I remember going to see An Awfully Big Adventure. It's an experience that has remained with me ever since, because it is so horrifyingly awful.
Possibly intended as some whimsical and poignant look at the theatre of yesteryear, this is a film that fails to engage on any level. Believe me, I'm as much up for a piece of heavy cinema as the next arthouse fancier, but this really is pushing the levels of patience. As one of my (usually well-behaved) friends said, 'When will this dirge end?'. The problem is that nothing happens. And by the time it does, you've lost all interest, and possibly the will to live. In one of the film's final moments there's a scene (I won't divulge, although please don't take this as an encouragement to see the thing) which is clearly meant to be shocking and emotional. It isn't. Because by that stage of utter audience despair, it could only mean one thing - that it must be nearly over. People have tried for some time to name things that I would less like to do than watch An Awfully Big Adventure (or AABA as I now know it, to limit the horror of reliving the moment) again. Nobody has yet come up with anything. Don't make the same mistake I did. Avoid
Possibly intended as some whimsical and poignant look at the theatre of yesteryear, this is a film that fails to engage on any level. Believe me, I'm as much up for a piece of heavy cinema as the next arthouse fancier, but this really is pushing the levels of patience. As one of my (usually well-behaved) friends said, 'When will this dirge end?'. The problem is that nothing happens. And by the time it does, you've lost all interest, and possibly the will to live. In one of the film's final moments there's a scene (I won't divulge, although please don't take this as an encouragement to see the thing) which is clearly meant to be shocking and emotional. It isn't. Because by that stage of utter audience despair, it could only mean one thing - that it must be nearly over. People have tried for some time to name things that I would less like to do than watch An Awfully Big Adventure (or AABA as I now know it, to limit the horror of reliving the moment) again. Nobody has yet come up with anything. Don't make the same mistake I did. Avoid