Bo (2022) User Reviews

Not quite sure what I just saw

[ptjansen · 3/10 · 13 October 2022]

I'm not really sure what I just saw.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't believe in the story and/or the characters, which are both full of 'holes'.

The guy (Levan) was okay, but Bo is so irritating that she got very fast on my nerves. Plus I thought the actress was kind of overacting.

It's a bit like the director couldn't chose between a realistic and a surrealistic approach. Pity.

After about 30 minutes in the film I lost interest in the story and kept looking at my watch (always a bad sign).

The landscapes of Georgia are well filmed, but it could have also been Texas or Colorado (they made me think of Wim Wender's 'Paris, Texas'), because you hardly see any 'locals'.

Strange film which, unfortunately, I can't really recommend.

I stayed until the end... Unfortunately

[Pasky74 · 4/10 · 3 October 2022]

A young woman goes in search of the grave of her father, a famous trumpet player. At the cemetery, she meets Levan, a childhood friend of his, who, confusingly, only appears to be ten years older than her. Maybe it's the Georgian mountain air that makes him look younger, maybe he's just not that well cast. He is handsome, and troubled. The two begin to hang out and slowly a strange relationship develops.

Bo's plot relies heavily on flashbacks, as the story doesn't unfold in a clear way. Until the end it remains a mystery why the story actually takes place in Georgia and the character Levan is also full of holes. The memories that we are presented with work like a kind of puzzle pieces of a puzzle of which you are still missing half of the pieces.

In addition, we are also taken in tow by a complicated main character. Bo makes inimitable choices, is now and then suddenly very aggressive or emotional and mainly behaves like a spoiled 13-year-old teenager, while according to the plot she should already be at least 18. Those facts make it pretty hard to empathize with her character, and she's not particularly fun either. Levan seems to think so too, until the atmosphere between the two suddenly turns 180 degrees. That unexpected twist is followed by a disturbing revelation about Levan's grim past. The latter is perhaps exciting but not well developed, which makes the whole plot feel contrived.

The film was mainly shot in Georgia, but we actually get to see very little of the beautiful and diverse country. The local culture is also not really included in the story, while that could have made things a lot more interesting. In addition, the way the characters are written is quite stereotypical: men are all aggressive, unpredictable creatures and women are emotional, seductive and untrustworthy. The plot depends on this notion, and that makes you feel as a viewer not exactly taken seriously. Even the wild plot twist towards the end doesn't make up for that.

I kept thinking: OK, I give it another 10 minutes and if it still gets on my nerves (especially the girl), I get out of the theater. But I stayed until the end. Unfortunately.