Olivier, Olivier is a very unique movie about a family who is held together by a delicate balance of familial roles. When one member, Olivier, suddenly disappears one day, the balance is thrown, the family falls apart, only to years later to be reunited with a teenage Olivier. The acting in this movie is interstellar, and the characters are almost instantly real and alive right down to the surprise climax. Viewers use discretion however, as there are intense sexual scenes- not so graphic, but dealing with incest, pedophilia and an ailing marriage. This movie in some way goes beyond the more acclaimed film by the same director, Europa,Europa, in it's intensity. As a similar film dealing with family in a similar vein I would highly recommend The Cement Garden.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Jacob's Ladder
(I) (1990)
Among the best movies ever dealing with consciousness and dreaming
23 July 2002
It is difficult to review a movie of this caliber without revealing crucial details to a first-time watcher, but Jacob's Ladder approaches one of the best films I've ever seen to visually grapple with an individual's ability to experience reality and to be conscious of his own being. Therein lies the true horror; Tim Robbins deftly shows a man pursued by his inner demons and who cannot cope. Without ever quite knowing which version of his reality he's participating in, he begins to deal with his flow of dreamstates by victimizing himself- creating nightmares. Adrian Lyne's skill as a suspense director with superb soundtracking (with a good deal of voice effects and ambient noises). Set in an 70's-ish New York and in Vietnam, this movie has an excellent knack for transitioning the viewer from scene to scene, especially with the warmth of color tone. I recommend seeing the original version before the Director's cut- I've found the 'making of' also very valuable- and prepare to sit in awe for a few minutes when the film finishes.
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