Touches You

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Imaginaerum was a random pick & mix movie I went into knowing nothing and was immediatly struck by how good everything looked. This Finnish made title looks like a AAA Hollywood movie except here the rest of the quality matches.Otherwise known as the Nightwish movie as it was scored & soundtracked by the Finnish band, this is a dark fairytale that really took me by surprise.It tells the story of a man in his final hours living a bizzare fantasy in his head while his embittered daughter deals with his condition in her own way.It is a true visual treat that though very fragmented and not the easiest movie to follow does in fact have an outstanding payoff and all comes together in the end.Looking great, sounding fantastic and with a story that comes together this beautifully my one criticism was that I wanted it to continue for longer.A wonderful movie worthy of anyone and everyones attention.The Good:Visually stunningFantastic soundtrackDevastatingly well writtenThe Bad:Should have perhaps been longerCouple of weak moments that damage the flowThings I Learnt From This Movie:I should start listening to more Nightwish

I'm a huge Nightwish fan. I heard about them in 2011, and have since listened to almost every song that's been on major release from Oceanborn to Endless Forms most Beautiful. Honestly, it feels like the Imaginaerum movie was built to go along with the music. The track list accurately reflects the entire movie structure.Though it's an accurate representation of the story of the 2012 album (The death of an artist), it's still kinda... strange. It's an oddity of a movie that one would only really understand if they understood Nightwish beyond their music.Additionally, the run-time seems kind of short if they want to create a movie with even a bit more information. Also, I'm disappointed that "I Want My Tears Back" was only played in a sliver of the movie early on.

Warning that spoilers may be below:This is one of those movies you truly need to watch twice to get the full meaning and impact -- not because there is a twist or it's especially hard to get, but because as things are revealed, you can find parallels between the real world and the dream world. It's not until the final scene when all the jumbled pieces come together that one can see and understand all the metaphors hidden throughout the journey of a dying man with dementia (caused at least in part by multiple strokes) and mental illness coming to terms with his life and struggling desperately to hold on to his most precious memories and the ones he loves.There are, of course, hints everywhere along the way. But, the way the story is presented is disjointed -- memories from random time frames, surreal dreamscapes with metaphors abound and flashes to the present reality all mixed together along the way. Then, there's the musical scenes which often seem forced, but at least they mostly take place in the dreamland -- which I can forgive as a dying musician is likely to have dreams and nightmares including musicals.The lead character is suffering from a condition that causes confusion about when and where he is -- and suffers from random gaps in memory that come and go. This mirrors the style of the movie, writings within the movie, the construction of a roller coaster within the dreamland, and the journey the lead character makes. Tom is a man with deep regret. He is scared of losing his memory, and especially concerned with his relationship with his estranged daughter whom he distanced himself from to protect her -- from himself. He had a troubled history with his own father who suffered from mental illness like himself -- and must come to terms with that as well.The visuals and special effects were very well done - some quite impressively stunning. I'm not a Nightwish fan, but I did enjoy some of the music - especially a few piano melodies. Some have complained about the acting, but I find it believable given the strained relationships and mental states of the characters.The movie is the video equivalent of a surreal painting -- a work of art with beauty and flaws. Not everyone will understand it, and even those that do may not appreciate it. It's not a blockbuster meant to constantly entertain. There aren't any real heroes or villains - or even much of a plot other than the characters' internal struggles. It isn't a true horror or fantasy adventure so much as a heartbreaking story of a troubled, dying man's love for his daughter and her discovery of the depth of that love. I don't expect everyone to get it, but as someone who has lost estranged loved ones that suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's, this one hit home to me.I have to say there aren't many dramas about the inner struggles of the dying mentally ill with settings in horror/fantasy dreamworlds and musical scores that include piano and metal. Love it or hate it, it's unique and I applaud the effort. I can't say whether others will enjoy it or not, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I was touched by its message.Extreme spoiler:My favorite part is the realization that Tom, a musician who loved creating music, named his daughter Gem. He plays the piano and talks many times about wanting to hear the chords again -- trying to remember them and specifically mentions E minor a few times. At the end, he describes the most beautiful melody ever created by man - the change from G to E minor. G to Em -- GEM... his daughter. It was sort of a Mr. Holland's Opus moment where you realize she was the music of his life.

If you don't know the band Nightwish, you can still enjoy this movie. The one thing that comes across, is that is an apologetic homage to the egocentric megalomaniacs that achieve some success in the music industry.The story centering about a daughter dealing with her father slipping away from life, has too much of a tone of "Oh poor me, tortured soul, that no one understands me." And the rest of the characters have to go through hell to accept the apologies of the central character. **Spoiler** Daughter spends 1 hour of the movie bitching about how uncommunicative the father was towards her, and then they find some writings about how much he loved her. WHO THE HECK things that some pages a guy wrote in 5 minutes can make up for maybe 30 years of not caring for her? On top of that she has to spend lengthy hours putting the writings together? This guy should never had children in the first place!Maybe I am biased, because I know too many of these artistic types who get married have kids, but they don't want to sacrifice anything for their children, and at the end they turn up making apologies in movies like these... And most are in the music world and in the movies industry.Armchair psychology aside, I loved the blending of music and imagery. At times it feels like a over extended MTV video (from back when MTV used to play music videos).But someone versed in the arts, often I had the feeling while watching this movie that the guys from Nightwish saw Pink Floyd's The Wall for the first time, and said "Heck! We can do this better... Nightwish style!!"Although I may sound bitter, I enjoyed the imagery and the soundtrack. If you enjoyed this, you should also check out Pink Floyd's The Wall, by Alan Parker, and maybe Jesus Christ Superstar.