A Small Fortune (2021) Poster

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5/10
Charming small village life
schwarzschild7 April 2023
Earning his money raking kelp from the shores a man finds money, much money. Despite bestest intention he does what - let's be honest - everybody does two weeks after finding a treasure.

The movie provides us an unbelieving look into modern small town life without being dramatising, showing you the unworldly in the middle of the world who hold up labour and value heritage, with some effords at times, but eventually sucessful. A neat afternoon movie.

Pour gagner sa vie en ramassant du varech sur les côtes, un homme trouve de l'argent, beaucoup d'argent. Malgré ses meilleures intentions, il fait ce que - soyons honnêtes - tout le monde fait deux semaines après avoir trouvé un trésor.

Le film nous offre un regard incrédule sur la vie moderne des petites villes, sans dramatiser, en nous montrant les gens du peuple au milieu du monde qui défendent le travail et la valeur du patrimoine, avec quelques efforts parfois, mais qui finissent par réussir. Un bon film d'après-midi.
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4/10
This film was ridiculous.
LordCommandar7 June 2022
You have a married couple financially strapped for cash expecting a child until the husband finds a bag of money that washed up on the shore. Instead of playing it cool and not doing anything to bring any attention to himself, like a fool the husband does just the opposite which leads the bad guy who's money it is right to him. One of those films depicting a person who doesn't know how to play it cool when they find some money and ruins it and brings unnecessary attention to themselves and the ones they love. Moral is, whenever you find money, don't be an idiot like this guy and bring any unnecessary attention to yourself and keep your mouth shut.
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6/10
Beautiful but flawed
ltoope2 October 2022
Saw this at a festival featuring Atlantic Canadian films, and in that context, ie rooting for the home team, I found this film to be quite a beautiful poem to specific place - rural PEI. The cinematography is terrific - I felt the pull of the sea and the way of life the main character loves. The film maker lays out a number of great questions - what would you do if you were poor and found bag of money? What's the difference between enforcing the law and maintaining the peace? But the film maker doesn't explore these questions in any depth. Instead it turns into a conventional and cliched crime caper. I agree with the other reviewers that the main character makes way too many dumb decisions for a guy who doesn't seem that dumb, and there are too many contrivances for the sake of moving the pilot along. A missed opportunity - in the hands of a stronger writer this could have been a rich exploration of some compelling questions.
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Relatively formulaic
grantarp2 April 2022
Relatively formulaic crime caper. The best thing the movie has going for it is the setting; PEI certainly lends itself to some beautiful cinematography. The story has some interesting elements but overall it doesn't rise above a made-for-TV cheap production feel.

The dialogue is a bit ham-fisted at times and you've got some overly stereotypical characters: the disgruntled old cop, the bad guy with tattoos, etc.

"Deus ex machina" I think is the term for the introduction of a major new character toward the end of the movie. Well, it happens here and is a tad annoying. There are various "convenient coincidences" that happen such as a character finding an important bag at a rock that he just happened to randomly crouch down near. Some suspension of disbelief is OK but a few too many of them here.

The "wrap things up nicely" monologue at the end was a bit too pat while leaving various things unexplained.
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3/10
Not terrible but far from good
degrees-3336531 May 2022
Acting is a bit so-so (especially Andrea Bang who is utterly terrible and tends to ruin every scene where she opens her mouth and 'acts').

The plot is pretty predictable.

Cinematography was ok.

I'd say maybe watch it while you fold your laundry as there is nothing here to keep your attention.

3/10.
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7/10
It's a well put together low-budget novice filmmaker's Canadian indie film.
Top_Dawg_Critic1 June 2022
This is writer and director Adam Perry's second-only full length feature film, and although far from perfect, for a newb filmmaker, it's better than some disappointments I've seen lately from seasoned filmmakers.

Perry's directing was actually impressive, to the point you'd think it was a Coen brothers' production. The story did have some plot and technical issues, and the pacing was a little slow, but the screenplay was tight, original and very well laid out and shot. A little more action and suspense would've gone a long way, and I would've loved to see more of the beautiful PEI landscapes.

All casting and performances were spot on, although I felt old man Omer was a little too much. The cinematography was great, and the score amazing, especially for a low budget indie B-film. It's a very decent 91 mins one-time watch, especially considered this was a novice low budget film. It's a well deserved 6.5 rounded up to a 7/10 from me.
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1/10
How do you stay "stupid" in Canadian lingo ?
hampersnow-4136917 July 2022
This film is awful on so many levels, but most of all it just doesn't make sense. Like so many modern bad films it relies on advancing the plot by having characters do the stupidest, most brainless things possible. The lead actor might as well be playing someone mentally challenged. Actions take place in this film that are completely unrealistic. At times it seems as if the film makers want to take it in the direction of a dark comedy, but it is never funny. It's starts off kind of slow and boring and then dives right into absurdity. This was so bad , it was painful to watch, especially since they seemed to be going for something heart-warming in the end, but these characters were so bland and so fake , the kind that only exist in bad movies, that you won't care. I didn't care, I just wanted it to end already.
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