Bara prata lite (1997) User Reviews

talk, the short that led to F**king Amal

[stephencheevers · 7/10 · 26 April 2007]

you must look at this short in the context of its director/writers Lukas Moodysson's career, without it he wouldn't have got to make F**king Amal.Actually this short and storyline was actually apart of the first few drafts of the F**king Amal script, the film would have been a slasher flick instead of the touching love story, based around Elin and Jessica finding out that their next door neighbor is a killer, and basically Agnes would have been a sub plot instead of a main character. I for one would like to see that version of the script. the performance of the old lonely man is top notch although the end is a bit over the top, just like a lot of Moodysson's career.

Shocking Film

[popopon0125 · 7/10 · 15 July 2015]

This film is about an old man who lives alone and often feels lonely. First, he is ignored by many people. Second, a woman visits him to have a little chat with him. Finally, he gets hysterical when the woman says she has to go. I think the male actor is good because he can express his character's feelings well. For example, when he expresses his anger, his acting appeals strongly to us. When I saw the scene in which he expresses his strong anger to the woman, I was surprised at his power. To be honest, I don't like the ending of the film because it left a bad taste in my mouth. However, I feel the ending is best for this film when I think about a natural flow of the story. This is because the ending can express how he becomes crazy due to his loneliness.

Dr. Lecter comes again!

[banyaaaan-t · 6/10 · 19 July 2015]

A lonely old man goes to his former workplace. Also he calls somebody at random, because he seeks a kind of relationship. However, he cannot control that desire. One woman visits him, and he cannot restrain himself any more. At first I was sorry for his loneliness. However, as the story developed, I felt fear of his madness. It's really creepy, but We cannot deny loneliness is really serious problem. Someday I might spend such life. Anyway, his acting is really excellent. He is to that role what Anthony Hopkins is to Dr. Lecter in "the Silence of the Lambs ". He acts the loneliness, at the same time, does the madness. I don't want to watch this movie again, but I will not forget it.

The reality of the first half is kind of spoilt by the final few minutes but otherwise it is a great little film that I found touching in a tragic way

[bob the moo · 30 July 2004]

Birger works at Volvo and tries to talk to people as he gets the bus to work. However he doesn't work at Volvo anymore as he has retired but has nothing to do but hang around. His loneliness is very hard for him and he is grateful when a knock on the door brings a girl preaching about Hare Krishna to his home. He invites her in but his desire for even a conversation is intimidating to her.

The title of this film in English is 'Talk' and it sums up the content pretty well even if the film goes further than it should have done. In essence the film is quite moving and very real as we see Birger struggling to find anyone who will spend time with him. At my job we have a similar guy who retired years ago but continues to hang around even though many just feel sorry for him – this film has a similar guy in the lead. He tries to talk on the bus and, even in the early scene before we know much about him, he seems lonely and desperate. The film extends this idea well but, in the last few minutes it goes somewhere that I didn't expect and didn't fit with the tangible reality that I felt it had built up till that point.

This is a complaint but it is not one that takes away what it had done in the 10 minutes or so up till this point. The character of Birger is well written but succeeds because of very good delivery from Ljunggren. His natural and pained performance is spot on and he is the cornerstone of the film. Frode is annoying and the film doesn't treat her very well but it's easy not to really notice her part in the end of the film as Ljunggren is pretty dominant.

Overall this is a great little film that blows it a bit at the end by losing touch with the reality that it had set up so well – but this is not enough to make this a bad short film, just a lesser one than it should have been. But the material, the direction and Birger makes it well worth seeing.

What if it would happen...

[yuukiftb · 7/10 · 27 August 2015]

There is an old man who seems to be retired from car company. He seems he doesn't have his own family, and being alone all day. Since he wants to talk with someone, he sometimes go to his previous work place, but workers say not to come. Moreover, in order to talk, he calls many people at random, and a woman comes to his house to talk about her country. He is happy to have a person to talk with, but he gets angry easily, so the woman comes to be afraid of him. What will happen in the ending? Before watching everything, I expected how it will end. My idea is kind of right, but it has more surprising ending! I wish there were no men like him in a real world.

Dark Side

[teozabeth · 6/10 · 24 June 2015]

A man feels lonely after retiring from his job. He does not have a wife and it also can cause him to think about company to talk with him. He tries to make a conversation with others by speaking to them; however, it does not bear fruits. After he goes back home, he calls some people at random to catch somebody who can talk together. While he is depressed, a woman visits his house and asks him to listen to her about her religion. Anybody feels lonely and wants somebody to be with them. This feeling sometimes can make human fall down to a dark side, that is, do what he or she usually does not do. This film shows such a thing, I think. The ending is unexpected, therefore I was so surprised and feel bad a little actually. Though I felt so, this film is really nice because it can betray my expectation in a sense. I recommend that you try to anticipate the ending while watching this movie. I think you also may be deceived by this film.

This is a mysterious movie

[sepwaltz · 6/10 · 29 June 2015]

This movie is about an old man whose age is about sixty. He is neglected by everyone but he wants to talk with people so he always goes to his previous ex-workplace. He tries to talk with a girl who sits on the next seat to him on the bus. She ignores him so I feel sympathy for him. However, he is considered unpleasant by other people so not only this girl but workers ignore him. He is loneliness at home. It is unclear if he is married but now he is lonely. At first I felt sorry for the man but at once I noticed he is a little strange. At the beginning, the atmosphere of this movie gets disquieting. It seems to show his usual life. However his dangerous personality comes to light. This is a mysterious movie.

human nature

[ckd-42924 · 8/10 · 22 July 2015]

A man lives alone. Although he has already retired from company, he talks to people that he is working at the company. And he goes to the company every day. He telephones to some people at random to talk. One day, a missionary comes his house. And the man let her come into his room. The man has nothing to do and nobody to talk with. He is isolated, but he wants to control people. This film depicts a human nature affected by isolation. You can see his real nature as the plot develops. We don't know what triggers an explosion of other people's feeling. His real nature is revealed by meeting the missionary. I think it is scary but interesting. I like this film.

Connection with people

[sgsbbcgbbc · 6/10 · 25 July 2015]

A old man is in a bus and speaks to a girl sitting on a next seat but she shows no interest in him. He gets to a factory where he worked in the past. He speaks this former colleagues but they refuse to deal with him. He comes back home and he calls someone who don't know him to get a partner to speak. Then, a girl who propagates religion visits him. He is glad to get the partner to speak to. However, she tries to leave. I think the situation in this film resembles a problem of dying alone Japan. In Japan old people die alone and many times pass because nobody notices that they are dead. I think dying alone is caused by a lack of a relation to people. This film tells me that it is very difficult to keep the relation but that is the most important thing to live.

Talk-A Lukas Moodysson film which shows that lack of talk can create anti social elements.

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 10/10 · 22 September 2013]

It has been observed time and again that despite tremendous technological progress, human beings continue to remain 'social animals' who are able to lead healthy lives only when they establish some kind of social contact with each other. It is not at all a secret that lack of communication has some serious consequences on an individual and a society as a whole. It is for this important reason that communication plays a major role in establishing harmony in a society. This is a positive aspect of communication which Swedish director Lukas Moodysson has depicted in his film in order to make viewers aware of the plight of those people who suffer due to lack of communication especially of something as elementary and vital as a simple 'talk'. Apart from discussing the usefulness of a 'talk', this film also discusses the effects which the lack of employment has on ordinary human beings. It shows that a person adopts a different mental outlook due to the non availability of a job. This is precisely the state of mind of this film's protagonist who is convinced of his hopelessness. Finally, it is this hopelessness which has fatal consequences for a young girl when she comes into contact with this old man.

Good old man

[invertedforest-70474 · 7/10 · 21 July 2015]

In this short film, the main character is a middle-aged man. When I watch this man, I got a little frustrated. Why? At first, I thought he wants someone who needs him, but his way is too far from that easy simple wish. I think that he wants to control someone. Every time and everywhere, I encountered that kind of people who are always middle-aged men, sometimes mid-aged women and little children. Those people try to bully someone who was weaker than them. Although there is exception, I think people should be equal to each other basically. So this main character is an offensive person. However, turning to myself, am I sometimes like those people? When I watch this, I was frightened that I possibly hurt others in the future when I get older than now.

Great short

[skeletorvsbeastman · 9/10 · 10 December 2011]

Textbook study for characterisation. Although some people have commented on the ending being somehow unrealistic, it is perfectly within the parameters of the character established in the first scene. It is in fact this surprising, but consequential character development which makes the film brilliant. While it may be depressing, it tells the harsh reality of life for many people and just how far our failings in the supposed 'idealistic' life that is laid before us can push the human Psyche. The film is superbly acted, and the shot composition from Moodysson serves each scene brilliantly, especially in establishing each scene - not overly pretentious as you may expect from the material, but he lets the substance of the material speak for itself. Nice short, especially for film study.

What a lonely man do in the end...

[napo0523 · 7/10 · 28 August 2015]

A man, who has worked at Volvo loses his job and he has nothing to do. He wants to talk with someone but nobody listens to him. He looks so sad because of the loneliness. One day the door chime of his house rings and a young woman stands in front of the door. He invites her in the room and tries to talk her,but she only tells about religious things. The man gets angry and tries to control her and...

The film was produced in 1997 by a Swedish director, Lukas Moodysson. Actually the end of the film is quite shocking and I do not like such kind of ending. However, the performance of the actor who plays the role of the main character made me involved in the film. We can do nothing for the lonely man but we can learn how we should communicate with others from watching the film.

Depressing

[Enchorde · 2/10 · 13 December 2004]

** HERE BE SPOILERS **

Birger (Ljungren) is either retired or has been let off from his work. Still in search for human contact, everyday he goes back to work. He tries to talk to people on the bus, he tries to talk to people at the factory and he tries to eat lunch at 9.30, just tom make some sort of contact. At home he desperately seeks contact with people by calling people at ransom and claiming to have misdialed, and then tries to talk to them. His luck is made when a girl (Frode) from Hare Krishna is out informing about a book and her religion. He invites her but do not really want to talk about religion. When she wants to leave, things get out of hand.

An extremely depressing short. Might have some insights how life may turn out (in a worst case scenario) when retirement comes and this is what saves it from being a disaster. Why anyone would like to watch this on the other hand is beyond my comprehension.

2/10

very sad

[pisrgofort · 12 July 2015]

At first, I thought this movie will end happily. However, my view is reserved. I don't know loneliness because I have never experienced it. But if I become the same situation as this man, I will suffer. I have a few questions. Why does one woman visit an old man's house? Why are his town's people curt? So I want to know this man's past, because maybe this man has an unpleasant element and do it to friends. This movie shows human's emotions, because it depicts anger, loneliness,happiness and so on. Through these main character's feelings, I think I should have consideration to everyone. So I could learn connection with people.

Lonely

[bbb24 · 22 July 2015]

There is an old man in this film. In the first scene, he sits the seat of bus and starts talking with next to him. But she doesn't look fun. When I watched this first scene, I thought the old man likes talking because he talks a lot and he is smile. However, I understood he feel lonely. I felt very sorry for him.I think a lot of people in the same situation as the man in society. After I watched this film, I was scared because loneliness changes people's mind. I thought he is a good man in the middle of this film, but loneliness makes him bad. I can't understand his action because I didn't have experience like him. I was surprised the last scene.

horrible story

[kmray-76797 · 4 July 2015]

This movie is about a man living alone. I felt he is so terrible person. He want to stay with someone, but he can't. A woman calls on him. And he asked her to stay his house anyway. She refused, but he got angry. He had asked that to others before but it failed. Many his acquaintances didn't care for him. Therefore he was more frustrated. He looked nice person because he paid attention to guests well. He appeared to be a kind gentleman. But his frustration led him to do a terrible thing. The woman didn't do anything bad. However her future was ruined by him. I think it is so cruel. He even didn't regret about it. Eventually he seemed to be happier though he did a brutal act. Though there is many people who looks peaceful for us, some people have dark sides. Even if we intend no harm, we can infuriate someone. In our life, we have many opportunities to visit someone's house. But when we go to the house of someone who we don't know so much alone, we specially should pay attention for both himself and ourselves, and should tell the visit to people close to us.

Lonely old man

[acingst · 18 July 2015]

An old man sits on the seat next to a girl student on a bus. His name is Birger Andersson. He talks to her. But she does not actively talk with him. He says that he works a good company 'Volvo'. Actually he goes to the company to work. However, he is ignored by colleagues. Even the cook of the dining room does not communicate him. He is alone. He feels lonely so much. How much does he feel lonely? I image his loneliness; however, my image is not more than his loneliness. After he returns his home, one girl comes to his house. I am surprised that an old and a lonely man chooses action. I am also surprised by her action. Recently, aging society is accelerating in developed countries. This movie perhaps give a lot of people aging society's problems and makes people think about many positive or negative products which aging society create. I also am thought about aging society and single life with loneliness of old people by this movie. This movie is able to say the film that gives the society of the problem with the surprise to people who see.