After watching this film, it took me a good fifteen minutes to recover and get back to reality which is a very rare happening since on average, I deal with at least six to eight films daily, this implies that the work of  “Lastrajoli Pascal” is more than just a success but a real professional and perfected piece of production that we rarely come across. The way that he was able to put together all the cinematic elements at play makes it difficult not to admire the work and give it the praise it deserves.

The screenplay at hand is one of the main pillars that led to the attainment of the work, again we see the talent of “Pascal” at play and how he managed to present a fully silent film that delivers a very loud impact, the way the story progresses and how we have two parallel life changing events taking place at the same adds to the uniqueness of the work. Another main pillar that is to be applauded and deserves a standing ovation is the brilliant acting skills of the whole cast; it is not everyday that we see a full cast that is delivering the same level of professionalism and talent. The ability to be heard without the use of an actual script thus relying on body language and facial expressions is something that the best of actors might find difficult and might easily fail at delivering the required emotions.

Technically, it was a brilliant choice to go with black and white since it reflects a very specific mood that the director wanted and makes the work all the more realistic, having said that this choice is not something easy to manoeuver since it requires a different approach when it comes to lighting and all the other aspects of cinematography; in his choices “Pascal” proved a high level of maturity and understanding of the true language of filmmaking, be it his shots and angles that transported the viewers into each and every scene of the work or to the use of music and sound effects that created an extra sense of suffocation within the audiences.

In conclusion, this film is more than a must see, it is a real piece of art that deserves a high level of appreciation for all the reasons stated above and much more, a final word of congratulations goes out to the entire crew and cast who made such an enjoyable achievement possible.

N.Khouri Ph.D

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