breathtaking

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2005)

I'm ashamed to say that this was one of those films that I "didn't get around to" seeing in the cinema and somehow there was "always something else" to rent in Blockbuster a few months later. I really should be ashamed.
The film is stunning, it effortlessly conveys what it REALLY feels like to be away from home, lost and lonely. The use of music and sound (or lack of it!) are touches of genius and the performances and stunning - Bill Murray with depth? who'd have thought it and Scarlet has to be the find of the decade.
The use of members of the public as unknowing extras is a well tried trick to add realism into a film and seldom works, but here it adds to the whole mood of the film perfectly giving it the secret ingredient - totally believable characters and situations.
Bittersweet in its plot, it kept reminding me of Last Encounter (silly as it sounds) and fears of spoiling it all with a sickly sweet "Hollywood" ending were thankfully unfounded.
It's one of those rare films that you don't watch as much as let wash over you -never quite understanding what makes it so good or enjoyable. And yes, it passes the true test of a classic film - the fact that you're still thinking of it days and weeks afterwards.
This really will go down as a classic and a reminder that Film as an Art form works best when people are its central focus and actors are allowed to act. The only disappointing thing is the (long) wait for the next good one to come along ....