User Reviews

I found this this come of age drama online, and was very impressed with it's unique story and gorgeous cinematography. It tells the tale of an otherwise athletic young man who is in the unenviable position of being placed in a Sanitorium for recovery after he becomes ill during a sporting event. In there, he's thrown into the mix of all of the usual difficulties of being a teenager and seeking love and acceptance, but with the added challenges of sadistic teachers, isolation, and the threat of mortality hanging over the whole thing. This is an interesting twist on this type of a genre because death is so central to everything that happens, unlike most teen films, where everyone behaves and thinks as if they are immortal. The beautiful cinematography and spot on musical arrangements give it not only a highly professional sheen, but a freshness to the material as well. Even scenes which have the ring of familiarity in regards to these types of teen dramas are brought into a new light and made engaging by the masterful use of music, which is never overbearing, nor wasted. I would highly recommend I Want to Live to anyone who can appreciate a somewhat familiar story told within a unique framework.