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As Good As It Gets

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I saw this film in a local movie theatre around 30 years ago. And it is true. I am an ignorant. I didn't understand much of it.I don't remember much now either, except being bored to insanity and beyond by the pretentious blabbering, wriggling in my chair, hoping that the gorgeous and probably smarter girl in the seat beside me wouldn't understand that I was too stupid for this movie, knowing that some cultural highbrow jerk would describe it as "marvelous, fantastic, beautiful" or, even more likely, use other words that I probably wouldn't understand either.Long. So long. How long can a movie be?On our way out of the theatre, probably after around two and a half months in the seat, I heard a woman dressed in her elitist, purple uniform talk about the "pretty landscape and the use of light". Then I knew that she hadn't understood anything either, but was never going to tell anyone.I am however thankful. I survived. It didn't kill me outright, even if it scarred me for life. Which is why I am doubling the score.Avoid, unless you have a potential partner to impress and are willing and able to serve your time in the chair to reap a possible reward afterwards. Remember comfy pants.But I never even got the girl. I told you she was smart.

LANDSCAPE IN THE MIST (1988) Directed by Theo Angelopoulos Today I watched this 1988 masterpiece from the late Theo Angelopoulos. (January, 2017). It won the Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival, and many other awards.(see list on IMDb). It's an exquisite allegorical tale and perhaps knowledge, or lack of it, about modern Greek history could determine what you think it might be about. I have my own ideas as do reviewers before me,here on IMDb.I love the way this maestro director has used a sort of Odyssey (what could be more appropriate?) by two young siblings, (Voula, aged 14 and her brother Alexander, aged 5) traveling Greece in search of someone (or something) they want to believe exists, just to "understand and know but not to stay," the older girl says. This is a film that is not about what it appears to be about, but is an allegory and a poem, a work of visual art, and profound emotional truth. The visual power and beauty, the gorgeous music (by Eleni Karaindrou), every frame on screen, are all spell-binding. To me, each scene and episode in their young lives on this journey through Greece to find the landscape in the mist, can be linked to the story of the Greek nation and its people. The landscape in the mist is tellingly, first seen on a few frames of 35mm movie film found in the muddy street by their young motor-cyclist mentor... a kind of guiding angel travelling with them for a time. Perhaps he can only see it on the celluloid because he is searching for this mythic landscape (or condition) too. This piece of "found film" serves to link the director himself into the collective experience of all the Greeks. Perhaps it's the modern day "Golden Fleece"? What a gorgeous and poetic film. Almost as beautiful as the same director's "The Weeping Meadow" - one of my all time most admired works of art in cinema.

Seen the movie in HK International Film Festival over 16 years ago and still could not stop crying whenever I think of the kids in the movie. Be prepare for a sad story. Yet, the whole movie was filmed so artistically and many scenes are so creative (esp. at the age of the production.) This is the only movie still linger in my brain from time to time. Still miss the kids in the movie and wish to be there to get them out of the difficult situations. It is the power of the movie, the power of the director/writer, the little actress and actor. No more description can replace the movie itself. To fill up lines - being a mom of 2 now after the years, I miss the kids in the movie even more.

I saw this movie when it was playing in Berkeley in 1990. This is one of the most beautiful and haunting films I have ever seen. Filled with scenes of mythic beauty and magical realism. It is, on the surface, about two siblings search for their father, but it is also about the search for something both less obvious and more universal. It haunted my dreams for months and some of the images in this film have stayed with me to this day. If you are of a philosophical bent and are open to the experience, I believe you will enjoy this film very much.