At NYU there were always these international students who had gobs of money that made these gorgeous, very emotional student films. This is like the grandaddy of them all.
Comparing a feature to a student film may sound like an insult, but I mean it in the best way possible. Indeed, the film is about an 18 year old – and a very well-cultured one at that.
It is operatic and epic and a little precious and has a somewhat unrealistic portrayal of the world of the arts, but it makes me nostalgic for discovering European Art Cinema for the first time. Fantastic music, too.
Maybe I’m projecting on to it, but I think it is, what some people call, “a gem.”