Too Late to Die Young

a complete waste of time - boring. Why not call it a documentary?

Pretty good... much, much, MUCH better than the trailer suggested!

It's too late to stop watching, 'Too Late to Die Young' once the movie title card played in the opening moments. What came over the next nearly two hours was mesmerizingly nothing. Full of empty. The best thing about this movie was the dog and he wanted to escape and for good reason. There may have been a better movie down the road. Make no mistake it's gorgeous and the child performances are endearing (two critics favs), but for the average cinephile, there's no there there. It's a Chilean film, with a few English speaking moments but for the most part there's not a lot of words on the page. The movie settle for beauty to plot which isn't my thing. Final Score: 4.4/10

Atmospherics yes, it might be. But a little bit of story and/or rhythm would have helped too.

It´s a beautifully filmed movie about a bunch of ordinary kids growing up in a boring part of Chile, living their mundane lives dictated by their idealistic semi-interested parents who have comitted to a sort of lazy community life without much struggle or strife. At the end of the movie, their easy-going lifestyle comes to an abrupt end when the entire community is engulfed in a wild forest fire. But you wouldnt know it from the faces of the jaded protagonists who are only concerned with their own well being; the only rational character is the family dog who finally breaks loose from the decadent boredom in search of some real meaningfulness.

aesthetically very pleasing, beautiful shots, round story, but you can't make an entire movie on nice shots. It's okay to leave a viewer with some questions, but I felt a bit too lost sometimes, maybe a lot of questions are unanswered because they're irrelevant, because those things could distract you from what it is you should really be focused on. For me the plot wasn't clear enough and that makes it hard to really get into a movie. Of course, you always need to break some rules while making a movie, but it's really important to know which ones to break. A movie doesn't always have to be introduction, inciting accident, journey, climax, resolution of course. Movies are not defined as good guy beats bad guy. But I think that in this movie a structure like that was missing in such a way that it makes it kind of hard to know what you should be feeling and maybe that is the point. However, it is a beautiful movie just as call me by your name and they've done an incredible job at establishing a mesmerizing ambience.

Demian Hernández gives a killer performance as the girl on the edge of womanhood. Filled with teenage angst, Hernández convincingly reminds us of the struggle of gaining independence from our parents as we work to flee the nest.

- It's Too Late for these kids to Die Young - Watching Too Late to Die Young (Tarde Para Morir Joven) felt like being carried by a gentle stream. Sure, there were some sharp edges and cold spots along the way that jostled me a bit, but it had a dreamlike, even-keeled quality I haven't found in many Hollywood movies. This latest offering from Chilean writer/director Dominga Sotomayor (Thursday Till Sunday) is about a group of children growing up in a commune during the hot summer of 1990, inspired by her own similar upbringing. Up the mountain and quite a drive from the nearest city, a loosely organized group of families have created an intentional community where the children rove in packs, everybody knows everybody else's stories, and decisions are made together. Yet it's not the finer points of commune life, or Chile's changing socio-political climate which drive the story. Rather, we get to look through the eyes and ears of three young people reckoning with their adolescence in the midst of very peculiar and chaotic surroundings. I was honestly expecting more plot and politics (after all, Chile's military dictatorship had just ended!) but was pretty delighted that instead, I got to see a sweeter, more universal story that was so easy for me to relate to, even though I grew up in totally different circumstances! Ten-year-old Clara (Magdalena Tótoro) is a curious and observant child, who insists that she is only too little "on the outside." And teenagers Sofía (Demian Hernández) and Lucas (Antar Machado) are wrestling with first loves, the ache to drive on the open road, and figuring out their own bodies and friendships. The plot builds around fairly mundane moments, like Clara's dog going missing, or the big upcoming New Year's party. But even moments which seem insignificant to an outsider can have a monumental and lasting impact in the life of a child. I, too, remember plotting with my fellow tiny comrades on how to best keep ourselves awake 'til dawn during sleepovers. I too, remember the joyful, terrifying rush of the steering wheel beneath my fingers when I first barrelled onto the interstate at sixteen years old. While not a thrilling suspense or a splashy blockbuster, this movie has a truly charming quietness and is noticeably created by people who know how to frame a good shot and catch the ideal light. The score and soundtrack are also perfect to set the tone; the viewer only hears music when actual music is being played in the film, either from a battery-powered cassette player or from live musicians. I loved the almost dreamlike direction and camera work, and how the scruff, pale landscape of the dry brush and rocks is framed bright and clear, rather than bleak, even without many flowers or green things. From the brittle brush to the hanging moss, everything looks so flammable - I was constantly anxious that it all might go up in smoke at any moment. It's a fitting reminder of the fragility of their commune, and of youth itself. Beautiful, but so vulnerable. This was the first screening I got to enjoy as a member of the press at the New York Film Festival, and I'll admit, it wasn't the most thrilling start to the week. But the more I reflect on it, the more I'm glad I got to see it, and the more impressed I am by different elements like the performances and the cinematography. Because of its slow-moving pace and thin plot, Too Late to Die Young might not be everyone's perfect Friday night flick. But for subtlety, and the small, beautiful moments that make up the way childhood morphs into adolescence, it's a winner for sure. ---------- This review was first published on Narrative Muse, https://www.narrativemuse.co/movies/too-late-to-die-young, and was written Debbie Holloway. Narrative Muse curates the best books and movies by and about women and non-binary folk on our website http://www.narrativemuse.co and our social media channels.