I must say I've rarely been torn about a movie that much. First off, for a low-budget indie production, this movie is great, no doubt. But how does it compare to the Hollywood productions with similar ideas?
The beginning is very strenuous to watch. It takes a long time before you will understand anything that's going on. This will not change until somewhere between the middle and the end, and thus frustrate many viewers.
The story itself is creative and refreshing, but very confusing, I guess you could call it an adult fairy tale. The movie raises questions about family values, moral obligations, self-esteem and shame, all of them well developed and executed.
The actors are mostly doing a good job, although some of the supporting actors' (one actress in particular) emotions are a bit too extreme to be believable, but this does not really disturb the illusion and is merely a minor inconvenience.
The effects are worth their money and quite impressive for a low-budget production.
What ultimately makes this movie worth watching, however, is the truly great ending. If you are patient enough to sit through the movie as a whole and pardon the few flaws in it, you will be rewarded with an emotional, surprising and heart-warming ending.
