Existential detectives’ Bernard and Vivian are hired by Albert Markovski to solve the mystery behind a string of coincidences he believes are connected to the larger questions of existence.
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trite and forced. it's like someone tried to make a funny david lynch movie. WHY? i would default to russell's 'spanking the monkey' or the very funny 'flirting with disaster'. ugh, a cheap version of eternal sunshine. you know what this reminds me of? the episode of the simpsons in which homer tries to find his soulmate (which again, was much better than this movie).
Awesome! This is so weird and odd that it almost falls flat on its face. However, the cast really shines despite the sometimes silly script and the direction is assured. And it has Isabelle Huppert in a comedic role! How strange is that?
This is a unique comedy that would make a great double bill with A Life Less Ordinary. Everyone in this cast is brilliant and as zany as ever. Russell weaves an exasperating tale of laughs and deep questions that makes this film have a Wes Anderson kind of vibe with the edginess of Russell. Definitely a fun ride.
"Jesus is never mad at us if we live with Him in our hearts!" Tommy : "I hate to break it to you, but He is - He most definitely is." beautifully done strains of wes anderson. nice to see lily tomlin, too, although she had russell had quite the youtube-able existential beef on the set during the making of this little gem. 3.5 stars
One the greatest comedies of the 2000's. Every performance is amazing given the amount of dialogue spewed forth in Howard Hawks screwball fashion. Sure the ideas are philosophy 101 cliffnotes but I can't imagine this topic being made more accessible for a mainstream audience or more humanistic than here. I just wish Russell had made more films in this style instead of going in the more Hollywood direction he went.
A mid 00s charming and fun indie films, but certainly not compromising on philosophical depth. I usually have a tough time with such crafted films that experiment with conventional realism, but this film pulled it off nicely. The philosophical topics in the film are explored well, roughly stated comparing the 'everything is connected' buddhist metaphysics to the 'nihilist' perspective, both of which have their role.