Reviews

This is a documentary about a reverend attempting to raise money for his church in 8+ hour long TV shows that are - to put it softly - out of the ordinary. If you've seen Herzog movies before, you know more or less what to expect: A weird atmosphere, a quite crazy character whom you'll still sympathize with, subtle strange and disturbing things happening all along, and when it all ends you find your eyes are slightly crossed and your mind very bent.

You'll see something not very unlike the insane "dancing chicken" ending of Stroszek and the interview with Grizzly Man's parents. There is also some absolutely amazing Hammond organ backed music here, live from the TV show - with some exceptionally passionate singers that will give you chills, one way or another! Herzog's choice of music is as always utterly fascinating - just like the rest of the movie.

Herzog fans can't miss this. If you don't know who the hell Herzog is, go see Grizzly Man - and return to this documentary once you're hooked.

Are you interested in astronomy, space travel, extraterrestrial life, science fiction etc. but find Star Wars and its likes boring because of their commercial nature and relatively small amount of action directly linked to the aforementioned subjects? In that case, you definitely need to check this out. It's mainly fiction, although certain parts are real-life scientists telling us in a very technical manner how space travel can take place. The story is narrated by the actor that played Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings part 2. He has an extremely intense presence that helps you find that hypnotic, dreamy state that Herzog seemingly always tries to push the viewer into. People who aren't used to a non-standard narrative structure, however, may of course become bored. But never mind them.

The soundtrack is absolutely incredible, including an African solo singer, a few Sardinian male singers and a cello. Even without the narrative bit, the music would have made this a fantastic movie! Dreaming of other worlds is fun. And this film isn't as disturbing or nightmarish as Herzog's other stuff. The Wild Blue Yonder is a must for Herzog and science fiction/astronomy fans, but the IDOL/Hollywood crowd should probably look elsewhere.

This starts out looking like a more or less standard TV documentary about a ski-jumper. Over time, however, it somehow gets stranger and stranger, until the ending, that somehow, incomprehensibly, left me totally out of breath.

The film works on so many levels: It's a fascinating portrayal of the celebrated ski-jumper Steiner, but it's also an amazing look at the plain aesthetics of ski-jumping, with extreme slow-motion pictures showing the jumpers' fears and ecstasy at a very profound level. In addition, there is also something in this film that's simply very hard or impossible to define, something about man itself, something about longing and - perhaps the most advanced of human emotions - pity.

How much of this portrayal that actually reflects Steiner's personality, and how much of it that reflects Herzog's, is hard to tell. But that's the only catch. Those looking for Herzog classics should not think that this movie can be missed because it's a 45-minute TV documentary. Apart from pictures of some nasty ski-jumping falls, it's not really disturbing to the extent that put me slightly off when watching for example Aguirre and Even Dwarfs Started Small - so it could from my point of view overall be the best of the many Herzog movies I've seen so far.

After reading the script for this film for the first time, Klaus Kinski reportedly screamed for half an hour before the director Werner Herzog could make out what he was saying. It turned out to be praise. Seeing the movie, it is more than possible to understand Kinski's slight enthusiasm. Perhaps the best of all Herzog movies, it is a tremendous epic about egoism, heroism and delusions of grandeur, totally unveiling its power to allure and its ultimate consequences. Klaus Kinski makes an absolutely incredible performance as the protagonist Aguirrre. This could be one of the finest acting performances in the history of film.

Long, slow shots of mountains and rain forest and a haunting soundtrack also contribute to making this one of the most unforgettable movie experiences I've ever had. The mood of the movie can almost be criticised for being *too* hypnotic and trance-inducing.

The most obvious flaw (if it is a flaw) is that the narrative is developed too subtly, making it hard to extract the meaning of some scenes. Still, this just makes the second, third, fourth and fifth viewings even more exciting.

This movie is intelligent. That is, more than most other movies, it transcends the least common denominator - stupid people will probably not appreciate it. The story also relies heavily on dialogue. It has some parallels to Lost in Translation, although Before Sunrise is much brighter, somehow less abstract, and simply a lot better.

The script, the characters and even the slightly surreal atmosphere feel totally realistic. The actors play absolutely brilliantly. Rarely have I seen a movie where the script and the acting has melted this perfectly together.

The dialogue moves into very personal issues, with the risk of becoming a little over the top. It does, however, stay on the right side almost all the time, although I found a few moments a little awkward and embarrassing. Balancing on this fine line demands outrageously talented actors. Sometimes, it yields great results, and overall this movie is simply stupendous! Only very, very rarely is "love" in films depicted in a way that I find trustworthy and realistic. Every time that is achieved, the result is fantastic. I think the stunning and apparently timeless beauty of the female lead actress helped quite a bit in this respect. She still looks stunning in this film, 12 years after.

This is simply a gem of a movie that you can't miss. One of the best movies I have seen from the 1990s!

This might actually be Werner Herzog's strongest statement. In fact, this film is just too much. It describes a weird society declining into total mayhem, and the characters go absolutely mad. Everything is both quite funny and extremely disturbing. It's almost like watching the ending of Herzog's Stroszek for an hour and a half.

There seems to have been some maltreatment of animals (chicken in particular) in the making of the movie, which should be totally unnecessary.

Every normal person should avoid this like the plague, while those who adore very strange movies should get it at all costs.

This is a Norwegian road movie about a band. Everything is unsubtle and extremely clichéd, the acting is mainly awful, the dialogue is exceptionally poor, and what is probably meant to be humour is always way off. Apart from that, the movie is also astonishingly boring, there's nothing happening "between the lines". The script tries hard, but fails miserably to come up with cool lines and a realistic atmosphere of free-spiritedness.

There are some long rock music parts, mainly live performances. They could have saved the movie, but unfortunately the music is also very poor. I found nothing in this movie to appreciate, except perhaps the visual bit. As it is an attempt to make an entertaining film, it doesn't have any of the artsy atmosphere that made many poorly scripted European movies of this era good to great. In sum, simply dreadful.

An unpredictable plot such as this will never look dated, but the stiff acting, some of the humour and the written-style dialogue has a certain flavour of the 1950s. Also, I thought some of the characters behaved rather unrealistically, but all this is easy to forgive when the movie is so much fun overall. The visuals are great, and the intriguing plot is beautifully unveiled by master director Hitchcock.

I'm slightly surprised that this at the time of writing is considered amongst the top 25 movies ever. I can easily pick 25 movies I like even more - still, there's no denying that this is an exciting and very entertaining movie that everyone should see!

What struck me first here was the overall low-budget feel. A lot of things, such as the lighting and perhaps the editing, seem slightly amateurish, and if they tried making a standard Hollywood blockbuster, they failed miserably. However, those who have seen and appreciated independent movies before will probably not be too appalled by this.

The script is quite strange, but mainly this is actually a good thing. I thought the non-standard humorous parts were funny and rather intelligent, particularly a scene with an extremely odd police officer, played by Christopher Walken. The quirky script makes the story progress very slowly, however, with the risk of boredom - but the unpredictable nature of the film added a bit to the suspense. Perhaps also aided by the decent soundtrack, I was able to connect with the characters. I thought the movie was fair enough.

Ben Affleck's character is an awkward and pathetic type, and I guess this gives a risk that such a flawed movie itself will have an overall awkward feel. It does, but not to a gigantic and ridiculous degree. The acting is never superb, but really not astonishingly bad either. Worse things happen at sea. The chemistry between Affleck and Lopez is very poor, but that sort of adds to the story. If you're looking for a turkey, this movie will probably disappoint you. I've seen far, far, far worse.

Werner Herzog was given access to a hundred hours of unique footage shot by the Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell. He was apparently precisely the right person to be given the responsibility to convert it into a documentary.

Or is it all a documentary? The morgue scenes in particular seem to be staged, and are in my opinion by far the creepiest moments of the film. Not because they include any blood, because the film thankfully never does, but because of the immense intensity of the actor. Or doctor.

What makes this more accessible than Herzog's other movies, is that he actually tells us explicitly how we should interpret the film: for example, that this is a film about the human psyche, and that nature is chaotic, unpredictable and dangerous - there is simply no flower-power harmony in nature. His voice-overs are excellent, and contribute a lot to making this perhaps the finest documentary I've ever seen. However, his notion that bears are only interested in food and that they cannot in any way relate to humans is in my opinion dubious, although more correct than Treadwell's impressions on this.

In sum, Herzog has again managed to make a hypnotic film about decline into madness. Or have we been deceived? With a hundred hours of footage available to him, we can't know to which degree Herzog has given us a representative selection of it. Thus, like his documentary My Best Fiend - although to a lesser degree, Grizzly Man in my opinion also becomes a film about Herzog himself.

The excellent music and stupendous shots of nature need to be mentioned as well. This is simply a must-see, but be aware that you'll spend the rest of your week in deep thoughts.

This is an epic story following a family for decades, beginning in 1966. Their lives are coloured by the drama of Italian history of these years. In this fashion, it may be seen as the Italian counterpart to Edgar Reitz' Heimat trilogy, although not being close to reaching the same artistic level.

Still, everything in this epic story is excellent. Its emotional impact is powerful enough to make it a must-see, and it only narrowly misses out on the masterpiece tag in my book. The relative realism and triviality of the movie underscores that even near-normal lives can be dramatic enough to leave anyone stunned. Epics of this scale are almost always worth all hours they take of your time, and this is no exception!

This film really grows with repeated viewings, and even more so than other Monty Python efforts. I've probably seen it fifteen or twenty times. It feels more mature than their earlier work, and in my opinion it's only rivalled by Monty Python and the Holy Grail for funniest movie ever.

The greatest star of this film must be Eric Idle, who comes up with a number of shining songs. They're not only totally hilarious, but also have quite an enormous bit of pure musical merit to them. The movie has received some criticism for being sketch-based, but I think they pulled the continuity off well enough. However, I think Terry Gilliam's contributions are rather mediocre, but if they helped him launch his extraordinary directing career later on, it was worth it.

In sum, it's incredible how silly intelligent humour can be.

Crime novels can be rather dull sometimes, but everyone will agree that some are simply excellent - suspenseful, totally unpredictable and with numerous plot twists. This film is apparently based upon one of the excellent ones. Both silly and intelligent viewers will be kept on the edge of their seat until the very ending, which by the way has an unforgettable quote. When a plot like this is coupled with terrific acting and world-class visuals and music -- the result has to be good.

Those sympathetic to early seventies fashion and music are in for a real treat. Osanna/Bacalov's music is totally uncompromising and - in my honest opinion - worth a hundred times the entrance money in its own right. This may be the best soundtrack ever! The visuals are also astonishing - timeless in their beauty, but still with a strong flavour of early 70s. And you'll also catch some glimpses of what must be the world's most beautiful woman.

In sum, all this simply makes up a classic. NOT TO BE MISSED!

(Those who already own the soundtrack, which actually seems easier to find than the movie, should be advised that the movie has alternate versions, all brilliant).

This is a totally excellent man vs. nature drama. An outstandingly dramatic soundtrack is coupled with some of the most powerful and unique visuals I've ever seen. If you thought Tarkovsky was a one-shot in the Soviet Union when it came to beautiful yet haunting images, you'll definitely think again after this movie. The characters and the story are perhaps not too well developed, but this somehow adds to the sense of not being totally in control, which is important here. It's nothing short of a tragedy that this movie is totally unknown; it would probably have been a candidate of reaching IMDb's top 50 if it were. Those looking for unknown classics should hunt this one down at all costs.

In my opinion, there are at least two kinds of melancholia. One has to do with a low level of passion and few, muddled emotions. Melancholia could, however, also be about truly passionate emotions of sadness and longing. There is a huge difference between the two, and they often seem to be confused. This movie is definitely about the passionate sadness and longing - at least it communicates some of the most outrageously passionate longing I've ever witnessed on film. Whoever thought "fast" automatically means "more passionate" was apparently dead wrong. There's also something realistic and very human about the characters. If you've lived for a while you've met people like these, and you may yourself have experienced (or even dreamt) similar situations. I felt immense pity for the characters, in my opinion a great achievement for any movie. Even if it's a film with "love" playing an important part, I felt it was innovative - this is simply unique stuff. I'll not give away too much of the story - go see this outstanding movie for yourself!

At the time of writing, the anti-80s sentiment that was so strong particularly in the 90s has more or less disappeared. Finally, we can again appreciate this strange decade's fashion. Miami Vice was cutting-edge, the coolest of the coolest, and a must-see for those fascinated by 80s aesthetics. Some of the episodes are actually slow and contemplative, focusing much more on building a cool atmosphere rather than on endless action scenes. Somehow, it captures much of the optimistic "no problem" attitude of the decade that has recently been dismissed as "kitsch". At least, this is the case for the first couple of seasons. The speculative elements that at the time raised some criticism look innocent and almost charming compared to what's being shown today. You can see cool design, cool clothes, cool architecture, cool attitudes, cool cars, cool boats, listen to cool music. Though one may like or dislike the style, everyone will see that there has been put quite an enormous effort into all this. As for the stories, they fit the spirit of the series quite well - they're interesting enough to catch your interest - never complex, but not devoid of intriguing and well-developed characters. This is simply one of the best showcases for what the 80s were all about.

In the period 1955-60 some absolutely incredible movies were made in the Soviet Union. This is no exception. Based on the classic novel, the script of course holds masterpiece quality. Visually, it's also a masterpiece. The music is one of the most dramatic soundtracks I've heard. And not least, Yuliya Borisova in the role of Nastasia Philippovna gives the most charismatic acting performance I've ever seen. Throughout the movie I simply couldn't wait for her to get into the frame again whenever absent. I've never ever been this hypnotised by an actor or an actress before (and I've actually given that careful thought). The other actors also give stellar performances. As the events unfolded, I felt this movie pushed the script to its ultimate limits. At the end, you will find yourself filled up with uncontrolled emotions that you don't even know the name of. The movie is so dramatic that some people may find it unrealistic, but I assure you: these characters are out there in the real world, and this play may have relevance to anyone's life. At some point, most people with brains will seek out this story. My tip is, don't read the book. Don't see any theatre play or movie based on it but this one. Though the movie may take a lifetime to find - *it's worth it*!

Much can be said about the range of emotions found in today's movies. They've certainly become better at promoting a cool atmosphere, adrenaline rushes, making plots that are cleverly built up to a climax, and fitting in as many square centimetres of skin as possible into the film. Some emotions are, however, totally, and I mean totally, disregarded. Intense melancholy, an intense sense of longing and sensations of intense pity for the characters are now nowhere to be found. This movie has all of that in spades, making it radically different from today's European and American movies. It is more "theatrical" than today's more "realistic" films, but for God's sake, don't let that put you off. An incessantly beautiful soundtrack sweeps through the entire film, and the pictures are stunningly beautiful, though in a Russian way that can simply be labelled "different". This film was an eye-opener to the fact that I've seen so many movies that ultimately have left me nearly indifferent to the fate of the characters, and to some loose theory that melancholy and pity are closely related. Everyone should hunt this movie down. The ending will haunt you forever. Anything you watch afterwards will seem like ridiculous attempts to give you cheap thrills.

For some reason, I thought this would in some manner be a hiatus in Herzog's directing career and that the film would be a down-to-earth, matter-of-factish documentary. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a typical Herzog film, as always with the protagonist (in this case Kinski) balancing on the edge of insanity and the overall atmosphere of the movie ending up to be very strange. It has fewer of the flaws(?) found in the earlier Herzog movies. However, the entire movie was dubbed into English even on my subtitled version. It turned out fine, but seemed a little unnecessary. In sum, Herzog fans shouldn't miss this one.

Seemingly being a Hollywood take on hooliganism, I really expected this movie to be appalling. Which it wasn't. I actually find it on nearly on par with I.D. and better than Football Factory, two British movies on the same subject.

Fighting, gangs, glorification of violence, black and white thinking, good vs. evil - not exactly typical US values. Well, at least not Eliah Wood's character's values. As he travels to England, he's introduced to West Ham United's hooligan firm, and guess what happens next.

One could wish for less "cool" action music and trendy visual effects, as excessive genuine supporter/hooligan atmosphere in itself proved more effective in the aforementioned movie I.D. Still, there are enough realistic hooligan scenes and chanting to give a rather realistic flavour of the environment.

Still, European viewers familiar with this culture will have to bear over with some scenes that rather obviously are meant for the American public. Also, I'm not sure if this movie really is representative for the firms as of today. In addition, the thugs seemed to be portrayed rather awkwardly at least in the beginning of the film, but the movie eventually sucked me in and made me forgive any shortcomings. Excellent and recommended.

A bunch of subversive, anti-capitalist youths meet the bourgeois person they'll probably be when they're over 30.

I'm afraid the plot leaves few subtleties in the characters: All are naive, shallow and clichéd to the extreme, making what could easily be a thought-provoking movie feel outrageously light-weight. The metamorphosis of lefties into materialists at some point is, however, such an interesting psychological phenomenon that the movie has some merit already from its choice of subject. Also, the filmmakers try to spice things up by adding a love/jealousy edge to the script (how progressive), but it turns out mediocre at best.

Playing Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" over and over and over again in the "moment of truth" of this movie had an appallingly cheesy effect on me. Absolutely terrible. Still, this movie is worth seeing, but probably most so for those who are or have been anti-capitalist at some point. The rest may be put thoroughly off by all the naivety.

Those interested in a more realistic portrayal of radical youth (of the past, though) should go for Tillsammans or Die Zweite Heimat, as both seem to grasp their spirit at a much more profound level.

This romantic comedy isn't too bad. There are some funny things happening here and there, and there are some rather memorable characters in it.

The acting, however, is amateurish (with the exception of the banker). While some scenes are great fun, others are simply embarrassing. In particular, I found the "romantic" part of the story poor.

All in all, I guess it's worth seeing if you like football and romantic comedies. It's not really a bad movie, and the ending did feel quite good. Just don't expect anything out of the ordinary. Fair enough if you have an hour and a quarter to kill.

This movie is based on what many consider one of the greatest novels ever written, Tarjei Vesaas' The Birds.

As in all Vesaas novels, the story takes place in a rural setting, and the proximity to nature is an obvious factor. Also, the immense psychological depth of the characters is important.

The protagonist is Mateusz, perhaps 35-40 years of age, who lives with his sister Olga. He is, in some way or another, "retarded", but apparently not emotionally so. This story gives a captivating insight into his world.

The pace is quite slow, the black-and-white pictures are beautiful, the focus is on building an atmosphere and developing the characters, and the choice of music is of very good taste.

There's nothing to see here for those who want action or fun. This is a sincere movie which mature viewers may find totally unforgettable.

Although the last episode in particular is absolutely sublime, this was a slight disappointment after the incredible Heimat 1 and Heimat 2. I felt it was more difficult to connect to the characters here. They're not as interesting, but this could be exclusively because Heimat 3 describes a period of time that's closer to us. There also seems to be less focus on capturing the big picture: This feels more like a conventional drama than the others. Overall, however, if you get a chance to see it, there's no reason to hesitate. And the soundtrack by Nikos Mamangakis is, again, excellent.

Those who are unfamiliar with the Heimat series, should start out with number 1 or 2.