I found out about this film two days ago and watched it yesterday. Pyro is in a terrible state of health and mind, so there hasn't been much we can do together lately. Yet, watching films together is something we've done forever, and the boy is always eager to watch whatever I suggest. With that being said, we decided to watch it tonight.
I would rather not talk much about the plot and its twists since it's a film, but some things are impossible to ignore.
The problem is that when I first heard about the film, I already knew the important twist and the best scene. I wouldn't call that a problem, though, because I'm not the type of person who gets upset about so-called "spoilers." I usually get more invested in reading or watching something when I already know something about it because I start wondering what led to a certain scene. Now that I have mentioned it, I can move forward.
About
The pace is just right, it's not too slow or too fast. It goes the way it should. The story is easy to follow, and there are not any unnecessary details. I also love that the further into the film you get, the more difficult it becomes to watch. The feeling that something is wrong, yet no one seems to really freak out, is nice. The way the characters react differently to the same situation is great, too. The blatant delusion and the way others feed into it is a quite interesting dynamic that I did not expect to see.
I liked the scene with the lights. It is something so trivial and simple that you usually don't pay attention to it. There are many things we do for someone without thinking much about why we do them. And then when there is no reason to do them anymore, breaking the routine can cause mixed feelings about pretty much everything, not just this specific part of your routine.
This is very familiar to me.
Speaking of closure, I disagree with some statements. Sometimes it is easier not to look at someone who has passed away, especially if they are in terrible condition. Personally, I wouldn't look because I'd like to remember them at their best. I may be weak, but I recently watched someone die in my arms, and although I accepted that it was the end and there was no way to fix it easily, I would rather not have seen it. I would not think like some of the characters and delude myself with unrealistic ideas, but I would rather never bury anyone again.
I wondered how the most important scene of the film would be executed because it was very… personal, let's say. But as soon as something important was mentioned, it wasn't difficult to predict what would happen next. Honestly, I see no reason to do what the character did, realistically. Perhaps I am not the type of person to do what the character did because I am quite old, but I liked it. Seeing it was genuinely unsettling, and I did not expect what was shown. The way it moves forward is simple yet terrifying, and it works. We are just forced to look until it continues to move and
Well, I did not expect that. Nor did Pyro.
I like the combination of realistic elements and spiritual elements. It's easy to understand and follow. If you can see, you'll notice that everything is always there; it never left. Then there are people. There are real people who are worse than anything one's mind could come up with. They are the terrible people who do unspeakable things and then try to hide them because they are scared. It hurts to see, yet unfortunately, it is not surprising in our world. The fact that people are able to get away with everything is painful. We all love stories that give justice to the characters in the end. This story is not one of them. Everything snowballs into a huge problem.
I love the final scene. The way everything is connected and the main plot line is resolved is great. Not everything is explained, but that is perfectly fine. It gets worse and worse, and in hindsight, it was obvious from the beginning that there would be no closure. "Sometimes I forget that..." This is not what you wanted to say. You wanted to say something else, and you know it. You moved on. For good, of course. Unfortunately, there is someone who can't move on. There is no salvation.