Fernando Meirelles’ does it again with his tense thriller, “The Constant Gardner”.
The Director of the immensely powerful “City of God” takes his craft to a an even higher level with sensational and hypnotic results.
Meirelles’ beautiful new travel-logue thriller tells novelist Jeffrey Caine’s tale of intrigue surrounding fictional exploitation of impoverished African nations by mega-corporations. The movie has a refresihingly reasonable pace and never resorts to absurdity. It is all film, story, acting and setting- a rarity these days.
From the breathtaking landscapes of the Kenyan slums and the sprawling African vistas to the inner landescapes of characters tormented with loss and betrayal the story takes you on a long, complex journey.
There is little to dislike here. The film is a trifle long-winded, but for the most part moves well and features a solid left turn at the end.
I loved “The Constant Gardener” and recommend it highly. If you liked “City of God” you will love “Constant Gardner”.
Funny, when I read this book I thought it was good but kind of went nowhere (A little like John Grisham’s “A Painted House”). It held your interst but you kept waiting for something big to come out of the closet. Does the movie stick to the book?
It came out on DvD last week: I just rented it: Outstanding.
Having lived in SE Africa for 2+ years and having spent time (and leeched off) diplomats, I can say its so much better and more accurate a depiction than most films set in Africa. You get to see the wealthy side of Nairobi, the slums of Kibeira and life in the bush.
The plot was great to start with, but the filming makes it. This director will soon be right up there with Coppola, Scorsesee, etc. in a few years.
Not to hijack, but another good movie I saw recently is The Matador. Really cool, kind of quirky film about an aging hitman and his friendship with a normal guy next door type. Pierce Brosnan was really pretty good.
It was written by John Le Carre… aaand i might as also point out that it’s ‘Gardener’…
but besides that!!!:
We watched it last night. Loved it - best movie i’ve seen in ages, plus, since then i’ve adopted a pompous british accent. I thought the cinematography was stunning as well.
The video store guy said its flying off the shelves (here in nowhere, Montana): I guess not everyone wants to just watch crap.
I’m guessing lots of people maybe won’t like it, though: It’s sometimes slow, sometimes intense, you have to pay attention and the accents are sometimes hard to understand. I may watch it again this week since I have 5 days.
We had to put the subtitles on to catch some of the accents, plus it helped my tiny brain follow the plot.
I won’t spoil the movie so i’ll use codewords, but can someone please explain how Justin knew someone would be there to greet him when he went to the lake at the end?
We had to put the subtitles on to catch some of the accents, plus it helped my tiny brain follow the plot.
I won’t spoil the movie so i’ll use codewords, but can someone please explain how Justin knew someone would be there to greet him when he went to the lake at the end?
Yes. My wife’s question as well. I could not really answer it for her.
Very good movie. What really got to me was the feeling that it all was too real and had and does occur.