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seduth01
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A Picture with Yuki (2019)
Thoughtful, challenging and ultimately rewarding - a gem
Beautifully shot, meaningful and poignant - I truly enjoyed this movie. The story slowly unfolds through thoughtful camera work, a good ratio of dialogue-to-visual storytelling, convincing performances and a great editing touch. Themes and symbols that emerge early on in the movie play an important part in it throughout, there is a great attention to detail here and nothing is without purpose.
Georgi and Yuki, a Bulgarian/Japanese married couple living together in Canada, wish to have a child and decide to attempt in vitro procedures in Bulgaria. The relationship with Georgi's family is strained and the couple decides to spend time at Georgi's grandparents' house in the mountains instead. Upon arriving there, however, Georgi and Yuki get into a road accident that triggers intense feelings of guilt and remorse, ultimately challenging their moral and personal values, as well as their relationship. Being faced with the choice to overcome their fear of punishment or to run away, Georgi and Yuki's differing views, and their moral and cultural backgrounds are brought to light.
'A Picture with Yuki' is a rewarding experience for the patient and thoughtful viewer who does not shy away from emotionally challenging or sensitive topics. Highly recommended.
The Shape of Water (2017)
What am I missing here?
I have no idea how this movie managed to get so many rave reviews. To me, it is just an unoriginal movie with one-dimensional characters. Both the setting (modern fairy tale set in hostile reality) and character design (specifically the merman) appear to have been recycled from Del Toro's previous movies ''Pan's labyrinth'' and ''Hellboy'', respectively. The characters' motivations and personalities were extremely one-note, just so they can serve the plot - one stereotypical example is 'the bad guy' (why is he acting the way he does? what is his motivation apart from wanting to appear manly and dominant? does he not have any redeeming qualities whatsoever (which would make him more believable)?). The love story seems to be a sort of a modern-day retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast', however, I did not feel any chemistry between the two lead characters. How did their relationship progress from her feeding him boiled eggs to a sexual and emotional connection? I can't help assuming this movie was supposed to be way longer but some inappropriate editing took out the scenes that would help us make sense of how this inter-species love story developed. The fact that we barely learn anything about the merman is not adding to him being a sympathetic character or facilitating an emotional involvement in the plot at all. I found myself not caring about this movie at all and I am surprised that critics have described it as 'heartfelt' and 'romantic'. I'd say, watch 'Pan's Labyrinth' instead.