Limbo | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn

Limbo | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn | Limbo- Suspended in an intermediate place or state.

DVDs:

Limbo

	Limbo Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn Sony Pictures, 1999 average customer review:based on 92 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Limbo captures Alaska

I'm not a big fan of film. I'm a Librarian and a voracious reader. I caught the first fifteen minutes of this film on cable and then had to leave. I was really struck by the film- maker's authentic contemporary portrait of Alaska. So I picked it up at the local video store. I lived for ten years in Alaska and I have yet to see Hollywood produce a realistic portrayal of the last frontier. Sayles gets it right when he shows the tension between the tourist industry, the old industries like fishing and canning contrasted with the incredible beauty of Alaska. I just hate it when Alaska is treated by the tourist industry as some great theme park. That's not what it is! It's an amazing, wild place - really beautiful! - but in the beauty is terror and Sayles captures it in this film. When the locals are sitting around the bar talking about the people they've known who died in fishing, boating or flying accidents it gave me chills! Only in Alaska! I was also impressed with the acting, especially : MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO, DAVID STRAITHAIRN,VANESSA MARTINEZ. Excellent choices! And Mastrantonio's singing is heartbreaking. If you are Alaskan you need to see this film.

for more information click here

Limbo- Suspended in an intermediate place or state.

Limbo is at first not terribly unlike the first acts of A Perfect Storm. It explores life on the shores of a small Alaskan town getting to know the hopes and dreams of its people trying to make a living of the fat of the land and fish in the waters. The gathering place in the village is a local bar where regulars, including Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, meet to discuss their economic struggles and maybe get lucky. The similarities to A Perfect Storm don't end there. The story turns on what promises to be an uneventful trip on a fishing boat into a struggle for three people to survive against nature. Limbo is really people trying to make connections and cope with the shortcomings of the hand they have been dealt in life. But one of the boat's passengers has a secret that gets everyone into a lot of trouble with some drug dealers and the film suddenly takes on a whole new dynamic. Eventually this leads to a moment of great suspense. I must admit my reason for liking this film rests entirely on the film's finale which evoked one of the strongest audience reactions I have ever experienced. Many in the audience gasped, others were stunned and outraged, some laughed. It was a good ending and I think it was the best way it could have ended. But I don't know that I would have enjoyed it nearly as much without being able to listen to everyone else react to it. Because so much of your opinion of Limbo will ultimately depend upon how you deal with the conclusion, see it at your own risk. I can only safely recommend this film to people who enjoy slower paced character films like Atom Egoyan's, The Sweet Hereafter.

for more information click here