DocPeters

This film was definitely different -- different than what I expected, and different from other animated films I've seen. I'm a fan of foreign films, and a fan of animation such as Miyazaki. The animation style in this film was fascinating and compelling; watching this quasi-silent movie for 80 minutes seemed a bit of a stretch. Honestly, this would have been wonderful as a 14-minute short.

While there were some delightful moments and sparks of brilliance, I found the characters overall to be, well, two-dimensional. Mme. Souza and Champion were emotionally opaque, and un-engaging. Perhaps the best character was actually Bruno: capturing the mannerisms of a dog so faithfully.

In summary: interesting, worth a watch, but I definitely wouldn't rent this one again.

I never felt caught up in the simplistic storyline of this film, nor did I find myself caring about any of the characters. The special effects, while of course laughable today, don't even seem to measure up to 1987 standards -- they are more reminiscent of 1960s Japanese monster movies than what was available to George Lucas in the late 1980s.

Val Kilmer was one bright spot in the film, with a wonderfully mocking, roguish performance.

...that was my wife's comment about this movie. I loved this quirky film, filled with intellectual diatribes. The animation style was unique and added to the underlying question: is this waking life, or a dream world? It was visually fascinating -- using primary colors, almost comic book style in portions, yet based entirely on a live-acted original, so the movements, voices, and sounds were completely realistic. That just added to the surrealism when some elements in the frame became more and more dream-like. 9/10

Like everyone else, I note this didn't have much of a plot, etc. etc. But it was just a hoot to watch. I died every time Richard E. Grant came on the screen -- he's a phenomenal character actor. I say, lighten up! This wasn't just satire/social commentary... there was subtle homage to everything from the Marx Brothers to Fellini. In other words, don't analyze too hard; just enjoy!

7/10

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Sure, it's a predictable love story and the characters may be caricatures... yet, who else but Steve Martin could have pulled off something like this? It's a purely joyful movie experience, with enough pretentious literary allusions and over-the-top surrealism to provide delightfully indulgent smiles throughout. In that sense, it seems to thumb its nose at the Hollywood formula machine. No Big Message, but a movie with a lot of heart.

I was quite skeptical during the first few minutes of viewing _Perceval_; I hadn't been aware ahead of time of its unique style. As I made the leap from thinking about this as a cinematic experience to viewing it as more of a theatrical production, I got into it more. I liked the minstrels -- I love that style of medieval music, and they provided both entertainment and a necessary Greek-chorus-like narrator role.

I do not speak French; however, by listening to the dialogue (instead of just reading the English subtitles), I was able to appreciate the rhythm and rhyme.

I found the level of Perceval's naivete hard to swallow at times. But the most disturbing thing was how the narrative became fragmented and then just petered out at the end -- mixing Gawain's and Perceval's tales, and not resolving either of them.

Overall, a stylistic tour-de-force, but a narrative disappointment.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie... not what I was expecting. Yes, it did follow a bit of the "priest struggling with doubt" formula, but it handled it well, and told an engaging story in the process.

I was thinking about the movie _Priest_ in comparison with this -- another film about a priest's struggle with faith and vows (a controversial film, but one I enjoyed). Yet _The Third Miracle_ took an entirely different tack, incorporating Ed Harris's character's inner struggle as part of the overall narrative instead of the focus of it.

Recommended for an evening you feel like a more serious, thought-provoking movie.