IN: Review: This film comes as the ultimate disappointment in Tsai Ming-Liang for me. It oozes laziness from its every frame. So I'm not going to analyse it thoroughly either. But some observations:

1. If the premise is drought, why we get to see city landscapes with blooming green trees? I wonder if that was supposed to mean something in the metaphorical context of the film (in which thirst notifies the craving for intimacy, and watermelon the trivial substitute, sex). Or it is only a matter of lousy film-making, not giving a damn about being coherent.

2. We don't get to know what had happened to the porn actress, why she is unconscious or, presumably, dead. It seems a question of no importance as long as the message of supreme alienation is successfully (=bombastically) delivered, but in retrospect, her inert body proves to be a cheap dramaturgical gimmick, a pretext just as gratuitous and exploitative as the activity it is employed in.

3. Nothing is expressed in this movie that Antonioni hadn't expressed better 40 years ago and without needlessly humiliating his actors.

4. The musical numbers (recycled from 'The Hole') felt like a secondary-schooler's idea of artistic counterpointing, executed on that very secondary-school level of skill. If that was the point, the point sucked.
What is this review like?
OUT: negative

IN: Review: This is truly the greatest Swedish movie of all time. Not only is it revolutionary in its narration, but its also among the first movies to feature the next generation of Swedish humor and Swedish comedians. Felix Herngren and Fredrik Lindstrom are two of the most intelligent and witty filmmakers in Sweden today, and this film really puts that on display.

"Vuxna manniskor" (Adult People) is a warm-hearted and hilarious story about adulthood, and the question if we wouldn't be better off without it.
What is this review like?
OUT: positive

IN: Review: The story idea is excellent. Unfortunately, the execution lets it down.

The movie lacks pace, for one thing. It should be an exciting ride, but it is slow and more than a little boring.

I think the problem's mainly in the screenplay and editing. There aren't enough obstacles and reversals to ratchet up suspense, and there are scenes which don't really move the story along very effectively.

The producers should have seen this in the screenplay and insisted upon a major rewrite. Unfortunately, when the producer is also the writer and the director, this evidently ain't gonna happen.

Much of the acting seems kind of flat, and that is down to the director - all the actors have been quite competent in other projects.

It's a shame, because with better writing, editing and direction, this could have been a really good thriller.
What is this review like?
OUT:
negative