Cinerant

Constant Beauty

Go see The Constant Gardener.

I've tried for almost twelve hours to come up with a clever way to talk about why this is the best movie of the year so far, but I just can't do it other than to come out and talk about how great the thing is. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a fresh score of 86%, but I really think this should be in the 90s. It's epic in scope, intimate in story telling, beautifully drawn and it finally made me think Rachel Weisz is worth paying attention to.

The film is really about a love story and the weight of your spouse's work and what that means to you--even when you're not involved. It questions how much of someone lives on in their work, how much their work is their legacy and what that means to the world at large--no matter what they are doing.

Additionally, the film touches on a lot of other stuff--AIDS in Africa, pharmaceutical corruption, diplomacy, the ineffectivity of the UN, passion, compatibility in love, human rights, etc. It's almost breathtaking everything that goes on in the film.

And Fernando Merielles shows that City of God wasn't a fluke. Even though this film is less frantic than his previous masterpiece, he approaches it with the same intensity that helps raise the film up to a level of greatness that no other film this year has even come close to approaching. The other brilliant directorial flourish Merielles uses is sound. Unlike most major films released this summer, Gardener understands the impact of breathing room. The director doesn't rush anything or overburden you with aural stimulation. As a result, there are a couple of scenes early on in the film that are simply devastating--primarily because of their lack of sound. Most other directors would have telegraphed the moment, but Merielles is too good for that. And that's what makes the film stand above every other fiction film this year.

See it.

posted by cinegod @ 11:00 AM