"Hauntingly Beautiful" **Mild, "thematic and 'Quote'" spoiler**

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 1999)

What I love about this movie is that there are several different layers upon which one can enjoy this film as a work of art. First, the cinematography is fantastic. The scenes with the rose petals are very sensual and beautiful yet with a "whimsical" quality. Secondly, as human beings, there are more complex emotions and experiences than can be described in the words of any language. The quotes I found most memorable were when Ricky Fitts describes to Jane what he feels when he films--how there is so much beauty triggering so many emotions at once that he feels as though he will "cave" in. And again, at the end of the movie when the lead character describes what he experiences, the film again makes what I consider a brave and successful attempt to describe feelings that are haunting yet beautiful and all-consuming; feelings which are extremely hard to put into words. These two speeches carry the theme(as does the rest of the movie) that although so many moments in life may not stick out in our minds there is always beauty and meaning to find there. Also, (as a fair feminist) I like how this film speaks up for the overworked, underappreciated, middle-aged, American father. I enjoyed watching him standup for himself throughout the film. Watching this prepared me for events later in the film. I thoroughly loved how they touched on what really matters in life. They did a fantastic job presenting Lester's miserable, "plastic", materialistic wife and her "struggle" with understanding what truly matters in life.