kinda just sat and stared into space when the credits started rolling; it's that sort of movie. makes you think about your tiny little existence on this fast-spinning earth and the life you've had. this isn't a punchy adrenaline packed flick that you casually put on while cleaning your house. this is the type of movie where you sit your ass down and absorb, let it seep into your pores and feel. (mb gang i stepped away to go poop and then got constipated on the toilet for 40 mins i am worn out rn). i like how this movie was a snapshot of a regular man throughout his life who just earned an honest living and had a loving family before tragedy struck and he just went about his life. the thing i loved about this narrative is that, there's never... more. granier's head stays on his shoulders, his feet and gaze firm on the ground. the movie shows how ugly humans can be but also how kind. each character is such a whole person despite having such a short time on screen. i was especially attached to ignatius and the companionship he strikes with robert at a dark time in his life. i liked how genuine this movie was, and the sense of wonder it inspires. claire's monologue about how everything was important, even the insects we couldn't see: so good. even the layman is important, the one who just lives and goes through life doing honest work without being memorialised in stone. the rural setting of this movie was so peaceful too. it reminded me of History of Sound in a lot of ways, maybe because they're set around roughly the same time period. the visuals of this movie are so beautiful, especially the use of sunlight and fire/candles. i was enamored by how wonderful that one shot with robert and claire on the balcony of her house looked, where the shot becomes handheld and their silhouettes are backlit by the red-orange of the setting sun. mesmerizing, truly. and man, i was smiling at every scene baby katie was in—she's just so adorable, she gives me cuteness aggression. i felt pretty emotional in about two scens: one where robert talks to the spectre of that chinese man over the fire, saying "isn't this too much?", and two where he cries over the dead stag accepting that his wife and daughter were not coming back while ignatius stands behind in sorrowful empathy.
