User Reviews

There are a few unimportant details that prevent me from being able to vote this higher but in many ways this movie was a 10.

This film blew me away. I was expecting it to be typical nihilistic garbage but I was surprised by the almost John Steinbeck way that at the beginning you have no sympathy, or even have hatred for the main characters, only to love them in the end as you realize that they are just like you. Also, they have a sort of nobility that you never expected.

The film doesn't have much character development but the development it does have is absolutely amazing. Somehow the movie is absurdly dramatic in some ways, but the overall tenor is that it is beautifully understated and as such many people will not appreciate it.

For those of you who have never struggled with an addiction or committed a crime, you will not understand the power of the group 12-step program scenes, the realization of who you are and what you have done that slowly dawns on a person. Also, if you have never been tempted to suicide or gotten into the heart and mind of a friend who is tempted to suicide, in order to help him or her, then you won't appreciate a lot of this movie.

The scenes with the adopted son and mother as well as with the mother and her daughters, and even the one with the man next to the river, and the man and his parents, were some of the most memorable I've ever seen, memorable because they made me do the work as the viewer.

Again, the power of the movie was what it didn't say, leaving the most important statements to the mind of the viewer, so that they can be said more powerfully than a filmmaker ever could. And in that way, my hat is off to those who made this film, they didn't pander to the audience, the movie held back so that it could be more than it would have been, giving the viewer space to learn about themselves as they watched.

I came across this movie by accident on Netflix and almost didn't watch it. It is a great little gem.

I don't want to say too much about this film since I feel like the less you know about it going in the better.

For such a low budget they really did a great job with this. All the actors did a very good job, the story was excellent, and even the small soundtrack was memorable. The highlight of the movie is the original story, it's really an interesting idea and the movie does a perfect job of bringing the idea to life.

I'll keep the review very short by saying that this is definitely worth seeing. I don't think it is an amazing film, but it is clever and very original, two things that many higher budget films fail at achieving.

7.5/10

Yeah, I know. The summary seems a bit oxymoronic, but if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. This is a movie that gets more mileage per production dollar than 95% of what you will ever see.

Bleak almost throughout, and repetitive, but welcome to purgatory. It's totally necessary, if a bit confusing at times. I'd like to see it again, now that the premise is firmly in focus. It's a movie that is better, in some ways, the second time around.

The acting is mostly great, but the unrelenting hostility of Doris gets a bit wearing. (I have an unfortunate tendency to put "real world" values on movie characters) There isn't a bit of wasted emotion coming from her, though...it's just 'her.' Very true to the character.

There are a number of moments of doubt about some of the characters, the chief protagonists, mainly. This is all to the good, in my opinion.

I really hope the other projects involving the writer\director, Merlin Dervisevic, are as good. I'm sure going to be looking for them.

This doesn't usually happen to me with most movies, however, I had quite a difficult time identifying how seriously this movie really took itself. When I came to this website, I half expected the genre to say both "sci-fi" and "comedy," as opposed to "sci-fi" and "thriller." The acting was superb, however, the script and interaction between the characters had me laughing when I guess I was not supposed to. I cannot say that I was expecting what came at the resolution either, which certainly makes this movie worth watching. I did not want to include any spoilers in this review, so I'll conclude it by telling those who are a fan of the sci-fi genre to give this title a shot, and decide how they feel about it for themselves.

Very surprising !well written directed and acted !.stumbled upon this on prime well worth a watch

At the beginning there are limited information about story and characters so it seems the main character is just a victim. However, the impression has been changing as the story has gone on. Gradually we can find each characters actual feelings. And I could not expect such a ending, so I should say this is great movie!

This movie had a very original concept. There is a Groundhog Day theme but definitely not in a funny way. There is a mystery element to this film and you will follow the main character wanting to solve it as he does. All the performances are good enough and convincing. The ending was kind of sad but very satisfying .

There's a classic sense of horror to this story, something that seems vaguely like something that Terry Gilliam would have done. I'm hesitant to provide specific details about the story, but I can say this- It's unpredictable. Every time I thought I was certain about how things were going to play out, the story surprised me. It's manipulative, but not in a way that bothered me. You keep getting exposed to new information throughout, and you are forced to re-evaluate your perspective each time.

It's a distressing, but also very uplifting exploration of human failings as well as our ability to force ourselves to rise above those failings.

I realize I'm writing this review in a vague way. All I can say is that you should watch it. It very gradually ramps up, and the longer you watch, the more you'll want to see what happens.

I Went for the premiere of this film in Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. Everything is perfect, the performing of actors and actresses are persuasive, the story is simple in fact, but by the editing, it makes the plot more interesting and digging deeper. The philosophy of life and love in the film makes it worth seeing it again and again. The twists in the second half of the film leads the story to an unexpected touching ending. In the end, it turns out to be a movie warm and full of love. Really impressive, and it blows my mind. The movie score seems a little weak comparing to other aspects. In addition, for the first half, some scenes repeat too much times but reveals less. But those are not so important. Please go and see it.

Cruel & Unusual could be taken as religious propaganda - especially of the desert cults like Christianity or Islam. But that hardly matters, as it is a fantasy (like religions, in fact). We are so used to daemons and second comings and what-not in fantasy stories, really all that can just be taken as a given.

But the approach of this film is what's so original. It's extremely 'crisp', and 'sharp' - presented almost like a Science Fiction film, in the coldly analytical, urgent way it unfolds.

All the performances are good, it is cut beautifully, and it never drops the pace.

I have seen some idiot reviews elsewhere on the web, including by magazine reviewers who obviously never actually saw the film and include all sorts of false detail that wasn't actually there.

And I think that may be where this film hit a big snag - it's distribution was so low that everyone assumed it was either some awful straight-to-DVD release, or assumed they already knew what the story was.

In doing so, they missed out on a great, very dark little piece of fantasy film making. Sure, it may cover some ground that's been covered before, but that's in the nature of the beast: Fantasy, ironically, is a limited field - Science Fiction is less so, and Reality is not limited at all. All writers of scripts and books know this, whether they admit knowing it or not.

I really liked Cruel & Unusual and wish the disc was easier to come by.

A particular highlight was the use of a great Shriekback track in one of the film's darkest scenes.

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I enjoyed this movie. My wife went to sleep after about twenty minutes. I tried to get her to watch it because the story was a worthwhile tale. The feeling of the beginning was kind of depressing. A lot of people might not want to give it a chance but the plot and ideas expressed are thoughtful. It was imaginative and compassionate. It had that Rashomon element, if you know what I mean. I don't want to say anymore. Just watch it if you enjoy conceptual stories.

I was about to turn it off. The opening scene is too long and really tedious. Fortunately I was distracted for a couple of minutes and the story had begun to spool out. Still wasn't convinced this wasn't a lousy flick, but, I felt lazy and let it go on for a while.

This is not an easy movie to love- at first.

Apparently-dislikable characters leading unhappy lives. The wife is shrill, the husband is needy, a little mean, manipulative, not the easiest guy on the eyes.

But somewhere, and sooner than I realized it this sad, wonderful magic began to charm the story-and me.

By the middle I was really intrigued. Understated, no real special effects. The director didn't get in the way A reall good script, intelligent writing! And it felt like the actors had lived their characters' entire lives. By the last half I was riveted. By the end I was heartbroken.

This movie, these unlikeable people, the absence of justice, a usually trite-to-the-point-of-insulting narrative device all came together, became transcendent and made me love all of it.

Its visual simplicity, the directing, the human, reserved writing, great actors, densely layered characters, everything is superior.

Though I cried, it's not a tear jerker. Though it is ultimately about grace and love, it's not a redemption love story.

It's...unique.

This is a movie I will watch again. Part of me wants to enjoy everything, all of it that is so well done. But this is, honestly, not a movie I look forward to watching again. In that way I guess it has made me another character in it.

Like I said this is not a movie where justice reigns, the story proves that. But, then, if you haven't noticed yet, the real universe is not at all scripted for justice. But sometimes humans can be inclined to magnificence.

Film has a Kafka feel, with the characters trapped to relive the horrors they committed when they were living. We and the characters learn about the consequences of their actions. Great movie to watch multiple times to figure out the puzzle.

I stumbled across this by flicking on a rainy afternoon. I always skip around the blockbusters in the attempt to find a gem. Obviously its extremely rare to find one. However now and again you pull it off. This movie is the one I was looking for. Superb acting, screen play and story with an excellent ending...which is extremely rare these days. Has you on the edge until the credits role. Absoloute delight of a movie. Just makes me sad nobody else had seen it! Bravo!

The summary of my comments was going to be "The Eighth Amendment prevents you from being forced to see this movie". It was pretty unpleasant for someone like me. but now that I know how it ends, it just takes patience and it's actually quite well done, which plenty of good acting and writing.

I would say the standout performances come from Michael Eklund as Julien and Michelle Harrison as Doris. These are just the best because of what these characters do. Actually David Richmond-Peck as Edgar eventually makes an impression. He was good enough for most of the movie, but nothing spectacular. And yet at the end, He delivers. Julien is kind of a rebel and tries to help Edgar and be his friend, while at the same time being kind of a bully. Kind of like Eddie Haskell without the being charming to those in authority. Julien is the best character yet in this movie, but that will eventually change.

At one point I think "Quantum Leap" fans will be very happy.

The ending finally makes everything we have suffered through worth watching. It's actually quite amazing.

If you like weird sci-fi with philosophical questions and confronting your guilt, this might be for you.

Think of this as a morbid version of Groundhog Day. This movie had the right ingredients - good acting, an intense story, and a gritty tone. The way I felt about this main character definitely evolved as the movie progressed. I especially liked seeing the wife, step son, and brother's perspective of the day's events. And all throughout the movie I found myself trying to understand the power dynamic between this main character and his wife.

My review wasn't a perfect score as the climax only happened with 20 minutes remaining, so there was a lot to pack in for the ending. But overall this is a poignant and elaborate movie, and while it's unlikely to happen, it really deserves a sequel.