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Cloud Atlas (2012)
An interesting message lost in too much resources
It is a movie with an intricate structure. This may result confusing and tiring in the beginning. But as the film goes on, it is easier to follow it. I think it was like an assay for what the directors are doing in Sense 8.
They are talking about revolutions, as they did in The Matrix. But more in a sense of the objectives and how much you can get if you decide to go into a revolution. Also, they talk about the world being a big cycle, with the good and the bad being eternal. And how our decisions can not be ultimate, but they only form a part in a long chain of causes and consequences.
The philosophy they are based on is very interesting. But the quantity of resources they use is exaggerated. And it makes obvious and repetitive the message they want to tell. They get to share their message, but not in an organic way, not a satisfying one.
The cast is interesting. Tom Hanks is surprising, getting a lot of reactions for him for a single movie (still, not my favorite).
The make up is very obvious. May be this was intentional, to distinguish which actor made which character. The production design is impressive, as it is expected from the Wachowski. Guessing which director it did what scene can be fun.
So, intentions were great, results were not that good. But still, it is a good film.
Tom à la ferme (2013)
A fragmented work, a complete lack of unity
I just watched this movie as part of the 56th Muestra International de Cine at the Cineteca Nacional, in Mexico City. As I noted in the synopsis, the director is also the protagonist, something that I don't consider sane for a movie. But the storyline seemed attractive. And my intuition was right: an excessive use of extreme close-ups, not helping to the narrative, but making it boring and exasperating. And yes, most of the close-ups, specially the long-lasting ones, were on the main character. I don't know the original text (I know it's a theatrical text), to make a difference between failures in the original story and the version of the director. The characters are interesting. They're strong. But I couldn't understand the basis of their actions. There is a scene when characters are doing this, and the next they're changing, and then they're going back, and then they make a new thing... The only well-presented character is a secondary one, appearing as much as 15 minutes. The actress in the role of the mother makes a very good work, but it's diluted by the failures in the story and the lack of strength in the work of the co-protagonists. At the end, I found the director being the protagonist, also made the selection of the music, the scenery, the dialogs (interestingly, the playwright helped with the dialogs). And it made sense with the result. A fragmented work, a complete lack of unity.