The story appears simple on the surface, but is revealed, especially after multiple viewings, as more multi-layered and textured than Cassavetes at his best. Ostensibly it concerns a 14-year old Catholic girl, Wynne (Agutter) growing up in this post-modern wasteland, who develops a crush on her much older adoptive brother (Marshall)- a crush which perversely deepens and grows into infatuation once she starts to believe he is the local sex killer. This is in itself an idea that makes you sit up and jolt, but as the narrative develops, it continues not necessarily along a linear path but in several confusing and fascinating directions: the family's history, (detailed effectively in chilling flashback during an improvised seance) is a chequered one, and has suffered at least one major relocation and upheaval in the last ten years. At the crux, however, it's the depiction of socialal changes that make I Start Counting so fascinating and elevate its language far beyond the confines of the standard horror film. The major subtext- that teenage girls were maturing more quickly than before, and developing full sexual and romantic appetites (even if in thought rather than deed) but were not possessed of enough discretion to make the right choices- was a step forward for a genre in which its young females had previously been portrayed as bimbo victims (Cover Girl Killer and The Night Caller spring to mind), but not one that all viewers would necessarily agree with. But most striking of all, and possibly the most enduring image which the viewer will take away with them, is of the masterful symbolism with which director Greene invests every shot. Every inch of the Kinch family's world- their house, their walls, their TV, Agutters underwear, bedroom furniture and toys, Sutcliffe's clothes, Marshalls van, the local Catholic church, their town centre, their record shop) - is painted a bright, scintillating white- a white which, by inference, is slowly becoming smudged and corrupted with the dirt of the outside world. White also symbolises, of course, purity and innocence (two qualities Catholic schoolgirls are supposed to hold dear), and it is into this world of innocence that the ever-present red bus (a symbol of violation and penetration), conducted by the lecherous yet similarly juvenile Simon Ward, makes regular journeys. The allegory is further expanded in one scene where Agutter believes she sees the Christ figure in church weeping blood: by the time we acknowledge it, its gone, but the seed has already been planted. Rarely in a genre production has the use of colour and background been so important or effective in creating a uniformity of mood. I Start Counting is as near-perfect an end to a decade as one could hope for, and exactly the kind of film people should be making now- which is, of course, exactly why they never will. A genre essential. by D.R.
圆山乡是一个因嗜赌成性债台高筑的老渣男，其无赖恶劣的生活习性不断给家人造成麻烦。面对登门骚扰的黑金债主，他的妻子淑子、女儿圆山步终于忍无可忍，决定没收其养老金银行卡，禁止他赌博，除此以外，约束他的另一个方法就是满足他看电影的喜好，而观影也是圆山乡除赌博之外唯一的爱好
我不想终结在看电影的路上 而是拍电影的现场
松竹的献礼片，也是导演给电影的一封情书，确实只有山田洋次有这个资格来拍，虽然对比起他的作品序列来说，本片算不上出色，甚至剧作以及人物塑造，矛盾处理上都有点套路及表面，但看到最后获奖那份感言，突然就被感动到了，最后现实与想象相结合，在电影里开启了二次人生，以及看电影看到死，确实非常迷影。以“失败者”自嘲，但他本人同时也用电影实现了梦想，而且全片无不透露着对小津的敬重，对原节子的喜爱，以及对电影的热爱。7.6
一秒钟的电影胶片放进相机里，可以拍12张照片」「一个一个的镜头里，寄宿着神灵，那是电影之神」
结局有点草草收场。
“贝尔法斯特没有通往香格里拉的路。”
有关肯尼思·布拉纳童年时代的一些松散回忆，共和军，宗教斗争和小家庭的彷徨和挣扎，但无论是对于历史情境的还原还是对各个人物心思的描写都不太精彩甚至有些潦草，和目前领跑的《犬之力》相比实在太平庸，不太看好这部的奥斯卡前景。
好莱坞处理类似题材总是有点打擦边球的感觉，可以对照肯洛奇的《风吹稻浪》。黑白影像也注定了影片的怀旧情愫。
神奇的剧情 一种过去岁月的步伐 咩和景子也太漂亮了 男主从一个有梦想的新导演，变成一个爱赌马和赌博的潦倒老人
只有我觉得寺新不错嘛 （ 北川景子真的好美啊！！！寺岛忍也好有魅力啊！永野芽郁也好可爱啊！
心有余而力不足的感觉。这只是给日本电影的情书，女性在其中依旧不过是“观赏品”。北川景子有些惊艳，大和抚子的感觉迎面而来。
无论多少次，还是会被这种迷影情节感动到哭😢永远的热爱下去吧
#BJIFF2021#男主角写出《开罗紫玫瑰》的剧本，到底是不是刻意致敬，最大出戏点。致敬松竹100年，最后还是一条线成为献给妻子的情书，一条线归于失败家族群戏，迷影情怀反倒很无感。
但是这个片的几段（模仿小津拍原节子的）片中黑白片片段还是比这个整片大部分风格它自己的镜头观感好看多了……
30/8/2021 @ 英皇iSquare [summeriff]。算是近年山田洋次的失手之作吧。雖然好幾段有被感動到，但老實說年輕組和現代組兩段的割裂感太大了，而且真的談到電影有關的情節比想像中少。個人覺得尾段用自己方式去講Save the Cinema，可能才是山田洋次在經過後疫情時代最想拍的東西吧。
看到菅田将晖这样的少年终变成酗酒好赌的老无赖，真的又唏嘘又生气！特别是永野芽郁演的淑子不顾所有人的劝阻也要坚定跟着他，我忍不住边看边大喊不要去！这个人后来会滥赌欠钱出轨，不值得你踩缝纫机帮他还债！就算结尾再温情，想起他曾经这样伤害家人，不能原谅无法释怀！
才华可能真的是天生的吧 不然怎能十几年前的作品通过子孙的润色就获得大赏呢… 感谢电影的套路已经看腻了 与其说是电影改变了人生 不如说是那些看穿你却因为自身的狭隘而无法离开妄图改变你的人最终才改变了这一切吧
属于山田洋次自己的《天堂电影院》。受到疫情冲击的电影行业，让山田洋次开始思考电影与人的关系，也同时也藉由本片怀念日本电影的黄金时代，怀念他自己的青春年华。90岁高龄还在拍电影，还在为电影发声，很难得，剧作的粗糙也是肉眼可见，但他拍出了电影的本质:电影，是一场春梦，任何投沉浸其中的人都不愿意醒来。
也只有山田洋次有资格给松竹拍100周年的献礼片 电影之神 了。人老话多，献礼片也不好好拍，最后那段大煽情居然看哭了。和 一秒钟 不同，电影之神 一直在围绕着电影讲故事，在结尾之前的情感其实没有那么炽烈。如果只看现实时空，实在很山田洋次。平平淡淡的突然最后煽一下，换别人，大概是为赋新词强说愁，但山田洋次煽的是电影啊，一辈子都不能辜负的电影呢。
不乏一些小亮点，但整体观感低于预期。主观原因是文化差异，对那个时代、那段历史和那个地方缺乏深度了解。客观原因是导演对“大时代”和“小人物”的关系掌控失力，造成较为严重的割裂感；“现实故事+电视背景+段落音乐”一次次重复，过于工整、老派和程式化，实在有些乏味和平淡。
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