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      The Illumination

      1972 1h 25m Drama List
      67% 6 Reviews Tomatometer 71% 100+ Ratings Audience Score Franciszek studies physics until he abandons his convictions to seek meaning in his life. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (6) Critics Reviews
      Richard Combs Financial Times Illumination is an intelligent if unexciting discourse which never quite bridges the gap... between the inevitable and the predictable in the lessons it draws about life. Feb 5, 2020 Full Review Ben Sachs Chicago Reader The editing, at once jarring and exhilarating, is as revolutionary in its own way as that of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless. Jun 19, 2014 Full Review Chris Petit Time Out The rapid editing and self-conscious technique is sometimes irritating, but more often proves sufficiently provocative to hold attention. Jul 6, 2010 Full Review Philip Kemp Total Film Polish director Krztsztof Zanussi's third feature and his most experimental crosses narrative cinema with filmed essay in an exploration of truth, knowledge and the elusive nature of happiness. Rated: 4/5 Jun 19, 2014 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews This is a glum but intellectually sound film... Rated: B+ Sep 2, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Zanussi discusses the meaning of life and its relationship with science and knowledge with a Woody Allen-alike protagonist. Despite the wide acclaim for innovative minds and approaches, I personally feel it a bit pretentious and clichéd. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member If you looked (back) at a life from say the end of high school up until age 30 and just tried to capture the "most important" events -- or at least tried to report how these were remembered, even if it was just, you know, a single image or a conversation of 1 or 2 minutes, what would that look like? If you edited these memories together to create a 90 minute film, would it be a coherent narrative? Would it pack an emotional punch? Would it yield "illumination"? Stanislaw Latallo chooses to study physics and subsequently pursues an advanced degree, suspends, works in a mental hospital (with neurosurgical treatments), has romances, gets married, has a kid, returns to his degree (amazingly) and so on. So, this might resonate more if you've considered science (or further study of any kind). Also, if you are ready to engage with a more experimental storytelling style, in Polish (by Zanussi). Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Illumination

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Franciszek studies physics until he abandons his convictions to seek meaning in his life.
      Director
      Krzysztof Zanussi
      Screenwriter
      Krzysztof Zanussi
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Polish
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 5, 2019
      Runtime
      1h 25m