Sidewalls
2011 ‘Medianeras’ Directed by Gustavo Taretto
Synopsis
A romantic comedy full a refreshing global perspective, SIDEWALLS is director Gustavo Taretto's clever and moving ode to the modern people and urban landscape of Buenos Aires. Martin is a neurotic web designer taking baby steps out of the isolation of his one-room apartment and his virtual reality. Mariana is an artist fresh out of a a long relationship. Her head is a mess, just like the apartment where she takes refuge. Martin and Mariana are perfect for each other-- they live in the same street, in opposite buildings, but they never meet. Can the movement of a modern city of three million people bring them together?
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Η ομορφότερη ταινία που είδα από την εποχή του Αμελί. Pilar Lopez de L Ayala, θα σ αγαπώ για πάντα.
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For most people, I think this will just be a charming and beautifully shot romantic comedy.
For people like me - neurotic, intensely observant introverts - watching this movie will be like looking in a mirror.
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Great opening sequence and establishing shots but I think the establishing shots/sequence took almost an hour!
The cinematic style reminds me so much of 500 days of summer it even has a common theme, an appreciation for the art of architecture and applied philosophy.
The storyline makes me think that this is possible to be shortened into a 20-30 minute short film but I researched that the first project done in 2005 was so successful that the director was forced to create a full feature film. Maybe the storyline was not enough for a full feature film because the middle part is kinda draggy to watch.
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The level of quirk expands periodically into overbearing, but there's enough in the dissection of modern life to earn such transgressions forgiveness. A beautiful opening serves as both an updating of and a derivation from Allen's Manhattan (a debt acknowledged lovingly later in the film), giving us an impressive first sight of the film's strong ability to simultaneously praise and critique the modern world. It has an undeniable relevance to all out lives, and it's in this universality of representing the experience of being a part of out global online society that it really succeeds. There are problems that held me back from loving it quite as much as the opening scene had me thinking I would, but it's a very strong parable of isolation in the digital age. Worth a look, certainly.
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The opening scene of Sidewalls, an Argentine indie romantic comedy, is fairly gorgeous, with its ruminations on urban disconnect and its showcase of Buenos Aries' unique architectural landscape. The imagery nicely complements the themes. But upon meeting the film's protagonists, a couple of neurotic loners who, despite living next to each other, have never met, the film increasingly becomes a paint-by-numbers exercise on how the couple will eventually meet and, presumably, fall in love. It leans too heavily on indie quirk and cutesy observations about modern life, cribbing shamelessly from Woody Allen's Manhattan without the wit.
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Great opening sequence and establishing shots but I think the establishing shots/sequence took almost an hour!
The cinematic style reminds me so much of 500 days of summer it even has a common theme, an appreciation for the art of architecture and applied philosophy.
The storyline makes me think that this is possible to be shortened into a 20-30 minute short film but I researched that the first project done in 2005 was so successful that the director was forced to create a full feature film. Maybe the storyline was not enough for a full feature film because the middle part is kinda draggy to watch.
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Charming story of a man and a woman, each struggling with loneliness and disconnection despite living next to millions of people in Buenos Aires. From the start they seem like a perfect match (in the world of romantic movies) but what are the odds that these exact people find eachother?
Both characters narrate and babble about how modern technology makes communication difficult and the city's architecture influence on the residents. The narrator pointing out the metaphors is a bit much at times, but I love the attention to the cityscape and the philosophical ambition.
In the end it doesn't really matter if the potential lovers find eachother, because the story is bigger than them.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Jauka filma. Tiešām.
Kaut kas nebija ar tām beigām. Bet bija labi, man patika. -
Menos fofura e mais tango, por favor.
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I absolutely loved this movie.
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Romanticamente inteligente.
Romantically clever. -
A colorful and grey movie at the same time. So optimistic and melancholic.