Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2806. My Hindu Friend (2015)

    2806. My Hindu Friend (2015)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on January 4, 2020 120-129 mins, 2015, Brazil, Drama, Jan 20, Movies Of 2020, Review
    6.8 Deeply personal, but far from affecting
    • Acting 7.0
    • Directing 6.9
    • Story 6.5
    • User Ratings (1 Votes) 8.7

    Starring: Willem Dafoe, Maira Fernanda Cândido, Reynaldo Gianecchini

    Director: Hector Babenco

    Running Time: 124 mins


    My Hindu Friend is a Brazilian film about an ailing film director close to death, whose closest acquaintances are struggling to cope with his tempestuous moods. But if he survives his illness, he must learn to come to terms with reality once again.

    Combining elegant style and clearly very personal emotion throughout, director Hector Babenco’s My Hindu Friend is without a doubt a powerfully intimate portrait of living close to death, taking on challenging themes throughout. And while it certainly offers up engrossing drama through a captivating lead performance, the film unfortunately misses the mark with its most transcendent and thought-provoking ideas.

    My Hindu Friend is, as a result, unfortunately not the most emotionally affecting film you’ll come across, with the intensely personal depth suffocating underneath a frustrating and often unconvincing screenplay.

    However, that doesn’t mean the film is an entirely dull watch, and although it doesn’t quite pack the punch it’s aiming for, My Hindu Friend still impresses with a bold style, unique ideas and a very strong lead performance from Willem Dafoe.

    The film is an elegant watch throughout, with patient pacing and soothing visuals that bring home themes of mortality in a striking manner, as the film director approaches death without remedy, almost entirely opening up to it no matter how much he may struggle and resist deep down.

    In that, My Hindu Friend isn’t a devastating, soul-destroying watch, and while it sees a man go through hell as he undergoes intense medical treatment and psychological turmoil, director Babenco’s style is what gives it that uniquely elegant and soothing touch.

    Willem Dafoe’s performance also plays in neatly to that atmosphere, with a mellow and restrained performance that powerfully shows a man beginning to realise that his time may be up. His screen presence and energy at times still shows the character’s fire within, but as his condition deteriorates, Dafoe’s performance – shying away from all melodrama – works excellently in tandem with the film’s core perspective on death.

    As the film details what is clearly a very personal story for director Babenco, he introduces striking and unique ideas that could only possibly come from his own experiences. From emotional struggles with those around him to a unique perspective on the afterlife, My Hindu Friend features some surprising and briefly thought-provoking moments that divert from the course of more typical meditations on the subject.

    However, this is where the film unfortunately begins to fall down, as those unique ideas are never delivered in either convincing or captivating enough fashion to really hit home. The perspective on the afterlife is a clear example, and despite evidently being inspired by real, personal experience, it unfortunately feels random and out of place in the context of the film as a whole.

    Couple that with a view on complex themes that, despite featuring elegant intimacy, can be a little superficial, and you have a film that really misses the mark when it comes to hitting home on its most thought-provoking themes, an issue made unfortunately more frustrating by its long and slow pacing that does little to rectify that lack of intrigue with transcendent emotion.

    Overall, My Hindu Friend is clearly a very personal film for director Hector Babenco, and with a unique sense, an elegant style and a fantastic lead performance, there are times when it delivers his core ideas perfectly. Unfortunately, that’s all shadowed by a screenplay that comes often comes off as unconvincing, superficial and even haphazard, missing the mark in providing thought-provoking and agonising emotional drama, so that’s why I’m giving the film a 6.8.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    9.4
    Review
    February 15, 20130

    53. The Boat That Rocked (2009)

    8.8
    Review
    June 23, 20150

    1000. The Godfather (1972)

    8.1
    Review
    February 14, 20170

    1660. A Man Called Ove (2016)

    8.9
    Review
    May 23, 20140

    567. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

    8.9
    Review
    April 2, 20130

    108. Django Unchained (2012)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.