Rowan -
This was probably the movie I resonated most with. (I know, scary right) The creepiness of it was the right amount, and the ending was beautiful. Of course Nightwish was cooking the whole time, music was on top
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/06/24
Full Review
Iro A
Probably the only reason why I ever got my interest in watching this movie is because of Nightwish's former band members appearing in it, plus music composed by Nightwish. The movie itself came in 2012 (same year as the Imaginaerum album by Nightwish) and I was...like what? 10 years old? Plus back then I wasn't into metal music of any sorts. Now in my early 20s I have fallen in love with many kinds of metal music such as symphonic metal which Nightwish is very certainly known for. However, back in the days when those music TV stations existed, I saw the Nightwish - Storytime music video which was bit of like a Behind The Scenes for the part where Tom encounters all the horrors in the circus, I first thought the song was a banger, but now I think it's pure art, beautiful art, same beautiful art as the movie is. My expectations were bit offset, but man it was amazing to see Anette starring in the movie, and my favorite idol from Nightwish, Tuomas Holopainen, the piano and keys. But what this movie really makes the ultimate 10/10 is how beautiful the story just is. It's ultimately dark, deep, but certainly a beautiful story of the man who wanted to fix everything. I couldn't just help but pull the pack of tissues and cry. It may be a decade old movie, and not everyone liked Anette, but this movie still is a beautiful piece of art, no matter where you go, no matter how old you are, no matter who you are.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/26/23
Full Review
g j
Sailing the seas of cheese. This is pretty cringey... the dialogue and acting are really hammy and the story is embarrassingly pretentious. The sequence with Nightwish playing a baroque number was quite effective though.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
09/08/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Strangely sweet and well made. Was a " we'll give this five minutes' pick. It's 5 stars for being a pleasant surprise.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Do you love Nightwish?
Do you love poetry?
Do you love fantastic music?
Do you have an fantastic imagination?
Do you love emotional movies?
If you said yes on all these. This one is a 10 for you 😍
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I really enjoyed this film. As I understand it, it was made for less than $4 million. And while it did feel a bit like an independant film, it managed to stretch that budget quite a long way. The film has a vaguely Tim Burton/Terry Gilliam feel and the set design is distinctive and well done and works it's magic in making the real world feel intimate and the dreamworld feel delightfully surreal.
Movies have, for good or ill, been made from a collection of a band's songs. ABBA's "Mama Mia," based on the stage musical of the same name and The Who's "Tommy," which reversed things and instead inspired a Broadway musical are two famous examples. The key is to have a good story underpinning the film. I was really moved by this films story of an estranged father and daughter.
Thomas/Tom Whitman, former songwriter and musician, suffering from illness and dementia lies in a coma-like dreamstate while his estranged daughter Gem, feeling abandoned and unable to forgive, has to decide whether or not to follow his doctor's recommendations on end of life decisions. In a surreal dreamscape, in the form of his childhood self, Tom tries to remember the important thing he has forgotten, while in the real world Gem learns more about her father from Ann, a female fellow bandmate from his past whom she resents. The film bounces between Tom's dream world and Gem's all too real world.
In his dark dreamworld the elderly Tom finds himself young once again and in an orphanage with a girl named Ann. He meets a creepy Tim Burtonesque snowman named Mr. White who it seems to already knows him and who invites him to go on an adventure. He meets numerous others in this strange dreamscape who are stand-ins for those in the real world. Who should he trust and more importantly, what is it that he needs to remember?
The cast is pretty solid, and members of Nightwish show up in mostly small, yet sometimes semi-significant parts. Tuomas Holopainen, Nightwish's co-founder, songwriter and co-writer of the film plays a 30-something version of Tom who just happens to have been the keyboardist/ songwriter/ composer for a rock band (hmmm...go figure) and then-current Nightwish lead singer Anette Olzon plays an adult Ann, lead singer for the band (...sensing a pattern here). Neither are really speaking parts, but they play versions of central characters with Tuomas getting the most "acting" time.
The rest of the band make their appearances as well. Uilleann bagpiper / session musician Troy Donockley has a nice little scene with "Gem" as a dreamworld magician /surgical assistant. Bassist Marco Hietala plays a circus "Master of Ceremonies." There are a couple of scenes where the dreamworld version of the band act along to the songs "Storytime" and "Slow Love, Slow." The former scene is a nightmare circus and the latter a classy 20's style Jazz club.
The special effects for a film with such a low budget are actually quite good. I found most of the CGI quite competent and fit the surrealness of the film. There is a dreamlike quality to it all that really makes me lose myself in the fantasy. Several scenes of note: There is a great Snowman / young Tom flying scene near the beginning which is a nice homage to the famous scene in the animated holliday classic "The Snowman." A scene with dreamworld versions of living "tin soldiers" on a battlefield is also really cool. A roller coaster scene near the end is excitingly surreal, dreamlike and wonderful. This film provides a much more satisfying experience than any small budget fantasy has a right to. Again, kudos to whoever stretched the tiny budget to the breaking point.
The best part of the film, unsurprisingly...The music. Nightwish's "Imaginaerum" album is magnificently adapted by Petri Alanko into gorgeous score that beautifully underlines, punctuates and swells every emotional scene. There are also two scenes that directly employ the full songs, "Storytime" and the jazzy "Slow, Love Slow." The full band appears in these dream scenes. The "Storytime" scene is comprised of a nightmare carnival while "Slow, Love Slow" takes place in a retro jazz club.
(One note: Those with kiddies be aware. The film does get a bit dark thematically at times. And the snowman Mr White is definitely a bit creepy.)
This film made me feel all the feels. That is enough to get me to recommend this film highly.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
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