Kaka

A charming artistic style, typically European locations, a pleasant cast, remarkable music, all of this is simply wonderful. In terms of contents, however, Roberto Benigni is not so confident. Nonetheless, this is one of the gems of European cinema.

The script is remarkably dull, the story doesn't go anywhere, the individual scenes aren't very funny and everything spiced up with vulgarity. Not exactly the best, really.

James L. Brooks is brilliant at portraying human stories of friendship, love, family. He leads the actors wonderfully, and they deliver exceptional performances. The passage of time has taken its toll on this film and some of the situational scenes are not as cool as they were 20 or 30 years ago, but it's still very apt and sufficiently complex.

The atmosphere is lackluster, the technical execution is very inconsistent, and the film as a whole simply feels weird. The problem is that it presents the topic with such a dose of stupidity and directorial incompetence, and the actors overact in such a crazy way that it's horrifying.

It could have been a solid action flick with a weak story, it could have been one of those “smart” action films, and it could have easily been an easygoing B-movie, but the only word that comes to my mind after it ended is: nonsense. Glaring CGI Matrix-like visual effects, bad editing, confusing camera work. The acting is average, yet with great potential.

The visuals are captivating, Coppola plays with shadows, sets, camera, lighting, sometimes cutting quickly, sometimes putting emphasis on a slow capture of details. All of this creates a positive impression, the director firmly holds this film in his hands and his strongly inventive style and strong visual stylization are the main assets. However, that doesn't change the fact that, as is often the case with Coppola's films, I was bored.

The best part of the whole movie is probably the one-minute sequence in the opening credits, it looked interesting and promised a suspenseful crime drama. The final effect, however, is rather weak. The plot is chaotic, with one lapse in logic after another, and the whole thing feels like a stew of multiple genres.

Each character in the script has their own depth and each plays a smaller or larger, but similarly key role in the film. The outstanding actors also contribute to the excellent result. Jürgen Prochnow excels in the lead role of the captain, but he unfortunately drowned his promising career in B-movie waters. Wolfgang Petersen directed an atmospheric film that is probably still unmatched within the genre.

After Monster's Ball, I was looking for a completely different label for Marc Forster. Yet he surprised with an open “fairy tale” with perfect atmosphere and excellent direction of the actors.

This is how a modern film adaptation of a literary classic should look like. A very strong and captivating artistic stylization, excellent production design, very strong and atmospheric music, and last but not least, a high-quality screenplay. How could it not be, when Frank Darabont was largely involved in it.