One of the Most Interesting Experiences Ever

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2014)

This is one of those experiences that defy explanation (similar to the one I had watching "2001: A Space Odyssey"). I had read the book a year before and if you had asked me to pick a book that could never be made into a movie, I would have easily selected this. How wrong I was. This masterful concoction kept me intrigued for nearly three hours and yet I'm still trying to figure things out. I agree with the late Roger Ebert that even with two or three viewings, I am still trying to put this all together. It doesn't matter. It's like looking at a painting on repeated visits to a museum, maybe the works of Breughel or Bosch. There are some themes that run through the multiple characters' existences, touching on oppression and endurance of the human soul. The performances are wonderful. I would imagine that the likes of Tom Hanks must have been in heaven, extending their acting chops. I need to watch the film again, but for now will leave it to those more intellectually astute to look at the implications of the tenets of this film. I would recommend it as an experience everyone should have.