MovieChat Forums > The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004) Discussion > At first I thought this was a spoof ...

At first I thought this was a spoof ...


This movie is just incredibly BAD. Makes me realize that most Hollywood "actors"
are just people reading lines. DeNiro is a great example - his performance in this
will make anyone wince. I wonder what "CSA" really stands for and what one has to do to get it. ugh.

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Wow !!! It was like watching a Sat.Nite Live skit when he and Keitel have scenes together. I thought it had to be a joke when I flipped past it on cable.

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Oops... Just bought it on discount. Checked it out here on IMDb immediately of course, to eh... check my taste and value my new newest obtained DVD treasure. Promising cast on a great looking cover with an intriguing title and pitch - but now I realise I should have remembered the saying never judge a book by the cover... Is it as bad as Sean Penn in All the King's Men or him and de Niro in that priest comedy, argh...
Read fidlerfamily4 posting about de Niro in scenes with Keitel being it very N.Y. or Saturday Night Live-like. I have to be prepared then watching it it will be fun in that particular kind of way.
If you are not too put off (disgusted by it not being a spoof - hey they really got ya) xtopher10 , plz tell me what is or you mean by "CSA" (I'm dutch, that should explain it).

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I don't know what CSA stands for, either, but in the credits of a film, they list the casting director as

"Casting director- John Doe, CSA"

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OK tnx nancy-161 the C in CSA stands for Casting than, some kind of union title too maybe.
And, did you see it, was it indeed that bad? I remember a great film from years ago with Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons (a brit) fighting to save the rainforest or better fighting to save the souls of the people in that rainforest. Both De Niro and Irons had beards and fencing swords and were involved deeply and intensively with the locals (how is that for a pitch). This one film wasn't in that category than?
In addition to xtopher10 complaint in his OP. I think actors do get overrated indeed sometimes, because making a great film requires vision and (many) talent. Not just artistically - to overcome and outlive production nightmares and survive financing hell is maybe the most unglamorous one.
A solid script and great writing is vital, as is the actors ensemble willingness to make it work.
And I agree it is shocking and somewhat disturbing to see acclaimed actors stink. It does make you wonder about your own admiration of their earlier performances.

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I found that this made me very lost, it didn't have much of a plot, and much of a conclusion. I felt like I had wasted my time. It didn't seem to be about anything at all.

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The movie with Jeremy Irons is The Mission and isn't about saving the rainforest. It is about the Spanish exploitation of the natives living there, with the help of the Catholic Church, and about two men who tried to block that.

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Casting Society of America

“That may be true, but it is also irrelevant.”

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Granted this was a bore, BUT if you really want to sleep in a film see the old 1944 Black & White version. In comparison this one is good.
Truthfully its film that never should have been made. Thornton Wilder short stoey was interesting, BUT Hollywood has to do it properly,

To thine own self be true
Sir Jay Harris---Sirbossman

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like godard said, in response to a critic asking whether his film was "supposed" to be a comedy or a drama, "did the film make you laugh? if it did, then it's a comedy."

-
Shuji Terayama forever.

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