tigerpuppies
The premise of the movie was interesting; the actual execution was terrible. The actors were quite good, but the dialogue was unrealistic and made the characters appear stiff.SPOILERS:The time travel premise was interesting and I kept waiting for it to happen or be disproved. But, it just fizzled. I couldn't figure out if the audience was meant to guess that it happened at the end or not or if the writer/directer just didn't know how to execute.While the overall theme seemed to be hopeful, even spiritual, especially when characters crossing each others paths led to good things, the ending was a punch to the gut. I could forgive the slowness, the bad dialogue, deus ex machina, but not the ending. A character who is saved two people's lives, is about to reunited with his long lost love, dies!! No, time traveling (which talked about the entire movie) for him to go back and get his true love, become a doctor and live a happy life. He dies from a bee sting in the dessert after he uses his epi-pen to save another man's life.Very disappointed with the ending. I felt cheated.
davidjp-2
This was not a bad film. It had an interesting story - a chain of events, although they did not seem connect, eventually made a full circle. Dialogue were sometimes disjointed, from time to time, it sounded like 'reading a script', not like real conversation, but it was not that bad. Half of actors were decent; the other half were trying-too-hard. Production value was more or less like a TV show. It was enjoyable until... the music score; it was horror. Why did the director repeat the same score through out the movie? Why did the director feel the need filling every minute of movie with sound (that same movie score)? Why? It really drove me nut.
cityoflosangeles
Backlight is a strange but wonderful film. First it's a 100% Portuguese production but it was filmed 100% in the United States. How strange is that? Very! Production decisions apart, the film works pretty well. The script is brilliant, the acting is excellent and the cinematography is beautiful, which makes Backlight my film of the year, and probably the best film I've seen in quite a few years. The film looks at the adversities of life and gambles with it. The characters are all interlinked in a very random way, it's a little like 6 degrees of separation. The film is set mostly in the deserts of Nevada and Arizona and the director keeps the shots wide revealing the magnificent backdrops and always moves the camera wisely to bring the picture alive. The characters are deep and insightful, each has a serious problem to face up to and the subtle, naturalistic way their issues play out make for truly emotional cinema. This is not a film about heroes, it's a film about trying to make the right choices when your back is to the wall, and the doubts that go with this. Great uplifting movie, especially if you are and have been with depression. I think this film could be a great alternative to Prozac! : )
André Santos
I think the film was great. It has a strong plot and it is a movie that deserves all the money payed for the ticket. The story is not very complex and complicated but the meaning of it is huge. This movie is amazing for that: it is original. It's different from action movies where we see guns everywhere without any story to tell at all and it is also different from the movies that are great due to the complexity of the plot. My reaction to the movie was quite good, although i don't think this is a movie "life changing" like the trailler and other promo clips announce it. Yes, the movie makes us reflect about our lives, but in the movie there were some things that it's impossible to happen in reality (like a GPS that "wake up" on the certain time, a cell phone without battery that say words etc) and that puts a distance between the movie and our lives. That distance creates more difficulties to the spectator making changes on his/her life after seeing the film.
AD
