A Useful Life
A Useful Life
Jorge lives with his parents and has been working at a Film Archive for 25 years. He is a film programmer, he makes technical support, and he conducts the film news show at a radio station in Montevideo. Without any other job experience than working at the Film Archive, Jorge loses his position. A Useful Life explores the way Jorge changes his way of living in order to adapt to the new world that appears to him. After all, maybe ‘movies’ will help him survive.
3.4 out of 5 based on 10 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Certificate |
12A |
| Genre |
Drama |
| Director |
Federico Veiroj |
| Cast |
Jorge Jellinek |
| Studio |
Dogwoof |
| Release Date |
January 2012 |
| Running Time |
70 mins |
| |
Jorge lives with his parents and has been working at a Film Archive for 25 years. He is a film programmer, he makes technical support, and he conducts the film news show at a radio station in Montevideo. Without any other job experience than working at the Film Archive, Jorge loses his position. A Useful Life explores the way Jorge changes his way of living in order to adapt to the new world that appears to him. After all, maybe ‘movies’ will help him survive.
Reviews
The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
"A Borges-like yarn from Latin America about a tidy life meeting the end of its tether."
12/01/2012
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The Observer
Philip French
"More of a delightful hors d'oeuvre than a main course...
"
15/01/2012
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The New York Times
Jeanette Catsoulis
"Shot in color but produced in edible, Oreo-toned black and white, “A Useful Life” transitions seamlessly from indoors to outdoors, from nostalgia to hope."
12/01/2011
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Time Out
Dave Calhoun
"This short, sweet, slow-tempo Uruguayan film invites us into the life of Jorge ... the question here being: where does cinema end and real life begin?"
09/01/2012
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The Times
Wendy Ide
"A curiously uplifting little film. "
13/01/2012
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The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
"Endearing, but [I] wouldn’t have wished it to be any longer.
"
15/01/2012
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
"A wry, irreverent but affectionate look at professional cinephilia in this droll 67-minute featurette."
12/01/2012
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
"Veiroj observes this lost cinephile with a gently indulgent eye, though his judgement on him is double-edged: a love of movies is no substitute for engaging with life."
13/01/2012
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The Evening Standard
The Evening Standard
"Despite its superficial black-and-white plainness, there's a nostalgic charm here that becomes an idiosyncratic ode to those who keep a somewhat tattered arthouse flag flying."
13/01/2012
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