Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

bracketj This film story is culturally valuable because it shows that one man can acquire the wisdom to break the traditional cycle that many—perhaps centuries of—people had not. It is a story, therefore, that is greatly inspirational to anyone who has ever faced opposition to maturation, modernization or creativity. The use of detailed sounds and slow, simple camera movements force the audience's senses to follow Gavino's. When he is alone in the dark, we are alone in the dark. We see a close-up of a snake's poised, open jaw and fear it, just as he does. We hear the wind through the trees as Gavino's father trains him to recognize his location by it. Likewise, the many stream of consciousness scenes allow the audience into Gavino's mind. We also hear fragments of the thoughts of the schoolchildren, Gavino's father, the selfish townspeople at a funeral, and even the sheep Gavino milks. The use of such devices makes the audience take part not only in the physical pain and alienation that was part of a young shepherd's life, but also in the mental neglect and torture that followed. We feel abandoned, fed up, and triumphant as Gavino does. The most important aspect of this film, however, lies in the fact that while Gavino creates his own boundaries and frees himself from patriarchal slavery, he is still self-aware and doesn't turn his story into a fairy tale. He is not living in a mansion with a perfect wife and children at the film's end. Rather, the real Gavino is presented to the audience on the same lonely streets on which he began, looking content but imperfect. This story allows for the fact that there are still sad aspects to his life, and lingering effects to what he experienced. Likewise, none of his experience was sweetened: his life is presented as was, in a beautiful and moving way.

Rosaluck I saw this movie more than 20 years ago, but I have never forgotten it. There is no need for me to repeat what others have said about the plot. Let me just say that the film's use of natural sound is astounding. An illiterate boy is isolated from other people, so he develops a unique understanding of the world's noises. I appreciated the film's critique of paternalism, but even more, I was profoundly moved by the story of a peasant boy who manages to overcome his isolation and fear of his father and learn to read and then to study linguistics.I am going to buy a copy of this movie for my grandson who is studying film at a university. Despite the fact that he is a young and urban American, I think he will appreciate the humor, the innovative techniques and the themes of this remarkable film.

psteier Some of the complaints may due to a poor tape transfer. It looked quite nice as a movie. However, being about poor people, don't expect gorgeous costumes.Since the film is honest and somewhat brutal in its depiction of peasant life, it is not for the weak of stomach or for children.It moves at a somewhat leisurely pace and some of the filmic conventions are overdone (the talking sheep and the swelling music in particular).

Bob-240 This move was pure agony to watch and totally devoid of any redeeming entertainment value at all. The endless scenes of extreme child abuse, masturbation and bestiality made this an experience that will scare me for life. A root canal would be preferable entertainment. Anyone who enjoys this movie has to be sick.My expectation was a story about a boy overcoming child abuse to become a successful writer. Only about 10 minutes is spent on the `overcoming' with the rest of the time obsessed on the agony. This could have been a great movie if it focused on the metamorphosis of an abused, illiterate Shepard into a literate professor and writer.My personal regret is that I fell for the `Cannes Golden Palm' label again. `Art is in the eye of the beholder' and this beholder sees very little artistic value in this movie. This movie had awful sound, poor cinematography, bad set decoration and horrible musical score. It is hard to imagine this movie being better than some of the other movies of this year like Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Equus, The Goodbye Girl and Annie Hall. Cannes went way out of the way to avoid a good movie for their award. My observation is that Cannes is a bunch of snobs who never give anything to any movie that can be remotely called entertaining.