Bokeh (2017)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This movie gets a straight A (10 out of 10) because it really moved me. I was very glad that I did not took the other reviews too serious. Especially the fact that it was supposed to be a science fiction! This movie has nothing to do with science fiction. And even though the "apocalypse" is mentioned in the movie, it's not at all the main theme!The theme of this movie is Bokeh. First I thought that Bokeh is a place in Iceland, but it's not.It's the parts in photo's that are out of focus and have taken shapes that still and actually do belong to the photo just as much as what's in focus.The focus in this movie is two young people making a visit to Iceland."Bokeh" is formed by the people that were around as well, but didn't have their attention. They were focused on themselves and the beauty of Iceland. By the way, the scenery is pictured wonderfully and beautifully! That alone could be a reason to watch it. But, this is a movie that deserves patience and resilience against watching extremely difficult situations. The difficulty in this case is caused by mental and emotional challenges. Note that there's no violence at all! As soon as the "bokeh", i.e. the other people disappear those extremely difficult situations evolve slowly but surely.This movie moved me so much because it confronted me with my own loneliness, i.e. without being alone! Sometimes feeling lonely feels good. However, my challenge is not to feel painfully lonely, knowing that I am not at all alone. The challenge for the people in the movie is finding out how to deal with being ALL ALONE ... which to me might provide a new meaning to loneliness. Watch for yourself how they deal with it and learn by raising questions to yourself about what you'd feel & do.

For the person who thinks that the essential plot of a movie is a question that must be answered, that plot is nothing more than a series of organized puzzles to be solved, then this movie will be disappointing. But for the person who believes that a movie is an experience, a vision, that can move you in subtle ways without banging you over the head with major action sequences every 5 minutes, then this movie is perfect. This movie was how I imagine Ernest Hemingway would write science fiction. The audience is shown, not told. The story is told truly and realistically, and everything that happens is plausible, yet it has a mystical quality that makes it almost dreamlike. From spending time in Iceland myself, I can tell you that the movie captured the country's almost fantastical essence. Iceland is something between a dream and a vision of the afterlife, and so is this movie. The country itself inevitably evokes much of what is brought up in this movie, the nature of nature, how to try to put into perspective something that leaves you speechless like the fjords or the Northern Lights, the meaning of human life and the ultimate insignificance of it next to nature. If those are themes that interest you, you'll be compelled by the movie.I have one criticism, which is the sometimes stilted dialogue, awkwardly delivered at points by the Matt O'Leary character. But he and Maika Monroe are for the most part believable and compelling.To reiterate the first paragraph: don't expect to be told what to think. Bokeh requires an open mind. It's not for the mentally slothful. It's not a movie to watch with a big group of people. It's a movie to watch alone or with one other, around midnight on a winter's night. If you have any curiosity about Iceland, this movie distills part of its essence.

I was really interested in watching this movie. As a lover of post-apocalyptic movies, I thought he concept was cool. I also like Maika Monroe - she was great in 'It Follows'. Additionally, the trailer showed some incredibly beautiful cinematic shots of Iceland. So I settled in, turned on Netflix, and...NOTHING HAPPENED. It is 90 minutes of nothingness. A boring couple wandering around Iceland and helping themselves to groceries, clothing, cars, and houses. And throughout it all...NOTHING HAPPENED. Well, that's not entirely true. My girl Maika Monroe whined throughout the entire movie (I guess that is technically something), and Matt O'Leary built a water wheel to collect rainwater (that is definitely something...even if it is a boring something). And they did actually find another living soul...an old man...who proceeded to immediately die, probably of boredom. Because other than that, NOTHING HAPPENED. So...if you like to watch boring, whining millennials wander aimlessly through some astoundingly raw and beautiful landscapes for an hour and a half, you'll love this movie. But if you require more...like semi-interesting dialogue, a plot, plot twists, something...ANYTHING...to hold a modicum of your interest, then you will hate this movie. Because...NOTHING HAPPENS! I would have even given it a better score if the whole thing was boring but then there was some interesting twist in the end. But, instead, Maika kills herself (probably also out of boredom) and Matt gets back in his car and drives away, probably because it went with the theme of the movie which is NOTHING HAPPENS.If you find yourself inexplicably drawn to the notion of watching this movie, do yourself a favor and watch 'Here Alone' instead. It has all the components that Bokeh should have had.NOTE: I gave it 3 stars, but all 3 go to the cinematographer. That is the only thing about this movie that is worth your time.

Iceland is great to watch in this movie, but the movie itself has not a good story.