Jeff-370

This is par for the course with Bergman, though. I have enjoyed all of his films that I've seen, which I admit is not many. This one touched me even more deeply than the others.

The topics touched on in this film include isolation, truth in relationships, mob mentality, but most importantly isolation from an emotional point of view. The interviews with the actors that are spliced into the film provide insight as well as divisions between sections of the narrative.

Perhaps what I liked best, however, is the inventive way the script reveals elements of the story. Sometimes a voice-over provides necessary information, and other times the information comes through the characters' conversations -- but never in an annoying "quick exposition" kind of way. For example: Although the affair between Anna and Andreas is the central story, it shows up in an odd place in the film.

But that is just one of the examples of the unusual construction that makes this film so unique and masterful. I recommend this to anyone who can read subtitles.

This film is one of the most compelling I've seen in a while. Jack Nicholson is more subdued in this character than he usually is, which is a testament to his reading of the character and to Penn's directing. Jerry (Nicholson) is a retired detective who is so disturbed by a violent rape/murder of a girl and the subsequent mishandling of the case that he obsesses over finding the killer for a very long time afterward.

This is not an uplifting film, and most of it paints the undoing of the main character. There are some familiar plot devices, but they are all handled artfully and with finesse. The ending is, I believe, intentionally confusing and frustrating, in the same way Chinatown's was. Perhaps it's not coincidence that Nicholson is in both films.

I have read several comments that bash this film. Obviously, I disagree with them. But also, I don't think that it's fair to say that plot developments make no sense or, in other cases, are too predictable. Most importantly, this is not structured as a detective/crime/whodunit film, and it should not be treated like one.

Having said that, enjoy. I hope Mr. Penn continues with work of this quality.

There were moments in this film when I was moved to laugh or feel genuine empathy for the characters. I think that's the most positive remark I can make. I felt a lot of the humor was of the tedious unfortunate-misunderstanding-or-miscommunication variety.

Also, I don't think Robert DeNiro turns in the performance he usually does. For the most part, though, he and the rest of the cast make it work. I never really felt everything come together here the way it has in other movies involving Ben Stiller or DeNiro.

Having said that, I'm glad I saw it, and it's probably better than a lot of what is out there.

Speaking as a guy who like his art film, including Ingmar Bergman works and the more heady Coen Brothers films, please believe me when I say I would not expect to like a movie with such low-life urban American characters and swearing.

No, I would not have expected it, but there it is. Something about the constant use of the f-word and they way these characters say it is just funny. Add that to the fact that the plotline is well-constructed with several amazingly humorous moments in the dialogue, and I think it's reasonable to call The Big Lebowski as classic.

Of course, the well-constructed plot only matters when you're done watching it and you actually have time to think about the course of events. During the movie, it's too easy to focus on the dialogue, which, while emphasizing the speech patterns of those not as skilled in language, makes great use of a wide range of speech characteristics, from John Goodman's character's rants to The Big Lebowski's (the other Lebowski) educated dialect. And, of course, Maude Lebowski's feminist rhetoric. ("Some men find it very uncomfortable to say. Vagina.") The dialogue is actually intelligent, at least in the way it's written. It's easy to forget that when you can see the characters delivering the lines.

It's quite hard to say enough about this movie, but I'll sum it up here: I laughed. Hard. I often find things in movies that make me chuckle, but this one makes me laugh over and over again. I recommend this highly in the genre of comedy, alongside films like Rushmore, which had a similar effect on me.

Back when I wasn't really into buying films on video, I bought this one. The humor is subtle, understated, ironic, and tremendously well-written. It is just ending as I write this. Every time I see it I notice a few more things that make me laugh. None of it is the shocking, laugh-out-loud style of humor, but there are several intellectual chuckles.

For some people, it will seem too intellectual and therefore it will strike them as pretentious. That is not a criticism at all, only a warning. I don't find it pretentious at all.

The best part is the interesting characters. They are written as complete, well-developed people who have wildly different outlooks on Spain-U.S. relations. While Whit Stillman does a great job of analyzing these relations, the central focus of the movie is how these characters relate to each other in the arena of these larger ethnic relations.

I firmly believe that anyone who enjoys dialogue-driven, non-action-oriented films will love this one. I gave it a "10."

There is nothing I don't like about this movie. There are some people who get turned off by the fact that no attention is paid to accents, but it has always been my opinion that the delivery outweighs the accent.

No matter, though. The writing, directing, and acting is all first-rate. Not only is it compelling, but the movie, as an adaptation of the model, takes a very close look at the meaning of humanity versus divinity and the symbol for that conflict: Jesus.

Of course, this story does not follow the gospels, as the scrolling before the first scene tells you. Some viewers will assume that any story involving Jesus must follow the Bible. So you'll have to get past that, because the standard Christian beliefs about Jesus are not the basis for the film. The most important thing to remember is that the basis for the film does not mean that it cannot have deep religious meaning for a Christian viewer.

I think if you have never seen it before, you will find that as you watch Last Temptation you will find yourself taking part in the journey the film takes. As tension is built up and released throughout the film, you will become part of that, and you will find that the conclusion is very satisfying and well-thought-out.

I suppose I can't call it the single best film ever, but I really like it. I must admit I don't understand the people who call it too sappy. I'm usually pretty observant about sap, but I find this film truly touching. Well-written, well-filmed, well-acted, it is very moving from beginning to end. Some necessary changes were made from the original novella, such as making it one warden instead of several, changing over time.

The warden, in my opinion, is one of the rare well-made bad guys. You don't like him at all, but he still has human motivations, not super-evil, over-the-top unbelievable qualities. Of course, Red and Andy are both well-crafted characters.

It's a fine, understated film. I think it's one of the best films of the past several years. Good music, too.

One more thing: I saw somewhere the complaint that no one seems to age, though the movie spans several years. While the aging process isn't given the full focus of the film, it's clearly there. I don't think that's a valid complaint. My two cents are now used up.