Interesting film, but perhaps a tad overrated

Rating: 7/10 (17 November 2014)

Not bad. Not bad at all.
But I cannot tell when this movie is failing and when it is just being purposefully stylistic and I am being an ignorant peasant. There is a number of times when a character makes a joke and others start laughing heartily...and it's not funny, and...I think it is meant to be not funny, but then again I am not sure. Other times the movie is quite funny with barely any effort.
Actors overact, and it seems they are doing so on purpose, in the style of the that time. And yet other times the acting is quite modern and realistic.
Then there is that fake looking old man's face mask that the main actor wears in the entire second half of the movie. If you think old man makeup looks bad in today's movies, try a 40s movie.
And yet again, overall the visuals are quite good. The effects are interesting. It feels like the makers really tried to come up with new stuff. There are a lot of dissolves between shots and camera is flying through things. The film has a dream-like aesthetic.
The plot is quite good, but is the movie teaching me lessons about life or is it being preachy and pretentious? Perhaps both? Overall, the movie is quite charming and well-acted. I just can't understand where its brilliance ends and its flaws begin.