Minimalist philosophy

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2008)

I saw this movie twice at the Belgrade film festival, and had very strange feelings after watching it. The first time i saw it, i was in a really bad mood, i felt the movie was painfully slow, sometimes boring, but i kinda wanted the story to last as long because it was strange and interesting. However, after the very end i had a feeling i missed something because it felt the movie had giant holes in the story. So, the second time (in a better mood) - completely different feel. The story was coherent (however i still found two BIG holes in the film, when Carson finds the satchel on the border, and when the hotel receptionist is shot), and the movie generally made sense. This is a minimalist thriller, packed with common folk philosophy about life, "evil" in today's life, problems of old age, and one man's influence on the world. There are some great, unusual feats in the movie, which makes it only better. 1) the music - there basically isn't any. The film uses real-life sounds to emphasize the tension (which has a big part in the film), and makes a few really memorable scenes. 2) long, static takes with views on the landscape and little dialogue, some people might not like it, i found it interesting here. 3) the film doesn't give you flat-out facts about the plot, if you watch it with your brain off, you'll probably miss something (like i did the first time), but yet doesn't require full mental capacity because the story isn't really complicated. I have only one remark (though it couldn't have been avoided by the filmmakers because the script is a direct book adaptation) - the Chigurh character should have been kept in the dark for at least the first part of the film, it would again emphasize the tension and the element of fear, as felt in the hotel eagle scene (remarkable)