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Best movie of this year hands down!

Film Perfection

Best movie ever!

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Edgar is a waiter in a mediocre restaurant. I could go on, talking about his bedridden wife, his lover, her overprotective brother. But to do so would be to miss the point of this sublime exercise of the writer's art. Ober was my introduction to the films of Alex van Warmerdam and is still my favourite of the many wonderful movies he has produced. On one level it's a black comedy, on another it's an exercise in surrealism, on another level it's an existential movie that asks "What would your life be like if you could talk to your creator". And, on every level, it is completely hilarious. I totally disagree with the reviewer who complains about it being subtitled. I don't speak a lot of Dutch so perhaps that makes a difference, but the actors speaking their native tongue produce an energy in the dialog that is completely lost in dubbed movies, IMO. I cannot praise this film enough. It made me laugh like a loon, it made me cry, it made me think, and I kept thinking about it long after it had finished. That makes it a work of art, in my book.

I went into this expecting big things, but this is a mundane, rather dull comedy about a waiter character who, after being put through the wringer by his creator, begins to rebel against the author. Only toward the end does this idea take hold at all, but it doesn't make up for this silly, violent attempt at slapstick. At times it reminded me of Pauly Shore's movies. I saw it at the Pusan International Film Festival, and many of the Koreans, who have a tendency toward slapstick, loved it. But for me it was one of the worst movies I saw at the festival. It doesn't compare to the other comedy I saw at PIFF, Lars Von Trier's brilliant "The Boss of it All"

Other than a bit of editing anomalies in the beginning, I have no complains about this film. Other AVW's film that I saw previously was "Grimm" and that was exceedingly refreshing. Obvious that comparison will be made with other movies of similar theme. But I don't think I can give too much away except it is fun, funny, surrealistic, yet true to the "characters" of the film.the story is like Stranger than Fiction, but better - welllll.. my preference anyhow. It's done in deadpan style - leaving the exploration and the enjoyment - to the audience.The film is low budget (if you compare to Hollywood) but well crafted with "situations", "scenes", shots and dialogue. There are times, some scenes seem slightly awkward, but in the back of your mind, because you know the situation, you understand the reason why these scenes seem awkward.Now I really have to see "The Dress"

I am pleased to report that Alex van Warmerdam's "OBER" was well received by the audience at yesterday's Toronto International Film Festival screening. Spectators can be fickle at 9:45 a.m., and it is a testament to the director's talent that his film elicited a laugh-out-loud response from beginning to end.I tend to be skeptical of films from the Netherlands. I'm no philistine, but I have encountered several movies from this region that I can only describe as "weird." Now, I won't claim that there aren't unusual elements in this film, but they are employed in the service of comedy rather than abstraction.Warmerdam, himself, plays Edgar, a middle-aged waiter who suffers through confrontations with his belligerent customers, unruly neighbours, his chronically ill wife, and his demanding mistress. Warmerdam's dead-pan performance is so consistent that the passivity that defines his character is not compromised when Edgar visits Herman, the screen-writer who is controlling his destiny; he is simply worn out, and has come to request, not demand, that his life might be propelled in a more agreeable direction.Herman concedes, but as any screen-writer will attest, a compelling narrative requires conflict. The various fates that are in store for Edgar are, yes, unusual at times, but the comedy is particularly strong in this film because each trajectory is so "unexpected." Another festival film this year is "STRANGER THAN FICTION," (w/ Will Farrell & Dustin Hoffman) which has a similar premise. It was sold out before my tickets were assembled, so I can't assess whether or not it is as successful in its execution as OBER. I do feel, however, that Warmerdam's film has the potential to satisfy a wider audience than it will ever encounter, and I would urge people to seek it out. It is a film with great depth, but it needs to be emphasized that, first and foremost, OBER works as an accessible comedy that even the most skeptical movie-lovers will enjoy.