Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Galina No Such Thing (2002) was my first Hal Hartley's movie. Checking its site on Netflix when I ordered the DVD, I was intrigued by the viewers' reviews on the very first page that differ from one star to four, and by the Top 10 Lists of the viewers who had seen the film already. The lists included "Independent does not mean good", "Don't Waste Your Stamp", and the most sincere "What the heck am I watching?" I knew that I was going to see a different, controversial, and interesting movie. After I saw it, I was very impressed. I know that I will look for more Hartley's works.As far as the story goes, like many directors before and after him Hal Hartley re-tells the old but immortal legend of Beauty and the Beast which is set in the modern, post 9/11 (even though the movie was made before September 11, 2001) world. The film is worth watching for many reasons. First, it is visually beautiful and poetic especially the scenes shot in Iceland, mysterious far-away country. It did not surprise me that the monster made the remote Iceland his residence. Second, the music score that Hartley wrote himself was appropriately gripping and disturbing. Third (and very important for me), any movie that would place in one scene two of the greatest actresses of older generation, Helen Mirren and Julie Christie, and young but enormously talented and charismatic Sarah Polley and let them do the magic of acting together, is a remarkable movie in my book. And the last one, it is the interesting and compelling, satiric and biting retelling of Beauty and the Beast dropped against the frenzy of the modern media hunger for sensations at the time when terrorism is omnipresent. The film explores the nature of the beast in original, ironic, and clever manner. I guess I can call it a Hartley way. The bitter, cruel, deadly tired from eternal insomnia and scornful (quite often for good reasons) to human race monster as played by Robert John Burke, is sarcastic, scary, observant and strangely sympathetic. I would recommend the film and I am sure in case of No Such Thing, independent does mean good.

rubatoatm A thoughtful, intelligent film about science, human nature and the need for the dichotomy of good & evil. The "monster" is something we have made in which to lock up all the evil of which we humans are capable. Science and human kindness are the saviors, the forces that can eradicate the need for such symbols.In order to tame "evil", the good have to endure suffering, symbolized by the young ingenue who is injured and healed : a Christ-like character.This movie is gentle, sensitive and moving as well as filled with delicate humor. I have my own copy so I can watch it occasionally.

p-stepien "No such thing" is a modern fairy tale in a postmodern pop-cultural setting. In a weird rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" the monster (played by Robert John Burke) - who by the way is apparently American - resides on a rock in Iceland far away from civilisation. However legends persist and nowadays where there is a legend there is a film crew. One such crew gets torn to shreds before the beginning credits and soon after we hear the monster's existential monologue, who tries to warn off any further interference from outside. However Beatrice (who works for the same TV station as the killed crew and was romantically involved with one of them) offers to investigate further and her boss (played by Helen Mirren) is up in joy at the proposal. Soon she is on a plane and after about 30 minutes of pointless movie filler (with Beatrice getting mugged by an addict, crashing in a plane, breaking he spine, getting operated and recovering) she finally makes it to the monster's hideout.After a lacklustre talk with the monster she somehow convinces him to leave the island. How she did that with her crappy monologues and banal argumentation is a mystery. Even more so that this creature apparently has at least a couple of hundred thousand years of life behind him.Only recently have I heard of Hal Hartley, supposedly a talented and ambitious director, and this is one of my first attempts at adoring his potential. Maybe. But this movie is the epitome of a disaster. I was very quickly taken aback by the absurdities of the news served at the beginning of the movie - supposedly we are in reality, but surprisingly everyday modernity apparently has bomb attacks, terrorist plots and high death tolls every 15 minutes. Not exactly sure what the point was of all this - why tell a serious story about a monster set in modern times, only to make it even more far-fetched with an exaggerated reality more fitting for a satire or a Monty Python sketch?Soon after we are forced to survive about 30 minutes of filler, where Beatrice becomes a revered almost supernatural personality, because of surviving an airline crash. I theoretically understand that this was supposed to make her a counterpoint to the monster character and was aimed at creating more back-story for Beatrice... ultimately it caused much irritation and made me severely disinterested by the lax storytelling.Unfortunately the movie never picks up from then. It doesn't work as a comedy. Nor as a horror. Nor as a drama. Nor as an art-house flick. It fails in every department mostly because of the poor script and sometimes god-awful dialogue. The movie also shifts from winking at the audience at the wrong moments to treating itself too seriously for it's own good. The plot is also severely unbelievable and at times watches like a bad 80s movies... In the 80s it was passable, because of the specific atmosphere at the time. In the 90s it's just corny.I guess the only good thing I can say about the movie is the cast. Robert John Burke, who I am fond of since his monster role in Dust Devil, does great as the alcoholic horn-headed abomination. Similarly Helen Mirren is always ravishing and breathtaking... even in the most insignificant of roles. I can't however say the same about Sarah Polley, who in my opinion gave the most bland and forgettable performances of her lifetime.All in all give this one the pass, unless you want to see some nice pictures of Iceland or are interested in the weird and mildly intriguing ending (the only part of the movie that actually worked).

taybey666 No Such Thing is really a weird film if we consider the story, characters or editing. The characters in the movie is symbolic figures more than real people. Although there is a monster in the movie, the movie does not give us information about how and why it is emerged. This fact signifies that the movie is more like satirical a one on human relations, politics and media. It has an unusual humour, that we did not get used to, about how people, media and politics handle the unusual or interesting things without having respect to unusual by using it on their behalf. Also we can say that this movie is not really an active