[adam]

I think this movie suffered due to my uncertainty about the "reality" of what I was seeing. That is, I expected, nearly the whole movie through, that we would find out that the Spanish story was true, that they had got eternal life, but she had a brain tumour, and thus, while living forever, she would be living in ill health, perpetually, etc etc. I don't know if this is a "flaw" of the movie, that it allowed that confusion to continue, or that the trailer of the movie was misleading and created that expectation, or what, but I expect I'll enjoy it more on my next viewing when my mind isn't preoccupied with revelations about the actual nature of things.

Very pretty.

The predominant accusation seems to me to be that it's devoid of meaning. I wouldn't say that's quite fair. It doesn't say anything novel, granted, but I think what it does do is present a portrayal of a man struggling over acceptance of his wife's death. That's hardly meaningless.

Upon further reflection, I think that accusation of meaninglessness is rooted exactly in my concerns in the first paragraph. You wait the whole movie for the trip through space to be tied to reality in a mystical/sci-fi way, and, ultimately, when you realize that it's purely metaphorical, you feel somewhat cheated. That is, that whole third of the movie is meaningless when you're expecting it to resolve in a sense where it's a direct part of the narrative. It isn't meaningless emotionally, and I really like that aspect of the movie, but when you think it's going to be one thing, it framed my whole perception of the movie in false terms.

I'm having to re-frame. Another viewing will help. I probably won't see it again in the theatre though.

I think I very much like it, but walking out of the theatre, that was less the case.