Film Review: The Reasons of the Heart

Film Reviews Wed, 19 Oct 2011 Written by Rasha
Editor rating
 
 2.0 User rating
 
 0.0 (0)
Arcelia Ramirez in Reasons of the Heart (Picture: ADFF).

Directed by acclaimed Mexican film-maker Arturo Ripstein, The Reasons of the Heart explores themes of inexplicable passion, schizophrenia and despair. Read below for triplew.me’s review of the film…

Shot entirely in black and white and inspired by Madame Bovary (as a sort of adaptation) – The Reasons of the Heart plays on film-noir and theater aesthetics and dynamics. The film revolves around bored housewife Emilia and her passion-fuelled downward spiral to self-destruction.

Emilia’s life is vacant and only fulfilled (sometimes) by her infidelities and multiple imaginary whims. The protagonist of the film is a woman who seldom cares for her only child and frequently punishes those around her for her mistakes - making for a highly unsympathetic character.

Emilia’s vacuum of doom begins after her lover abandons her; the artistic and eccentric saxophone player, whom she projects her life-long dreams through.

In her despair, she destroys the lives of those around her and eventually destroys herself. The Reasons of the Heart is rightfully shot in black and white – as the performances stand-out so colorfully on their own. That being said, the film’s tendency to lean so much on over-dramatic and non-contextual dialogues proves to be a little bit, well, ‘try-hard’ at times.

STARRING

Arcelia Ramirez, Vladimir Cruz

DIRECTED BY

Arturo Ripstein

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE


Editor review

Review: The Reasons of the Heart

Rating:
 
 2.0
Reviewed by triplew.me
October 20, 2011
 
Last updated: October 23, 2011
A classic case of all style and no substance. The film is executed beautiful in black and white, but the story lacks a lot of body - even the over the top dramatic performances couldn't fill that void.
 
 

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