Himmlische Kreaturen

Himmlische Kreaturen fesselt den Zuschauer vor allem dank des schaurigen Themas, das auf einer wahren Geschichte beruht, und der großartigen Leistungen von Kate Winslet und Melanie Lynskey. In den Fantasysequenzen aus der vierten Welt fühlte ich mich manchmal an Jacksons spätere Filme erinnert (siehe Der Herr der Ringe oder In meinem Himmel) - schon damals hatte er einen ausgeprägten Sinn für fiktive Welten. Obwohl ich von Anfang an wusste, wie der Film enden würde, war ich trotzdem bis zum Schluss gespannt. (03.11.2019)

Ein kleiner Film, der es Peter ermöglicht hat, filmische Fähigkeiten sowie eine außergewöhnliche Flexibilität von Stimmungen und verschiedene Akzente zu entwickeln, wie kein anderes späteres Werk ... in gewissem Sinne ist dies meines Erachtens nach der Höhepunkt des neuseeländischen Zwerges. Dieser wunderbare Übergang vom einem rosafarbigen Tagebuch zur blutigen Ausgabe einer Psychopathologie Jugendlicher ist in ähnlicher Weise großartig wie die exzentrischen, jedoch vollkommen sanften Sprünge zwischen den Welten. Und Kate ist eine bezaubernde psychotische Gestalt par excellence. (06.12.2012)

This kind of work with the image in a drama (constant driving that reveals necessary information gradually, alienating effects, point of view changes, the impossibility of relying on who actually owns the scene) is the kind of thing that Spielberg then started doing almost twenty years later (after all, he and Jackson did The Adventures of Tintin together). An enlightened handling of a tabloid subject that doesn't actually care about the murder, but rather tries to make us understand the seemingly exaggerated and naive bond between two friends at the prime of their lives, besieged by an ossified, rational, and limited world, is a thing that is still awfully rare today. A beautiful reminder of a certain time in life that I would normally describe as non-transferable, which ends with a bludgeoning with a brick. (22.06.2020)

Average content packaged in a brutally intellectual and visually distinctive guise that doesn’t fit everyone flawlessly. Peter Jackson is bursting with directorial ideas at every step, some are good, some not so much, but it is difficult for anyone to criticize his directorial talent in the end. However, the film does have its deaf spots, with some unconvincing scenes in terms of the performances of the actresses – their roles were extremely demanding, but somehow nobody cares. The cinematography is also memorable, which in many aspects (fast transition between whole and detail) reminds of the legendary B-movies on which Jackson built his career. Overall, however, the film is somewhat unrelatable for me as it revolves around two girls. The ending can be understood, yet it strongly contrasts with the rest of the story, which is at least peculiar. (16.01.2007)

If someone else had made it, it would have been a mere descriptive story, fit for prime time TV, but Peter Jackson turned it into a riveting film brimming with directorial ideas that are simply incredible. Who knows, maybe the Oscar nominations helped Jackson convinced the bosses at New Line Cinema to finance Lord of the Rings. (05.08.2002)