Beyond the Hills

Started by wilder, January 31, 2013, 10:09:25 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

wilder



A drama centered on the friendship between two young women who grew up in the same orphanage; one has found refuge at a convent in Romania and refuses to leave with her friend, who now lives in Germany.

Written and Directed by Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days)
Release Date - March 8, 2013


matt35mm

Yeah this was fun, especially watching it while sitting 50 feet from the director and actors and clapping at them for 3 minutes before and after the movie.

But really, I liked it a lot. It's dense and exasperating--one of those movies that makes you feel like you're being trapped under a pile of rubble, but leaves you with positive memories afterward.

As you may have guessed, especially if you're familiar with Cristian Mungiu, the music in the trailer is not at all representative of the tone of the film.

wilder


matt35mm

Highly recommended. After a second viewing, I found this to be an A+ movie. Here are some words I wrote about it on Letterboxd:

"... while each scene is done in one take, the scenes are not particularly long, and thus the long-take thing is not so much of a "thing" in this movie. The camerawork is subtle and surprisingly dynamic, though never in a way that calls attention to itself. The camera is handheld but never shaky, and is an active element of the storytelling. Some of the best use of widescreen that I can recall seeing, as tons of people are crammed into the frame, with foreground and background action brilliantly coordinated... and yet it always feels natural and elegant. Since the movie does not rely on editing within the scene, what's in an out of the frame, and the timing of everything is crucial. I would say that it's done so well that you'd never think of its design, and yet when I made myself consider the design upon second viewing, I saw how complex/sophisticated the orchestration of each scene was.

The ability of this movie to shape its pitch, tempo, and intensity, without the aid of music and editing (except to cut from scene to scene) is kinda breathtaking. I realize that I'm gushing, but it's just some of the best work of this sort that I have seen. Perhaps there's something about re-watching it... what I found repetitive upon first viewing really worked to wrap me in closer and closer to the story the second time around. It didn't feel long to me the second time, either.

The performances, spaces, costumes, everything, feels so lived-in and convincing. The two leads are meant to be childhood friends with a deep bond, most likely sexual in the past but more significantly rooted in a desperate need to feel a belonging to someone, since they were both orphans. Their relationship is absolutely convincing, even though they are both extreme characters. Their shared Best Actress award at Cannes was well deserved.

A rich film that is somehow nonjudgmental and angry/damning at the same time. Sad and oddly funny at times, with a really really really great last shot. Even though you probably will feel like you won't want to watch it again, I'm here to say that a re-watch is really rewarding."