Passengers

I was simply blown away by this film. It is an artistic feat that I have yet to see rivaled in this way. To have such a limited area in which to film this story could have been disastrous, instead it was compelling, heart-wrenching, uncomfortable, and devastating in all the right ways.

I was riveted from start to finish and I have the writer/ director, cinematographer, and actors to thank for that. So, thank you for creating such a beautiful movie. Make more!

I am surprised at how much I am longing to see this film again. Well done!

Michael Bond has used the self-defined constraints of his script and budget to great advantage here. The confines of the major setting - the inside of a car on traffic-heavy L.A roads - only adds to the expanding depth of discovery that his characters go through on their journey through the city, and into their relationship. What could have been a problem for the film in the hands of a lesser director or less accomplished actors, is here a plus: it ratches up the tension kilometre by tortured kilometre, with a well-earned, yet still double-edged visual and dramatic rest in the middle. Highly recommended.

If I had had the opportunity to attend the Mill Valley Film Festival, I would have gone there. I haven't seen Passengers "yet", but everything I read about this movie, in addition to all the comments posted on this website prior to mine, confirms that it is definitely worth viewing.

Yet, the story seems very simple : an ordinary couple, living an ordinary life, to whom something ordinary happens, that could happen to anyone of us, anytime in our life.

Some of us might have already experienced this very painful situation (after a divorce for instance) in which one figures out that it is possible to hate someone much more than one has loved them, and that one's life can collapse anytime… so why not after a few hours spent in a traffic jam… There's no word to explain and to express the complexities of the feelings which can unite or separate two persons. However, it seems that the very talented Michael Bond found the most adequate images to make these complexities live, helped by actors very talented too.

In a movie, very often "all is well that ends well". As I haven't seen Passengers, I don't know whether this is also the case in this movie. But I want to know ! This is the reason why I do wish that this movie will be released in France and in Europe, and that it will, here as well, get the success that it apparently deserves.

We all know the famous citation of French philosopher Blaise Pascal : "The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of". I'm sure that, if this man was still alive, he would be interested in this movie, and would probably find another citation to comment it. And no doubt that he would post it here !

I loved this film.

Beautifully scripted with hard hitting performances, Passengers is at times frightening in it's accurate portrayal of relationship weaknesses and human flaws.

I'd be surprised if anyone couldn't relate to one of the lead characters on some level - their pain, frustration, distraction, isolation, alienation, a range of everyday emotions we all experience.

Further still, is the director's ability to so beautifully capture all of this in a more subtle, authentic manner than we're used to in recent dramas, which I found heightened the emotional impact even more.

Can't wait to see it again, and looking forward to more offerings from first time director Michael Bond.

The only reason I am not giving Passengers a 10, is because there is room for myself to grow with it. I saw Passengers a few weeks ago for the first time ever, and I am still thinking about it. This is truly a treasure chest of a film. I began my series of renewed appreciations this morning. Passengers never ends ringing on the heart and mind. That is what a superior film does to you. What a dazzling piece of work Passengers is! I am still reflecting on the many magnitudes and layers that continue to come forth. It continues to impress me from every point and then in-between. Just when I think I have gained and understood all from the film that I will get out of it, something else rises to the surface for me to ponder and appreciate. Every thing from the very packed, believably delivered dialog to the visual brilliance is intertwined and carefully held together. It is just a fantastically created work from all aspects. No stone is left unturned in this masterfully created film, unless the viewer chooses not to turn it over. That is how I feel. And to think that it was done within the conditions it was born and grown! It amazes me how brilliant it turned out knowing that. To me, in this case, it brings definite and new meaning to the phrase "less is more". It really is more, and more. Now, more films by Michael Bond, please?