Bewilderment...

Rating: 8/10 (26 November 2006)

First off, I have to state that in order to explain this film, you have to see it yourself. it is almost impossible to write this review, for the film had so much wonder that left me and the audience bewildered and speechless. It is a highly unusually film that could be seen in many different views. That said, a lot of previous reviews of this film that I have read are quite different and off key, at least from the way I viewed the film.
To put this film in simpler terms, it is about the whole topic of death. Which includes spirituality, reincarnation, loads and loads of symbolism, specifically with trees, henceforth the tree of life, and also various time periods. The story is about a couple Tom Creo (Hugh Jackman) and Izzi Creo (rachel Weisz). It ends up that Izzy has cancer and is near death. Tom does everything in his power to stop her from dying.
meanwhile, back in the 1500s, the same two people are in the same circumstances, and Tom, known as the Conquistador is sent to South America to locate the Tree of Life. Both stories intertwine and bring together neatly and dramatically with surprising ends. both are great pieces to the story.
However, the third story is very confusing, which is the story 500 years from modern-day, and it is when Tom is an astronaut, who is bound to a tree that is dying, supposedly representing his ill wife. he travels in a bubble to a star that suppsoedly gives you rebirth and life.
This story, in my mind, pulled away and created diversions from the original two stories. It took a long time to explain what the story stood for, and it at least gave some explanation at the end of the film, which was no more than mere implications, which left me hanging saying "Okay, now what?" Another thing about the film was that the director used the same scenes throughout the film, as if to warn the audience, "okay, it's time for a new scene". This grew very annoying, and only slowed the pace of the film, making a 95 minute film feel an hour extra longer. These delays also caused some damage to the end, which was left hanging, instead of totally resolved. in other words, there was to be more of the film at the end, but was cut short, and left almost like a cliffhanger (previously stated earlier in the paragraph).
Besides these flaws, the film was great. The director uses a lot of up closes and different camera angles compared to the average Hollywood director. Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackamn gave powerful performances, but neither of them were Oscar worthy. The visual effects were flat out amazing, and beyond the works of Lord of the Rings, not to mention the use of beautiful cinematography that gave a feel to the film, as well as other small details such as: costumes, set-decoration, and a moving music score by Clint Mansell.
It was a great film that was unfortunately flawed, but still held a strong lesson that tells us that we're all going to die someday, but it's what we do in our life that defines us.
*** out of **** Not the best thing, but a decent film