Too much of everything

To me, this movie is perfection.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

...and alas, this movie doesn't really have one. I was shocked to discover the director took an alleged two years to write the script. I think he must have used the same writing technique William Burroughs did gluing phrases together more or less at random to create Naked Lunch. In other words, the artist without any borders whatever may create a masterwork, but more likely will create a stillborn work.Now to be sure, if one thinks hard enough about "what it all means," the theme of compassion (or actually the decreasing amount of compassion) between human beings works. Ugandans "flying" away from earth is (or could be) a symbol for Ugandans so forgotten by the world that they no longer can stand on it. Sounds heavy, and maybe it would have worked except that particular symbol is only mentioned a couple times in passing and never developed into anything.Mr. Morrison... an allusion to Jim Morrison, the perhaps iconic art nihilist? Maybe. Isn't this fun? Or / and is Mr. Morrison symbolic of death, an interpretation we're surely offered nearer the end of the movie. Or not.Everyone's stepping over dead bodies, who died for lack of love (compassion). This did appeal to me, and impacted me in a lasting way, despite again being merely a prop rather than a developed part of the story.Filming was beautiful. Joakin Phoenix, Sean Penn, Clare Danes all tried admirably to invest their characters with depth, and oddly succeeded, as did Douglas Henshall (whom I remember for his great performance in "Orphans," a memorable and unique movie with a definite plot!). But the story, the story, the story...I didn't waste my time watching this... not totally, at least. I mourned, however, what could have been. This strange wreck could have been magnificent... but it really is all about plot.

First, the good news. The photography and lighting are lush and beautiful. I can see why Anthony Dod Mantle got the nod for Last King of Scotland. Otherwise, by the time the credits rolled, not only didn't I care about these characters ... I wanted to see them dead. I didn't care if they were shot, frozen to death, or died of lung cancer from the non-stop smoking.Not bad enough? Sean Penn's part seems like it was tacked on as an afterthought. We're supposed to believe this story unfolds nearly two decades in the future ... but oddly, all the cars and clothes look like it's 2003. We're supposed to believe there are a number of clones of Claire Danes's character ... but they barely look like her. There's a global catastrophe afoot ... but it's mostly a big yawn.In short, the entire undertaking is confused and pointless. I want these 104 minutes of my life back.

I guess you have to be pretty open minded and ready for weird things when watching this film... Although it is strange that people are dying in the streets, it adds to the message and emotional impact of the movie; the writer made the future seem like a colder place, then now, lacking closeness and love. For this reason people who do not have enough love are liable to die, "something to do with the heart". Although, strange, this is an interesting and completely original way of making a film about love. The two separated married couple, Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes, unite again to finalize their divorce, but end up trying to escape from a vast conspiracy happening within the Figure Skating Business of Elena (Claire Danes). In this escape, John (Phoenix) remembers his love between his ex wife, and they rekindle their relationship. But throughout the adventure there are struggles with Elena, whom is implied to be self deprecating because of the constant pressures of her career. However, the theme of love is broader than the couple featured in the film, the screenplay was written as if love is lacking in all parts of the world, causing temperatures to drop, and strange "flying" events to occur. Although these are weird and unusual things to connect with love, the writer made his point that he feels as if love is not taken advantage of in the world today, and may be lost further in the future. All these different events add to the theme of the lack of love in the world. Although the movie ends badly, as in the characters, although have found love once again, die in the cold of the snow, the message "Its All About Love" is re-enforced with Sean Penn's character. The character of Marciello isn't necessary to the film, but I feel adds a sense of reality, a detached family member, who isn't completely understood by the audience. And by giving this character the final words of the film, it allowed the audience watching to remain a little bit uncomfortable, since the character was not a familiar one. Overall, the entire film is a bit uncomfortable to watch because of all the weird events, and the emotional ups and downs. The two characters were from Poland, which was another thing that added to the film just having unnecessary things added to it. There are many situations in this film and added scenes, and mere details that are not completely necessary to the plot, or the flow of the story, which make audiences hesitant, or dislike the film. But in my opinion, it made the film unique, and more universal (meaning it deals with things all over the world in the film, not everyone in the world will understand it hah). The acting in this film was pretty good, Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes have done films where they were coupled before, and they really are believable. Sean Penn also plays his role perfectly, although barely in the film. The rest of the characters are odd, and sometimes seem like they are just reading lines, however this could be another aspect to the film and to the writer/director. Overall, really different, but the message, and the idea behind all the weird aspects, are really original, and an overall emotional, scenically beautiful, and unique film.

We all want love after all. We want family bounds and people to rely on, friends who support us and stick with us when we are in trouble.This was all about love. The separation was a disease and Eleana (Clair Danes) who worked hard to gain a successful career as a ballerina, got weaker and weaker as the result of not having the love she desired in her life, the love of being a white bride, purity, youth and togetherness with someone she loved.... May be she realised it when it was too late, when she was no longer wanted by the media, corporations who made money out of her talent; when she felt she was missing that long wanted link, to be attached to someone she loved.When John (Joaquin Phoenix)came back to get his divorce paper signed, it was too late, her heart already was weak, the disease was in an advanced stage. She tried to cure it, she tried to quit her job, but the people who used her including her brother betrayed her behind her back.So from Eleana's point of view, all she wanted was her life and happiness back. From David and Arthur's point of views, it was all about making money, no matter how many lives would be ruined; they were using people as their business tools. But from John's point of view, it was all about love. You could see in his eyes when he was watching Eleana that how he cared and how he longed for her, and that was the reason he left, because he loved her and he wanted her happiness and success. And finally that was the reason he got involved in the end.The Ugandans were symbolic to my view, something in John's imagination... He saw them on television screens and when he was dying. He saw them attaching themselves near each other to the place they were born so that they stay as a family and not to separate, to keep love! The fact that John's brother lived in aeroplanes and always in the sky showed the result of this family dis-attachment and confirmed that even when people leave each other, they still think about each other all the time, in their isolation and they still try to make sense by keeping contact...At the end... we hear John's brother (Sean Penn) trying to communicate with John .... "You are probably somewhere in snow... you are probably somewhere sleeping." So deep inside family members have this connection and that is why by separating families and disconnecting people from love, the world is going to be a very cold place to be and people finish their lives in isolation and from a cold heart somewhere and this would become so natural that no one will care after all.This also proved that even when these four family members tried to get together at one point, they did not really make it and that killed John and Eleana. In distance Michael, Eleana's brother died in storm and John's brother was in a plane that could not land anywhere at all as everywhere was snowing... so he was going to die as well...Love is something that has to bound all of us humans together and if we are not connected, sooner or later, the life stops metaphorically and in this film symbolically.