CROWD REPORTS
Please post what time you went, how full was your theater, what trailers were shown, and the audiences reaction.
shareI saw it at 4PM at the ArcLight Hollywood and it was well over half full. The 7:30 showing, however, was nearly full. I saw people lining up for it after my showing let out and there were so many people in the hallway and the tickets were nearly sold out.
I think there's been a rape up there!
I saw it last night as well. At the ArcLight. I don't know. I'm not so sure about this film. Maybe I was just tired. It demands a re-watch for me, because of this. Perhaps it was partly due to the expectations I had brought with me after reading the book.
But, I can say with confidence, that it might be a case of how the film was edited. Too much cutting can damage the lasting effect the images carry. It's as though this film shows Martin Scorsese's weakness when it comes to editing. It's like an indecisiveness. Not knowing which shot he wants for certain moments. Rather than choosing one, he tries to show us multiple angles of a particular moment. This sort of leads to some distracting performance and moment continuity issues. Which, perhaps, could have been avoided having chosen certain shots and stuck with them.
I don't know. There's certainly plenty to like; that is certain, but it didn't, for me, carry the weight I hoped it would have. And for a film that's 2 hours and 41 mins, the sound was so subdued, even the sound design. The entire film almost lacking a soundtrack. That was a bold move.
bump
shareI saw a later show of it last night, at 10PM.
It is an auditorium that seats about 250, and I'd say there were maybe 90-100 there. So, not quite half full. But it was the later show, too. Didn't let out until around 1AM.
Pretty much the same as a previous poster said, Pretty quiet, an "Ooo" from a few people at two parts, a couple laughs at Kichijiro repeatedly confessing and Inquisiter Inoue. Pretty silent at the end. But then, in the hallway, a guy said to his lady friend, "That was pretty good", and a girl said to another girl, "Wow. That was sad. I don't know how I feel about that." No one complained at all.
My son and I LOVED it. But we still feel we need to reflect on it for a while. I plan to try and see it once more in the cinema, and then buy it later on blu ray.
Eventually, its target audience that it will speak to the most will find it, and then it will find its audience.
It will be a classic one day, and people won't believe it was so polarizing, and underappreciated, when first released.
I think it's the cinematic achievement of the year.
Having had mixed feelings towards the film, as you can see in my above statement, I have since revistited it. I rewatched it yesterday.
And I have to say, this is, I think, on of the most beautiful films I've seen. (as well as in the cinema -- new). It's actually very remarkable, I think. I agree with you completely. Words are difficult to describe.
I must have been tired (also having read the book and comparing it in my head as I was watching it).
This film will stand the test of time, I think.