Powerful and Troubling at the Same Time

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2006)

I saw this movie recently and I left the theater unsure as to what I really felt about the movie. I think this is because the film has strengths in a variety of areas, but also is troubling in some sense. On the one hand it has great scenery and setting. It has very good acting, and although the acting is great it is not what I think really makes the film stand out. I think what makes this film is the underlying story and the work of the director. The story, while not complex (as expected from a short story) is very powerful. The imagery of the film really got me as well. Some of the scenes while brief really rivet you as you sit in the audience. These include what Alma sees when she looks out the window, the roadside scene retold at the end of the movie, and the scene near the end visiting Jack's parents.
To be honest, the film is very stark and is somewhat disturbing. It has bothered me for these four days since I saw it. It makes one think about the constraints society places on all of us, but also the constraints we put on ourselves. Society can be very cruel to us in the end and the film shows this very strongly. While I found this film to be very riveting, even more so after leaving the theater, I almost wish I had not seen it in some ways. It is troubling and painful to me for some reason. That being said, I would recommend it to others primarily because I feel it is worth experiencing for all of the good and also the negative reasons. I wanted to post about this film as it is very strong, but I think I'd have a better summarization if I had waited a month or two....