Posthumous

Told within the setting of the subculture of the art world, this film uses the standard RomCom formula to unfold its story. All the elements of that well-defined genre are present in this film -- the only deviation from the normal course of development is the way the preexisting relationship ends.

This would have been a great, entertaining film if it where not for the fact that it was an entirely white cast. No black characters at all. Not one. Just a few seconds (literally seconds) of black background extras and most of them were partially obscured. If this were the 1950's that might be expected, but in the 21st century it's an inexcusable racial bias that totally ruined this film.

The film opens with the protagonist doing voice-over talking about bee colony collapse syndrome. Although the subject is referred to later on with respect to the male lead's art, I have no idea what bee colony collapse has to do with this film. It's obviously some kind of metaphor but I have no idea what it means -- perhaps something to do with the birds and the bees? In any case it was not made clear in the film, at least not to me.

One noticeable aspect about the relationship between the protagonists was how subtly manipulative they were. Both of them were deceitful towards each other, pretending to be something they weren't or pretending not to know what they did know in order to get what they wanted -- and each of them used subtle extortion to hook the other into the new relationship. And as these two were pulling each other's chain, a subplot about the underhanded development of the guy's art career was unfolding. I suppose it's fitting that the story is set in the art world, possibly the most pretentious subculture on the planet (second only to film critics, of course!).

Technically, the film was very good. The cinematography was great, the score was excellent, and the acting was pretty good. The dialogue was not as simple-minded as you find in a typical RomCom, and character/plot development was relatively smooth. The humor was not a laugh-out-loud type of humor, but more of a witty, entertaining type of humor. But that racial bias in the cast -- that really sunk the film. I would have given it a rating of 8, but because of the racial bias, it gets a 6.

Advisory: textual content ~180 wpm, racial bias in the composition of the cast.

Rating: 6/10, (submitted July 28, 2020, 9:30 p.m. EDT)

This romantic drama written and directed by Lulu Wang was something I will forget quickly, except few sentences from the end... "the most convincing lies are the lies we tell ourselves"... If I say to myself that this was a good movie because I always liked the acting of Brit Marling, I would lie to myself - she was simply terrible in this artsy philosophical journey towards the oblivion! I really enjoyed the cinematography, though, and I will search for more movies where Stefan Ciupek was the guy in charge for it... amazing!

The story was pretty lame, and it's about an artist who was reported dead by mistake, and his work suddenly becomes very popular... he decides to continue the charade posing as his own brother to a reporter who wants to write a story...

Get it on DVD... 93 minutes are much easier handled with occasional usage of pause button.

A disgruntled, unsuccessful artist named Liam Price half-destroys his own artwork one night in the basement of an art showroom, after seeing that a set of works by a lesser artist has been put on display instead of his own pieces. Liam walks home drunk, falls asleep in a tunnel, and his things are stolen by a look-alike hobo who then dies that night. Liam is presumed to be dead.

You can see where this is going. "Posthumous" is a predictable but cute movie, sort of like "Rocky" meets "Lust for Life." It has very little substance, but the actors are clearly enjoying themselves, and it is refreshing to see a movie that at least attempts to say something about art without brooding and displaying abject suffering for ninety minutes nonstop.

I say "attempts," because I think that in the long run the movie has nearly nothing to say about art. It is about a man who likes to express himself in art but is not sure if anyone is listening. He meets McKenzie Grain, a lovely and intelligent journalist (played by the wonderful Brit Marling), and finds that she is fascinated by the "dead" Liam's artwork; and so Liam poses as his own brother, telling journalist about himself and trying to describe how important it is to be true to oneself. He sees through her misplaced ambitions about being a reporter; and she begins to see through his supposed indifference to the world.

This movie takes place in Berlin; but I did not get a strong sense of setting. One of the first ideas put forth in this movie is an environmental issue, that of "the bees." Bees are dying, and this is a bad thing because we depend upon bees to pollinate our food supply. This is brought up perhaps one more time in the entire movie. What is the relevance? Is Liam trying to illustrate to us, through his art, that we need to allow things to "pollinate" our world? That we must accept and embrace the little things in life, so that we can grow and prosper? This is a movie about being in the right place at the right time, and being able to accept the struggle and bleakness and death around you, because those terrible things are what make us who we are. I think the art of this movie could have played a larger role to display that idea; but the relationship of Liam and McKenzie manages to illustrate that premise in a way that is charming and touching.

The film is a quirky romantic comedy that follows a struggling artist named Liam Price, played by Jack Huston. After a failed exhibit and some misunderstandings, people mistakenly believe he has died, leading to a newfound fame that he never really wanted. Enter a charismatic art dealer, played by the talented Britt Robertson, who is determined to capitalize on Liam's accidental notoriety.

What I loved about Posthumous is its exploration of the fickle nature of fame, especially in the art world. Wang's storytelling shines through with sharp wit and a good dose of humor, making it an entertaining watch. The scenes in Berlin give the film a vibrant backdrop, beautifully contrasting Liam's internal struggles with the lively city around him. The chemistry between Liam and his love interest adds a nice layer to the plot, making you root for their connection while Liam learns to navigate his unexpected fame. The writing is clever, and there are some genuinely hilarious moments sprinkled throughout.

While the film may not have the depth of The Farewell, it still captures Lulu Wang's knack for weaving cultural themes and personal growth into her narratives.

It a shame that there is very few reviews about this fantastic movie.

I am becoming a fan of Brit Marling as watching her works. There is always some sort of mystery behind stories that i have so far seen played by Brit Marling. This movie is not a difference. While it seems as an ordinary comedy movie. But it is not. There is some mystery behind it.

The movie makes you think. It combines different senses, those senses that you may not realize their existing. It is not a pure love story neither a Drama.

The other thing the i realize is its similarities with the titanic movie. Not the story itself, but some feelings that you get with titanic. I hope you see this too.

It is also worth noting that while the movie seems predictable, it has some lovely surprises.

Good work.