Erich Walsh

This never happened to me before. It was the first time I nearly walked out of a film because it was so bad in the first half hour and later there was a scene that was incredibly moving and made it overall worthwhile. More on that in a moment. First, to recap the film suffers from force-feeding nearly everywhere. A love-at-first-sight scene that reads more like an awkward staring contest. A leading woman who is intended to be captivating and beautiful and instead comes off repugnant because she's as shallow as spit on a rock and cruelly oblivious to the emotional needs of others. A fight scene intended to prove our hero's lethal vigor yet comes off as comically bad as he vanquishes a mob of would-be assassins despite being significantly outnumbered and outweighed - a scene so unrealistic that even the villain of the story later tries to explain away by saying the next batch of assassins will be of higher quality. In one of the worst moments, as Roxanne callously ignores Cyrano's blatant love for her despite their noses nearly touching and his eyes weeping adoration, a group of people synchronize-dance with loaves of bread above their heads. Perhaps this implies the film is half-baked? Even the final moments feel forced as the tragically deceased former love interest Christian's existence appears permanently forgotten as the self absorbed Roxanne has now decided to obsess over Cyrano, who of course still bleeds from a wound suffered three years ago for a final dose of contrivance. All that said, I did find myself profoundly moved by a scene in which three soldiers hunkered in a cave take turns singing to their loved ones before heading out to a battle that will likely be their last. The raw, stripped down emotion was brutal, no doubt all the more so because of the nightmare being acted out on the Ukrainian people this week and images shared of tearful farewells as mothers and children leave to seek safety while fathers stay behind to fight. So I commend that moment of film making for exposing that most awful aspect of all war, the finality of tragic death. In the case of this film, an actual gem buried in a heap of costume jewelry and for me worth the price of admission. Or at least just enough to make me feel it wasn't a complete waste of time.

I'm very glad I ignored the poor reviews and had faith in Wes Anderson's film making skills. This is now one of my favorites of his. Very funny and unique story line, clever dialogue worth really paying attention to, colors and scenery worthy of hanging on the wall of the Musee D'Orsay, excellent acting and abundant star cameos, and an equally clever and unique sound track including the funniest alien-from-another-planet song of all time (assuming there even were others). I was sorry when it ended.