I do not like most of this move. Notice I said mostBaal is an experimental German film about a man named Baal. He is really the only thing that is stopping this movie from falling apart. Basically this film is a raw character study that shows how broken and sad Baal truly is. Now, does it achieve this in a fun creative way? No. Throughout the entirety of the movie it constantly cuts to a chapter title then back to a new random part in this guy’s life. These title are placed in some of the worst places possible, so just as something interesting is about to happen it cuts to a blue title with a large white “24”, then it cuts to Baal at a completely new place!! It’s a huge slap in the face and really disappointing. Speaking of disappointment… This movie’s directing and camera work makes we want to see roll into a sad little ball and cry! Every scene is handheld! Now I’m not against that at all… if the camera man didn’t have freaking Parkinson’s!!!!!! It is incredibly distracting trying to read the subtitles and facial expressions of the characters when the camera is having a F-ing seizure! Disgusting. Also another disgusting thing about this movie is it’s score. Why the HELL was this soundtrack created!!!! You wanna know what it is?? It’s just freaking harmonicas screeching every time a badly timed “chapter” ends! It’s so off putting and jarring that it made me groan every chapter change I guess I have one good thing to say about this movie, it does tell a story. Barely. That and it does have a really fascinating protagonist that has very human characteristics. He is an unstable alcoholic who has no respect for anyone other than some random pink-shirted guy and some lumberjack. Not to mention how he treats women like trash and commits rape twice in this movie if I’m not mistaken. But dispute all filth he carries with him, he still is very passionate about his poetry and drips with clever ideas and charisma.
And at the end of the day, he is just a sad man who fears dying alone (and the sky for some reason?)Another positive thing I will add is there is some good poems read in this movie.
Cinematography: 1/10 (it gets one because one shot looked a little cool)Story: 7/10Pacing: 4/10Score: -1/10 Acting: 9/10 (actually good)
Overall Score: 5.5/10. (That’s me being generous)
Final thoughts: I made the mistake of buying this movie off the Criterion Collection for $40 without knowing hardly anything about it. (To be honest I just liked the cover). I would advise anyone thinking of purchasing this to… uh… NOT.
I do not like most of this move. Notice I said mostBaal is an experimental German film about a man named Baal. He is really the only thing that is stopping this movie from falling apart. Basically this film is a raw character study that shows how broken and sad Baal truly is. Now, does it achieve this in a fun creative way? No. Throughout the entirety of the movie it constantly cuts to a chapter title then back to a new random part in this guy’s life. These title are placed in some of the worst places possible, so just as something interesting is about to happen it cuts to a blue title with a large white “24”, then it cuts to Baal at a completely new place!! It’s a huge slap in the face and really disappointing. Speaking of disappointment… This movie’s directing and camera work makes we want to see roll into a sad little ball and cry! Every scene is handheld! Now I’m not against that at all… if the camera man didn’t have freaking Parkinson’s!!!!!! It is incredibly distracting trying to read the subtitles and facial expressions of the characters when the camera is having a F-ing seizure! Disgusting. Also another disgusting thing about this movie is it’s score. Why the HELL was this soundtrack created!!!! You wanna know what it is?? It’s just freaking harmonicas screeching every time a badly timed “chapter” ends! It’s so off putting and jarring that it made me groan every chapter change I guess I have one good thing to say about this movie, it does tell a story. Barely. That and it does have a really fascinating protagonist that has very human characteristics. He is an unstable alcoholic who has no respect for anyone other than some random pink-shirted guy and some lumberjack. Not to mention how he treats women like trash and commits rape twice in this movie if I’m not mistaken. But dispute all filth he carries with him, he still is very passionate about his poetry and drips with clever ideas and charisma.
And at the end of the day, he is just a sad man who fears dying alone (and the sky for some reason?)Another positive thing I will add is there is some good poems read in this movie.
Cinematography: 1/10 (it gets one because one shot looked a little cool)Story: 7/10Pacing: 4/10Score: -1/10 Acting: 9/10 (actually good)
Overall Score: 5.5/10. (That’s me being generous)
Final thoughts: I made the mistake of buying this movie off the Criterion Collection for $40 without knowing hardly anything about it. (To be honest I just liked the cover). I would advise anyone thinking of purchasing this to… uh… NOT.
