Effective if contrived

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2015)

An odd one. Very intriguing, very well-acted and very well-paced all around. It isn't until it's over, though, that you start to pick it apart in some of the contrivances. It's a good film, but ultimately a too melodramatic for my taste. That doesn't mean it's not enjoyable on a scene-to- scene basis, though. The tone in this is probably its biggest accomplishment, as it really does have an affect on the sombering mood it has us in, particularly in the context and setting of the world these characters are living in. It's enough to remind us of the atrocities performed on humans all throughout time. I'm not sure I'd call it one of the best films of the year or even the best alongside the foreign language nominees, but definitely effective.