I was loving this movie for the longest time, but near the end it was trying too hard to maintain its palindromic structure. When filmmakers put style over substance, it detracts from the film.
****MILD SPOILERS****
It would have been perfect if they had just met up at the end and stayed with each other for the rest of their lives. If you think that sounds cheesy or cliched, just think to yourself what the last drama was where a couple actually fell in love and stayed there. You might say that that never happens, but this film was stressing the magical aspect of life. It would have made more sense if they had lived happily ever after at the end.
****MAJOR SPOILERS****
Besides, I'm not even 100% sure what happened at the very end of this movie. Again, the filmmaker was stressing his construction too harshly. But I'm pretty sure Ana died (and her meeting with Otto was just her dying dream). This is an incredible let down! The film still had potential to be great until the very end. There's just no payoff. Even though the characters were not particularly well developed (and they didn't need to be, really; like I said above, this film was more of a magical fairy tale than a piece of realism), I had an emotional bond with them (or more likely, with their situation). I was feeling rather elated throughout the whole movie, but after it ended, there was no feelings to be felt. I would have given it at least an 8, and maybe as high as a 9 on the imdb grading scale, but I have to give it a 7/10. It was worth watching, but it will dissolve quickly from my memory.
****MILD SPOILERS****
It would have been perfect if they had just met up at the end and stayed with each other for the rest of their lives. If you think that sounds cheesy or cliched, just think to yourself what the last drama was where a couple actually fell in love and stayed there. You might say that that never happens, but this film was stressing the magical aspect of life. It would have made more sense if they had lived happily ever after at the end.
****MAJOR SPOILERS****
Besides, I'm not even 100% sure what happened at the very end of this movie. Again, the filmmaker was stressing his construction too harshly. But I'm pretty sure Ana died (and her meeting with Otto was just her dying dream). This is an incredible let down! The film still had potential to be great until the very end. There's just no payoff. Even though the characters were not particularly well developed (and they didn't need to be, really; like I said above, this film was more of a magical fairy tale than a piece of realism), I had an emotional bond with them (or more likely, with their situation). I was feeling rather elated throughout the whole movie, but after it ended, there was no feelings to be felt. I would have given it at least an 8, and maybe as high as a 9 on the imdb grading scale, but I have to give it a 7/10. It was worth watching, but it will dissolve quickly from my memory.