Pure Love

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2006)

** I don't think I'm giving spoilers...but let's rather be safe than sorry ;) **
I have to defend this movie from those who, unexplainedly to me, seem to "hate" it so viscerally. My comment on the movie is excellent, I loved it. And the friends that have seen it with me (and they have never played the SH games) liked it very much too.
Now, my impressions: The director is a fan on the game, and this is really felt in all the little details he carefully places through all the movie. It is NOT a 1:1 copy of the games though...it is heavily based on the story of SH1, and it also steals some cool ideas from SH2 (like PyramidHead)...but it's a completely unrelated story. Many character names, for example, are the same as the game...but the roles and identities in the movie are all different.
The story, as in the original game, is very simple and straight once you get to the end of it. A religious cult...a missing child...tragedies from the past... It's not so complicated to figure out even though, just like in the game, there are many twists and details that make it all so dark and fascinating. As they say: The important thing is not "the destination"...but the "journey" itself.
Technically... All the settings are very atmospheric, the characters do their job very well and the action is well dosed. But there are moments, I have to admit, when the plot is developed somehow "artificially". Rose is supposed to be lost and confused...she ACTS as she is lost and confused...but sometimes she goes here and there as if she had a map telling here exactly what to do. Well...I say: whatever! It's a great movie and little bugs like those are not serious enough to earn it a bad rating!
The ending is also awesome. I expected something "clear" and definitive (even if hinting to a sequel)...but the director chose one more time to be true to the spirit of the game. Instead of the multiple endings of the game, impossible to translate into a movie, the story was left somehow "suspended". First of all, I liked it "as is" because it transmits an infinite sense of sadness, so true to the game. Secondly, there are different hints and allusions that can lead to very different interpretations...thus somehow recreating the "multiple ending" effect.
An excellent movie :)