En la ciudad de Sylvia

I've been watching a lot of camera comparison videos lately, and the shots in here - random people in cafes - reminded me a lot of those. It cannot be denied that the film manages to conjure an atmosphere - although that takes about 20 minutes and nothing gets added afterwards. In a way, this is the perfect background - now it just needs something to happen in the fore. And man, can somebody's boyfriend punch this guy in the face already...

Last Year in Marienbad for people watchers if you will. Instead of dialogue and plot the order of the day is watching people live going through the mundane and everyday activities which become so fascinating for some to watch (you know who you are). It is a captivating film particularly due to the elegance with which it is put together with the way images and audio interact to capture something being whilst not as striking as the more otherworldly Marienbad still really quite wonderful.

The voyeuristic pleasures eventually feel creepy, perhaps because of the creepy protagonist. Are we supposed to share his fascination with beautiful strangers, or be skeeved out by it? There's also a contrivedness to the film, with its oh-so-clever graffiti (are we expected to be intrigued by the shallow "mystery" of it?), oh-so-clever reflections, and oh-so-clever recurring extras. There is thoughtful material here and some lovely aesthetic qualities, but it just has an air of phoniness to it.

"This sensualist delight is an immaculate expression of the thrill of the hunt and the cruel damage our hearts of glass incur from an unexpected loss or missed opportunity." - Ed Gonzalez

As a twenty-something Gen X slacker, I would often hang out at coffee houses--intermittently writing, reading or just watch others. Being a hetero male, females would attract my attention. If you can relate to this, then you'll be able to relate to this film. However, I'd describe this as a European, Gen X art film--that means a very minimal plot (one that doesn't become clear until half way in the film), but interesting images--and, oh, did the film has almost no dialogue. Good film.

Quietly intrusive, Guerin's film tracks a man on a quest to recapture a glimmer of something good from his past. Guerin mimics the intentness of the man's gaze with a similarly focused camera, offering still set-up shots that provide many opportunities to watch people walk up and down the street, ride the bus, or sit in a cafe. Guerin nicely blends the comic and the tragic with the pivotal encounter on the bus. In spite of its strong formal qualities, the main character remains oddly distant.

I couldn't even finish it, I was so bored. I really did not get this movie! I can sit in a café and stare at people if that's what I want. I won't watch a movie to see the same.

Unique!

Te transmite totalmente la atmósfera en donde se desenvuelve el film.

It could easily be called boring, pointless or pretentious. But there was something mesmerising about the film's slowness and sense of curiosity bordering on a purpose as it follows the characters around Strasbourg's streets interminably. It doesn't deliver the kind of emotional engagement or reward viewers might expect or crave, nevertheless I would call it a uniquely human film. It captures a floaty, detached feeling which I've never found in another film. Memorable.

A film that wants to be so much, when all we're really given is a guy creeping after girls for 80 minutes. Distracting use of extras add to the overall amateurish feel of the film.

Elliptical and strange. Also strangely vibrant and full of life.