Visually brilliant, otherwise average.

Rating: 6/10 (1 October 2014)

When you get to see that Scorsese is out of his comfort zone and making a movie on the early days of movie making, you got to be curious.The product in the plater is good but certainly not the best of its kind.The poster, the ambiance created by the ace director in the trailers of the movie, the going gaga of the people over it certainly make you thirsty for something outstanding. Unfortunately the thirst remains unquenched.The story is bit too tad and takes longer than you can wait for to build up.Then gradually you expect a grand finale, an outstanding climax which will make amends for the lost time.Sadly enough, you leave the movie hall without that.The acting by the lead actors is OK to say the most.At times Cohen or even the maestro Kingsley go over OTT. The kids do alright.So do the others.But nothing special which can compensate for the lacunae in the storyline is there.The mystery about the kid's father's ( why on earth did Jude Law accept that role) death remains unanswered.The chemistry between the young boy and the girl was half heartedly built.But the outstanding achievement of the director was in getting a stage which is visually brilliant.The use of lights and shadows, the tinkering sounds, the visual effects, the brilliant photography makes the film look exquisite.The Academy people were judicious enough to give this film 5 Oscars, all for its technical superiority and nothing for any of the mainstream awards.Overall, apart from its technical finesse, its certainly not of Scorsese's best.And for movie on movie making, Cinema Paradiso remains way better than this one.