Walter Mitty titkos élete

Walter Mitty titkos életével akkor is nehezen birkózom meg, ha már másodszor láttam a nagyvásznon. Gyönyörű tájakkal, energikus filmzenével és pozitív hangulattal büszkélkedik. Amint azonban elkezdem agyilag felfogni, egy olyan kifestőkönyvnek tűnik, amelynek nincs sok értelme, és túl egyszerűen és következetlenül mutatja be az életről szóló gondolatokat ahhoz, hogy ne csak egy egzotikusan előadott családi film legyen. A Walter Mitty titkos élete egy olyan gyermek pajkos és eufórikus elméjén keresztül szemléli a világot, aki még semmit sem tapasztalt benne. (2014.01.16)

Do you know what it feels like to meet the cutest movie of 2013? You happen to watch it. At the end, you read the final credits, focus on every single person who participated in making the movie and you cannot but wonder how Ben even managed to make the movie in the first place. Because what you realize is that it’s actually his most normal, and also most honest movie, and all that makes it the best movie he’s ever been in. Every single character is out of this world. The beautiful Kristen Wiig delivers such a performance that you could simply kiss her. The Icelandic actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson gets so hammered that you’d love to do the afternoon bender all over again sometime, even including all the bad stuff booze does to you… well and Sean Penn has a moment prepared for you that you should never ever forget. Movies are about dreaming, imagination and about what our lives should be like. But why couldn’t life be like that? Walter Mitty proves that nothing is impossible. He accomplished what we all just take aerial views of, contemplating how we could accomplish our goals. And yes, this movie is supported by both the incredible shots of unbelievable landscapes in Greenland and then in Iceland, and also by an awesome soundtrack that included Arcade Fire and Of Monsters and Men. Two amazing bands that will make you dream… and that will make you act. You simply need to find a way of your own… (2013.12.29)

If Stiller had not tripped himself up so unsportingly immediately during the New York part when Walter’s over the top stories are like something out of Tropical Storm and so completely at odds with the mood and atmosphere that it is trying for (successfully from the moment when they set off on their journey) my impressions would have been much more positive. Even so, this just couldn’t shake off the label of “the movie that tried so hard, but so hopelessly for two hours to achieve what they achieved incomparably better in the first trailer". (2014.01.17)

An optimistic snack that irradiates energy and peace. All that nonsense that is needed for Walter’s adventure to continue, in connection with this particular film, didn’t bother me at all. What I didn’t like was the utter predictability of the plot, in particular those questions: “where has picture 25 gone?”. The answer will be clear to anyone. And yet, it’s solid, brisk fun that’s nice to watch and makes sense going to the cinema for it. The locations are breathtaking. (2013.12.27)

In addition to virtual relationships, in the introduction Stiller also cautiously raises a middle finger to corporate capitalism, which strips people of their individuality and transforms individuals into pawns who are willing to do anything to hold on to their jobs. A person’s own body – or rather mind – thus becomes his or her last refuge. The liberating power of the imagination allows one to at least dream of doing noble deeds worthy of great romantic heroes, who were long ago displaced from reality and put into epic Hollywood fairy tales. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is not ashamed to admit that it is itself such a fairy tale whose message justifies its numerous spectacular scenes. The second half of the film is made up of a series of stirring adventure stories whose aesthetic concept is consciously inspired by magazine covers, since Walter escapes from his daily routine into photographs from prestigious magazines. Though the special-effects sequences blur the line between dream and reality to such an extent that the difference becomes irrelevant (instead of creating a certain tension), they also gently complement the characteristics of the main protagonist. Even though the romantic subplot seems superfluous on the surface and the film may seem like a self-improvement handbook for men who don’t know what to do with their lives, other people (his girlfriend, Sean O'Connell, his mother and, indirectly, even his deceased father) directly and indirectly support Walter in his solo adventures and compel him to continue in them throughout the film. In the current “contactless” era, a very welcome feature of this film is its effort to convince viewers not to live only in the virtual world and to not be afraid to realise their dreams, to not be selfish and to not stop thinking of others even in the most difficult moments (due to which the film seems more conformist than the roughly similar anarchistic action flick Wanted). Walter Mitty demonstrates that Stiller is able to suppress his eccentric comic nature in favour of a relatively serious idea. However, that seriousness is fortunately never taken so far that the film would completely step outside the realm of feel-good entertainment for the big screen and for the whole family. With the benefit of hindsight and in all seriousness, I wouldn’t hesitate to call Walter Mitty the most positive movie surprise of last year. 85% (2014.01.13)