It may be slow, it may be not to everybody's taste and maybe you've got to be in the mood for this extraordinary movie to like it. It's definitely one of those films that are strictly recommended for viewing on the big screen, because otherwise the mood and fascinating concentration might be lost.
I saw this movie on a sunny summer afternoon four months ago at the Munich Film Festival, and I was not at all in the mood for a quiet film, and I might as well add that I'm usually very impatient with "ambitious" stuff and also easily bored
not at all with this one though! I found it an incredibly beautiful work, with a top-notch performance by Corinna Harfouch, who helps the complex narrative with a multi-layered yet easy-to-follow characterization that at times was so moving and suspenseful it almost took my breath away. And none of this is aroused by the usual and well-known forms of cinematic narrative, plotting or the search for reason. It's a masterly told tale of a search
for meaning, for beauty and the longings of a creative mind. I had no information on this film whatsoever before viewing it I didn't know anything about the main character, her being famous in Czechoslovakia, and I was not at all aware that the movie was based on the last three letters she wrote, each telling of the same things in slightly changed words
yet I had grasped everything (I felt) of what this was all about.
I've seen lots and lots of movies in my life I can only recommend this one. It's a one-of-a-kind movie, and it may hit you in the wrong mood but if you're willing to get involved, it proves most rewarding. A daring piece, and a strong one to evoke the beauty of art, and also the kind of beauty you can only experience in a dark movie theatre.
