As a character study it was excellent ... the social environment and feel of Brazil came though in spades, Sonia Braga was awesome in her focus and power in the role where she painted a picture of a real person with flaws, with strengths and weaknesses and a determination that was admirable. Her relationship with her children was really great as were they ... As a whole though the movie didn't work for me on a number of levels. There were cues along the way that never amounted to anything - for example there was an early shot of a piece of furniture - we see single lingering shots at times but it never becomes part of the story.
I never knew where the story was going ... I concentrated because I didn't want to miss any part of the thread but in the end there was so much artefact and detail that didn't really drive the story anywhere.
It finally got there and was over in a trice ... given that I had held my concentration for well over two hours it was a let down. You persist for that long and then there is a resolution that still left me hanging a bit. Did the developers get any real comeuppance? Did she have to leave anyway given the circumstances?
I found it not only disappointing but also frustrating like someone had been playing a long joke on me - but movie appreciation is such an individual and idiosyncratic thing so see for yourself as your take might be otherwise but this was my experience.
I never knew where the story was going ... I concentrated because I didn't want to miss any part of the thread but in the end there was so much artefact and detail that didn't really drive the story anywhere.
It finally got there and was over in a trice ... given that I had held my concentration for well over two hours it was a let down. You persist for that long and then there is a resolution that still left me hanging a bit. Did the developers get any real comeuppance? Did she have to leave anyway given the circumstances?
I found it not only disappointing but also frustrating like someone had been playing a long joke on me - but movie appreciation is such an individual and idiosyncratic thing so see for yourself as your take might be otherwise but this was my experience.