goodellaa

Children might be confused by the goofy, nonsensical behavior of adults on display in this movie. It could trigger lots of memories in the old, both good and bad. This movie is also just thought-provoking. Rich and getting-by people, men and women, Americans and Russian-Armenians, all driven by fears and desires that conflict in ways that can be surprising. And funny. It gets funnier as it goes. The characters are very real, though. This could have turned into a nasty crime drama very easily, but there's no time to think as the crazy moments and behaviors pile up. Romance? Well. Primate instincts complicated into wild distortions by modern life, more like. Not that there are not intensely romantic moments, violence, prat-falls, good acting, good camera work, good everything. You may recall Fred and Ginger dancing off into a spectacular musical arrangement before the nonsense suddenly ends. Not here. Things slow down and I'm not sure where we ended up. Did anyone get what they want? Will they be happier as a result of this crazy adventure? You decide.

Clever movie uses technology to up-date the one room stage presentations of yore. Covers a lot of time, many interesting artifacts and historic (even pre-historic) periods, and people who did not know each other, or were intimately bound together. So much change happens that it becomes the continuity all have in common. Very funny and sad at times, just like the life you are leading now. Not science-fiction or we would have no doubt visited the future. Remember in the mid-1960s when split-screen was sort of a thing? Or that funny/gruesome crime picture that kept flashing back and forward, was a big hit and created a trend? This movie goes nuts in a good way with those kind of effects. Most of the time covered is contemporary or nearly so. Written, acted and staged really well, as it needs to be since this is not a standard movie. Not a conventional plot. Very enjoyable memory trigger and imparter of wisdom.

No car chases, explosions, nudity, yelling needed. The history, scenes and people of Napa are interesting enough. Good photography and editing give this movie a narrative feel that helps. Ghost hunters and the people, contemporary and not, that they encounter are nice to be around. Looking at pre-prohibition wine making facilities and learning about them is cool. What happened? What is going on? No easy answers. Psychology and history invite investigation and thought without a guarantee of a neat wrap-up that makes perfect sense. The proceedings are quite spooky at times. Come prepared to encounter the uncanny and the unknown. Some of what follows you have probably never seen and defies explanation. If you have never chanced into a "haunt" and would like to observe what they are like, here it is.