the audience applauded

As Good As It Gets

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

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Another good documentary from Ulrich Seidl, but i didn't like it as much as his others. Definitely there were some great moments, but ultimately i don't think the concept could quite sustain itself properly. The idea of a film in which Christian fanatics say their prayers out loud in front of a camera is interesting, but really doesn't work that well cinematically. It just visually isn't interesting or engaging at all. It's pretty tedious, actually, even though the things they say are sometimes (more often than not, actually) interesting or entertaining, in that distinctively funny-and-sad way that Seidl has perfected in his other films. For what it is though, he pulled it off as well as possible, wisely keeping it pretty short.

Great, uncompromising semi-documentary about six people who tell Jesus any given detail that is on their mind. They practice in such detailed manner that not seldomly you won't manage to keep serious. For instance Elfriede who while cleaning the church's floor and dusting the crucifixes starts her whining soliloquy about her Muslim husband's behavior after sickness, his TV habits which appear to have taken influence on their relationship. She would have been the perfect Fassbinder victim. Elfriede is the toughest pill to swallow because of a self righteousness. Or another, elderly woman whose husband's adultery drives her mad and tries to discuss revenge with Him by making phone calls with an alternate voice. You literally see the victory in her eyes when her ridiculous plan, obviously granted by the Lord, seems to be fulfilled. The entire movie is completely static (such as Dog Days) which makes it so believable. You really would like to help the youngest of the six witnesses to manage his catholic identity crisis as he feels so helplessly lost and laughed at by his family who rather want him to clean up his room than go to praise the Lord.