This was a lovely, conventional film. No, really it's a movie rather than a film. And while Swedish, it reads very conventional Hollywood. Movie comfort food, if you will. Very nice, and a total feel-good movie for all ages. It leaves one feeling all warm and fuzzy. And besides that, well, that's about it. What stays with me? A sad sense of longing for community, so very rare today, especially in the USA.
Scoring the different elements of the film objectively, 1 to 4:
Script/Story: 3.5 - nice, well constructed. Loved the fact that flashbacks ride on scenes of suicide attempts. This was a nice, ironic feature of the narrative.
Cinematography/Visual Effects: 3 - conventional, competently shot. Not much more to say.
Editing: 3 - See above (heavy sigh -- conventional, competently edited. Not much more to say.)
Sound Effects: 2 - forgettable, nothing significant here.
Musical Score: 2.5, at times stereotypical, ie Spanish-y music for scenes set in Spain, etc. Competent, but not significant, which is very appropriate for the narrative structure.
Performances: 3.5, strong performances.
Production Design: Sets, Locations, Costumes, etc.: 3.5, production design great, iconic for the area and period feel of the storyline. But an Oscar consideration in hair & make-up, really??? What am I missing here?
Would I recommend this movie to a friend? Of course, total movie comfort food! Sweden's Terms of Endearment or Forrest Gump or . . .
Scoring the different elements of the film objectively, 1 to 4:
Script/Story: 3.5 - nice, well constructed. Loved the fact that flashbacks ride on scenes of suicide attempts. This was a nice, ironic feature of the narrative.
Cinematography/Visual Effects: 3 - conventional, competently shot. Not much more to say.
Editing: 3 - See above (heavy sigh -- conventional, competently edited. Not much more to say.)
Sound Effects: 2 - forgettable, nothing significant here.
Musical Score: 2.5, at times stereotypical, ie Spanish-y music for scenes set in Spain, etc. Competent, but not significant, which is very appropriate for the narrative structure.
Performances: 3.5, strong performances.
Production Design: Sets, Locations, Costumes, etc.: 3.5, production design great, iconic for the area and period feel of the storyline. But an Oscar consideration in hair & make-up, really??? What am I missing here?
Would I recommend this movie to a friend? Of course, total movie comfort food! Sweden's Terms of Endearment or Forrest Gump or . . .