One of the worst movies I've ever seen

A Brilliant Conflict

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I saw this movie a few months ago in the town which appeared as Greendale in the movie, which is the only reason I went to see it. Another local who was there just forwarded to me an email announcement of a repeat showing because the first had sold out and people were turned away. His editorial comment in his forward is a good summary:"Yuk."Unless you're a Neil Young fan or live in/near "Greendale" (if the latter you know the real name), skip this movie. It's mostly an ego trip for the filmmaker. It has no discernible plot, the music is merely OK, and too much of the lyrics are unintelligible making it impossible to follow what little shreds of plot there may be.I don't need to put in a spoiler warning because there are no surprises to give away.I'd give this a 1.5/10, but that's just for the amusement value of seeing the locales made into a movie. It wasn't worth the $6. I could rent a video camera and drive around "Greendale" and make a better movie myself.If you want to see a *good* environmental-message movie with no plot, go rent Koyaanisqatsi.

I saw this film when it played in Vancouver and, although it had a bit of an amaturish feel about it, there was a sponteneity and flow about it that grabbed me from the outset and pulled me in right through to the hope filled climax. I doubt that this film will win any converts, however. You either get Neil Young, or you don't. Except for his middle-of-the-road Heart of Gold stuff, most of Neil's music lacks the polish of your usual radio fluff. Neil is not for surface dwellers. To get into him--whether his film, his concerts or his albums--you got to get underneath the surface cliches and his naselly vocal distortions. This film has heart, as does the album Greendale and once you attune to his undertow, it will never let you go.

Neil Young's companion film to his concept album of the same name is rendered in a grainy color 8mm silent film -- accompanied by the music of the album. The hook is that while the cast acts out the events of the songs, they lip sync to Young's vocals. The effect is at once strange, startling and somewhat boring. The production values are quite low, but the fidelity in image and setting is interestingly contrasted within the editorial content of the film. The story involves a family that is riven by violence and the gathering forces of media and government that exploit it. Young uses this situation and the bucolic town of "Greendale" to make an argument about the evolution of American life, the march of conservative politics and most particularly, the plight of the environment. After an hour of watching what mostly feels like Young's home movies, bumbling and blurry, he violently cuts to the razor sharp video images of the media descending upon the town. It's easy to dismiss this film as cheaply made and lazily conceived. But the film closes with the image of a newly-politicized young couple driving to Alaska to "save the Caribou" -- with the Devil hitching a ride. Young may be suggesting that in the end the terrible forces that rain down on "Greendale" ascended from there as well.

I'd seen the concert version of Greendale (rock opera?) in Phoenix, AZ, and was impressed. The film was shot all in Super 8 which I think fits perfect with Neil Young's style over the decades. It's rocky, rainy day feeling goes hand in hand with Neil's music. The original way in which the characters mouth the lines that Neil sings (the albumn Greendale plays through the whole film) made me think that the film would be boring in the beginning. But the images on the screne, along with the music, complete the story nicely. Young focuses on the Green family and their stuggles in the town of Greendale. Basically, their a family of hippies dealing with the media, law enforcement, and environmental destruction. Young expresses his opinions though song and the characters act them out. I recommend this film to anyone, especially if you're a fan of Shakey...