Letterboxd — Your life in film

Solid story-telling. Ethan Hawke was terrific.

This film succeeded in subverting my expectations of what a gay, coming-of-age story is usually like. It manages to avoid tired romantic tropes, choosing instead to focus on friendship. The relationship the boys has with their teacher reminded me of John Keating's relationship with his students in Dead Poet's Society except here it is the teacher that ends up being inspired by the boys.

Andrew Scott is as always a treat!

I think the larger story here (and the one that isn't emphasised enough) is the need for reform in the mental health guardianship/conservatorship laws. Cases of abusive guardianships have made headlines for decades but with slow progress in amending legislation. Britney Spears -- a megastar and household name for the revival of teen pop during the late 90s to early 00s -- could now be the impetus for change if not public awareness of the potential harm caused by these ineffective laws.

Free Britney and all the other abused conservatees!

I went into this assuming I would be watching a thriller. As it turns out, the film only uses the structure of what you might think is a thriller but really doesn't concern itself with resolving the whodunnit aspect. It is perhaps the least important question in the film. As Haneke asserts, to ask this question is to avoid asking the real question which is more: how do we treat our conscience and our guilt and reconcile ourselves to living with our actions?

It's astonishingly cryptic, multifaceted, and one where discussions will continue to persist long after the credits roll.

This is not a story about the naturalisation of immigrants. In fact, their immigration only served as a backdrop to the story. It was a poignant vignette of a Korean family's life in very white Arkansas and I was quite touched by the end of it.

I remembered I liked it a lot when I first watched it in the early 2000s but I couldn't remember why so I thought I'd watch it again. It turns out I still don't know why because I don't remember it being this slow and dull most of the time. The film only really starts getting interesting in the second half. That time after time dance scene is still iconic!!

An extra .5 star for the ending.

God, this film really made me thirsty for a beer.

"hear me out, let's do the same thing as before but in poetry voice"

Suffers the same fate of most sequels.