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A Major Disappointment

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I've only seen this movie once, so my interpretation might be a little off, but it seemed to me to be an allegory of the price of fame, how famous people, in American popular culture in particular, are often driven to suicide. Of course there are a few holes in my theory: Julian never sought fame himself, but the relentless media attention (the group of children who followed him around), the riches and free stuff he received, and the boredom of a small town (representing America in general) has nothing better to do than make a celebrity out of an ordinary person. And finally, the callousness of the people when they drive him to suicide sums up the allegory.Forgive my interpretation if it's wrong... but those were just my ideas.

Julian Po is a film that I hadn't heard of until a casual channel surf stumbled me onto HBO. I was hooked immediately. The characters in this town are so unbelievably strange and almost creepy. Julian (Christian Slater) is a wanderer, narrating his own story, who goes to a small town in order to end his life. When the townspeople find out, it becomes a sort of obsession with them. The children follow him through the streets, he's offered gifts from shop owners, and a beautiful, intense woman, Sarah, (Robin Tunney) falls in love with him, creating a very karmic bond between the two of them. Ironically, in the course of his procrastinating his death, he changes the lives of everyone around him. They ask him for advice in life matters. A man "comes out of the closet", a Priest denounces God, etc..Julian Po left me sad. It doesn't end the way anyone would think, but it left me with one recurrent theme running through my head. Life is a beautiful thing, not to be taken for granted. Never make life or death decisions when you haven't even experienced life. And maybe one more thing... a real man sticks to his obligations... :-)

This was a movie I had no history of prior to viewing. I watched it out of curiosity and boredom. It was not a waste of time.Though it begins rather vague, the story quickly picks up withen the first 20 minutes. You find yourself laughing as the movie progresses at the many different and unusual reactions of the townspeople to Julian's announcement of suicide.Though sometimes dragging, quotes like "You can all go home! I'm not going to kill myself today!" make the movie worthwhile.The weak-excused ending may seem frustrating, but it leaves you with a sense of awe as the credits roll and you watch for a few minutes thinking "What now?"In my book, any movie that leaves me speechless and thinking at the end is a good one. And if you liked this, may I also suggest Gods and Monsters (1998).

Poetic, tragic, pathetic, funny, and romantic do not do this movie justice. A great and subtle piece of film-making with great performances and a splendid and unobtrusive soundtrack. There are no easy answers. There is no Hollywood ending.... See this movie!