The Guitar
The Guitar
| 07 November 2008 (USA)
The Guitar Trailers

The life of a woman is transformed after she is diagnosed with a terminal disease, fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend. Given two months to live, she throws caution to the wind to pursue her dreams.

Reviews
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
gamay9 I rented this film because I wanted to see some nudity with class. I got that and more, from plot to acting to sound to cinematography.Where would I rank this film? Certainly in the top 100, probably the top 50 I have ever seen and I've seen thousands of films. I have even written my own screenplay but it's far different from 'The Guitar.' I didn't want to see this film end. I actually predicted that Melody would join up with a rock band. At first, I wanted her to get really rich and famous, but eventually, I felt the film ended quite well.My tastes in films is very bizarre and so was this film. My #1 film of all time is 'Montenegro,' an American/Swedish co-production. That may give the reader a perspective of my stance on movies.I will look up Saffron Burrows filmography and possibly rent some of her works. She looks a lot like a woman I knew 25 years ago; very tall, nice behind and small-breasted with long, unruly hair.I could go on but I'm finished gushing. Now, I will recommend the film to my son and his wife and others who I know will enjoy this production.
ZardexM This movie did make me feel for the woman because of her illness and for the cancer it made me feel like she has hope... of dieing.Her illness is that she is 100% materialistic and shallow and has no idea of how to live a happy life and even the fact that she is dieing, which she finds out as the movie begins, cannot seem to give her any willpower to think on how to really find some real substance to what life she has left.Not only does she seem to live in a void of meaning but the entire movie and the way the effects are used seem to emphasize emotions to trivialities. One is left with the impression that the people behind the production believe that the substance of life is in buying new curtains.Even though events take different turns towards the end, she still doesn't learn anything new and the movie remains with the same shallow thought that it started out with: spend more, take risks and you'll be happier.To be fare, if buying stuff is the best thing in life you can imagine then this movie probably isn't all bad for you.
intelearts The Guitar starring the stunning Saffron Burrows in a low-fi take on changing gears. A parable of the drudgery of modern life, the cancer we discover she has in the first minutes, is almost an allegory for modern life: slow death at the office. She then becomes both a recluse and a free spirit - out of touch but via the power of the credit card very much in touch with who her superego would want her to be.What we love in this was the pacing - rather than slow a better word would be tender - the Guitar uses film to draw us into the perspective of a dying woman through sound, sight, and feeling and for a directorial debut this is powerful stuff.it has a simplicity in the film-making. This far outweighs any nudity - and it does have an eroticism to it which is well handled - but really does not make the viewer feel like a voyeur. I felt an initial disappointment at how the ending is set up but it is, on reflection, well-handled from that point on. There is a quality to the ending which colors how you see the whole film let's the plot devices slide by.If I were to choose two words for this they would be subtle and tender - and from my point of view I can't think of no better praise for this particular type of drama than that.An auspicious beginning for Robert Redford's daughter Amy in her directorial debut.
otherpaul Bittersweet and low-key until the fairy-tale ending, The Guitar is, while not exactly a masterpiece, very enjoyable. And the ending, though it does call for a certain "suspension of disbelief", seemed to me both uplifting and fairly funny; especially the way in which Melody acquired her new guitar amp. I was also quite amused in trying to recognize the New York landmarks. The only one I'm pretty sure of was the next to last scene -- I think it was Tompkins Square Park. I thought the parental guidance comment of "frontal female nudity" was over the top; the nudity was very brief and discreet. Of course, the "lesbian" sexuality would, until very recently, have earned the movie a strict NC17. All in all, a charming and enjoyable film -- I look forward to seeing more from Amy Redford.