Kirpianuscus
it is that film who seems be perfect. not great but giving the right story, the good performances, the correct message, the admirable atmosphere. it is the wise style illustration to exam the past. to exam, at the fair measure, experiences, pains, errors. and the importance of friendship. it is not a remarkable film but one who gives the essence of the relation between old friends and the geography of this long time friendship. a film about the status of the other in your life. simple. honest. and seductive. a film about the truth behind the death. and about the pottery of the past. so, just beautiful. and, maybe, useful.
Armand
About memories. As sap of life. As axis of rules. As gun in a huge war for who is not end.A winter leaf. Not more that. An very old poem about meetings and words and flakes of past and strange ladders. A movie about Shoah, but, more that. Definition of cages of time and the languages of interior clocks. A good film but the final taste is so profound than the film is a form of "memento mori", picture of reality or a sea of silence in an autumn morning.A great casting is answer for all. But it is not an answer but a beginning. For the touches and words, for the force of a woman who must protect the shadows of every past, every present, for the science of Max von Sydow to makes bricks in Bergman style in every interpretation, for the art of Susan Sarandon. Astory. About the existences as icebergs.
TarHeel78
With the all of the big names in this film I was expecting a real experience. I could not have been more wrong. I wanted to take the DVD out after 10 minutes but my 18 year old son said we should give it a chance. We watched through to the end because none of us could summon enough energy to stand up and walk to the TV. Not only was the pace too slow for words but the acting (except for Max von Sydow) was excruciatingly bad. The flashbacks did not do enough to show the supposed life long ties between the characters. It was like watching six characters with no relationship to each other wandering around the set gnashing their teeth and wringing their hands. The symbolism was so in-your- face that it might as well have had flashing captions saying "pay attention to this-it is symbolic!" A most disappointing movie. At least the scenery was nice to watch.
Gordon-11
This film is about three Nazi death camp survivors reuniting 35 years later, arousing deep emotions and provoking old wounds.I had high hopes for "Emotional Arithmetic". The cast is completely stellar and Oscar worthy. Their performances are all excellent, but unfortunately the plot is not enough to make the a masterpiece. The topic has so much potential to make it a tear jerker, but "Emotional Arithmetic" fails to be captivating. The past is poorly explained, and the present is inadequately described. I think every subplot is not developed to enough detail to evoke inner emotions in the viewers' hearts. The only memorable scene is when Melanie gets shattered by Jakob's reaction when she hands him a gift at the dinner table.I feel disappointed by "Emotional Arithmetic". It has so much potential to grab and move viewers, but it turns out to be a rather unsatisfying bore.
AD
