14/16
Referenced in Film Junk Podcast: Episode 973: Carry-On (2024)
Story
After decades of solitude, a wealthy family living in a salt mine encounters a stranger. Joshua Oppenheimer described the film as an exploration of whether we, as humans, can reach a place where our guilt is too much to overcome our past. OpeningWritten by Josh Schmidt and Marius De VriesPerformed by Josh Schmidt.
I digress, but this movie really kept me invigorated for most of its running time
I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a movie and nervous in a long time. Oppenheimer’s feature debut was supposed to be an uncompromising and singular vision, but I haven’t really seen anything like it. They clearly have no idea how to market this movie, because Neon is supposed to be released in this limited edition in December and there’s still no poster or trailer.
Technically, this movie has the sauce
The environment, cinematography, and use of lighting are really interesting and detailed and help contextualize the scenes. The weak links are in the story and the music. While I don’t think the golden age musical style is necessarily a gimmick, I don’t think it’s as fully realized or utilized as they hoped.
When it’s not scratching the surface of something deep, it can often feel trite
I’d say for at least half of the songs I was captivated, but they all feel the same. Aside from the moments where it feels like the visuals are supposed to coincide with what’s happening, it’s just people walking around talking and singing about what they’re feeling. And it’s also a very loose film thematically, with a few too many eggs in multiple baskets without really giving anything away.
That being said, I really enjoyed this film
It’s not for everyone and the guy next to me was visibly annoyed, as was my girlfriend who said she’d probably never watch it again but liked it enough. It can’t be put in a box and there’s nothing like it that I think is worth watching. While it doesn’t seek to satisfy any lingering questions you might have, or larger questions, it does beg you to answer something and ask, “Are we too far gone, or guilty, to get over our past?”
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