Inquietos

Gus Van Sant rarely makes bad movies. I've liked him him since 'My Own Private Idaho', and who can forget masterpieces like 'Good Will Hunting' and 'Milk'? With a gloomy premise involving a cancer-stricken girl (who's going to witness death) and a recently-out-of-coma funeral-crashing guy (who nearly witnesses death), people might lose interest in the beginning itself. But, it's a beautiful movie which explores love, life and death, and challenges our ideas surrounding death.

Many may find the movie slow, unconventional and hollow... But, it really worked for me. It's sad, funny, quirky and romantic! All the three lead actors, Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper and Ryo Kase fit their roles very well. Mia Wasikowska is an incredible young actress who has been part of wonderful movies like 'The Kids Are All Right", 'Jane Eyre' and 'Albert' Nobbs'.

Starting with Beatles' "Two of Us", and with the addition of one of my favourite French songs ("Je ne veux pas travailler") in the background score, it makes me love the movie even more...

I loved the character of the Japanese Kamikaze Ghost, and his character summarizes the movie well.

This underrated film was released just before Christmas in Tokyo. As a long time fun of the director, I enjoyed very much this beautiful film. It appears to be an ordinary boy-meets-girl story with somewhat quirky atmosphere, but inside I found the film is filled with homage to the Nouvellevague cinema.

Among them, I remember the film "Cleo de 5 a 7" by Agnes Varda (1962), which includes discussions of mortality, despair and the meaning of life. I also felt the airs of Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. If you love the French films in 60s, I believe you will enjoy and appreciate it more.

The line by Hiroshi (the Ghost) summarizes the theme of this film.

"We have so little time to say any of the things we mean. We have so little time for any of it."

Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper) is a morbid teenager that enjoys attending funerals. He meets the teenager Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikowska) in a memorial service and they start to see each other. Enoch has lost his parents in a car accident and lives with his aunt Mabel (Jane Adams). His best and only friend is the ghost of the Japanese kamikaze pilot Hiroshi Takahashi (Ryo Kase) and Enoch neither goes to school nor has a car. Annabel is terminal with brain tumor and lives with her sister Elizabeth (Schuyler Fisk) and her mother Rachel (Lusia Strus). She loves to read about birds, especially the water birds. Soon the unlikely couple falls in love with each other improving their lives.

"Restless" is a beautiful, romantic and sad movie about love, life and death. Enoch Brae recalls Harold, from "Harold and Maude", a teenager with a trauma attracted by memorial services. Mia Wasikowska is wonderful in the role of the sweet Annabel, a teenager terminally ill that loves life. The story is sensitive and their romance is heartbreaking. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Inquietos" ("Restless")

It is pleasant to watch movies in which sad and tragic events are not depicted in a depressive and gray manner, and the characters are able to enjoy the current day. Restless is one of those movies, and despite the sad background, the viewers can follow different undertakings of the lead characters, their joys, worries and moods. The ending scene is settled in an interesting way as well.

Henry Hopper as Enoch Brae and Mia Wasikowska as Annabel Cotton are good and credible; both of them could be used more in non-mainstream movies. Hiroshi Takahashi (Ryō Kase) is an interesting finding, providing additional dimension to this otherwise linear movie.

The movie is definitely for you if you are not ultra-conservative and/or have fresh respective experiences. You have a possibility to enjoy something different and ponder whether your own life is as bad as it may often seem...

Director Gus Van Sant is renowned for films that explore the lives of lost or outcast characters, and reveal their strength and beauty. And his latest film Restless is no exception.

The film tells the story of two free-spirited teenagers - Annabel (Mia Wasikowska) and Enoch (Henry Hopper). Annabel is suffering a terminal illness, whilst Enoch splits his time between attending stranger's funerals and talking to the ghost of a kamikaze pilot named Hiroshi (Ryo Kase). As they fall for each other, it becomes clear that they are exactly what each other needs, and their lives revolve around making the most of each moment together.

Based on this summary you could be excused for thinking that Restless might be too melancholy. But I think it is more a celebration of life. Don't get me wrong, the film certainly does tug at the heart-strings, but there is an appreciation and acceptance of the fleeting nature of life that overwhelms the sadness.

Van Sant has created a beautiful film with vivid images and masterful direction. It's also quite quirky due to its interesting characters, script and film score. The performances are very good (especially from Wasikowska) which I think add to the strong emotions elicited in the audience. Annabel's zest for life is especially inspirational.

In this sense Restless is so much more than a love story. It certainly makes you appreciate life and loved ones, and this is what I really liked about the film.