Review of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) by Arseniy V — 07 Sep 2007

A warm and often brilliantly nuanced film about our incessant search for a home in this world and some of the wonderful and utterly bizarre places where this search may lead. It reminded me of "Nobody's Fool" in its tone, but with Scorsese's masterful infusion of rich and quirky detail, the film often manages to just reach through the screen and pull the viewer into the experience.

You can almost smell the cheap hotel rooms, feel the pain of every person in the shot. Not just the "important" characters, everyone. No small parts here, no "background actors". No matter how fleeting the appearance, each one is a rounded human being.

Few directors comprehend the importance of such intricate detail and even fewer are capable of materializing it.