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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

The Constant Gardener

14:29 / 21.11.05

Any barbeloids had the pleasure of seeing this yet?

It's a great film pitched somewhere between romance, thriller and political doctrine but never coming off as crudely as similar studio efforts have done (*Ahem*...Lord of War..*Ahem*..). Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz both turn in flawless performances and Meirelles' direction is wonderfully fluid, conveying a keen a sense of location as he did in "City of God" whilst stressing the tragic beauty of the despoiled African landscape.

The central relationship feels utterly real, brutally intimate and the politics of the plot are so sensitively dealt with that never does one feel patronised or insulted.

So, my two questions are:

1-has anyone seen it? thoughts opinions etc?

2-How real is the situation portrayed, and if so, how can I get involved to do something about it?

17:16 / 21.11.05

Saw a preview screening of this with Ralph Fiennes doing a Q&A afterwards; it's a great film, very solid and well-told. John leCarre has a note at the very end of the credits where he says that after writing his book, he did even more research on related subjects and concluded that his movie was like a 'holiday postcard' compared to what really happens in similar issues with similar countries, pharma companies, etc.

02:51 / 23.11.05

I saw it last week - I thought it was an effective, well-balanced movie. The direction was more mature than City of God (less reliance on gimmicky plot/cinema devices), and his use of digital video was impeccable. I love the starkness and colour of his imagery (one of the things I LOVED about City of God).

I definitely enjoyed the relationship between the two leads - although the beginning seemed a little under-done. I suppose the modern fairy-tale start of the relationship balanced out the ending.

A lot of interesting points are raised regarding the main issue of pharmaceutical cumpanys (globalisation, multi-national raping of third world, etc) as well as issues of morality and ethics.

Good movie, but fucking depressing.

12:39 / 25.11.05

good but 20 minutes too long

not a patch on CITY OF GOD