Watch Being Human For Free

Did you people see the same film I saw?

best movie i've ever seen.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

For some reason (one can only presume his ego got the better of him) Bill Forsyth actually made a big-budget art-house film here. If that isn't an error of judgement sufficient to end a career, I don't know what is.It's hard to fathom how he thought it would be possible for such a film to be released commercially. And while the producers presumably forked out for it without actually studying the screenplay - somehow persuaded that they should all go to Morocco to shoot some scenes on a beach and some dunes - it boggles the mind how the director and the producers managed to remain so far out of alignment on their target market, right through to the film's completion.In any case, Warner Bros understandably couldn't market it to mainstream cinema audiences, and in a desperate attempt to salvage something, cut it severely and added a narrative voice-over to dumb it down. If anything, the surgery only made it worse. Not only has it lost its artistic integrity, it has a slapped-on narration - presumably in imitation of a bed-time story - that crops up at meaningful moments to let us know that it's a meaningful moment. The narration adds nothing, only patronises. Worse, it is incongruously done in strident tones and a raw, modern American accident. It's hard to think of a more botched attempt to salvage a film.It's not a difficult film, but it does require some indulgence. Certainly, mainstream cinema-going viewers will only be nonplussed at having to think about what they are watching, having to tease subtleties, ambiguities, and ironies from a series of slow moving, wistful, existential stories.Forsyth's original screenplay demanded even more indulgence, trying to extract depths of meaning out of every moment. This obsession at painting emotion is what really sinks the film - it's more literary than cinematic, and little of the attempt successfully translates to the screen. Thus, when Hector in the first story sees the boats coming in, he stands there hesitantly in full view of them and there is little sense of the absolute terror the screenplay he tells us he feels - mainly he comes across as simple-minded.There is plenty, though, to appeal to the intelligent viewer who likes to reflect on life. The historical scenarios (except for the last segment) are interesting choices - it is rare to be taken to those times and places - some of them fairly unique. The moral or practical challenges presented to Hector each time are never boring. We like him for being hapless and benign, and we come to care for his welfare. This is excellent and engaging - for the thinking viewer - and is all the better for the straightforward technique, without any of the manipulative technology-driven tricks of modern Hollywood.However, it's hardly an unsung masterpiece. No consistent theme emerges. Nothing really coheres into a whole. The stories needed to be much cleverer for it all to come together into a frisson of satisfaction at the end - nothing really does come together. Two of the stories have hopeful endings (if not entirely happy), the others have sad, wistful, or ambiguous endings. If there was significance in the ending of each, it was too subtle to grasp. By the last story we (might) realise that footwear seems to be a theme, though quite what the moral is there in terms of the human condition, is obscure. Other symbols, such as the windmill and the cross, if symbols they are, don't work at all, as almost everyone will miss them completely.Worse, Hector hardly stands for the whole human race, having evolved apparently into the fashionably-sensitive liberal, the banality of which is revealed in the last story, which serves up the biggest cliché of them all: father issues, presented here with dismal earnestness as Hector bonds with his estranged children. When Hector is told that his son only needs a hug to solve everything, and his early-teen daughter gives him a little lecture on meaningful moments, I'm not sure whether my howls were of excruciation, disbelief, or disappointment.

I really wanted to like Being Human, but I couldn't get into the film. I liked the philosophical meaning of the film, but the film was practically a snoozefest. Not much happened other than talk about the meaning of life and courage. I liked how they tried to work this movie over several time periods, but in the end it didn't matter that much. I see the talent in this movie and there were bursts of good moments, but it was a dry film on the whole.This film is about one man's journey to capture the spirit of courage over many centuries during different civilizations.As for the acting, well all the actors gave the film their best. Robin Williams turned in a serious dramatic performance, and that may have saved the movie from oblivion. I also liked John Turturro's few minutes of his entertaining presence.Overall, Being Human is not a great film in any stretch of the imagination. It's not god awful either, but perhaps there is a reason why this film remained obscure, twenty-one years after its release date. I liked the attempt to create some philosophical meanings. But good intentions can only carry a film too far. Despite its good intentions, this film is a bust. It has its moment of fine filmmaking, but it could have had way more! My Grade: D+

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I first heard about this film. All I knew was that it was composed of five separate stories that spanned centuries, with Robin Williams as the link between all of them. Sounds quite ambitious, right? Yes, but the end result was underwhelming and, dare I say it, a little dull. There are, however, some major themes explored here as indicated by the title. I guess if you were to boil the film down to its essence, it is, simply put, about being human. Being more specific, it is about mankind's search and need for companionship and family, along with all of the other small things, good and bad, which enter into our lives on our journey through time. Robin Williams' character Hector, a name which he has for the entire film, can be said to literally make a journey through time. It's not explicitly stated, but since he does keep the same name throughout, you could say that his character in each subsequent story is a reincarnation of who he is in the previous one. This is all fine, but there were some spots which felt underdeveloped and worst of all, the film is practically destroyed by some of the worst voice-over narration I've ever heard. Thankfully, by the final segment the narration isn't so omnipresent. By far the worst effect of the narration is to replace character development and spoon-feed the film's themes to the audience. I did a little research online, and apparently the director, Bill Forsyth, had to cut 40 minutes and add the narration after an initial cut had a poor test screening. It's a pity that that early version isn't available to watch, because I think the film would be better in that form. The closest I think the film got was the final segment, but that one segment didn't exactly make up for all that came before it. But it did tie the film together thematically, and provide a satisfying conclusion to the larger story arc. Overall it was a satisfactory watch, but it still felt like it was missing something. Better films like this would be CLOUD ATLAS and THE FOUNTAIN, but there are still elements to appreciate in this film.

In one of his serious roles sans beard, Robin Williams stars in this somewhat confusing movie about a man portrayed in five different stories, always trying to find meaning in life...or something. Maybe the movie was trying to make a point about something, but I couldn't really tell. In a way, it almost seems like they made the movie for fun and just stacked the whole thing with a giant cast. Director Bill Forsyth, who had a very clear goal in making "Local Hero", seems somewhat confused himself here.I should identify that I didn't hate "Being Human". It's an interesting look at world history. It's just hard to get a grip on the movie. An OK way to pass time, but I wouldn't recommend making it your first choice. Also starring Theresa Russell, Robert Carlyle, John Turturro, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jonathan Hyde, Hector Elizondo, Ewan McGregor (in his debut) and William H. Macy.