The Endless River (2015)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

whilst this movie is not to difficult to sit through for good cinematography and pleasing locations and some useful plot movements ultimately the character resolution/ development which makes a story of this type work is missing. at sff before screening the director assured us the story was complex. cant say id agree it is is fairly linear with most things in the beginning middle end type of script.do i care about these people?not much. do they reveal new insights for me ?no. tiny is very well directed acted and shot, the male lead sadly is not. as the script doesn't help his case i cant really assess him. if anything the movie reinforces a stereotype of south Africa which again doesn't add much to our existing knowledge or perception.

-The Endless River is a 2015 South African drama film directed by Oliver Hermanus. It was screened in the main competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. It is the first South African film to be nominated for the Golden Lion. It was also shown in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.-It is a film that brings a picture of South Africa in terms of filming shows some quiet moments what feels as unsettling and I also find that the overall movie story is as not complete.-Good acting

The lives of a trio of damaged characters from a small town intersect in the pouring rain, the enthralling pulse of a night club, ocean swells, resplendent beaches and ancient yellow-wood forests. Love blooms even as a woman cries alone and beneath the street lights in the middle of the night, terrible crimes are committed and coffins are lowered into the ground. Such scenes of pain and joy flicker like flames in the hearts of each character as they struggle to find answers to crucial questions like; who and why?! Some questions do not have answers and reveal truths that cut to the bone. This film is deftly crafted and finely done. It is firing on all cylinders. All in the filmmaker's bag of tricks – cinematography of beautiful and exotic landscapes as well as people, distant and diverse voices that need to be heard, creative camera angles that add to the mystery and suspense of the story and do not detract from it, fantastic pacing wherein scenes seamlessly blend into each other, music that makes you want to track down the singers and melt into their caravan, balanced, truthful and real portrayals of characters and themes, no pulled punches, acting that makes it seem you stumbled into the lives of these characters as you wandered around South Africa, intriguing themes and characters, organization and directing that keep your eyes glued to the screen and oblivious to all distractions be they what they may, a well-told story from beginning to end, and other support – is accomplished like fine art and without any of its pretensions. The only thing wanting here is sophistication and fame that may do as much to cheapen the film as help it. Seen at the 2016 Miami International Film Festival.

Set in the Eastern Cape of South Africa and taking in sights along its famous 'Garden route' is this tale of murder and grief. Gilles is a French émigré whose family are brutally murdered. Tiny has been reunited with her husband Percy on his release from prison after four years. He was a member of a gang but is determined to start afresh under pressure from Tiny and her mother. Gilles's family's murders are associated to a local gang and Percy is suspected of involvement. When Percy becomes a victim of what appears to be another gang murder, Gilles finds solace with his grieving wife. They embark on a journey together but the beauty of their trip conceals something dark.The film is photographed well and the acting is good; Nicolas 'Nico' Duvauchelle delivers as always and so do the supporting cast. Unfortunately the film's soundtrack is too dramatic as are some of the expressions of grief. Raw, physical sorrow does not sit well with the slow and despairing pace that is the film's main tempo. The characterisations are quite good but the script is banal. The ambiguous ending comes across as ambivalent suggesting there was no idea how to close the tale.All in all a mixed bag but the film was good enough to hold my attention.