Review of California Dreamin' (2007) by James C — 08 Jun 2008
I agree that the film is flabby, but as it could have been, and as it stands, is a masterpiece.
There is always something to a film which leaves you hungry for a definite meaning.
Audiences, appetitive and glutted as they are, laugh at all the wrong moments in this film.
It is funny. And it is dark. But it is not "cruel". Here, violence is not an aesthetic. Nor is it an immersive hyperrealism, absorption in the experience itself, as in Eastern Promises. This is as true a "representation" of violence as one can find - think Cache.
It is not cheap or easy. It tears the very fabric of the film.
But this is also a cinematic loveletter. It charms and it grinds in equal measure. It is "quirky" but it is not trite, because its beffudlement comes from an honest juxtaposition.
I reiterate - a masterpiece. Must see more of this Romanian New Wave.
This review of California Dreamin' (2007) was written by James C on 08 Jun 2008.
California Dreamin' has generally received positive reviews.
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