Submergence

This movie was in contrast with itself. It was really good in certain aspects but bad in others. It felt like it really had an emotional value but no entertainment or fun value. In truth it was trying to hard to be a deeply artistic emotional movie, and in some way it managed to turn up as a success and failure in the same time. The directing style was really amazing, and the all the scenes where shot with care and attention to detail and this actually comes over to the viewers if we watch carefully and appreciate it. The characters where developed very well although with some pacing issues, and it took to much to build up their relation with each other which in the end left the real plot in the background and the events as they unfolded. The acting was amazing by both lead actors and the supporting ones. Hats off to Alicia and James for delivering their character's emotions in their raw, realistic form. And the simplicity of their relation and romantic scenes had a powerful real down to earth vibe which was almost humane. This is very rare in romantic movies, and physical connection is hard to not fake. SO all credit is due for the actors here. The visuals where great with amazing sights, practical effects for most part and simple but meaningful music in the background. The only big fault of the movie is the plot and how it unfolded and above all the slow pacing issue it struggled with. Besides their connections and some superficial things about the events not much else is reveled above the world and the story's unfolding. Sadly this breaks the before created immersion by the characters and really good acting. Overall it's a good movie with amazing artistic value, but low entertainment value. This makes the movie a hard watch especially for those who like a more eventful movie and can't value the realistic emotions and complex message delivered by the film.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Wim Wenders’ “Paris Texas” I was also disappointed to find it was written on the fly. Maybe the same might be said for this strange and at times strained production. At one stage, it looked as if the moviemakers may have been wanting to create the equivalent of a modern remake of classics like “Peter Ibbotson” or “Wuthering Heights”- about deep bonding - a love of such depth that even during cruel and certain severance, the lovers could connect with each other in a fantasy or spiritual world. Maybe these lovers didn’t have enough time together to convince us they were now inseparable. There are times and situations where love can develop quicker than normal but, it also needs more time to be convincing as eternally enduring. There also seemed to be too much mystery surrounding James McAvoy’s character to help us fully understand the extreme treatment at the hands of his Jihadist captors – still, it was refreshing to note his dedication to his faith, and his home country - quite a rarity in modern Hollywood type movies. There’s lots of visual style, very good performances, an interesting music score, and it is more accessible than some of Wenders’ other works but overall, something seems to be missing. Have certainly seen far worse, but maybe needed stronger plot development.