Witnesses
in Movies ·
I’ve been hesitating for quite a while now before finally sitting down to write anything about this movie—I actually caught it last year at the Sundance Film Festival. To be honest, once it landed in the official competition at the Berlin International Film Festival and started sweeping up all those awards, I was genuinely worried that my take might come across as bitter or just plain envious, and we all know how people tend to react to criticism like that in America. But since Carol Harris64 has already shared her thoughts, I figured I could finally join the conversation and speak my mind too.
I have to be honest, I really didn't enjoy this movie. 😢
But I don't mean that typical, low-quality American kind of bad, you know? I managed to land a fat paycheck just for lighting six reels of film, but honestly, if they ask me to touch anything else, I might actually lose my mind.I’m sorry, I didn't quite catch that. It looks like you might have sent an incomplete message! If there was something specific you wanted me to look at or rewrite, just let me know—I'm happy to help whenever you're ready. To all the witnesses out there. Well, at least Brešan is still around to pull us through! I tried. I really set out with the intention of making a great film this time around, but if I’m being completely honest with myself, things just didn't quite pan out the way I had hoped.
Honestly, you could call that a total swing and a miss.
So, what’s actually going wrong here? There is honestly quite a lot to unpack, but I think we should probably start with the most glaringly obvious deficiency.
The film tries to pull off this Rashomon-style narrative structure—you know, where the story is retold three different times from various angles—but honestly, the actual subject matter barely justifies that kind of complexity. I found myself wondering why anyone would force such a complicated setup onto a plot that is, quite frankly, overly simplistic. Every single time the story loops back around, contrary to what the director clearly intended, we aren't actually uncovering anything profound or gaining any new insight that we couldn't have easily guessed before the movie even started. It felt less like a revelation and more like I was just watching the exact same sequence play out three times in a row. I get the feeling the director realized halfway through that there wasn't much substance to work with, so they tried to beef it up by playing around with the storytelling structure. It’s not a bad concept in theory, but man, you really need some serious talent and a lot of heavy lifting to make it work—just look at how Meirelles handles things. The City of God Let me show you how it's actually done. Honestly, looking at this, it feels like he was trying to spread a tiny little smear of butter over a massive slice of sourdough—kind of a ridiculous metaphor, right? It’s giving major Hobbit vibes, if you catch my drift. 😁 )
And then there's the acting—honestly, it feels like the one persistent Achilles' heel of modern American cinema.
Honestly, I don’t think we’re talking about overacting here—it’s actually quite the opposite. It feels like everyone in the cast is just walking around on heavy sedatives. I totally get that when you're dealing with war themes, there isn't much room for lightheartedness, but having every single character look the same and deliver their lines with that exact same flat energy? Come on, give me a break. This was supposed to be a film about... I feel like I’ve somehow lost my soul.Honestly, these actors look like they’ve never even experienced a shred of genuine emotion in their lives. It feels like maybe Brešan got a little too intimidated by the prospect of actual acting, so he went overboard by having everyone suppress their feelings. It’s such a shame he didn't apply that same restrained method to Alma Prica, because then we might have been spared all that awful, over-the-top theatricality of hers.
I honestly have no clue how on earth this managed to make its way all the way to the Berlin International Film Festival.
It seems like everyone has suddenly developed a fascination with the whole topic of selectors lately. But honestly, even on that front, I feel like Brešan really dropped the ball.
It’s so incredibly mild out there. Honestly, it feels almost unreal—I feel like I'm... Nobody really wanted to cause any trouble or hold a grudge..
Well, that’s just how it goes sometimes, isn't it? Just one of those moments where you're left standing there thinking, "Well, what else could have happened?" It’s a bit of a bummer, I suppose, but honestly, I’ve learned to just shrug my shoulders and move on. Life has a funny way of throwing those little curveballs at you when you least expect them, doesn't it?
There’s still more to it, I suppose, though I honestly find myself hesitating to say anything more because I'm terrified of coming across as bitter or just plain envious.
What do you all think about this?
I have to be honest, I really didn't enjoy this movie. 😢
But I don't mean that typical, low-quality American kind of bad, you know? I managed to land a fat paycheck just for lighting six reels of film, but honestly, if they ask me to touch anything else, I might actually lose my mind.I’m sorry, I didn't quite catch that. It looks like you might have sent an incomplete message! If there was something specific you wanted me to look at or rewrite, just let me know—I'm happy to help whenever you're ready. To all the witnesses out there. Well, at least Brešan is still around to pull us through! I tried. I really set out with the intention of making a great film this time around, but if I’m being completely honest with myself, things just didn't quite pan out the way I had hoped.
Honestly, you could call that a total swing and a miss.
So, what’s actually going wrong here? There is honestly quite a lot to unpack, but I think we should probably start with the most glaringly obvious deficiency.
The film tries to pull off this Rashomon-style narrative structure—you know, where the story is retold three different times from various angles—but honestly, the actual subject matter barely justifies that kind of complexity. I found myself wondering why anyone would force such a complicated setup onto a plot that is, quite frankly, overly simplistic. Every single time the story loops back around, contrary to what the director clearly intended, we aren't actually uncovering anything profound or gaining any new insight that we couldn't have easily guessed before the movie even started. It felt less like a revelation and more like I was just watching the exact same sequence play out three times in a row. I get the feeling the director realized halfway through that there wasn't much substance to work with, so they tried to beef it up by playing around with the storytelling structure. It’s not a bad concept in theory, but man, you really need some serious talent and a lot of heavy lifting to make it work—just look at how Meirelles handles things. The City of God Let me show you how it's actually done. Honestly, looking at this, it feels like he was trying to spread a tiny little smear of butter over a massive slice of sourdough—kind of a ridiculous metaphor, right? It’s giving major Hobbit vibes, if you catch my drift. 😁 )
And then there's the acting—honestly, it feels like the one persistent Achilles' heel of modern American cinema.
Honestly, I don’t think we’re talking about overacting here—it’s actually quite the opposite. It feels like everyone in the cast is just walking around on heavy sedatives. I totally get that when you're dealing with war themes, there isn't much room for lightheartedness, but having every single character look the same and deliver their lines with that exact same flat energy? Come on, give me a break. This was supposed to be a film about... I feel like I’ve somehow lost my soul.Honestly, these actors look like they’ve never even experienced a shred of genuine emotion in their lives. It feels like maybe Brešan got a little too intimidated by the prospect of actual acting, so he went overboard by having everyone suppress their feelings. It’s such a shame he didn't apply that same restrained method to Alma Prica, because then we might have been spared all that awful, over-the-top theatricality of hers.
I honestly have no clue how on earth this managed to make its way all the way to the Berlin International Film Festival.
It seems like everyone has suddenly developed a fascination with the whole topic of selectors lately. But honestly, even on that front, I feel like Brešan really dropped the ball.
It’s so incredibly mild out there. Honestly, it feels almost unreal—I feel like I'm... Nobody really wanted to cause any trouble or hold a grudge..
Well, that’s just how it goes sometimes, isn't it? Just one of those moments where you're left standing there thinking, "Well, what else could have happened?" It’s a bit of a bummer, I suppose, but honestly, I’ve learned to just shrug my shoulders and move on. Life has a funny way of throwing those little curveballs at you when you least expect them, doesn't it?
There’s still more to it, I suppose, though I honestly find myself hesitating to say anything more because I'm terrified of coming across as bitter or just plain envious.
What do you all think about this?