El ladrón de palabras

Un tema estupendo con potencial para el Oscar, la posibilidad de un pensamiento múltiple y grandes oportunidades de actuación para los implicados. Y no es que no haya funcionado. Simplemente no resultó tan bien como merecía. Los flashbacks, que debían permitir al espectador sentir el dolor del personaje de Jeremy Irons, están hechos de una manera cursi que socava toda la base de la película. Pero la ecuación «en el presente» es funcional, entendemos la decisión de Bradley Cooper en su situación, e interpretó bien los sentimientos posteriores de culpa y de intentar arreglar las cosas. El metatexto con Dennis Quaid intenta resumir las ideas a posteriori e incluso relativizarlas intelectualmente de forma lúdica, pero me pareció un poco innecesario, al menos en cuanto a su utilidad para la historia. (08.05.2020)

I’m quite shocked by the hysterical negative reviews from America that ripped The Words apart. It’s actually a good film that wants to say something. Though the ending doesn’t present everything on a silver platter, I think the meaning is clear. In that regard, it is good. But don’t expect a romantic movie, The Words is actually a rather thoughtful and artsy, dramatic game. Anyone who’s up for it, can easily find something. Anyone who’s not up for it will get the chance to complain. (14.12.2012)

I basically still don’t know what the ending was about and how to understand it. That’s, unfortunately, the only stain on this otherwise very interesting story that got an absolutely perfect movie adaptation. The mysteriousness was leaning towards five stars right from the very start. But then I could neither connect nor separate the three storylines, let alone figure out what’s real and what’s fiction. The premise in itself is exactly what makes the movie so interesting and if someone explains it to me, I’ll be thrilled. I watched this for the Challenge Tour 2015. (09.04.2015)

Three stories about love, creation, guilt, art, and the fact that sometimes even the deepest feelings are not enough. I don't understand where the creative duo of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal has been hiding for so long because each of their journeys into the writer's soul escalates more strongly, and the final touch gives the phrase "absolute ending" a completely new dimension. That little point, that last glance and shot, causes the words to stick in your mind weeks in advance and happily return in various life situations. A unique and personal gem that perhaps finally convinces everyone that Bradley Cooper is even better in dramatic roles than in those voice roles. (22.04.2013)

The Words is a film from the family of naivety for the advanced, as were Penance or Ask the Dust. Every little intellectual is happy because John Fante is quoted in the film. Bradley Cooper's performance made me physically nauseous, and even Jeremy Irons playing it safe didn't save the day. By the time I started tearing my hair out, I was somewhat appeased by the inserted storyline featuring Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder in mid-1940s Paris, but neither that nor the mere presence of John Hannah could elevate the resulting shape above the usual mumbo-jumbo (i.e., an ambitious drama with a triple narrative line and an attempt at thought overload). (19.09.2012)

Sometimes, thanks to those very spontaneous and open emotions, it seemed as if Anthony Minghella came back to life and made another one of his meticulously crafted, brilliantly written, and emotionally disarming dramas. It’s not exactly like that, as there were a couple of weaker moments from the creative duo Brian Klugman – Lee Sternthal (especially concerning Dennis Quaid), but the overall feeling is exceptional. After a long time, a film worthy film that I different from most others, not only for those who haven't seen everything. (08.04.2015)

If nothing else, this film was constructed in an interesting way. It reminded me of a Matryoshka doll (or Russian nesting doll, as some might know it). It had this story within a story within a story format. While I could see through the attempt to add depth, I have to disagree with those who found it boring. Personally, I found these actionless ninety minutes enjoyable because they stirred up unexpected thoughts and emotions in me. (05.07.2022)

The character known as the old man has something of Hemingway, manuscripts that were lost, and this is also a story from Hemingway's life. But no, "The Words" is not a film about Hemingway. It is a film about an author who reads from his book about how another author wrote a book about someone else's life. Well, the whole thing is a bit more complicated, but more on that later. The film first appears to be a romance, but that's not what it's really about. However, it is not a film about literature either because how much is quoted here? How much does it refer to some significant ideas, such as those from Hemingway's work? There is a hint of the existence of some Shakespeare, but the film definitely does not rely on the fact that it is essential to know who the classics of world literature are, or even literature itself, whether it is completely fictional. We don't learn much about the main character, or rather the main narrator, to be more precise. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2013/02/the-words-2012-35.html (21.03.2013)

The cast was great, and I liked the subject matter a lot, but to tell you the truth, I don't know if I liked the film. The style of the narration, the transitions in the interweaving of the time planes, and the way the actors grasped their characters... In short, the whole thing had a slightly sentimental touch of cheesiness, which really disappointed me because otherwise I wouldn't have been so let down by the outcome. (28.05.2020)