"Lili" might be called a "woman's picture" in that it tells its story from a female's perspective. I rather suspect accordingly girls and women respond more favorably to this tale than do males.
There's no doubt the production itself is rather elegant, the leads are expressive, and its one song tuneful and catchy. However, the theme of the story is ambiguous. There's a strange murkiness to the tale and its characters.
There's also a rather strange raison d'etre: is it about unrequited love, a youth's coming of age, or discovering the joy of living? There's also a question of what genre this falls into: fairy tale, fantasy, musical, or a combination of the three. (As there's only one song and little dance, it's hard to call it a musical.) The fantasy elements are reduced to a few puppets, whose encounters with the girl are the most engaging moments of the enactment.
I got the feeling there was more potential for expression here; alas, the unrequited love theme for me was an unfulfilled manner of clearly treating a theme. The "dream sequence" with the magician and his two love interests seemed out of place and ill-conceived. Mr. Ferrer came across rather weakly; though I tend to think this more a result of the director than actor. Actually the talented cast was well chosen; it seemed the direction that lacked a clear vision, not aided by a somewhat murky, undecisive script.
Otherwise the film on the surface had many virtues: beautiful color, attractive set design, committed cast and a genuine air of sweetness that permeated the presentation. This "Lili" review has a B rating.
There's no doubt the production itself is rather elegant, the leads are expressive, and its one song tuneful and catchy. However, the theme of the story is ambiguous. There's a strange murkiness to the tale and its characters.
There's also a rather strange raison d'etre: is it about unrequited love, a youth's coming of age, or discovering the joy of living? There's also a question of what genre this falls into: fairy tale, fantasy, musical, or a combination of the three. (As there's only one song and little dance, it's hard to call it a musical.) The fantasy elements are reduced to a few puppets, whose encounters with the girl are the most engaging moments of the enactment.
I got the feeling there was more potential for expression here; alas, the unrequited love theme for me was an unfulfilled manner of clearly treating a theme. The "dream sequence" with the magician and his two love interests seemed out of place and ill-conceived. Mr. Ferrer came across rather weakly; though I tend to think this more a result of the director than actor. Actually the talented cast was well chosen; it seemed the direction that lacked a clear vision, not aided by a somewhat murky, undecisive script.
Otherwise the film on the surface had many virtues: beautiful color, attractive set design, committed cast and a genuine air of sweetness that permeated the presentation. This "Lili" review has a B rating.