Hakim

one of the funniest and most comforting films i’ve ever seen, and it’s obviously become a new addition to my go-to comfort film list. and one of the things that also left me impressed is how unbelievably good and engaging the character dynamics are. so many notable major and minor characters here but this film manages to show how every one of them are so interesting and how they all have such distinct traits, motivations, flaws, and their little eccentricities and they all fit together in this story with their own traits that entertainingly affect the relationships with one another. i could honestly watch these characters interact forever because every conversation and every relationship in this film is just so endlessly fun and entertaining.

it’s kinda embarrassing because when i watched this i really thought this was a kore eda’s (i haven’t seen any of his films) and this whole time i thought it was made by him.. and apparently it’s directed by wim wenders, which also makes this my first film of his. i’m genuinely so impressed, and i can completely understand why so many people love and praise this film. it’s exactly the kind of movie i naturally gravitate toward with its comforting visual and its calming, simple, and grounded story yet has incredibly rich characters and emotional depth. its lack of dialogue and silence gives me more room to simply observe, reflect, and connect with everything happening on screen. i also love how it’s one of the few non-musical films that knows exactly how to put multiple songs into the story and not make it out of place, distracting, and overdone

i do get the artistic choice to make this film very slow, quiet, and filled with long takes because we’re supposed to just sit quietly with our thoughts and see the deeply worrying uncertainty the characters feel, but the editing choice and the “intentionally vague and grounded” writing in this make it feels like a total snooze fest and it all ends up being a nothingburger. it was promising, with such important messages and heavily provoking theme it tried to convey here but it’s just so unfortunate it ultimately failed to be enticing enough for me.