is very interesting, it revolves around the death of Sam Calallucci a teacher of misfit students who all felt very "in love" with him because he allowed them to be themselves. This makes me wonder why they decided to change the title of the movie from "Safety Glass" to "What Goes Up" I think the latter had more commercial appeal but the first title seemed to bring out more emotion. This was a very character driven movie however some should have been touched upon a bit more such as Josh's character but a movie can only be so long before boring its audience.

All in all I enjoyed this movie, it did have some weak links in acting and minor problems in its story which could have been written tighter if that wasn't what was the aim then some things should be left for interpretation in a more fashionable way.

8/10

~XTC