With the "journey" finished, I don't like this film any more than the first installment. No character is liable, except for maybe Joe's father, and Joe can only seem to like and empathize with those who she can relate to herself. She's selfish. Finally at the end she seems to become friends with the old man, whom she knows nothing about, because he listened to her. But that all ends when she kills him. Lars Von Trier want you to love Joe so badly, and it's evident in the script. After every action she is seen as the good-guy in the end. And you have the old man who keeps telling her that she's not a bad person and keeps justifying her mistakes, when in fact she isn't a good person. But I suppose, at least, the audience sees that a little better this time around.
But the film makes some better points politically and socially, as the first film was more commentary on science and mathematical theories. The script was just as smart, but this film was just as hard to watch as the first. And I still wish they had revealed more about her mother and what caused Joe to be who she is.
Overall, there is no reason to watch these films more than once for even the biggest of fans. I watched it because I'm a Shia LaBeouf fan, but that is all.
Twizard Rating: 61
It's hard to particularly like this story so far because it calls for a very acquired taste and it hasn't resolved much of the conflicts yet. For those that do not understand film and are just looking for entertainment, you will quickly find this movie boring. It plays mostly with metaphors and uncomfortable/unrelatable situations. There is a lot of depth, but not exactly specific to any one character in particular. Meaning, there isn't much difference between characters--they seem to all be written in the same way. With that said, the script is very smart and very aware of itself and what it's saying. But I think that it serves more as a philosophical challenge than an entertaining film. I'm not getting much out of it myself, but it definitely keeps the brain moving. However, some of the logic that the two main characters conclude to is very arguable and faulty on occasion even though the narrative is unique and the metaphors are interesting.
As interesting as it is, we haven't yet delved deep enough into the actual reasons WHY the main character has her addiction. We know that her mom is a "you-know-what", but to what degree? And with its purpose being to reject religion, it comes off as very preachy if I do say so myself.
While the acting is fantastic, this film is a little too drawn out and I keep forgetting that it's only 2 hours, as it feels more like 3. And now I must sit through the second volume.
Twizard Rating: 61
