O Sistema

Certainly a good subject and a touchy one. We have several movies treating this subject, the environment, the corruption. When I left the cine I asked me the question : Could this be true and yes, certainly. And that its all about, if you leave the cine and keep on thinking about the subject and discuss it with others. I didn't knew that much about Brit Marling and this film awakened my interest. Good acting and she has many opportunities to go as actress, writer or director. The movie is a must see, but ... it is not that much of a thriller, the action scenes are rather short and don't ask that much of attention and that is what it is meant to be, because the movie target is to show us how Brit Marling integrates in the East, her feelings, her changes in ideas. But also in the emotional part I find this movie rather general. It seems that they don't want to go a bit in depth on the subject, keep it simple for the spectator, the client. Keep it mainstream. So, it is not an action movie, but either enters in difficult matters. The subject is although unique and a must see. The end of the movie. Seems that it was time to finish and so they did, a bit in a rush.

The east is one of those movies the just fall from the tree, and when they fall you realize it is probably on of the best movies of the year. The fact some eco-terroristts decide to fight against large evil corporations(pharma,oil,coal etc.) makes the story even more interesting. Brit Marlin does a brilliant acting, being an undercover agent, but a human one, not one of those Hollywood super-heroes-I-save-the-world-again. The rest of the actors have a brilliant acting. If you want a "human" movie where intelligence and reality clash from start to finish, this is your movie, but remember to watch it slowly, so you can get the most of it.

Without going into a lot of detail, this is the perfect movie for a summer day. And it just keeps on growing on you. The fact that there is another movie on this topic waiting to be made, well, that is often the case. The really exciting part of this is that Britt is not, drum roll, a star, but now she is. It can always be said that a film that is a stunning star vehicle for an actress, well, that only seems to come along every few years. And this ranks right at the top of those. Britt is not only beautiful and charismatic, but she obviously has a deep intelligence and creativity that is a perfect mix for this day and age. I say -rush out a see this, do not read about it, and try to remember one thing, great actresses are like great bottles of wine, they get better and better for a long time. Looking at what is coming for her, she is already very busy. And the fact that she hit this out of the park, is a great career lift off. Brit, this is your time.

I generally get tired of films pushing politics throughout their story with all this left-wing, right-wing crap, that because of the focus of the group of people who make that type of film, so becomes an entanglement of an unnecessary debate with audiences and critics, that the film itself becomes lost. The East tells its message straight and clear and understands that most will agree with a majority of its ideas, but never loses sight of the story and the characters its wants to portray.

The East follows an operative for a PI firm who is handpicked to infiltrate an extreme anarchist group who focus their sights on major corporations for the crimes they have committed on humanity. I agree that that basic synopsis probably will make a few shy away from seeing it, but I don't believe anyone will come out of the film in a heated debate with the next person on its political issues, however timely. It has a great perspective instead on what we as individuals value most. It never allows itself to succumb to any political wash-over, but instead takes a side for the characters and where they stand as people that manages to invest us in the emotional elements rather than just straight ideals.

Brit Marling plays the operative at hand and also co-wrote the screenplay with up-and-comer, Zal Batmanglij. They both worked together and the equally excellent Sound of My Voice last year and its apparent that they have continued to build their ground in their respective fields, each finding a voice to be heard away from the mainstream flow.

The East is simply just a solid, taut and investing thriller that values telling the story of its characters, while keeping the political stance to the side and also having fun tangling the audience up its in web.

Truth is stranger than fiction so it's hard for a two-hour fictional film to compete with real examples of immorality, greed, and corruption that are rife within corporate America. Documentaries such as Enron, Who Killed the Electric Car, and Food, Inc. are more powerful because they're real. However, The East is solidly produced and acted as it dishes up fictional corporate misdeeds and misinformation perpetrated in the name of power and profit. The East humanizes its activist characters by giving insight into their varied and often mainstream pasts and into what fuels their battles against the system. Activists can be people too. At two hours, The East is limited in the number of corporate transgressions its activists can pursue and attempt to undermine, but it is an entertaining reminder of the type of malfeasance that goes on as it builds to a suspenseful and thought-provoking end. Good movie, not great, but worth watching.