Flat

Rating: 4/10 (19 July 2011)

I have been reading some of the reviews written here, and I have to say I strongly disagree with the two main lines of opinion I've detected: You will love this movie if you are an educated person with an interest for culture, or you will hate it because of the religious controversy. No, it's rather a combination of those two lines: You will hate it precisely because you are an educated person with an interest for culture. Because the movie is flat and shallow, mediocre. The story is decent, although they are including way too much information for a movie, which is a typical error when adapting a book. If you haven't read the book (and I have not) you might find yourself drowning in a historical essay rather than enjoying a movie. But well, this doesn't really matter because there is little to enjoy: The direction is so bad that the movie is simply annoying. The actors seem to be there by coincidence, puppets of a crazy script. Things happen to them all the time, but it's like they are not touched, they are just watching. So when they are forced to show some kind of life or feelings, it's almost ridiculous. Take the love story between the two main characters: Where did that come from? Zero chemistry. Not credible at all. So bottomline: Much ado about nothing. Puff!
PS- The issues some people might have with religions or opinions about them have nothing to do with cinema and shouldn't be taken into consideration when reviewing a movie. Please!