Customer Reviews

Angela

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoy discovering obscure, little known films that turn out to be little gems and hidden teasures of cinematic art. You almost have to find these films by accident to be aware of them. WALKABOUT is one. PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK is another. ANGELA can be added to the list of these pleasant surprises.
I think it would be very difficult to verbally describe what this film is about in such a way to prepare a prospective viewer as to what to expect. I read the reviews and customer comments and must admit the film was completely different than my preconceived notions had led me to believe. The only thing I could say is it is about two little girls and how the depression and mental illness of their mother influence and affect their view of the world in which they live.
Usually I prefer crisp, brightly and clearly filmed movies. This one has a murky, grainy quality to it that I would usually abhor. However I realized after viewing it that this murky graininess contributed significantly to the mood and atmosphere of the film. The music that was chosen also contributed to this atmosphere.
One who is offended by child nudity should probably avoid ANGELA, as the filmmaker obviously had no qualms about showing both girls (10 and 6) in more than a few scenes in sundry stages of nakedness. Nevertheless, these scenes (casual, spontaneous),just as the graininess and music, also contributed to forming the interesting atmosphere of the film. It would have suffered if any of these mood-setting devices had been omitted.
Hats off to Rebecca Miller for ANGELA, a unique and wonderfully made gem that I would highly recommend.

I watched this film a few years ago and have never forgotten it. In it, we have two pre-teen sisters who are trying to deal with the mental state of their mother, which is getting worse and worse with each passing day. Their father is an endearing man, although a bit permissive, and does his best to hold the rocky family together.

The film takes a strange turn into what many conclude is our protagonist's (a girl named Angela) own slide into mental illness. I'm not sure that's the case, as I find reason to believe some aspects of her visions might have very well been true, but the point is that she's a tormented soul and finds escapism through a vivid imagination and a self-made quest that frees her mind from what's currently happening. This is a quest for purification from the evil of the world, one that she brings her sister along for the ride, and one that finds a handsome, peaceful Lucifer as their largest obstacle. He simply states to her on numerous times, "I want you, Angela" in a very gentle, yet thouroughly dark way.

Eventually, Angela's quest, with her young sister at her side, takes her across the back roads of her town. Her firm belief in her journey makes her the near victim of a crime as well as the viewer of some very bizarre happenings. In the end, Angela decides to face her fears directly.

The end of this film will leave you in awe.

This movie sent chills down my spine even after the twentieth time of seeing it. Excellent architecture, this movie portrays imagination in a light that leaves you a little unsure of the diagnosis. It left me wondering if the magical things that happened to these girls was real or really in their imaginations.

It also allowed me to see a wierd, dark side of childhood again, like what I went through, circumstances that made survival and coping palpable and no longer hidden. I reccommend everyone see this movie at least once. Maybe the things hidden in this movie were unintentional, but there are layers to sort through.

You never know for sure what a film will be like when you order it. Sometimes you are pleased, sometimes not. Angela is truly a superior film and it exceeeded my expectations. The storyline took a sad turn with the mental instability of Angela's mother and how she had to be placed in an institution. However, I was more than uplifted by the job done by the girl who played Angela and how she kept seeking God and Heaven. Miranda Stuart Rhyne's performance was most enchanting. This is the best movie that I have bought from Amazon to date. I really felt for Angela as she fought her nightmares and kept on her spiritual journey. I will watch this movie again and again and that is not something that I do very often. The young teen actress did a better acting job here than most actors and actresses do that are two or three times her age! She should have a spectacular film career ahead of her! I highly recommend this movie!

This movie, I think, is well done. If you like the artistic form of the young female body, you will love this movie. The scenes of the little girls were done very tastefully. I have always enjoyed viewing the female body in its purest form. It is a beautiful creation that many people, especially men, take for granted. There is nothing sexual or arousing about any of the scenes and they are done in the most prestigious of settings. Very well constructed.

The plot is a great one. The only problem I had with this movie is when the girls were in "the big nothing," the story started to bcome like choppy sentences. The scenes changed to quickly and Angela was getting too many signs. I think that this part was a little overdone. The ending, although very dramatic and appropriate for the movie, could have been laid out better. It left me with a sense of incompleteness. Other than that, the movie was excellent and a masterpiece in my eyes. Well done!

Rebecca Miller's haunting tale of a young girl driven by her religious
obsessions into a frightening world of hallucinogenic images and
superstitious delusion. There are touching performances by the two principal
girl actors, Miranda Stuart Rhyne and Charlotte Eve Blythe. Rhyne, in
particular, is engaging as the young protagonist caught in a heavenly
struggle between good and evil to save her mentally ill mother. She
convincingly portrays Angela as a determined and feisty but naive and
vulnerable child in equal measure; someone who is headstrong but literally
open to abuse.

There is a fine director's commentary narrated by Miller exploring the
themes and motivations that went into the making of the film.

so i ran across this film by accident, or by fate, but all i can say is wow. it shows the other side of children, the side we all fall in love with without truly understanding. the devotion and love these girls possess results in fear and exhaustion due to their circumstances, and yet it still remains so selfless, so perfect. the film is beautiful to look at. it has a very 'dancer in the dark' rhythm that captures an almost raw and living beat. and the girls are captivating, with personalities that outshine the sun.

This is an amazing and haunting look at how two young sisters cope as their family life is torn apart.

The father is unable to deal with his wife's horrific slide into mental illness. Instead of dealing with the harsh reality of things they cannot even begin to understand, the little girls retreat into their own world. The magical quality of this is tinged with the sadness of knowing why it exists. The imagery is astounding.

This film is more a character study and a slow paced homage to childhood. It is a visually haunting tale of the girls and their need to make sense of what is going on around them. I would recommend watching this movie when in a reflective mood.

once again. the movie is a little roughly crafted. There are a few scenes in which you can see the boom mike. or equipment. but the story, the acting and most of the photography is superb. The story reaches deep into the mind and the sweet-and-sour realism is the climax of art. The child actors, specially miranda stawrt rhine are in a word, sublime. there are some brief scenes of nudity so a little parental guidance. They are inocent and natural so no obsenity or adult situations are present. (that I can remember) the scenes are a family swimming in a river and are all conveyed very inocently and freshly, evoking the sense of being a child and with your family. Exelent movie.

There are two issues in this movie. The first is of a couple of little girls growing up with a mentally ill mother. Angela, in her immaturity, feels at least a bit responsible for her mother's situation. She wants to be especially good, feeling that it is her 'badness' that keeps her mother sick. This is very common. One girl our family has grown to love as one of our own daughters understood that it was after her mother got pregnant with her the schizophrenia manifested itself in her mother. So, when she was little, she felt she caused it to happen.

Angela has some idea of God and satan, Heaven and hell, but it is as a ten-year-old might have understood it. It would have been nice to see where she had gotten such ideas. Still, Angela wants very much to be a good person, and keep her little sister, Ellie, good. However, she is still a little girl. Parents could show this film to their own children, watching together, and use it to discuss the family beliefs regarding these topics. It is a movie one won't soon forget, and one that will leave you thinking about it for some time after seeing it.

This is a very intense movie (and there is one rather explicit sex scene). Still, my nine-year-old granddaughter handled it very well (we fast-forwarded through the short sex scene). I presented the story to her as one example of what might cause some kids to act in ways that her 'in group' does not think is 'cool.' We had a good discussion about how she should treat such kids because the ones she may meet might be going through the same type of thing, though the specifics may be different, as Angela in their home. If a parent knows their child is dealing with such a friend, this movie would be a great way to help them open up about how they feel about the 'strange' kid, and for parents to teach understanding and even compassion for him or her. This is a very penetrating movie.