Julian Po

I saw it on one of the arts channels 2 days in a row last year and was surprised at how much better it was the second time. It's an unusual movie, to be sure, the type that doesn't make a ton of money but it IS a good film. It has good direction, good characters and a good cast. You don['t walk away feeling like you've been hit in the face with a ton of bricks. Its much more subtle than that. And it doesn't take a great stretch of the imagination to realize that this is a slightly different version of the last 3 days in the life of Jesus. I'm serious. Watch it again with this idea in mind and watch all the pieces fall together. I'm by no means a religious person and this is not a religious movie but the parallels are there. Like I said, watch it again, its worth your time.

Poetic, tragic, pathetic, funny, and romantic do not do this movie justice. A great and subtle piece of film-making with great performances and a splendid and unobtrusive soundtrack. There are no easy answers. There is no Hollywood ending.... See this movie!

Julian Po is a film that I hadn't heard of until a casual channel surf stumbled me onto HBO. I was hooked immediately. The characters in this town are so unbelievably strange and almost creepy. Julian (Christian Slater) is a wanderer, narrating his own story, who goes to a small town in order to end his life. When the townspeople find out, it becomes a sort of obsession with them. The children follow him through the streets, he's offered gifts from shop owners, and a beautiful, intense woman, Sarah, (Robin Tunney) falls in love with him, creating a very karmic bond between the two of them. Ironically, in the course of his procrastinating his death, he changes the lives of everyone around him. They ask him for advice in life matters. A man "comes out of the closet", a Priest denounces God, etc..

Julian Po left me sad. It doesn't end the way anyone would think, but it left me with one recurrent theme running through my head. Life is a beautiful thing, not to be taken for granted. Never make life or death decisions when you haven't even experienced life. And maybe one more thing... a real man sticks to his obligations... :-)

Indeed, if it's simple, it works. But the irony herein lies when you realize that simplicity and deep thought combinations, make extraordinary things. And this film, in my opinion, is simply delightful. Simple purpose, yet very thought-provoking in itself. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. Being one of the few who find that the critics aren't always "up to par" so to speak, I think this flick was definately worth it's weight in gold. Go have some fun. Watch this. And when you're through, though you may be left saying "Uh... but..." see if you don't feel the same.

A truly tender tale and one that makes a person to reflect on life and its for a handicapped person The acting is superb showing that Christian Slater can really handle a demanding role with skill; I note that the commentator who hides behind the name of "anonymous" says that "it could have been been better but does not say how it could have been so.. My feeling is someone of that irk might say "Casablanca" or "Gone with the Wind" "could have been better." Ha!