•
Rating:
«And then there's this songbird that thinks it's going to die every time the sun sets. And in the morning, when it wakes up, it’s so upset to be alive that it sings its melodious song. I sing every morning since I met you…»
This is one of the most touching and perhaps also the most significant phrases of the film. It is spoken by the female protagonist, Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikowska, Tim Burton's Alice) who, in the film, is a sixteen-year-old terminal cancer patient. The girl meets Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper), a seventeen-year-old who lost both parents and since then, has been attending the funerals of strangers, by chance at a funeral.
The film tells this captivating love story between the two young people who, despite their young age, have to face death, their first romantic experiences, and even the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze who died during World War II. Despite the dramatic subject matter, the film is not a tearjerker story; in fact, it features some of the most ironic (and also some rather dull) traits. It's nice to see characters with such distinct personalities, even if perhaps the sick girl who isn’t afraid of dying is an overused cliché. The male protagonist, Enoch, however, is very interesting; obsessed with death after his parents' accident, he even believes he sees a ghost, Hiroshi, who acts as a sort of conscience throughout the story. The sudden break between the two young ones cannot be missed either, as despite trying to live their story without giving too much weight to the girl's almost imminent death, they will then be forced to face it. Unfortunately, watching the film, I cannot help but notice that something is missing. Something that usually fosters the audience's identification. I cannot say what it is, but unfortunately, I must admit this film did not involve me emotionally as I had thought (and perhaps even hoped). I was immediately struck by the trailer, so, as often happens, I expected something extraordinary. Instead, it turned out to be a film with a fairly simple plot, with a somewhat particular but not overly deep background story and a rather low audience engagement.
Opinions about the film are quite varied; some consider it a melodrama on the meaning of life and see the protagonist as already a great man, capable of facing dramas larger than himself, and who, given the dramas he has lived through, ends up having an (only) imaginary friend who is a ghost (and I fully agree with this). But there are those who wrinkle their noses and find Wasikowska's performance very poor and unoriginal, as well as Hopper's. I do not agree with this; on the contrary, I believe the performance of the two young actors is remarkable, especially considering their youth and perhaps a bit of inexperience (Hopper is a young debutant). The film was, however, presented at the Un Certain Regard section of the 64th Cannes Film Festival but did not win.
The story is still sweet and touching, a film for young adults but not only. It's one to watch on a Saturday night or when you have a bit of free time, but don't expect a great film that will keep you awake all night after watching it.
Loading comments slowly
