Re: Bardo reviews
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:36 pm
So, no one's commented on this, which I guess is no surprise, given antipathy here to Innaritu, poor reviews, and an intimidating run-time. (Though, with cuts, the end credits start at about the 2:30 mark -- not quite as off-putting as reports out of Venice.) The cinematography nomination got me to finally commit to a watch.
It's very much Innaritu, in every way. Big, blustery, covering so much ground it's hard to figure what it was supposed to be -- but also flooded with memorable images and even a number of striking concepts. It's baldly imitative of 8 1/2 -- a late sequence felt almost lifted from the end of Fellini's film -- and gorgeously shot (Khondji's nomination is well-deserved), but the central character just isn't interesting enough to carry a wobbly narrative over that extended stretch of time. I liked some of the surrealist elements, and a few simple down-home scenes (especially a conversation between father and daughter in a pool), but never felt like they merged together all that well.
But, as I've said about any number of movies this year (White Noise, Babylon, Amsterdam -- hell, even Nope), I admire that some directors are still out there taking big swings. I just wish one or two of them had been able to bring it all the way home. This is yet another nice try/too bad you didn't succeed.
It's very much Innaritu, in every way. Big, blustery, covering so much ground it's hard to figure what it was supposed to be -- but also flooded with memorable images and even a number of striking concepts. It's baldly imitative of 8 1/2 -- a late sequence felt almost lifted from the end of Fellini's film -- and gorgeously shot (Khondji's nomination is well-deserved), but the central character just isn't interesting enough to carry a wobbly narrative over that extended stretch of time. I liked some of the surrealist elements, and a few simple down-home scenes (especially a conversation between father and daughter in a pool), but never felt like they merged together all that well.
But, as I've said about any number of movies this year (White Noise, Babylon, Amsterdam -- hell, even Nope), I admire that some directors are still out there taking big swings. I just wish one or two of them had been able to bring it all the way home. This is yet another nice try/too bad you didn't succeed.