A Grande Ilusão

8 of 10. Truly a film that can be considered art, telling a bizarre story of how a teen girl deals with more typical, everyday parents, neighbors, boys, and a psycho. It manages to do this while still keeping it sexy and mysterious all the way to the end.

Maybe it deserves a higher score, but there are some character incongruities and other annoyances that might not be noticed by the target audience, but get in the way of us non-teen girls with functioning attention spans.

Nonetheless, the combination of the story, settings, colors, clothes, music, and synergy among an odd assortment of actors make for all the things one expects from a film getting an Academy Award nomination.

This was an incredibly deep movie about loss and belonging.

This film is presented in a very intelligent, original way and even though the acting may seem awkward at times, it hits the mark with the overall feeling of uncertainty and UN-belonging.

It may be a bit slow, but what is expressed and observed non verbally throughout the movie creates that churning in your stomach, that ache that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It makes you wonder.

This movie is very simple, but emotionally goes beyond and is captivating. Both Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario played their parts perfectly.

If you love these types of deep movies that you can you emotionally attach to, this movie is a must watch!

Where does this movie head at? I think this question wasn't important, as the motivation of the director must have been most important. The film does excel when it comes to technical skills and standards. The whole settings and the filming location were really a good choice, and the story itself could have been more than an overused vessel. But the movie lacks as soon as I think about the main actors. Both Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario (what a wonderful name) wouldn't match. Until the end I was waiting for some kind of a surprising effect. Though most actors in the supporting roles were quite convincing, the movie left me with the impression of a void, a huge yawning void. May because it was too late for watching 'The Truth About Emanuel', or the unfinished, rough performance of both main actress' led only to a shallow mood. The truth is, there have been many more movies succeeding in what the director intended with this work. However, if you like Kaya Scodelario eyes', or want to see Jessica Biel failing horribly, I would definitely recommend this movie. But don't expect to see a provocative nor sensitive film, it was more like grotesque.

Writer/Director Francesca Gregorini brings a unique and entertaining voice to her new film Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes. This is a darkly comic yet dramatic film about a young misfit girl who befriends her new next-door neighbor who is a single mother with a newborn.

This film is about, among other things, dealing with loss, motherhood and relationships with mothers. Not being able to be a mother but wanting to, not having a mother and wanting one. It may not sound exciting, or it may sound like a set-up for a romantic comedy of sorts, but this film has elements of horror, mystery, surrealism and gets quite intense at times. The film while it is dramatic and has many moments of the above is surprisingly comedic which helps balance the darker aspects of the film. Few films can pull off the level of comedy and heart- breaking reality that this film employs.

I knew fairly early on that I was going to like this film, the way it played perfectly with the audience's emotion and the striking production design. It is amazing how fresh and different this film feels, there is always an undercurrent that something is wrong which latches you to everything on screen.

I was emotionally invested in our main protagonist Emanuel (played by Kaya Scodelario) and in-turn with the single mother Linda (played by Jessica Biel). Between this and Wuthering Heights, I think Kaya Scodelario is an actress to keep an eye on. I've never been a Jessica Biel fan, until now, she is perfect in her role as 'the perfect mother'. The family dynamic too feels authentic with great supporting roles by Alfred Molina and Frances O'Conner.

The only thing that doesn't quite work in this film is the ending; it ends a bit abruptly and offers some emotional satisfaction but in terms of 'reality' feels like more should have happened to find a resolution for the characters. Maybe that's the point though, in difficult situations like these there is no neat bow to tie and make everyone feel perfect and the dissonance at the end is a manifestation of that. Other reactions may be more mixed but thematically and emotionally it was engaging and I appreciated it a great deal.

On reading the reviews for this film, I was expecting a slow paced and emotionally confusing story, but having watched this film I feel it has gone hideously unappreciated. The beginning is a little slow, and it's hard to connect to the characters initially, but the bond created between the teenager and woman is both unique and thought provoking.

This film has lovely dynamics, and deals with the issues of loss and emotional wellbeing in a very poetic and intricate manner that cannot go unappreciated.

I addition to these points,the music is also very well suited.

All in all, this story is very quiet, poetic and special, and if you are someone who appreciates the relationship one can build with a film, then definitely waste no more time and watch this.