Yawn.....
I'm sorry, but this is highly overrated. Simply slowing down pretentious footage doesn't make it great. 2/10
shareThen go enjoy Rush Hour 2.
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MovieChat Forums > Ashes and Snow (2005) Discussion > Yawn.....
I agree with CeaSerin ...
Ever heard of meditation?
No, what makes this film great is outstanding cinematography, beautiful imagery, an amazing music score, great use of toning, good editing, and the overall sense of serenity it brings. It's not "Momma's House 2"; it's a work of art.
shareI agree. The only thing I could think of while watching this was how silly it is. I absolutely love documentary film too. The movie that comes to mind that is in the same vein as this one is Koyaanisqatsi, which is an excellent film. What turns me off about ashes and snow is how contrived it is, think about how this film was made. "Ok, guys now go lay on the elephants and act like you're sleeping" and think about the water scenes. being underwater is not a natural place for humans, this slow motion stuff presents the idea that it is. In reality these are people who have spent countless hours training to be able to hold their breath and probably spent a lot of time to do the movements they did in the water, that's great and all, but it sure isn't natural, pretty much nothing in this film is. remember the scene with the bird on the boy's back moving its wings making the boy look like he has wings. that makes me want to throw up it's so stupid. they probably put some seeds on the boy's back, what a joke. The only thing I can say is the images are nice, but they get stale after 10 minutes because the film lacks variety and the slow motion is used as a gimmick, not with skill. If you want to see slow motion done right it's back to Godfrey Reggio in Powaqqatsi. This film might be art, but it ain't my kind of art.
shareAgreed... it pretty much lost me right from the get-go with the "If you come to me at this moment, your minutes will become hours..." and Fishburne has this sort of contempt in his voice that didnt help (I mean in general, not just in this)
It's far too contrived, such as the "angel wings", the weird brief scene of the goat mounting the boy (non-sexually) which, you could see the hesitance in the boy about to have a goat ontop of him. And the woman with the falcon, I swear just at final shot, the falcon had to have slammed into her arm. Or even just the one shot of some woman using the elephant as a spring-board. And making animals (even including the people) have to sit out in the middle of the wind on some sand dunes, the cheetahs, and especially the lynx, wouldnt do that by choice.
Reggio's stuff is good, or Fricke's 'Baraka', etc, this... is not, it reminds me of fads like Feng Shui, im not saying that Feng Shui unto itself is a fad, but I mean come on, you can't go to your local Home Depot, or iKea and "buy" it like its a type of wood, nor can you buy the sort of power and majesty that comes from good cinematography simply by slowing your film down and doing some sepia toning, with some pretentious salting of pseudo-spiritual snippets.
thank god the world is overpopulated by idiots like you...go watch some...something else, please. I bet you're the same kind of movie watcher that cannot get the movie 'the fountain'.
shareI agree with the OP, this was terrible. A movie doesn't have to be Rush Hour 2 to be entertaining, but if it requires you to be in some special kind of meditative state to enjoy it, it's not going to get much play. As a photographer I can appreciate the beautiful imagery, but the film just doesn't hold my attention long enough. It's not entertaining.
This would be a good film to have playing in the background on a plasma TV at some fancy hipster party, but to sit down and watch for an hour, forget it.
My wish for you Walter is that in your next life that God provides you with an open heart, a love of beauty, an ear for the divine and a soul. Or not, as is appropriate for your journey and purpose.
shareAgreed with OP. How easy it is for the crass to accuse one of being a rush-hour / michael bay type airhead just because you dislike one film that is particularly portentous and 'arty'. It's such a bandwagon on these boards to dismiss alternative views as those of an idiot. WHAAAY GO WATCH TRANSFORMERS. Grow up. This film is boring and contrived, in my opinion.
I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE