Really enjoyed reading this! I saw the film yesterday and I'm still in the process of writing my review but I agree so much on some of the points you raise in regards to it being a two part film. I thought they blended really well together and found the final act to be one of the best thriller third acts in recent memory.
I live in Berlin so having seen the film in Germany in a sold out theatre almost three weeks after its theatrical release, it seems there is a lot of enthusiasm for it as the German Oscars entry among the local cinephile community!
Thanks for sharing. I get the need to sit with this one and unpack it. I promised myself I wouldn’t publish yesterday right after I started writing because I wanted to sleep on it and gather more thoughts cohesively.
I’m not surprised the theater was packed. It’s heartening to hear that. My screening was pretty packed too but that’s also because of the panel discussion. These were film enthusiasts!
A great review and I will definitely be going to watch the film in the next couple of weeks. It was on my radar this weekend, but we ended up watching Nickel Boys instead. Side note: when you do a review and I haven't watched the film yet, I usually go back to read it again once I've seen the film!
I’d be so curious about your opinion on it. It uses first person POV in an almost experimental way, and I’m not sure how I felt about it. I felt similar to you when you said you had to sit on The Seed of the Sacred Fig for a bit before writing down your thoughts on it.
1) Carefully choose a film based on criteria like, I get a free screening of a movie that looks somewhat interesting, or scan or peruse other film reviewers' to see what they are watching (also looking at niche interests of mine, like foreign/indie, romance, dramedy, crime, and female-helmed stuff), and lastly, I see something that piques my interest on a streamer, like Max or Apple TV+
2) Research the film ahead of time, so I have the basics down and record this on my Notes app
3) Take notes on my Notes app (on dim if in movie theater) while watching to get the storyline down, quotes, themes
4) Walk away
5) When I attend a screening, I generally have ants in my pants and need to start composing my thoughts right away
6) I like to highlight my main topics and themes so I can start structuring my ideas. I always try to write my headline first because this shapes the tone of my analysis. It's the catchphrase that ties it all together.
7) Write a first draft and send it to myself - under "preview" and find all my dangling fragments and typos (even though Grammarly helps catch a lot more of that now)
8) Walk away
9) Come back to it a few hours later and make the necessary changes
This sounds like an incredible film, and this was a really thorough and well written post Beth. This post reminded me of the CBC Fifth Estate episode on Masih Alinejad who Iran has targeted based on her comments against the regime and her support of women's rights.
Maybe the inconsistencies were due to the fact that this was filmed in secret, in an incredibly short amount of time? Maybe it would've turned out differently if he'd been a "free" man.
Really enjoyed reading this! I saw the film yesterday and I'm still in the process of writing my review but I agree so much on some of the points you raise in regards to it being a two part film. I thought they blended really well together and found the final act to be one of the best thriller third acts in recent memory.
I live in Berlin so having seen the film in Germany in a sold out theatre almost three weeks after its theatrical release, it seems there is a lot of enthusiasm for it as the German Oscars entry among the local cinephile community!
Thanks for sharing. I get the need to sit with this one and unpack it. I promised myself I wouldn’t publish yesterday right after I started writing because I wanted to sleep on it and gather more thoughts cohesively.
I’m not surprised the theater was packed. It’s heartening to hear that. My screening was pretty packed too but that’s also because of the panel discussion. These were film enthusiasts!
Look forward to reading your review!
I can’t wait to see this
It’s intense and well done. I’ll be curious to know what you think, Jen!
A great review and I will definitely be going to watch the film in the next couple of weeks. It was on my radar this weekend, but we ended up watching Nickel Boys instead. Side note: when you do a review and I haven't watched the film yet, I usually go back to read it again once I've seen the film!
Makes sense. Thanks for remembering to
Come back and read it post watch!
I have to watch “Nickel Boys” - it was playing at our local theater but no longer
I’d be so curious about your opinion on it. It uses first person POV in an almost experimental way, and I’m not sure how I felt about it. I felt similar to you when you said you had to sit on The Seed of the Sacred Fig for a bit before writing down your thoughts on it.
Ingrid, my film review process is the following:
1) Carefully choose a film based on criteria like, I get a free screening of a movie that looks somewhat interesting, or scan or peruse other film reviewers' to see what they are watching (also looking at niche interests of mine, like foreign/indie, romance, dramedy, crime, and female-helmed stuff), and lastly, I see something that piques my interest on a streamer, like Max or Apple TV+
2) Research the film ahead of time, so I have the basics down and record this on my Notes app
3) Take notes on my Notes app (on dim if in movie theater) while watching to get the storyline down, quotes, themes
4) Walk away
5) When I attend a screening, I generally have ants in my pants and need to start composing my thoughts right away
6) I like to highlight my main topics and themes so I can start structuring my ideas. I always try to write my headline first because this shapes the tone of my analysis. It's the catchphrase that ties it all together.
7) Write a first draft and send it to myself - under "preview" and find all my dangling fragments and typos (even though Grammarly helps catch a lot more of that now)
8) Walk away
9) Come back to it a few hours later and make the necessary changes
10) Hit publish and pray (for whatever)
This is so interesting! Thanks, Beth!
This sounds like an incredible film, and this was a really thorough and well written post Beth. This post reminded me of the CBC Fifth Estate episode on Masih Alinejad who Iran has targeted based on her comments against the regime and her support of women's rights.
Thanks Matthew! Need to look this episode up. During the panel yesterday, the imprisonment of Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate came up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narges_Mohammadi
"The lives of others" is a great movie!
"Goodbye Lenin" is also very good.
Fantastic write-up, Beth
Thank you Alex! Had to much to say about this one!!
Maybe the inconsistencies were due to the fact that this was filmed in secret, in an incredibly short amount of time? Maybe it would've turned out differently if he'd been a "free" man.