Let me just say first, that this is one of the most extravagant films I have ever seen purely in the sense of sight & sound. I'm a huge fan of Peter Greenaway's work ever since I saw The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover a couple of years ago, so I knew partially what to expect vibe wise, but this movie stood out from the other 3 I have seen. It reminded me more of the A Zed & Two Noughts and less of The Cook or The Baby of Macon. In what manner, do you ask? In the manner that I had absolutely no idea what was happening through literally the ENTIRE film. I could not even gather the SYNOPSIS from the entire two hour runtime. It says a magician tries to stop his daughter from having an affair with an enemy, but I was paying close attention for the entire 2 hour runtime and never did I observe "an enemy", "an affair" of any sort, or Prospero attempting to stop anything. So, naturally, I have to say that this is the movie's primary downfall - some would argue "it's not a movie" because it's impossible to follow, but none such rules need to exist. I don't think I would ever watch the film again while actually paying full attention, but I will certainly be adding this to my queue of some of the most beautiful feasts for the eyes ever put to film, and I will most certainly be turning it on in the background at social gatherings in the future. It will be a nice change of pace from my usual Tales of Beatrix Potter - Featuring The Royal Ballet. I will say it's a great accomplishment in a fully singular manner, and it's absurd that this was made with a budget of under 2 million dollars while movies like Terminator 2, made the same year, cost about 100 million. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is one of the most expensive looking movies I have ever seen. It's breathtaking, but it is absolutely not going to "do it" for most people. It's most certainly film art.
I find it silly that nobody seems to be in the middle about this movie! All reviews are either giving it a 10 and calling it an utter mastepiece, or giving it a 1 or 2 and calling it absolute garbage! There is most certainly a middle ground! Pros and cons, my friends!
I find it silly that nobody seems to be in the middle about this movie! All reviews are either giving it a 10 and calling it an utter mastepiece, or giving it a 1 or 2 and calling it absolute garbage! There is most certainly a middle ground! Pros and cons, my friends!