MovieChat Forums > Genova (2009) Discussion > Not to be rude - I found it boring.

Not to be rude - I found it boring.

posted 15 years ago by inktomike
37 replies | jump to latest

The elephant in the room at the London Mayor Gala Premiere at this years London Film Festival, was that Genova was one of dullest films anyone in the audience had ever seen. Though im clearly mapping my own feelings onto everyone in the auditorium, it was evident from the audience questions quite how little this film had impacted on them.

"were any of you affected personally by the subject matter of the film"

cue uninspiring responce from the two girls.

"how did you film it"

cue excited responce from colin firth - "michael made us go out and get the materials to cook a meal, like a real family"

Well hold the *beep* front page.

Im sorry but I thought the reason for this neutered questioning was quite simply that everyone else wanted to put up their hand and ask whether or not any of the contributors had watched the film and woken up a couple of hours later having dreamt happily about anything else.

The problem was the characters. Did anyone care about anyone in it? By the end I was willing the little girl to get run over. Please let something happen. Oh she sad about her mum dying. Oh its difficult for the dad to move on. Oh its difficult for the older daughter to forgive her sister for their mums death. Oh she's young and sexy and will take solace with some locals. And on and on like a bloody long sentence.

I really like the city of Genova - it has happy memories for me. Beutiful black and white everywhere - little alcoves and piazzas and rat infested alleys. It has character - Winterbottom is right. Why didn't he think of injecting some of that into his own?

This is my first post here - I hope some of you feel like responding.

[–] AiR_GuiTar_HelL 15 years ago

i believe the same thing too.... i tried very hard not to get asleep by the middle of the movie but i kept searching for a plot... and -surprise- there isn't one.the story is pretty much pointless, the lives of the 3 characters seem completely separated (the little girl sees ghosts, the big girl has sex with every citizen of Genova and dad is trying to get over his wife's death) and the whole movie is more like a documentary...or a tourist guide to beautiful genova(which seems great, i plan to visit it some time)

i really dont like to insult anyone or be rude, it's just my opinion. the movie was actually very boring.

[–] inktomike 15 years ago

agreed. Well done for being so honest! It feels great, like an alcoholics anonymous meeting.

[–] AiR_GuiTar_HelL 15 years ago

LOL! or a group therapy!!

[–] saavik73 15 years ago

Feel free to think you've been lucky to have had the chance to see this boring film. As far as it goes, it seems that it will never be released in Italy, since no distributor has bought it. Not yet, at least; not yet, I hope. However, I'm glad to learn that you've enjoyed my hometown.

[–] cableaddict 15 years ago

Well, it might have been less boring if they had bothered to give it an ending.

I'm pretty sure that the version I saw was missing the final reel.

[–] sunnyrandall11 15 years ago

I found it so boring and was so glad to see the credits roll, that I didn't really care that it did not seem to have any kind of ending. I just breathed a sigh of relief and went on to watch some paint dry.

[–] saruna1 13 years ago

The first scene was sort of promising - we establish the older girl has a useless psychic skill... the younger girl is stupid.

Then what happened? What was the plot? As far as I could tell:
x They move to a beautiful city, with beautiful locals, where nothing happens to them.
x There are a few piano interludes.
x The younger girl wanders off twice only to be found by the father both times in very unspectacular circumstances.
x the older girl still has her useless psychic skill, and had sex with a few people.
x the father has lunch with someone.
x In the final few minutes the younger girl causes another accident, non-fatal this time.

Seriously, did I miss anything?

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

Seriously, did I miss anything?

No that's it in a nutshell.🐭

[–] renata77 9 years ago

I'm pretty sure that the version I saw was missing the final reel.

I think that's possible, also. They have a little moment after another tragedy is averted, then they go their separate ways again and voila - the end.

Was there any resolution with the Dad's girlfriend, or don't we get to find out. Looked to me as though he was done with that, but, to be honest, I wasn't paying that much attention.

[–] steve-2140 15 years ago

My wife loves Colin Firth for which I put up with him as wife is usually in a good mood after watching Colin.

Half way through she is asleep. I am thinking to myself why am I watching this. Ever get that feeling and then you say to yourself well there is a star in this movie maybe if I watch it a little more I will see the point.....

Woke up wife who complained that the movie is still on. I said shhhh we are getting to the interesting part. She asked what is going on I said the youngest daughter is about to be runned over. My wife woke up fully, and the daughter wasn't. Then all of a sudden "The End" was printed on the screen.

I should have turned it off when wife went to sleep the first time and nudge her by saying it was over. Then there would have been that nagging minute when the wife would asked me what happened the next morning. I would have wonder if I had watched a little more maybe I would see why it was rated so high in IMDB.COM....

When will I ever learn some movies are made to be turned off or walked out on. I see other people do it. Why cannot I???

IceHappy

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] bogwart-1 15 years ago

A most enlightening review. You should maybe consider a career as a cinema critic.

[–] Gong5 14 years ago

yeah because cinema critics (what a career...) considered this a masterpiece, and not the pretentious bore it was. The man called it straight, you on the other hand wouldn't know good taste if it hit you in the face.

[–] bogwart-1 14 years ago

By the look of your post history there obviously weren't enough men in it for you. So far as your subjective opinion and your lack of manners is concerned, get in the queue, Bubba. It's the long line over on the left with the sign 'Morons' at the top.

[–] BaronMarx 14 years ago

Bogwart is being a cranky old man again. you say that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you go out of your way to put people down when you don't agree. you sound like a british twat.

[–] dreamtraveler-2 15 years ago

Sorry to read so many "thumbs downs" for this beautiful film. It is one of the most personally meaningful films I have ever seen. The whole story is a metaphor for the journey of recovery from grief. I won't try to explain it all; the viewer has to do that for him/herself. But I hope you will watch it again some day, especially after you have recovered from the loss of someone you love dearly. If you are in touch with your emotions at all, and you have gained insight from grief, you will get a lot from its message.

[–] TeiHz 15 years ago

but it is soooooo difficult to get into if you've never been in such a situation.

I was constantly waiting for something to happen, anything! movies are supposed to teach/evoke/stimulate or kick you somehow. I was waiting and waiting, and when the credits rolled, the only thing i thought was, "italy is quite beautifull." that should NOT be the whole emotional response. The story is just too far away from me, and not filmed in a way that pulls me into the story and connects me with the characters.

The older girl was way to annoying and plain dumb for ignoring her sister in a strange city, and the little girl was a bit too suicidal somehow. And the camera not following them when they really have interesting things going on in there lives, like when the little girl goes missing near the church, disconnects you from the character. The focus should be really on one of the charachters, the balance is too even somehow.

ok, enough ranting.

http://www.studiobaard.com

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] catbookss 9 years ago

but it is soooooo difficult to get into if you've never been in such a situation.

I can't say if I'd have found it difficult to get into if I hadn't experienced deep losses. I can say that had I not been in the right mood for this type of very quiet film, and had I not realized early on that's the type of film it is, I might have grown impatient with it.

I was constantly waiting for something to happen, anything!

Quite a lot did happen, but the main of the action occurred very early on. The majority of the rest, until the end, was about how these three people dealt with their grief in different and very realistic ways.

movies are supposed to teach/evoke/stimulate or kick you somehow.

I don't think those are the sole functions of movies, but this one did all of the above for me.

[–] stfa-1 15 years ago

Genova is slow, tonally confused and incredible boring. It’s also the worst advert for a beautiful Italian city that you’re ever likely to see.

Although, the theme is loss, grief and recovery this movie depict it very badly. The only possitve note is the little ten-year-old girl (Mary), who stands out. The only one we sympatize with.

We don´t see a single moment where the character of Colin Firth is grieving..?!

I CANNOT recommend this movie!!!

[–] Howlin Wolf 13 years ago

I'm so sick of people saying that there's more to a film, but then failing to go on and explain themselves... If you think it's so deep, then tell us why!!

Being so vague makes me think that you liked it as a gut response, but then can't fathom out a reason to bolster this reaction.

"I've been turned down more times than the beds at the Holiday Inn; I still try"

[–] Jen_Garner-1 15 years ago

I agree with you that it was dull. NOTHING happened. It wasn't interesting at all and I didn't feel the characters developed much.

[–] katinka1969 15 years ago

Sorry to read so many "thumbs downs" for this beautiful film. It is one of the most personally meaningful films I have ever seen. The whole story is a metaphor for the journey of recovery from grief. I won't try to explain it all; the viewer has to do that for him/herself. But I hope you will watch it again some day, especially after you have recovered from the loss of someone you love dearly. If you are in touch with your emotions at all, and you have gained insight from grief, you will get a lot from its message.

Very well said, dreamtraveler. I loved this film and found the performances of all concerned very realistic. I felt that it wasn't meant to be the sort of story where things "happen", rather it was intended as portrayal of grief and how people deal with it, and on this level it worked brilliantly.

[–] Hazelglen 14 years ago

@ katinka1969 & dreamtraveler - I agree. This was an amazing film about grief and loss. Made all the more gut renching and harrowing in parts because Michael Winterbottom generated such sympathies for all his characters.

The sound and camera work were integral to the success of the film. Like Marie Antoinette, I'd describe this film as having an "emotional narrative".

Let those other people watch Amy Adams plays with a block of butter - now *there* was a dull film.

[–] Howlin Wolf 13 years ago

I assume you're referring to Julie&Julia... These two films are so different in intention that it's an absolute nonsense to make a stab at comparing them.

"I've been turned down more times than the beds at the Holiday Inn; I still try"

[–] Howlin Wolf 13 years ago

So, how did they deal with it? What evidence was there of trying for growth, moving forward? (apart from changing location, which was intended to be the initial setup for the main meat of the film)

"I've been turned down more times than the beds at the Holiday Inn; I still try"

[–] ercuesy 15 years ago

At the last scene when he was walking away after dropping the girls at school I was thinking "oh, no, please don't tell me this movie so boring that it's going to end right there". And it did.

[–] blazing_saddles 15 years ago

I do agree with the OP, this movie was almost too real, in that it was what I imagine the immense grief to be in real life and I think because it stayed true to this is lacked a dramatic edge.

Despite this I was drawn in by the characters but more in a 'documentary of grief'-type way than any other. I wonder if the writers/director have some kind of personal experience with this kind of grief to portray it in what I see as an accurate way....

Also the DVD was selling it as some kind of 'supernatural mystery' which I don't think helped in my expectations.

"I picked the wrong week to quit drinking"

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] punky_lisa 14 years ago

Yawn. This film was so dull.

[–] strayedclimaca 14 years ago

Yes, it is actually boring. I don't usually get bored with films, I always try to find something to attract me. But with this one... as everyone in the thread said, I was waiting for something to happen. I know the idea is to show how the characters get over grief but I couldn't really care for them. Colin Firth was totally unnattractive in this one. I saw it mostly because of him, but I was disappointed.

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 14 years ago

Everyone on this thread is cylindrically gassed.

Sacred cows make delicious hamburgers.