“… one of the movies in the world that has to be experienced.”

Last night  I watched The Congress, and I still don’t think I fully understand it. The Congress is not a movie that any person on the face of planet Earth could summarize briefly, but I’ll give it a go. The Congress stars Robin Wright (as Robin Wright) as she is coerced into signing her likeness over to a movie studio. Essentially this means that she, personally, would never work again as an actress. Instead the movie studio would digitally add her into any movie they want. This sounds cool doesn’t it? I thought so too. Unfortunately that plot line is very quickly abandoned in favour of a very confusing plot about the freedom of choice and perception of individuals (I guess?). That is a problem I have with this movie. The plot line that got me to watch the movie is absolutely abandoned very early on. It almost felt like a bait and switch. Couple that with the plot that was introduced being very convoluted, and me not grasping one single second of it, I felt kind of cheated. I was very much ready to give this movie a scathing review until the ending. The ending of The Congress is one of the more beautiful conclusions to a movie I have seen, and it is the first time I have disliked a movie, only for it to be saved by it’s ending.

Now when I say I disliked the movie, that was only because I didn’t understand it. I can’t stress enough how confusing the story is. But at the end I realized that you don’t need to understand art, you only need to appreciate it. The Congress, was never boring for me to look at. The beautiful scenery and great acting ability of all of the actors made it a constantly enjoyable movie. Again, and I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the only downside was the confusing plot. I’m not going to go into more detail, because I believe everyone should watch this movie to experience it themselves. To go along with the fact that the movie went completely off the rails in terms of the original plot, the pacing at the beginning of the movie was very slow and almost off putting. In retrospect, I’m actually kind of glad that the movie did take the turn, because it made it stand out to me. Though I was interested in the original plot, I will always remember this movie for what it was. I have never taken (non-prescription) drugs, but something tells me that if I did my experience would be comparable to what I experienced when watching The Congress. Honestly, the movie is a total mind fuck. Again I need to point out that it is the ending that makes this movie. Please, if you decide to watch The Congress watch it all the way through. Don’t be dissuaded by the very confusing story line. It really is a movie that deserves your undivided attention.

I apologize that this review is so short, but there is not much I can say about this movie. This is one of the movies in the world that has to be experienced. nothing I write will match what the movie brings to the table. I seriously urge anyone reading this right now, to find a way to watch The Congress.

I give the Congress a B.