butterflysphere

I found this DVD by accident in a little resale bookstore on Brand blvd in Glendale, Ca. I was shocked that I had never heard of it and purchased it for the $17.99 and took it home. Why I loved it: many people have complained about the pace, but that is one of my favorite aspects of the film. It moves like a sensual waltz. It has a beautiful pulse that grabs onto you and lets the well exuded emotions of the characters seep into your mind like old sepia photographs that you want to stare at for hours. It is raw and full of multi-layered subtext. I loved the story. There was no censoring or trying to look pretty or appropriate. John, Johnny, Cate and Christina, as well as Harry Dean Stanton and Oleg Yankovsky were all lost in this film and only the characters they played appeared on the screen. So believable and well acted. I have read several comments about the lack of lines for Cesar (Depp's character) and I do not understand that. He spoke so much without needing to speak out loud, besides, it was Susie's story. Amazing cinematography and art direction. The artistic craftiness that was transferred onto the screen in this movie reminded me of a short film called "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (based on short story by Ambrose Bierce. I saw it in a film class in college and then went back to my dorm room and painted for hours while listening to Mozart's Requiem and drinking red wine. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw photographs of the movie in my mind. I love to be affected that way.