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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, Unique, Misunderstood Film, March 8, 2006
It's All About Love has been criminally underrated. It's been called confused, convoluted, and pretentious. Well let's try another adjective: different. This is not the same kind of thing we've seen a million times before. In fact it seems to defy genre pigeon-holing.
Thomas Vinterberg, co-founder of the Dogma 95 moment towards "purity" in cinema made the excellent "Festen" and then took his craft to the other extreme with this futuristic fable. Set in a near future where the earth is on the brink of a new ice age the film tells the story of a Polish professor, John and his wife Elena plan to divorce. The couple have grown apart due to Elena's demanding schedule (she's a champion figure-skater) but when John arrives in New York to sign the final divorce papers, Elena begs him not to leave, confessing that she's in a danger that she doesn't completely understand.
The plot that follows is twisting and at times intentionally absurd: People drop dead in the streets due to a mysterious heart ailment, in mid-july it starts to snow all over the world, a man once afraid of flying overdoses on his medication and is now afriad to land, and as everything people think they understand is turned upside-down it's impossible to know who to trust.
But to view this film you have to put aside conventional notions of narrative structure or how a plot should unfold. Viewing this film is very much like participating in a dream. You have to go where it takes you- even if that's somewhere unusual.
Each shot in this movie is beautifully photographed channeling Hitchcock visually. Every thought in Joaquin Phoenix's head seems to appear on his face, while Claire Danes deftly channels a Hitchcock blonde. Alun Armstong and Sean Penn excel in smaller roles.
When I first saw this I wasn't sure if I liked it. But I found myself thinking about it a lot in the days following. On second viewing I think I understood it better. But it's not a film that's meant to be understood so much as experienced. I've "understood" it differently each time I've watched. I would recommend this film to anyone who is open to the experience.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Does this all make sense? Or is it too weird?", November 17, 2007
An apocalyptic, fantastic dream of a love story wrapped up in a hallucinatory cocktail of poetry and karma, this movie is at once thought-provoking and way too much effort, so it is bound to be a "love it or hate it" kind of viewing experience. Especially the first time around. The telling quote used as the title of this review, by the way, is from the films' writer, producer and director, Thomas Vinterberg.
OK, so people are dying in the streets of NYC from lack of love, the world is freezing over, and Ugandans are floating away while the sinister Russian ice-princess cloning plot goes on. This movie is ridiculous and at the same time a commentary on so many things that are going on under our collective noses, right NOW (even if many of us can't/won't see it), and the choices we all have right in front of us.
In my opinion, "It's All Aboout Love" has way more pluses than minuses. It's well worth checking out, especially if you liked "Gattica" or "The Fountain". The cinematography is perfectly surreal, and the "good vs. evil" mentality you find in most movies today has been elevated to a "love vs. fear" kind of vibe. A strange, wonderful and terrifying film, made for a strange, wonderful and terrifying world.
Led by Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes,"It's All About Love" is narrated by Sean Penn. If you didn't like it/get it the first time around, I would suggest that you try it again. For me, the first viewing merely aroused my curiosity and compelled me to give it another look; the effort was well worth it.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful love story set in a troubled future, January 30, 2006
It's 2021 and earth is in trouble, experiencing weather anomalies and a reduction in the force of gravity. People are literally dropping dead in the streets from a "heart disease" that is the result of loneliness or the absence of friends and loved ones. John (Joaquin Phoenix) is meeting with his estranged wife, Elena (a famous figure skater) to get their divorce papers signed. He soon realizes that something is wrong; his wife is in danger. Johns goes into protector mode and as the two of them elude those who would harm her, their love is beautifully rekindled.
I loved this movie even though it made me sad. I don't think one viewing is enough since some of its subtleties escaped me. But I got the gist (it really is all about love) and will not minding watching it a few more times to figure it out. The performances of Claire and Joaquin make that worthwhile and rewarding.
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