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s-guyett
Reviews
Meduzot (2007)
Beautifully told uplifting film
This film is an elegant, simply told, and uplifting look at ordinary life. Although it relates the problems of the cast of main characters at different stages in their various lives, it does so with many small touches of humour, which lifts the mood along the way. Above all, expect a good, tight, literary script, which manages to weave together the disparate story lines to make a convincing whole. I saw this at the Dublin Film Festival, and I hope very strongly that it makes it to general release in Ireland and the UK. There are a lot of inferior art-house films which get distributed because they have big names behind them. However, Jellyfish, I think, shows you can have the serious and thoughtful, but in a lighter package.
Kings (2007)
Intense, dark, but brilliant
This contains the best acting I have seen in an Irish film in many years. It is a reworking of a play, and the adaptation preserves all the intensity and intimacy which is usual within a theatre production. It is a dark, brooding and menacing work which does not belong in the category of light entertainment, but rather, a higher art. If you are prepared to go on the journey, you will find it has rewards. But be warned that there is no compromise here to easy access for English only speakers - it is predominantly in Irish with English subtitles. If you like the theatre, you should find this a real treat. Forget Hollywood, or indeed Fair City, this contains the best ensemble acting by an Irish cast since the best of the Roddy Doyle films.
Palimpsest (2006)
Kafkaesque thriller
Yes, this film is derivative of Lynch. However, it is more cleanly executed than many of Lynch's films, and has a distinctly European, Kafkaesque feel to it.
Apart from some shaky acting at times (although the lead is excellent, some of the support is heavy handed), this is better thought through than many films that simply try to create an atmosphere with no plot. The direction is perfect, and best of all, the film does not just dissolve into a set of unsolved riddles. Should be appreciated by anyone who enjoys deeper, psychological, or art-house, thrillers. I found this a very good follow up to "Symmetry".