Backlight (2010)

I love this movie so much

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

As an avid movie fan, not a cinema critic, just a fan of good movies... I enjoyed this movie immensely. There are times when I want to see a movie based on certain criteria, however this was not one of them. There are times I become so frustrated with reviewers who pick apart a movie to death... get a life some of you. I just wanted to sit back and enjoy a decent movie. Not over-think it to death with how the cinematographer was too into hi/her scenes, how bad/good the acting was... do you think you could do a better job? Get some popcorn curl up alone or with someone you love, pop this movie in and escape for a while... suspend belief... this ain't no documentary... enjoy the soundtrack (awesome in my opinion), and have a good time. Remember this is just a review from a former Bronx NYC boy. Enjoy it.

I read some reviews about Backlight and some of them are really bad. Bad in a way that they aren't argued enough. I think that all the people should have an opinion but the opinions must have facts and things with meaning. That's why I think that I have a few things to say... First of all, Backlight is a fantastic movie and If you have some doubts about what I said, please, watch the movie again and try to understand it. Watch a movie is not just see what is in the screen, is see something through the screen! A message to the world. Cinema is an art that send messages in a single way. Through sound, image and, the most important, a story. The soundtrack of Backlight is amazing. Please, listen with attention. Santos e Pecadores, Nuno Maló... You don't know them? Well sometimes its good, because I know some "artists" and I would prefer don't know them. The movie don't have special effects like Transformers or War of the Worlds? Yes, its a fact! But I have a very good explanation for that: Money! Please remember that Fernando Fragata is Portuguese and don't have so many sponsors like Spielberg. He made the movie with some help but, essentially alone. Yes, alone... Can you imagine what is make a movie in these conditions? OK, we all have difficulties in life. I just wrote this for you understand that, like Fernando Fragata said "I didn't make the movies that I would like, but I did the movies that were possible to me". You want throw a stone for that? Please, be my guest, but remember that a movie is much more than that. Art is about passion, feelings. The story of Backlight is really good! The way that all the things fit until the final apotheosis is brilliant! The meaning in the objects are so amazing. Don't have a meaning but, the beauty is that somethings in life don't have a meaning. You just feel... You just listen some voices that are saying to you to go ahead. Also the GPS story is a true story of a women that died in a car crash and the husband took the gps and went the last address. The last address was a orphanage. The women was infertile and was thinking in adopt a child. All the story of Backlight is about real stories that Fernando saw. Is not an empty story with no meaning. Is something with a little magic (the magic in the objects) that make us to believe in things like that. You don't need a good camera or be in amazing places to make a good movie, you just need to have passion! A good Story! To make people forget their lives or, maybe, thinking in life and in human condition. OK, I like special effects and good monsters and wars but, first of all, I like a good Story! A meaning. If you are looking for some crap with famous actors, amazing effects, no meaning, poorly argued and an empty story like a cliché, please don't see this. See a Hollywood crap. Otherwise if you are looking for a good movie, with so many passion, meaning and a brilliant story, well, then you must see Backlight.

I'm from Portugal and i really wanted this movie to be good, to be proud of Portuguese cinema but...The movie has a lot of mistakes, like out of focus pictures (scene where mother and daughter talk on the roof) and the scene where the boy is talking with the old men on the car.The acting is mostly bad, except for the Mother which is REALLY REALLY, dreadful bad.The idea of the movie was good, but the bad plot, the catastrophic acting (have i mentioned how bad the mother's acting was?) and out of focus pictures just become unacceptable.There are far better movies in Portugal, we didn't needed to go to USA to make such a bad movie...If you want my advice watch real Portuguese movies and not this...

I really don't like to write bad reviews, but I think people are being absolutely mislead by the marketing of this movie so I had to say something for the sake of objective truth.I do believe people are encouraging this movie and talking about it as a big accomplishment just because it was made by a Portuguese, not because they really liked it.There is no such think as an objectively good or bad film, and even though I thought this one was a hopelessly bad one, that's just my opinion; what I will tell you are some objective, indisputable facts and from there you can judge by yourself. For each fact, I'll add a small input on my opinion: The all plot is driven by extreme coincidences and never-explained supernatural events.There are no laziest plot devices than these. The abominable and too old "Deus ex Machina" is present in almost every step of the story. It makes you feel disconnected from it because everything is so unreal, so impossible, so not credible. You would buy it if it happened a couple of times, but no, it's all based on it and it happens over and over again. The story makes you loose the sense of causality. When you break all the rules of logic and plausibility, anything could happen next and suddenly you don't care anymore - you're not hooked, anxious to know what happens next, because you know a perfect solution will just pop out of the blue with no justification whatsoever.The dialogues are dreadfully unconvincing. No one in this planet would ever talk like these characters. They keep over-explaining everything so the audience can get the necessary details.Cinema is supposed to be about VISUAL storytelling, exposition of facts should never be achieved through narration if possible - and when you must use narration, you shouldn't disguise it as casual dialogue. It doesn't look casual. Al all.These characters have nothing to do with real people. They don't reflect human nature, they don't act nor react like humans would.They have no dimension, they are not credible at all. You won't believe in any of their emotions because they were really poorly constructed and overall poorly cast (example: if you want the teenage girl to be the stereotype of a bookworm, geeky, unsocial girl, who has trouble finding a boyfriend, you won't choose an absolutely stunning, "prom queen" blonde teenager to play it. No one will buy that). Thus you feel again completely disconnected from the drama. Which is the cause of the next topic: The film makes you feel embarrassed when you're supposed to be moved by it, because everything in it feels so appallingly melodramatic, filled with utterly exaggerated and ultimately fake emotional responses.In a nutshell: this movie is completely plot-driven and uses this as an excuse to be extremely lazy in the characterization. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that even the plot is unbelievably lazy.The locations were beautiful, but in some scenes it felt like the filmmaker said: "wow, this is a cool place, let's film a scene in here just because this is so cool" - plane scrap scene being the best example of this.The shots and the editing were good, but I thought the image was too sharp most of the time, which was distracting and un-cinematic, too clean and oversaturated, which made it look unrealistic for most of the scenes - some of these are limitations of shooting on HD, but some could be avoided.Soundtrack - pretty reasonable.I don't know the previous works of the director, but from this film I would say he has a good potential as a director, but not as a screenwriter.I tried to do a constructive review, I hate to talk trash and I have no pleasure in criticizing other people's hardwork. I actually incentivize and encourage Portuguese cinema to move forward, and this was probably the only reason that made me go and see this film.But I pay to see cinema and thus I want to see good cinema. I don't want to spend the time that I payed to be sitting on that chair feeling bored and embarrassed. And I won't excuse it when it happens just because it was made by a Portuguese. Why are we always so apologetic to ourselves? This is why we don't evolve.I didn't think this was good cinema and I was mislead by the public opinion who continues to talk marvels about this film. Is everyone blind? Why all this positive propaganda? I can't actually believe I'm the only one having this opinion.Good cinema starts with a good screenplay.This filmed was ruined by a dreadful, awful, screenplay.It's funny because in terms of structure, the screenplay is perfect - it obeys all the structure rules possible.But a screenplay is not just about structure and this one has nothing more to it.To Fernando Fragata, I think you have good potential, I admire you and how far you have reached, and I deeply encourage you to continue. I do. I will pay to see your next film. But please, don't cheat me. Please give me a good story. If you are a filmmaker, you can't be a lazy person - I'm sure you're not. But you gave me a very lazy story this time. Please don't do it again.Best regards.