Review of Fanny and Alexander (1982) by Elise M — 01 Mar 2008

There are moments of genius in this, but it really does not get going until the third act. Every image (even a shot of a dead dog) is a thing of beauty. Strangely enough though, as I watched the first half I hated it, finding none of the characters likable, but still interesting as they were all fully developed and layered.

The existential musings seemed stale and cliched, and didn't work well with the fairy-tale quality of the film. It only half won me over by the end.