I don't feel right calling it a 'bad film', but I sure hated it.

I've honestly never seen someone so obsessed with hating a film or an actor. Did Michael Fassbender forget your birthday and kick your dog or something? If you're that unhappy you should make your own film exploring mental illness. I'm sure you would be able to bring some valuable insight to such a project.

Excellent answer. I had some of these thoughts myself, expressed in a new thread today. I loved this movie, It tied up the knot so nicely in the end, Jon was like a tourist in this odd group, but it took him a while to realise that the dreams he had was selfish ones and nothing like the others', and in the end I think he realised how shallow those dreams really were. Life if not about fame, or being loved by the masses, it's about finding your place and be happy with that, and being loved by the people who sees you for who you really are.

Has it occurred to you that the movie was just a boring story about a bunch of irresponsible people narrated by an oblivious untalented hack who didn't really have anything to offer?

Frank was not interesting at all. He hadn't shown a pinch of genius you're talking about. Yes, personally, I found the bits of songs they were playing to be interesting. The anti-pop attitude, the modulated synths and processed samples sounded good to my ears. But genius? Nope, didn't hear any.

Also, the story itself, while started off very well (showing how silly Jon was when trying to find a good music in him and how he was unaware of the fact of his lack of talent), descent into a very jumbled uninteresting mess. There were no progression at all. Being confined together in a secluded area for almost a year would changed the dynamics of people relationships. Yet, these group of people hadn't changed at all. They still treated each other like they did before. Also, individually they remained the same: Jon was still the same shallow fame-hungry-whore he was before. Musically, he was still a talentless hack (never learn anything from other band members). Clara still hated Jon and remained unreasonable about promoting their music. The french guy and the drummer were still monolithic supporting characters with no effect to the story or real contribution to the music (they're just props).

Moreover, I couldn't fathom how these irresponsible jobless people whose musical career didn't seem to provide them with a lot of money could survive before Jon financially and acquire some high-end gears and recording equipments (the digital and analog synths, the analog tape recorder with the mixer board, AD/DA converters, etc). Probably they came from rich families, who knows?

Regarding the audience, they saw the band as total freaks because it's the only idea they had about the band members (constantly promoted to them by Jon). The audience hadn't heard any of their works. The band hadn't released the album and properly performed their music. I bet there were many who would have been interested in the music if they had heard the album. Also, The most important thing in music is the music itself, so you couldn't possibly blame the audience for seeing the band as some sort of the-freaks-of-the-week if they hadn't heard anything worth listening from the band and the only idea they got from the band was just a bunch of freaks.

Also the movie was not a tragedy. It's a comedy (comedy always ends with marriage or some kind of happiness) or your usual poppy movie where the characters get things they want or need in the end. In this case, Frank was back with his band (people he loved) and finally able to express his feelings toward them. Jon was painted as a hero who had found some sort of revelation or meanings of life/relationship/love (and other kinds of that schmaltzy BS) and drew himself out of the picture.

I enjoyed reading eljefemartin's analysis and positive review. I agree, and really love this film. It's nuanced, layered, and worth multiple viewing. Certainly, I haven't enjoyed a film this much since "The Visitor. In ways, it reminds me of other films such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Being John Malcovich," and "The Big Lebowski" - all of which tend to stay with the viewer long after watching the film and grow in appreciation. 😃

I had missed your fine argumented comment when you posted it, Elje. I agree on every point. I loved this little movie, for me too it's one of the best I've seen in the last years and it has much more to say than so many big productions; I loved it beyond expectations truly speaking, I was surprised, amused and touched. I laughed and almost cried at the same time in some moments so well balanced the story is. It's a tragedy, yes, it truly is, narrated by a very sensitive and original voice.

You know what! eljefemartin totally gets it. Emart is absolutely correct about his observations and judgments. This film was so great on many levels. It made me laugh so hard I cried at many different events in the movie. So on some level, it was extremely comedic. For me, the integrity of the film was that it didn't pander to mass consumption. I've read some reviewers on these message boards sound so self-righteous about the fact that the movie was so bad it was only seen by a small amount of people. How that is confirmation that a work is bad is beyond me, when I consider all the pop tripe that is spoon fed to the masses, that is "IMHO" really lousy art (term used loosely). I find just the opposite to be true, and yeah, I could be viewed as cynical for saying this, but generally I find that most collectively accepted and loved "art" by the populace is truly mediocre at best and by and large, flat out horrible. I emphasize IMHO, something we're all entitled to. But the fact that not many people saw this because the masses didn't makes me love this film all the more. The music was fantastic! I loved the soundtrack, I heard Radiohead, David Bowie, Queens of the Stone Age, influences in the soundtrack, intentional or not. I felt like the film was wonderful in that it didn't wrap it all up with a nice happy ending, so that the audience would all walk away smiling like idiots. I freaking loved this film and because I did sound work for underground bands in Hollywood for a few years I have experience working with "real" artists. And this film was very true to that experience. Loved it, loved it, FREAKING LOVED IT!!!

This movie is one of the best I have seen in the past ten years