The Souvenir Part II

The Souvenir Part II is undeniably the work of a talented director though this episode of the autobiography is less interesting than its predecessor.

This is a creative coming-of-age story – a portrait of the artist as a young woman discovering her own voice.

Joanna Hogg delivers an object lesson in how to deliver a follow-up: deeper, funnier, more imaginative than its predecessor, The Souvenir Part II is a filmmaker working at the peak of her powers.

Think of it as The Godfather Part II of posh misery, a film built upon the emotional wreckage left behind from the original, yet wider in scope, smoother in execution, and with warmth where a freezer used to be.

It is painfully touching. You can’t tear your eyes from them. If there were to be The Souvenir Part III: Rosalind and James Walk Their Springer Spaniels, I would be up for that.

Hogg has created her own universe and explored it with relentless vigour. Few final shots have so satisfactorily summed up such a magnum opus.

The Souvenir Part 2 is better than Part 1!

As a sequel, it has an aesthetic that projects a certain elegance, but its dramatic side lacks pushfulness and is quite lukewarm when it illustrates the guilt, mourning and self-discovery of a filmmaker. [Full review in Spanish]

...please spare me...

While the first Souvenir in many ways feels like a complete piece, the second demonstrates how an artist is able to reinvent a story in a bold and exciting new way.