Extremely well made, beautiful and sad

Rating: 7/10 (27 March 2010)

Recap: On the eve of the end of the first world war a boy is born. His mother dies in childbirth, and when the father looks upon his child he is horrified. The newborn looks like he is about to die of old age. He leaves the child on the stairs of a nursing home where the kid grows up. No one expects the kid to survive for long, but he does, and seems to get younger as he grows older. When he is about ten years old he meets a young girl, visiting her grandmother. Instantly they form a bond that will follow them through their life. She growing older, he growing younger by every day.
Comments: If this movie would have been a house, people would have knocked on its beam and been impressed by how well it was built. The curious case of Benjamin Button is a really well made movie, it is a piece of craftsmanship. It is well shot, well edited and well acted. It is an impressive piece of art that is well worth watching.
But a movie, how well made it is, a movie is still dependent on the story it tells. The story is good, it is entertaining but perhaps the title is really describing it best. It is a curious story indeed. As the movie is well made, it is well written and solid enough. But the entertainment value lies within its peculiarity, that I was really curious how it would develop. Nothing wrong with that at all, but don't expect much of a comedy, and certainly not much action. It is a drama with certain romantic elements, but not very much of a happy one. In fact I found that the story is quite a sad one, of love with almost insurmountable obstacles.
It was a beautiful story, but with a sad and emotional ending. But despite the end being rather sad, it is in line with the movie, beautiful and fitting at the same time.
The only fault might be that it is quite long. But to tell a whole life's story takes time, even if it is backwards.
7/10