It is very common for films to have flashbacks and haunting moments. “The Great Beauty” shows how rich Jep Gambardella (played by Tony Servillo) lives a wealthy life but recalls various moments in his life–nightclubs, parties, and friends leads him to a non-structured landscape of exquisite beauty. Is their any better way to realize what exactly is astonishing about this movie? I was astonished by the lighting and cinematography, but the film was going back and forth and I had a hard time following what the film is trying to tell its audience.

The main character is a rich man. He has experienced the high-life of Roam for a number of years. When it reaches his sixty-fifth birthday, however, he realizes something that is a shock from the past.

This movie features a puzzle of elements and facts are trying to sum up to a solution in the film, but it is not easy to follow. For me, it was like watching my favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movie “Magnolia.” However, this one was more of one with a happy juxtaposition in the end and “Magnolia” was like a hit in the head with a baseball bat.

When I realized that “The Great Beauty” is a man looking back at his life from the past and present I was dazzled about that. Even though it took patience to understand, I realized in the end there is meaning to how Jep lives his life; we live good lives from time to time, and Jep realizes that having so much money is not important to him as much as it use to be. He tries to find the one person in his past that is beautiful and be with someone whether than just being rich and lonely.

The first cut of this movie was three hour and ten minutes long. I felt that with it already being two hours and twenty-six minutes was already long enough. Would the film being much longer would have made better entertainment? To be entertained it seriously takes this movie to be viewed like two or three times to understand what is brilliant about it.

For me this movie was one that I thought was just ok. I have seen many foreign films and have enjoyed them. Most of them were ones that had one focus. I was enthralled with “The Great Beauty”…by the lighting and cinematography, but the acting…very minimal.

Writer and director, Paolo Sorrentino does a good job directing this masterpiece (which is one to some viewers but not entirely to me). This movie is one that is geared towards people who enjoy these types of movies. I do enjoy them, but just I guess I need to watch it again to actually understand more of why it won Best Foreign Film in this years Oscars.

“The Great Beauty” is artsy and colorful. Also the concept seems amazing. But it is one to watch with an open-mind. You have to know it is going to involve patience and re-thinking to understand the point of view the film is getting to. So to be honest a solid two and a half stars.

Walter (played by Richard Jenkins) appears to be lonely. He is a book writer, a part-time professor, has a home in Connecticut and one in New York, has an interest for learning the piano and is knowledgeable, yet quiet. He was once married but his wife has passed away. He feels like he is not doing anything with his life and that if he goes to New York (a place where he has not been to for years) that he can find other ways to keep himself occupied.  However, in his home in New York, a young couple appears to be already living in his apartment.

The two couples in the apartment are Tarek (played by Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (played by Danai Gurira). Tarek is a syrian musician and Zainab is a Senegalese street vendor. The director Tom McCarthy has the characters try to remain happy yet nervous at the same time to give the sense that Tarek and Zainab may be nice people (which they are) but that there are some other problems that arise. Tarek is held in a detention center for illegal immigration. Now Walter’s friendship is shifting to really like Tarek and has a sense of his music talent. This makes Walter do what he can to try and get Tarek out of the detention center.

All illegal immigration issues are a challenge to get through, paperwork and documentation allows the viewers to realize that Tarek is not a bad person and does not deserve to be in a detention center. Tarek is someone who wants to live the joys of playing his music in New York, but for him that is being kept from him since he is locked up. Also Zainab is worried that this could keep them from ever returning to a place they love the most.

“The Visitor” goes between conversation to conversation between both Walter and Tarek simultaneously to figure out how Tarek can be released from the detention center. From Walter’s point of view, he feels that Tarek just lacked in documentation before returning to the states. Tarek on the other hand sees that he is viewed as a terrorist (which he is not). Tarek believes that the U.S. does not care about other people and that they are just keeping him captive for the fun of it. Both Walter and Tarek have a variety of aspects only geared on one focus to try and get Tarek out. They think just whining all the time to the authorities is the only way to solve problems.

“The Visitor” is brilliant. The friendship that Tarek and Walter make is just a feel good movie. It is one not to be missed. Especially when one is trying to find a good movie to watch at home. Three and a half stars.

Written and directed by Peter Mullan “Non Educated Delinquents” is a film that shows the elements of the causes to make children make harsh decisions. The film details how a boy John McGill (played by Conor McCarron) is just sweet and quiet as a little boy but his behavior changes as the years go by. His life consists of gangs, violence, negative parents, and bullying teachers, and all of this builds up to make sweet McGill turn to wanting to be more like a thug.

 Of course the film is an adaptation of the events that occurred in Mullan’s life. However, Mullan’s life was insane and he was losing it and he even admitted that he was in a gang and really hated his abusive father. The scary thing though is watching this movie, and imagining this director living this lifestyle, it is just extraordinary with how well he sets the film and has the depressing moments fall.

In the Opening, John McGill goes to a private school, where respect is what is accepted. The teachers are abusive, neglectful, and not everyone gets by positively. From this, I guess maybe it is trying to say that hitting students in school causes them to have a more negative attitude than a positive attitude.

There is no parallel order of how the schooling works. It is basically just a harsh school. However, John has got problems with his father. Every time at night, his father taunts at him and his mother to do as they are told and John puts up with it for at least like five or ten years (not specified). All of a sudden, he explodes on his father and starts hitting his head with a frying pan. I got to say I am appalled that the character would have the guts to do that. 

Later, McGill meets some new gang members. He starts drinking, fighting, and making people want to go after him. It all leads to suspense and craziness where even McGill gets kicked out of school, his parents kick him out of his house, and he ties knives to his hands and is ready to take risks into his own hands.

To be honest this movie is one I struggle to watch more than once. I own it but I won it at a raffle at a film festival with two other films. I guess my reward was having the guts to watch more dark films.