Film Perfection

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The Invisible Circus sets up an intriguing premise. In 1969 Faith, a young woman from San Francisco, and her boyfriend, nicknamed Wolf, took off for Europe. This was the time period of youth protesting anything and everything and Faith and Wolf were determined to change the world. Unfortunately in Europe things went terribly wrong. Eventually Faith's journey brought her to Portugal where she killed herself. What happened to this idealistic young woman to bring her to this sad end? Was it really even suicide at all? These were questions which Faith's sister Phoebe felt were never satisfactorily answered. It is now 1976 and Phoebe, now 18 years old, goes to Europe to retrace her sister's steps. And to answer those questions. Unfortunately Phoebe's journey does not prove to be nearly as dramatic, captivating or entertaining as you would hope.It was inevitable that upon arriving in Europe Phoebe would meet up with Wolf. As soon as we see him it's obvious he's hiding something. It couldn't be any more obvious if he had "I'm Hiding Something" tattooed on his forehead. But Phoebe is oblivious to this. There's also the issue that just because he's by now cut his hair and seemingly settled down there was a reason the guy was nicknamed Wolf. He's obviously attracted to Phoebe which is wrong on so many levels and this ends up taking the movie to some uncomfortable places it would be better off not going. On the surface it seems he's trying to be helpful but he's really a sleaze. And again he's obviously not being completely truthful. Why can't Phoebe see that? I suppose because if she did the movie would be over in half an hour. Anyhow, Phoebe's not so excellent European adventure continues with Wolf tagging along and doling out tiny crumbs of information on what happened to Faith when he sees fit.There are really only three roles of significance in the film. Jordana Brewster does pretty well playing Phoebe. Brewster shows an impressive maturity even as she portrays a character who clearly has a lot of growing up to do and is a little lost in the world. Christopher Eccleston plays Wolf, a character clearly meant to be a little mysterious and Eccleston does do enough to keep you guessing at least for a little while. It must be said that the chemistry between Brewster and Eccleston really is not there but maybe that's a good thing because the closer Phoebe and Wolf get the more uncomfortable the movie is to watch. And then there's Cameron Diaz, playing Faith in the flashback sequences which show us where it all went wrong. A serious role for Diaz to play, the type of thing you might not expect her to pull off, but she does OK. The film's problems come not with the performances but with the story. The more we learn about the path Faith took the less believable things get. The more Phoebe and Wolf are drawn together the more we want to look away. As we move towards the ending the sense is that a letdown is inevitable. You know the movie's setting itself up for a big revelation but the sense is the big ending will be a big dud. And so it proves. The ending is very anticlimactic, certainly nothing which will salvage a film which has had its problems throughout. The story is scarcely believable at times and lacks for drama for much of the way. And the film certainly lacked entertainment too. It's a film which ropes you in with an intriguing setup but it's lost you well before the end. A film which had promise but it fizzled away.

I find the story magnetic and the key to that, for me, is the soundtrack, the parts with new music. It links with the story and there is a blend of sheer magnetism that draws me along. Secret Of The Andes 1999 has the music of Bakalov. Argentinean music fitting in with a story set mostly in north west Argentina. That has an okay-ness multiplied by its natural value to make that special. Invisible is nothing like that, it has a soundtrack of pure power for me, simple and direct. I had understood this to be a story about a group of people who are all hurt. In chains. The two main males that is obvious. The females do better, but just why Faith died is an enigma to ponder. Phoebe is a more approachable problem to me, her way with Wolf. For me, a big interest in this story is following that tangle and the clues are not as blatant as in many stories, this is not too simplistic. From other comments it helps to have been in the sixties, but that is just in order to recognise the illegal drug use and stock footage. * My big qualm comes from reading the comment that applauds how Phoebe catches Wolf, calling it love. To me that is applauding disaster that shows both are sinking. It is an opposite of love. It does nothing to help either to be able to stand on their feet as people, it is Wolf standing on his feet as a broken pet and Phoebe standing on her feet as a pet owner who has lost a big chunk of what is worthwhile. Phoebe is skilled at sending out icebergs. Titanic Wolf has already become proficient with a key to a lifeboat. Except now I can watch it and miss the intensity of the aspects that lead me to that conclusion. The last time, for the purposes of drafting this, I was revelling in the visual quality and Phoebe's approach felt like love, Wolf appeared as gradually being healed. This comment has to be based on the first few times I saw this. How widespread is the approach of Phoebe in that taming of Wolf I noticed? What leads her to consider it as good practice? I currently have a problem posting an IMDb user comment on Cammie's Secret Of The Andes. I have a real love for the strengths of the film, it occasionally gets near the level of Cammie's Annie 2 1995, just Andes has some weaknesses too. Weaknesses that I also notice if I look back on my own past. I am finding a comment on this to be worthwhile to try to do, we have things in common, but I hit against the quality control criteria as if what I write is deemed to be offensive or not relevant. Just getting a blank response means I really do not know what is what. After two attempts I am stuck. The blank response of Phoebe was different, she went cold and ran away. But the issues were clearer. When Wolf went back to her he showed that he had gotten hopeless at defining what the day to day issues were, to me he was looking back to frozen ideas of good and bad and demonstrating that he had gotten stuck, tied up. He was also freezing when Phoebe needed his help re Faith. With me such is not something that one is often tooled up for getting healed and when that happens healing ways tend to become disaster. Phoebe's response felt like disaster, as if she held out for him as her toy, and he had skills for going along with the cues to do that. If she had love for him it was a very hurt love. Two dogs could do better. The zero tolerance of IMDb and the error response I noticed in Phoebe have common ground. I am finding that there are ways to face it, but not with all situations. For me, zero tolerance is not about leading people away from chains, to more worthwhile paths from the recipients view. I am drafting this comment as a way to try to say that. For that purpose, this links with my comments on Mean Girls 2004 and Angela 1994 or 5.

One way or the other, you can't get away from the basic message. The strong survive. Those who are psychically or emotionally sensitive, leave. They leave a hole behind in the lives of those who love them. A hole that is seen in it's finality as selfish. That's what Phoebe realizes in the end. Just prior to helping Wolf heal from his self-blame. She can accept closure to the missing ...of her sister. Beautiful European scenery. A lot of truth in it about idealism and addiction to the next big moment. For a moment, I thought of the Baader-Meinhoff gang who was around in the early 70s. I liked this movie as it reflected a time when I came of age myself.

i must say that this movie had a great cast, locations, music and camera work. Cameron Diaz was great, she had a very exciting roll, very uproarish, while Jordana Brewster had a serious roll yet still capturing one. for me Jordana's very nostalgic, she reminds of a female classmate of mine! what realy got me in this movie were the very skillfully planned camera work and the choosing of the locations. the story is very talently written. it is a must see one. the one's who are into mystery movies should watch this one, i guarantee you all that it'll keep you in your seats till the end.