Boyhood

13 December 2023

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Once upon a time, I discovered this director, watching his film Before Dawn, which, despite its external simplicity and unpretentiousness, or perhaps precisely because of this, made an extremely favorable impression on me, and I was happy to watch the sequels - Before Dawn and Before Midnight. Already shooting these films, Linklater applied his technique - he shot them at the same time intervals that pass between the meetings of the main characters in the films and the director did not have to resort to age makeup - the actors grew up with the characters and changed themselves, which the author played with pleasure. In the movie "Boyhood" the same technique worked even more interestingly - he shot the film for 12 years with the same actors and here it is manifested even more clearly. At first, the main characters are children and young people, at the end they are quite adult young people and their mature parents. The reception is interesting, requiring from the director and actors a certain patience, determination and unanimity. They showed it, and we can see this process of growing up from the outside, noting the successes and mistakes of both parents and children. Everything, as always with Linklater, is shown very simply, without savoring the details beloved by the current authors (such as manifestation of sexuality, intoxication with bad inclinations, etc.), and this is what he really likes. We already know about it and we don’t need to chew on it, let’s guess, because it’s about the life we all live, making the same or similar mistakes, achieving the same or similar successes, experiencing the same or some of our disappointments. The director respects the viewer and does not hold him for an idiot. It should be noted that, as far as I can tell, the film is very American, but not as an agitation, but simply as a reflection of their lives, and I watch it with interest. It’s a simple and clever filmmaker that I recommend watching.

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19 April 2021

29 October 2020

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If I had seen this movie when I was 18, I probably wouldn’t have liked it. I probably wouldn’t even watch it until the end. You need to watch this movie when you’re over 40 or so. And it is better to watch alone, with free time. If you want to watch something funny or just entertaining, look for something else. A film about the life and growing up of an American teenager - so it is written in the description of the film. But, in fact, it is a film in which, if you want, you can see your own life as in a mirror. I don’t pretend to be objective, but for me personally, this film is philosophical and very personal.

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25 December 2014

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Live today and tomorrow

Sometimes you read positive reviews of critics and start waiting for the supernatural. There. If you don’t expect anything supernatural from this movie, the movie is wonderful. It leaves good feelings.

It's an experimental arthouse. The experiment is that the film was shot for 12 years, and the actors grew up with the film literally. The main character swung from a little boy to a college student.

There is no straight heart-wrenching drama and too unexpected turns, everything is basically as it happens in life. This is a film about the family and teenagers, well, about the relevant problems: divorce (mild, and then not very), a punching mother-workaholic, moving, first love, infidelity, conflict of fathers and children.

Absolutely realistic growing up of not only the main character, but also the people around (and here we are talking not only about growing up, but also about aging), acutely demonstrates how transient life is, and how it sinks in everyday things.

An insecure boy without purpose and a punchy self-made mother, seemingly successful, but dissatisfied. With one wise phrase, she directed a Mexican worker unknown to her in the direction of life success. But it is not at all obvious whether her many phrases will help her son not remain a copy of his frivolous father.

It seems that this movie teaches to live not only tomorrow, but also today. And vice versa.

8 out of 10

Original

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