Film Reviews by AM

A really worthy and intense subject, rarely tackled - the genocide of 10 million people by forced starvation ordered y Stalin in 1932.

The film however has treated this subject to cliched direction, shmaltzy musak, wooden filming; in all, a mess of a film. The actors try hard but can't overpower the lack of atmosphere or any sense of reality or even documentation. It's ended up as a sort of attempt at a stylisation failing miserably and looking more like an episode of a low budget TV drama.

Another example of how Korean cinema can teach Hollywood a thing or two about storytelling and exquisite imagery.

Beautifully directed and acted with ever fluctuating sensuality and intrigue. The story takes twists and turns and dead

ends in a sleight of hand manipulating allegiances all the way to the denouement.

Cranston at his best (award winning performance) a gentle and heartfelt monologue of someone who doesn't know who he is and where he's going slowly but surely discovering his demons and rising to face them. Lacks a sense of place - probably east coast US - and other structures such as financial sources and backstories of any substance - some of the flashbacks seem to be there as a nod to audience expectations - and misses the opportunity to use imagery in a creative fashion ( a great problem with much US cinema - poor use of the screen as a creative tool).

This DVD has no subtitling and was very difficult for us to watch as a family as we frequently had to pause to explain to a hard of hearing relative.

Not good, not good...it may even violate laws regarding requirements for disabled people.