Customer Reviews

Midnight

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

 

 

.....And I mean that in a good way. *winks*

This film, this masterpiece, induced palpitations in me, butterflies in the stomach, in the throat, and in the heart. I can honestly say this is one of my favorite movies. Perhaps the favorite movie, at that.

It begins around 24 hours before January 1, 2000, set in the lives of two, three people, one of whom will not live to see the new millenium's dawning. The other two, a man, Joao, who has just escaped from prison, and a woman, Maria, whose lover has just abandoned her, will find themselves torn about and joined together and once more torn apart in an emotional powerhouse of a movie about death, love, hope, and desperation in a Brave New World not nearly as brave or new as we might think, or wish, it to be.

I remember when I saw it for the first time. Walking out of the theatre into the uncertainty of the night, I felt like I had died, had been reborn, and then had died again. It was an emotionally harrowing expirience, and yet I do not regret seeing it. And I recommend it to all of you, all of you children of this second Millenium.

If there ever was a must see, this is it.

For those who have seen "Central Station", which won many awards throughout the world (including the USA), was nominated for the Oscar 2000 (best actress and best foreign film), and was directed by the same Walter Salles Jr - this other film, "Midnight", has little in common with "Central Station" - other than being very well made in terms of script, acting and photography. What is amazing is that "Midnight" is even better than "Central Station"!!! Many times better, in my view. It shows a different side of life in Brazil, a more lively, more violent one - and it grips the viewer like a magnet. And it's a slap on the face, that's for sure!!! To know more about "Midnight", please read the excellent review by Rebecca Calvetti, below. But remember: this is a masterpiece - and it's a very impactful one at that, even more so than "Central Station". It's definitely worth having on DVD.

I love this movie, ... The only shortcoming is: It's a bit short, only 72 min...Maybe it's because their high evaluations impressed me so deeply and give me some anticipation that I didn't think the film is short.
...I bought the DVD without a hesitation because "Midnight" is also directed by Walter Salles and all reviewers gave the movie their highest evaluation.
Yes, you will not feel disappointed about movies directed by Walter Salles. It's very hard for you to guess what will happen next in the movie. The movie is full of metaphors of the meaning of life... "Midnight" tells us that no matter how hard we struggled, we are not able to get rid of the shadow of paradoxy and desperation for future. It's quite interesting that the same director will express such different interpretations of life in his works.
Both "Central Station" and "Midnight" give me the feeling of heartache when I am seeing them. How I wish the story will never end and how I love such kind of soft hearache...

If you really enjoy Hollywood movies with predictible, happy endings, this movie isn't for you. The movie is about people's resiliance to find a brief moment of content with each other in otherwise completely desperate situation. I find the acting compelling and vividly illustrated the situations of the characters.

This film was though as a project of the channel of arts, it is shared by Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles (Central Station of Brazil) and it's a potentially intense movie with very well structured script. Three stories grow with parallelism, three people are expecting the eve of the next century in Rio. I loved Luis Vanconscelos in this movie. Besides, I think this movie has received some bitterness of others stories of jail in Brazilian cinema such as Pixote and The kiss of the spider woman. Enigmatic, almost apocalyptic!!

I bought this DVD because of its reviews and both my husband and I thought it was depressing. This movie was well done, but wasn't worth the trauma it inflicted.