Product Details

• Actors: Lusia Strus, Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Ryo Kase, Schulyer Fisk
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 24, 2012
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0062NAWH0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,286 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Restless (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After decades in the business, Gus Van Sant still feels like a new filmmaker, approaching each project with an energy and clarity of vision that makes even his less successful films worthy of consideration. Van Sant's empathy and lack of calculation keeps Restless from succumbing to terminal tweeness, but it's an awfully close call. Smushing together elements of both Harold and Maude and Love Story, the script follows mortality-obsessed teen Enoch (Henry Hopper, son of Dennis), who meets beautiful cancer patient Annabel (Mia Wasikowska) after crashing a funeral. As the two prepare for Annabel's last few weeks on Earth, Enoch's own reasons for carrying on are called into question. While both Wasikowska and Hopper do their best to flesh out their material, first-time screenwriter Jason Lew seems oddly reluctant to delve into the inner lives of his characters, focusing more on oddball emo curlicues (Hopper's best friend is the board game-loving ghost of a kamikaze pilot) than what really makes these two tick. Thankfully, Van Sant does what he can to diffuse the ethereal whimsy. Shooting in his adopted home of Portland, the director successfully evokes a feeling of magic realism, indulging the main characters in their flights of fancy while also ensuring that the reality of the situation lurks just outside the frame. Viewers with a low tolerance for preciousness may want to look elsewhere, but Restless definitely has its moments, particularly when it cuts through the vintage clothing and talk about fluffernutter sandwiches to hit a genuine vein of feeling. Rare is the director who can make an audience feel sympathy for an imaginary friend. --Andrew Wright

Product Description

From acclaimed director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) comes a quirky, coming-of-age love story between a young man (Henry Hopper) who has given up on life and a beautiful, charming young girl (Mia Wasikowska) who possesses a deep-felt love of life and the natural world. When these two outsiders chance to meet at a funeral, they find an unexpected common ground in their unique experiences of the world. Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard and Gus Van Sant.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is beautiful. Super good!!, January 18, 2012

By 

bloombeautifully8 (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restless (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray)

Some people say this is similar to " a walk to remember". But it is not!!! Totally different. The beauty of this leading couple and the quality of this film are super higher than " a walk to remember".

And the story is different basically.

If you like a small movie like " Before sunrise" or " Once", you should watch this.

3.0 out of 5 stars It's saved by its quirk, but it fails to embellish when necessary..., February 21, 2012

By 

Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Restless (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray)

`Restless' is one of those movies that starts off really awkward. It doesn't really `begin' as much as it just `starts'. It just kind of drops you in the laps of the protagonists and leaves you wondering what kind of odd, strange, bizarre film you've got yourself into watching for at least ten minutes. Then, somewhat magically, it all starts to separate and clear and next thing you know you're watching something with a unique charm and visual personality.

This is far from perfect, but there is an air on imperfection in nearly all of Gus's work.

`Restless' tells the story of a young girl dying of cancer who falls in love with a young boy who's suffering with the loss of his parents. He is coping by conversing with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot and he's horribly socially awkward, but they are kindred spirits in that they are calmly walking towards death while the rest of the world around them tries to emote something over everything. As they come to terms with the fast approaching death, they fall farther in love and begin to heal in many ways.

The initial plot is somewhat hokey and regurgitated of a lot of teen sob romance stories. It sounds a little Nicolas Sparks, but it has a deadpan charm that is achieved from Gus's directorial choices. Mia Wasikowska is such a fresh find, and her performance here is delightful and honest and very moving when needed. Henry Hopper is less successful (he comes across almost high in a lot of scenes and fails to deliver when necessary). He actually lets the weaknesses in the script (that breakdown with the doctor in particular) get the better of his performance. He can't rise above. I find it sad that the script is a tad shallow in that it never really `goes there' even though it hints a lot to attempting to. The inclusion of the ghost was a nice touch, and it truly added a depth that could have been explored but at least made an impact, but in the end this film feels too light for its own good.

In the end, I'd recommend it, but not for all. If you are a devotee in the Nicolas Sparks era of teen romance films then steer clear, because the flat lined emotions will irritate you, but if you want to see a different take on that overplayed genre then try Gus's take.

Gus has always had a way with making the melodramatic feel oddly cold.

3.0 out of 5 stars Two of Us, Life and Death, February 2, 2012

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Restless (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray)

THIS REVIEW INCLUDES MINOR SPOILORS

"Restless," Gus Van Sant's follow-up to a bio-pic "Milk," is a quirky film, to say the least. It is a love romance, but not exactly about love itself. Death plays a more significant role in the story, but its presence here is like a metaphor. The film has some touching moments (with Mia Wasikowska's nuanced acting as the heroine), but its drama is more sensitive (if not sentimental) than emotional. The plotline itself is a very familiar one, but not without some unconventional ideas, like a Japanese ghost appears, who just doesn't look like one (he can speak to the hero Enoch and even hit him in the face).

Meet Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper, son of Dennis Hopper), a death-obsessed boy in black who is often seen attending complete stranger's funerals. At one of these funerals he meets a teenage girl named Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikowska, "Alice in Wonderland"), who is diagnosed as terminally ill with cancer.

In the meanwhile, because of a near-death experience, Enoch can see a "ghost" of a Japanese kamikaze pilot Hiroshi Takahashi (Ryo Kase, "Letters from Iwo Jima") who died during the WWII. Enoch and Hiroshi are like friends, playing the game Battleship, but Hiroshi has something to say to Enoch, who seems to refuse facing the fact that Annabel is going away.

In Gus Van Sant's newest film time is apparently set in today's America, but if I remember correctly, there is no cellphone or internet. With its timeless theme such as life and death, the film is clearly trying to be thought-provoking as well as romantic. It almost succeeds thanks to Mia Wasikowska's effective performance as Annabel who quietly accepts her fate, but the rest of the film does not allow us to know much about other characters and their minds.

Supporting players include Schuyler Fisk as Annabel's sister, and Jane Adams as Enoch's aunt. The film's producers include Brian Grazer, Bryce Dallas Howard and Ron Howard. The script is penned by Jason Lew (his debut as a writer). The original music is by Danny Elfman. The atmospheric photography is by Harris Savides ("Milk" "Zodiac").

Perhaps the greatest thing about "Restless" is Mia Wasikowska's sensitive performance as Annabel. The film's whimsical narrative is appealing to some with nice soundtrack music, but whether or not you find it charming or boring depends on your taste.