Verbo

Something between teenage fantasy, horror, a help line, a lively guide for young suicides and a moralist hip-hop track a la Majk Spirit. At the same time, the film is clearly activist and aims at a sensitive youth that is losing perspective in Spain and walking through ghost towns without a vision of hope. Somehow I feel that it will appeal to an unbiased observer who appreciates (unfulfilled) ambitions rather than teenagers, for whom it will be more like indigestible compulsory reading (but of course I understand their fart mentality, so...). Classic Spanish pathos, maneuvering on the edge of the genre and a few quite good moments. I have no reason to condemn it, although I wouldn't call it a good film, either. (2013.08.29)

The original idea that this Spanish study in introversion is reaching towards is lovely, touching, and essentially very commendable. However, due to the story's mysterious twists and turns, the message ends up sounding very convoluted and to me even sends the opposite message. In other words, the warning against suicide ultimately does not carry enough impact; instead, it almost seems to present it as an adventure you can find the way back from with enough daring. In the world of vulnerable teenagers that Eduardo Chapero-Jackson is clearly targeting, I consider this a dangerous weapon. I don't know, maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill instead of simply enjoying Sara's story. Nevertheless, the entire metaphorical concept seems too transparent to me, while the boundary between realism and the dreamlike perspective is somewhat unreadable. (2013.09.02)

Verbo is a very bizarre and unprecedented film, unfortunately unsuccessful. The film would like to be an intellectually extensive and epically fantastic story about the protagonist fighting to save his life and, at the same time, a generational statement rich in meaningful interpretations containing many transcendental messages. At the same time, however, the film has an insufficient budget, inexperienced creators and an embarrassingly naive screenplay full of banal monologues, which were supposed to contain a lot of deep philosophical ideas, but instead act as excerpts from a leaflet from a youth drug addiction center. (2013.10.04)

I like weird films and Verbo is definitely a weird film. On the one hand, it’s realistic, but on the other, imagination is involved that is rather darker in nature. I'm not saying the story is outright good, it's not, but the visuals do have something to them that makes this an interesting experience. (2017.10.03)