My experience watching "Kaos" was not as rapturous as that of many who have reviewed it here. This is not, by any means, a bad movie, but it does have some shortcomings that marred the overall impression for me.
Among the movie's strengths are its high production values, as evidenced by the gorgeous photography (including wonderful aerial shots of mountainous crags and deep valleys), meticulously assembled locations (invoking the poverty of the region so perfectly that they must have cost a lot of money), and the lovely music that punctuates and provides transitions among the various stories. It's obvious that this is a team that spared no expense or effort to create the best film they could.
The movie's primary weakness --and it is not a small one-- is that the stories are neither particularly engrossing, nor are they told in a way that creates any real suspense for the viewer (including the viewer who has read not one word of Pirandello). The script blends humor and pathos in an interesting way, but somehow there isn't much depth to the performances, all of which are competent if not electrifying.
Joined to the weakness of the stories one must also note the bloated length of the movie. There are doubtless many ways that this film could have been edited down into something less unwieldy, but none of them seem to have been given any real consideration in the design or execution of "Kaos." Thus we are left with an endurance test of sorts -- one which dilutes rather than strengthening the overall impact of the movie.
People who have been ordered by their physicians to avoid stress at all costs will find this gentle and attractive movie easy to watch; those who yearn for stronger, tighter and more challenging stuff on their screens will not be overly impressed by "Kaos."
Among the movie's strengths are its high production values, as evidenced by the gorgeous photography (including wonderful aerial shots of mountainous crags and deep valleys), meticulously assembled locations (invoking the poverty of the region so perfectly that they must have cost a lot of money), and the lovely music that punctuates and provides transitions among the various stories. It's obvious that this is a team that spared no expense or effort to create the best film they could.
The movie's primary weakness --and it is not a small one-- is that the stories are neither particularly engrossing, nor are they told in a way that creates any real suspense for the viewer (including the viewer who has read not one word of Pirandello). The script blends humor and pathos in an interesting way, but somehow there isn't much depth to the performances, all of which are competent if not electrifying.
Joined to the weakness of the stories one must also note the bloated length of the movie. There are doubtless many ways that this film could have been edited down into something less unwieldy, but none of them seem to have been given any real consideration in the design or execution of "Kaos." Thus we are left with an endurance test of sorts -- one which dilutes rather than strengthening the overall impact of the movie.
People who have been ordered by their physicians to avoid stress at all costs will find this gentle and attractive movie easy to watch; those who yearn for stronger, tighter and more challenging stuff on their screens will not be overly impressed by "Kaos."