★ 7 / 10
**Losing the loved one and getting lost in
Reno
**Losing the loved one and getting lost in the life.** The plot says it is a serious subject, but the film was fun. Not fun as you would laugh out loud, though…
**Losing the loved one and getting lost in the life.**
The plot says it is a serious subject, but the film was fun. Not fun as you would laugh out loud, though that's how the characters behaves. As seen the whole film, I thought it was similar to the 'Sweet Bean'. Not thematically, but the characteristically. They did not balance on that, because clearly that was not an intention. It's only I saw that, which should have been explored much better possible way.
You might wonder what is that! Actually, it was three generations. A kid, a young man and a pretty close to be an old man. But it was that old man's tale. That's how it all begins and ends too. He had lost his son and now it is a week of mourning time. At the end of the formal, that's where our tale begins by avoiding the emotional parts. A good initiation.
Seems he is approaching a different tactic to cope with the loss. Suddenly his behaviour has changed. Not being polite with everyone around him, particularly his neighbour couple with a reason. But their young son joins him, together they set to break the rules and do some crazy stuffs. At the last moment, a kid joins them and it all turns out their greatest day of adventure. All the fun has an ending, so how does it concludes was told with a little dramatic.
> ❝The fact that you can't see it does not mean it does not exist. You're just not open minded enough.❞
I have seen many films about coping with the deaths. Some of them were unique, some were not. This was a familiar one, except all the events were set in a different atmosphere, like culture and society. It is people's nature, tend to do opposite when they are not ready for it or forced to do. This father did not intentionally took that alternative route. It was a chain of events, he just sailed from one to another, only to realise where and how far he had come.
More or less, like a self-discovery. Rediscovering the life to live for. Some time emotions take us to unexpected destinations. But once it was released, the reality eyes open, to look forward in the remaining life. So this film was not an ideal film for everybody who are in the same situation. But it gives a different opinion. I liked the actors, all the main ones. The music was so good. It was one of the main ingredients of the film, made everything look better. Particularly in the transition sections between the events and the characters.
Don't remember what was my last Hebrew film, but it was a good one, had a nice time. The developments, how the plots were extended is not going to satisfy all who watches the film. Because some viewers might expect a totally fun, with or without logic. But some look for the value it teaches, morale, message et cetera. Frankly, this film was none of those. But it was also all of those with less highlighting them. Better than the average, and below the awesomeness, surely a worthy film that some people would find it good.
_7/10_
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★ 8 / 10
Dealing with Death with Life Affirmation and Imagination
christian94
"A week and a Day" is Asaph Polonsky's first feature film and tries to combine drama with humour, levity and death. It does so successfully and warmed the…
"A week and a Day" is Asaph Polonsky's first feature film and tries to combine drama with humour, levity and death. It does so successfully and warmed the crowd in Montreal where it received deserved praise. It deals with a tough subject, arguably the greatest loss, done slightly better and with more bitterness in 2001 with "In the Bedroom" and "Lantana". "Rabbit Hole" (2010) was also riveting, but "A week and a Day" (2016) is superior to more recent, yet good and critically acclaimed "The Broken Circle Breakdown" (2012) and very different than all the others and succeeds in a change of perspective and cinematic catharsis.
An only child has died from cancer and the parents sit Shiva when the neighbours come to express their wishes. The mother and father react differently in their grieving process and the neighours and their son come to be an important part of a difficult road back to the light.
Quirky and endearing, this tale, like its characters, matures from off beat to the right beat. The last 20 minutes are sublime and include an eulogy with effective editing. This eulogy as I would later learn asking a question to the director during the Q&A is a modified version of Polonsky's real father who wrote it for his sister and is very poignant and the center of the movie even if it comes very late. It is worth the wait and the voyage. As for the eccentric neighbour's son who knew the deceased and played together as youth and a little girl cancer patient who knew him in his dying days, their love for life and imagination make for two memorable scenes of air guitar playing and phantom operation
All the characters create the mosaic of life to be cherished instead of remaining miserable, malcontent and bitter. Even the mom who's dentist appointment is the saddest one has ever experienced finds joy and solace in herself and the arms of her husband who loves her and forgives himself.
Very poignant and effective film-making here. I wish the best to this young writer/director who should shoot his next feature in Canada's West Coast if all goes well.
Israel 2016| 98 min | Festival du Nouveau Cinema | Hebrew (English subtitles)
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