The Humans
Absolutely breathtaking. A rhythmically perfect film and a contemporary masterpiece.
While the DNA of the staged source material is very apparent in the screenplay, <PERSON> realizes it for the screen so perfectly that I'd hesitate to see the original for fear that the loss of film form would lessen its impact. He and DP <PERSON> turn this cramped, decaying apartment set into something of a holy space, a home where the very walls reflect the wear and joy and heartbreak and quiet beauty of all that this family holds between them. It is, in a sense, a ghost story. Every burden they carry into the old apartment with them becomes buried in its cracked surfaces, reaching out to respond to their loneliness through creaking doors, fallen pots, thumps in the ceiling.
The cast is directed beautifully, each turning in understated but felt performances that shook me to my core, each in their own way. Time slips away as we watch them simply be, loving one another, resenting one another, wishing for one another. 529
<PERSON> allows their cadence to shape the cadence of each scene and the film on the whole, giving each actor so much space to breathe and mine deeper and deeper riches from the souls of their characters. <PERSON>, in particular, draws endlessly beautiful shades from <PERSON>, the rock of the family whose neglected inner life comes seeping through the cracks of her powerful but weathered outer shell. A tremendous turn that deserves far more recognition than it enjoyed.
Incredible film. A master work through and through. Should be taught in film school, this is how you work with actors. This is how you find a scene and let it speak to you.
Microsoft Store
UHD 529