Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

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Matiu B The humble beginnings of mr. chazelle, with all the jazz and music references you could want. It's a fun and cute romance, with some really well made and played music, with that final scene being pretty awesome. There are some unremarkable sound quality and camera work, but you can really see the start of all of chazelle's signature aspects and talent he puts in his films. It reminds me a lot of Following (christopher nolan's first feature). But a really solid feature debut, I wonder what he'll make next. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/23/23 Full Review nefasto r It is very cute, but you have to keep your expectations tied to the budget: low. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Chazelle is an excellent director, even better than he is a writer, check this one, for example. Guy And Madeline On A Park Bench Chazelle is a musician. That's a known fact but he is a true fanatic. Now the difference is, that he craves for the chills that he gets when he listens to his favorite records. Now, Damien Chazelle is also a writer and director. And this is where everything works out perfectly. His communication skills are off the charts. What he feels, is passed on to you like heritage, leaving you moved in the seat. Emotionally broken and sensitively tender, a coming of age genre is presented here and Chazelle's circle is so pure and passionate, that I don't remember listening to a bad word in this film. If you want to see an execution living up to the expectations of the script. There is a shot between just a boy and a girl gazing at each other in a train. The camera work is intimate with close ups and sharp editing that builds up the affection or attraction step by step. It's quite a productive method, if you think about it, the way he writes. A smart move. He first and foremost, figures out the core reason of that scene's contribution in the narration and it being at that place on the trajectory line. And then deliberately blocks his characters from moving towards it but creating bizarrely genius scenarios, making them earn that piece of note. For instance tale the shower scene. Both the lead characters wishes to be away from each other at that moment, but circumstances are pushing them against their will. They are not happy with the decisions. And to top it off, the metaphor too works in his favour. The musical sequences are meant to be more practical than cinematic, almost as if this was non La La Land. Chazelle's Guy And Madeline On A Park Bench is his first, it is dear to him, he shares it with us, and so it is to us. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Damien Chazelle's first feature length film isn't an easy one to dissect. Filmed like an early John Cassavetes' movie and told with little to no dialogue at all, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is much more so an exploration into how difficult it is to maintain love than it is a musical like Chazelle's latest feature, La La Land. But it's Chazelle's grasp on the ups and down's of relationships that make this yet another interesting directorial effort from him. All 3 of his films to this point have involved Jazz, and all 3 of them have also dealt with characters trying to balance their love life with pursuing their Jazz related dreams. 'Guy and Madeline' isn't as intense as Whiplash nor as viscerally memorable as La La Land, but for a first-time feature, it definitely impresses. An occasional dance number, unique camera movement, and long unedited takes make for quite the viewing experience. Again, there's little dialogue, so I can't say I was as invested in the characters as I should have been, but sometimes scenes are more powerful when less is said (see: the final scene). If anything, this was an interesting watch considering all we know about Chazelle's career up to this point. 6.7/10 Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Before he made a splash with "Whiplash" and "La La Land," Damien Chazelle made his feature film debut with this low budget indie musical that mixes cinema verite with a mix of the musicals of Hollywood in the 1930s. It doesn't always work, but it feels original...and you can definitely see the spark in Chazelle's love of music and jazz and old movies that would go on to fuel his very successful (and more professional) follow-ups. Worth it for seeing the rough beginnings of a talented young filmmaker, or if you just want something low key and offbeat. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Meandering and disjointed on a narrative level, but elevated by the sheer joy in the unorthodox nature of it's formal approach (If Cassavetes wanted to make a Demy film through Vertov's lense, and also loved jazz). Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

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