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It looks like this movie's release is about as wide as it's going to get, and I don't see a thread for it here, so I'm going to take this opportunity to urge you Cinema Discussoians to go see it this week if it's playing near you. This movie is wonderful -- the best I've seen so far this year, in fact. Synopsis from IMDB: "Set over one summer, the film follows precocious 6-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World." It takes its title from the name that the Disney Corp. gave Disneyworld during its planning stages.  While the movie's style and themes are far from the usual mainstream or even independent fare, you might find them familiar if you've ever seen an Italian Neorealist film, such as The Bicycle Thief. Like those movies, The Florida Project uses mostly little-known or first-time actors, and examines the struggles of impoverished people trying to get by in a society where everything, including their own choices, seems to conspire against them. I can't say enough about how well this movie comes together. The clever ways that the script works a definite linear plot into an apparently-meandering narrative, the sense of place that's so vivid that you'll feel like you've actually spent time there, the superb work by both the adult and child actors, the sociological food for thought that mostly hits you afterwards. A great and sobering film for the dawn of the Trump Era. (I don't want to scare you off by emphasizing the film's tragic aspects; it's also frequently very funny.)
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Nov 19, 2017 02:43
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Thanks for posting this. I lived in Orlando right by disney for 6 years and I imagine I will recognize a lot of the places in the movie. Hopefully I can find a screening nearby.
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Nov 20, 2017 01:55
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it's a great movie and I encourage everyone to check it out while they can. awesome stuff.
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Nov 21, 2017 11:57
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I tend to prefer a little more story, but this was a near-perfectly executed film, and I have to give it a lot of praise for that. It also did a really good job revealing its story, rather than just telling it, and I did like how that worked. I say 'nearly-perfectly' because I disliked the ending. After thinking about I suppose the artificiality of the beginning and ending serve to contextualize the film — make it clear that it is, after all, fiction — but I don't think it needed to be done that way. In particular, I think would should never have seen the Magic Kingdom.
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Nov 21, 2017 18:37
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Chicken Butt posted:While the movie's style and themes are far from the usual mainstream or even independent fare, Honestly, it felt pretty stock American-indie to me, treading ground that Ramin Bahrani already masterfully captured. It was hardly a bad film but it did tend to hit some well-worn character beats that tend to keep me from getting too emotionally engaged. I thought Tangerine was both more evocative and inventive. Having said all that, it looks beautiful, and there are some striking moments of wonder, like the cows in the field or the giant fallen tree. Sean Baker remains one to keep an eye on.
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Nov 21, 2017 21:19
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I... did not care for it. Its heart is in the right place, showing just how desperate things can be for the poor in America and how much of a trap it is, and it's an honest portrayal of life at that level, I suppose. Looks nice and has some nice performances. But, well, that's it? I mean, it feels like it could have done something more with this raw material. It's just sort of a bummer when all's said and done- and while there can be valid reasons to do that to an audience, it was the last thing I needed and I can't really imagine wanting to ever see it again.
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Dec 3, 2017 07:23
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This movie is so loving good
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Jan 2, 2018 04:25
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The kids in this movie, especially Brooklynn Prince, are transcendent. The movie itself is brilliant and layered and somehow beautiful underneath all the ways it's hosed up. People can and will focus on how dark it is, but I think the point is the moments of joy that both the kids and adults find in between that darkness. It makes an interesting counterpart to a movie like American Honey. I had Call Me By Your Name as my unequivocal favourite of the year but I think Florida Project unseats it. E: Kangra posted:
I do think I agree with this though. The ending is a bit of a misstep in that I don't like that Disney is their place to escape to when they haven't established that as "their" place. I was expecting and would have preferred if they'd gone back to the field with the cows. flashy_mcflash fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Jan 6, 2018 |
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Jan 6, 2018 06:03
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This movie has been rattling around my mind ever since I saw it and it’s probably my favourite of 2017 now. Saw Tangerine only recently and loved it but this is a step up. Amazing work. I agree the ending is a (mild) misstep, but for me it’s mainly because it doesn’t make sense for Jancey to initiate it, even in a fantasy, given how passive she is throughout the entire movie.
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Jan 6, 2018 14:45
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This was really special to me because when I was a kid growing up in Florida I had a period of my life where me and my parents were more or less living out of hotels as they drove around the state looking for a new home. That recurring topic of childish obliviousness and mischief caused while searching for amusement in a hotel resonated with me, the straits weren't quite as dire (getting chewed out for getting Play-Doh in the hotel carpet and having parents get into arguments over missing toys as opposed to burning down houses and shutting off power for the entire building) but it definitely captured that experience and attitude in a way I don't think I've encountered before in film. Also I lived in Orlando for a few years and loved the way that they captured the texture of the area and the people in it.
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Jan 6, 2018 19:46
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Yeah, it's a very well-observed movie. I grew up in central California and there were a lot of moments that really resonated, and I think will resonate with anyone who's ever lived on the bottom rungs of capitalism (eating lovely pizza while watching infomercials lmao). What impressed me most about this was how well Sean Baker conveys the way American consumerism squashes anyone unlucky enough not to be an active part of it - People With Money are essentially portrayed as aliens, car-havers with wallets, while everyone else scurries around the edges of six-lane highways.
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Jan 6, 2018 19:57
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This is an excellent film, and is so much fun to watch. The same premise from a different director could easily be a harrowing slog, but Sean Baker has created an energetic, vibrant, colourful, (sometimes) funny story. I'm excited about checking out his other films now.
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Jan 28, 2018 04:37
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This is dope
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Feb 25, 2018 04:39
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This had the best performance from child actors I've ever seen
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Feb 26, 2018 01:36
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Just saw this and it's one of the best films of 2017. My interpretation of the ending: It's not meant to be literal. We've been following the kids around as spectators, then we finally get to see the magic of imagination these children have to escape the everyday horror of existence from their perspective. It's the same sort of tragedy that the Apu movies display. What machinations make people live like this in a capitalist society?
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Mar 11, 2018 19:56
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Egbert Souse posted:My interpretation of the ending: It's not meant to be literal. We've been following the kids around as spectators, then we finally get to see the magic of imagination these children have to escape the everyday horror of existence from their perspective. The director said essentially the same thing about the ending. Sean Baker posted:"We've been watching Moonee use her imagination and wonderment throughout the entire film to make the best of the situation she's in—she can't go to Disney's Animal Kingdom, so she goes to the 'safari' behind the motel and looks at cows; she goes to the abandoned condos because she can't go to the Haunted Mansion. And in the end, with this inevitable drama, this is me saying to the audience, 'If you want a happy ending, you're gonna have to go to that headspace of a kid because, here, that's the only way to achieve it." Really neat movie, heart wrenching as it was.
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Mar 22, 2018 06:07
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