howdy pal

Little more than 2 hours, intermission, then like 90ish? Oddly doesn’t feel long at all. It really moves

I saw it
It felt really long to me but too short at parts

I think the first half was good and i thought we were going somewhere

But the second half really started feeling slightly repetitive and drawn out at parts
Some things felt shoehorned in just for a metaphor or something like the rape or the disappearance then search scene for harrison where we never see the aftermath or anything
And some things that should have really been expanded on completely omitted, id imagine for time.
largely i think maybe 2 scenes for the relationship between laszlo and his wife could be added--we get glimpses but we dont see what happens after her confontation or after the hospital, or why she wasnt able to get her osteoporosis treated, or why suddenly she no longer needed a wheelchair... idk. i feel like most of the interactions involving her are in group settings rather than 1:1 w laszlo, you don't get a sense of her struggling in the us at all outside of the unexplained lack of healthcare, dialogue about her mediocre job without us actually seeing it, and then her husbands physical and emotional distance, which isnt about the us at all. like besides her job it seems the us cld otherwise be a nonfactor which seems odd considering how abjectly her husband seems to suffer. idk.... i wish they even just had a scene reminiscing about life before occupation and whatnot or even how he used to be while taking on projects. something that makes the relationship feel less stiff... or the rape/disappearance i think shouldve either been expanded upon more or just fully omitted since i dont really feel like they say anything we havent already generally gotten the gist of?? unless im missing something. same w the whole shooting the wife w heroin thing... it all felt slightly random storywise. i wish we got a moment of him actually walking thru and appreciating his own dang building physically once its done as well, lowkey crazy we didnt see that. or at least someone using it besides the van burens. idk

My favorite thing about this movie is the motif of walking thru a dark/narrow/constricted space then into an open, light, freer space like in the opening seq. I really like the payoff we get w it
i like the feeling of freedom when he walks out and sees the statue of liberty. the open feeling of the nature/the rocks when they walk into the marble quarry thru the tunnel. the elation of walking thru the watery basement of the church/library/gym into the glowing, airy alter space

I also think adrien brody was way better than i expected and did a phenomenal job

i get the whole thing about the american dream/capitalism sucking and how america treats immigrants/non whites and workers poorly even though its built on the backs of these groups.... like i get that thats the central theme and thats also why we get that image of the upside down statue of liberty as the symbolic image for this movie... but i feel like most people dont really need a whole film to tell them that id hope. so idk maybe i just wish the movie went a bit further or did something a bit more. i think the theme is also slightly ironic given that laszlos character was inspired by marcel breuer who came to america to literally be a harvard professor, working w the founder of bauhaus for a while on architectural projects, then doing his own architecture work for the moma and stuff. so like he was big chilling LOL. its obviously not a movie about him, but idk, it feels slightly hollow bc of it.

I actually agree with all your criticism.
Kinda weird to see such universal acclaim for such a "hollow" movie...
Dont know how else to explain it, what other word to use.
It obv has some phenomenal things about it, like Brody and the cinematography.
But I felt like the movie just meanders after the first half and ends up nowhere.
Also those things that you mentioned that felt shoehorned like what happens in Italy, I felt the same way.
All in all, def a good movie, but def not a 9 or 10/10 masterpiece, as I've seen a lot of reviews claiming...
I'd give it a 7.5/10, maybe 8/10 on a good day.

real

So sounds like more so the screenplay/story has issues

yeah
i just really dislike how they have sudden s\*\*\*ty events happen to him without much of an explanation of the aftermath or reaction. like his wife is like im going to move and theres not a scene where they say goodbye and shes not even the epilogue?? so what happened to her and her relationship? does she even move? are we not meant to know bc it fundamentally doesnt matter as we're meant to believe the buildings are his lasting legacy for generations to see thru war and famine and look he built so many more, f\*\*\* whatever happens in his personal life? idk thats rly kinda lame to me. i feel like we're just speed running bad things happening to him at a certain point at the cost of character depth of the wife, relationship depth between he and his wife, emotional payoff of the building finishing thus feeling like a more satisfying climax, believability, etc. like if all of that is on purpose, i lowkey hate that. reminds of the green knight, where the film was such a boring trudge seemingly on purpose, as if to say wow look how boring and much of a trudge being a hero is, but boring and trudge do not make for an enjoyable or watchable film for most people.

to me for sure... i felt shocked when the epilogue came, i was sure there was going to be at least another 10 min of whatever but suddenly the movie was ending lol.... and i think whatever could have gone int hat 10 min i think they really needed. but since its missing the resolution w the wife, harrison, a final walkthrough of the building w him, idk something that actually concludes that chapter of his life we've been watching for 3hrs and not just an epilogue for his *entire* ass life. it feels we start getting a story climax but instead of getting resolution or anything from him we're suddenly at the memorial of his life.... like i guesssssss... if they did it for some kinda metaphor i hate that metaphor. i feel like the film has a lot of things happen for a metaphor but anybody actually invested in the story would want to know what all happens as a result of that event but bc the fallout is not needed for the metaphor we simply dont get to see it, leaving a fairly unsatisfying feeling. if its just once or something, fine, whatever, but it feels kinda lame when multiple plot points seemingly are abandoned

sorry i feel passionate about this rn LOL

I can see what you mean, there's a lot I like about it but I'm still conflicted and need to rewatch, something like There Will Be Blood feels like the 'real' version of this movie if you get my meaning, there's an animating core to it that permeates throughout, but this feels more like only the external signs of Great American Masterpiecedom

yeah it feels like its all broad strokes and no genuine depth to the world and character building. i think this especially shows in its use of humor, all feeling like really dry puns compared to something like twbb which has deeply unique humor in its writing. just one aspect to put it into perspective how lacking it is in voice

Definitely

No matter what, Brady getting Best Director at the Golden Globes for this is absolutely fantastic

Motion Picture - Drama!

showtimes are FINALLY popping up for the theater nearest to me

just a reminder that vox lux is a great fictional movie about Kanye West

i didn't view it through that lens hm

@twitch WAIT THEY CLAPPED HIM ? @Prosper
@KnightmareLeague

WHY DOES NO ONE HAVE AVYS

​S need to get his s*** together
sabsad in the ktt2 basement shoveling coal and pulling levers to power the servers and he is about to pass out

Sab is watching one piece

They clapped @Prosper ?

As long as it ain’t @proper

prosper doesnt use an avy

And would you look at that, lol.

Zionist arc over already