Reviews

This film has suffered some unjustified criticism.

Woods and Young are really doing great performances, as usual. One criticist stated that it was difficult to see any difference between J Woods "before" and "after", just as with J Nicholson in "the Shining". He may be true there, but taking things not too seriously, this is a believable and well-acted movie. To put it simply: It could have happened in real life.

I wouldn't rate this as a masterpiece, but given the good performances of Young and Woods, it's clearly above average.

Yes, it is an anti-drug film, but if you are against drugs you should see it. If you're pro-drugs, it is even more important for you to see it!

One thing is for sure: This is not a movie that will make you happy. It will make you THINK. Very sad, but could you make anything happy out of trafficking and prostitution? Probably not. I use to judge films from the impression they make on my mind, and I rank this one along with Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Yimou's Raise the red Lantern, To Live and some of Kieslowski's dekalog films; that is a 10/10. The story is sad from beginning to end and gets from bad to worse, but as in the other films I mentioned, it is a subject that has to be reminded of.

Don't think you can watch this movie passively. It requires attention, but you'll be awarded. The script is extremely intelligent. I've now seen it three times, and at last I think I know what it's all about. It is best on VCR, since you can pause. If you miss one minute, it may well be one of the minutes that contains the key to the plot. So: be patient and attentive!

Willis makes the performance of his life, and so does Pitt. As for Stowe, I haven't seen her before, so I can't judge. Although the acting is first-class, it is the intelligent script that makes this a top-ten movie.

This movie was rated 8th in a ballot of the best Swedish films ever made, and I can understand it. Although nowadays a little aged, the intensity and nearness to the ones involved is universal and panchronical. The film bears a witness of how the society is unable to cope with the less well-off. The humanity is overwhelming. As assassinated Olof Palme said: "An incredibly human document". 10/10.

Incredibly stupid.

This could have become a good movie. The basic story IS good. Instead, it focuses on a few stereotypical characters that seem to come from a Donald Duck magazine. To continue the analogy with Disney, the crime-story in the movie is at the Mickey-Mouse level, and the metaphors and symbolism like in Three Little Pigs.

And they really tried to squeeze in everything: There is the Love Story, the man worried about his relatives, the bank robbery, the man-to-man-fight between soldiers &c.

Not to mention all the plot holes... A dangerous enemy to intelligence in your living-room. Hopefully, it's not contagious.

• And, of course, in the end, we have to say a prayer! May they never do this kind of movie again. Amen.

A real disappointment!

First, credibility approaches zero, as a trillion-ton rock, moving at 15 miles per second is stopped by the LASER beams of two small aircraft on earth. Has anyone read physics? It is as if a mosquito would stop an express train.

Meteorites rain on the same spot for hours, even though earth rotates.

Meteorites are seen entering earth's atmosphere several minutes before they hit ground. Are there parachutes attached to them?

In the two more well-known films on this subject, Armageddon and Deep Impact, the meteor is stopped by bombing it with thermonuclear devices - a completely sensible theory. I like Science Fiction, but 'Asteroids' isn't SciFi, the film violates every possible physical law, the creators treating the observers as imbecills.

Every building and vehicle in the film seems to be filled with gasoline - everything explodes (by the way - when will we see a film where cars and houses don't explode and diesel oil doesn´t catch fire?).

The second part of the film is an endless display of fires, roaming people and military vehicles. This would certainly put you to sleep were it not for the monotonous engine noise and fire sound.

And in every dramatic scene you are faced with the difficult and thrilling questions: "Will they find each other???", "Will the hero survive???".

I long for a meteor movie that blasts everything away, killing everyone including the hero.

A well cast summary of a real event! Well, actually, I wasn't there, but I think this is how it may have been like. I think there are two typically American standpoints evident in the film: 'communistophobia' and parallels to Adolf Hitler. These should be evident to most independent observers. Anyway, Boothe does a great performance, and so do lots of other well-known actors. The last twenty minutes of the film are unbearable - and I mean it! Anyone who can sleep well after them is abnormal. (That's why it's so terrible - it all happened, and it probably looked just like that). But, actually, did that last scene on the air station really take place?

Black Jack emphasizes loneliness and desperation of today's society, with the only highlight of the week being Friday's dance. Scene: A few weeks around Christmas in Sweden (eighteen hours out of twenty-four are dark); the melancholy of the cold and darkness is overwhelming. The guys of the small town know each other, and so do the girls. Every weekend they meet at the local dance hall. There is the guy who is always drunk, the guy who is always nice and the guy who is always wise. However, the beautiful girl (Bergström) falls for the drummer of the band, a real Casanova, disagreeable and with a telephone-book the size of a bible. The nice guy is left behind, just like it always happens in the real world. It may sound very stereotypical, but it isn't. Nutley has made a really pertinent and realistic picture.

Sundvall has made an intense movie about illegal hunting. It's loaded with tense and excitement. Actually, it's about people living in a desolated place, not wanting to play with the rules of the community. We haven't seen such an intense movie in Sweden for at least a decade.

Stig Järrel plays the role of his life as the malignant teacher. I have never seen such a studied character in any movie whatsoever. The torment of Jan-Erik is quite understandable.

This film is a display of art by straight lines, red colors and architecture. This is what impresses a lot of viewers (and me too). But I would like to add another aspect, the genuine tragedy of three women carrying love, illusions, passions and expectations. The sad fate of Songlian touches everyone today, yet only a century ago this was reality in most of the world. This film shows culture and traditions very little known to us (in the Western World), and still there is the universal problem of equality for women. That's why the story of Songlian's maid, Nan'er, affected me even more. Not only was she a woman, but a servant to another woman; the lower of the lowest. The scene where Songlian unveils her in her apartment and the subsequent quarrel is one of the most touching film scenes I know. The character of the third wife is ambiguous. Having regained the husband's approval, and dating another man, she can't conceal her jealousy towards Songlian. Jealousy for what reason? 'Raise the red lantern' is a document of a time and a culture forgotten by most, but, as other events in history, has to be reminded of.