Léolo (1992)

This is one of the best movies ever made. It is beautifully shot, has great music, an amazing story and it is deeply touching. The first time I watched it, in a movie theater, I just sat there after the film had ended, emotionally exhausted. Since then, I have seen it on TV and on a bad copy of a VHS tape, neither of which do this wonderful movie justice. So the question is: why is there no DVD available of one of the best movies ever made? Someone must own the rights; or are they in an insane asylum?

Edit: Since I first wrote this comment, the DVD has been published. I advise anyone who likes great, artistic movies to do as I did and buy it.

Fmovies: Leolo is an amazingly well made story of a boy filled with dreams named Leolo. His family is disturbed in many different ways from phecophilliac parents to muscle obsessed brothers. the unique aspect of this movie is it's use of fragmented time and it's non causal narrative. it has moments of sheer hilarity and heavy emotional impact. the characters are all incredibly well drawn unique and believable. Warning some scenes are not for the weak hearted as one scene in particular can really effect you for a couple of days unless of course you hate cats. I don't want to give too much away but this is an absolute must see. You may regret seeing this but it's worth whatever irrepareable mental problems.

I absolutely adore this movie.

I first saw it with a group of friends at the local college town art cinema when it was first released. When it ended, hardly anyone in the theater even stirred, slowly and quietly rising only after the credits ran out. Afterwards, we went for drinks, as had been the plan for the evening, but it took a long time for us to break out of the film's spell and begin to really talk. When we finally did, each of us was relieved to find that everyone else had been as moved by it as each had individually.

The reason for all this doubt and anxiety, I believe, is the film itself. It doesn't rely on any conventions at all, nor does it allow the viewer to respond via convention. What it does do is provide the viewer with an intensely private view of the characters. You get to see them in broad daylight at times and on occasions where one would most want to be absolutely alone. Because of this willingness to really expose its characters, a more honest self-relation is demanded in response and for a response. (In this respect in reminds me a bit of Milan Kundera's novels, during the reading of which I often find myself embarrassed for the characters that I am there intruding on their privacy.) I think what myself and my friends (then still young adults) feared was revealing something about ourselves--a kind of fragility and ambivalence in one's own self-relation that one normally represses, but which this film repeatedly draws to the surface. Wouldn't admitting that one was moved by these characters be also an admission that one could relate to them in some more profound way? Yes, and I have felt just a little bit less alone in the world since seeing Leolo. Not better perhaps, but less alone.

A truly great, great movie. Rent it on VHS, grab a Canadian DVD off of Ebay, or pester IFC to show it again (record it because you'll want to see it again), but don't miss it.

Léolo fmovies. What an odd story. It was a good one for the first two-thirds of the film but the last third got so sick - at least to me and what little standards I possess, it lost favor with me. I got rid of it for that reason: overall - just too sick and too strange.

It gets ugly because a 12-year-old kid, whom the story is centered around, starts to lose it. He tries to kill his uncle, begins using way too much profanity, and says and does things that no 12-year-old boy would say/do. The story just gets out of hand. Everyone in this film except the boy's mother is very odd with most of them winding up in a mental institution. I often laugh at dark humor but this is way too black, way too dark.

People think Hollywood is morally bankrupt....well, the rest of the world, especially in the film-making business, is worse and this is a prime example.

I found this movie on a used VHS tape the other day and decided to check it out since it was a Canadian production.

Man, I can't decide whether I love or hate this movie. It's just plain weird! Sometimes it had me laughing (like in the beginning with the tomato, later when Leolo trades his flies for his sister's turd, etc); And then sometimes I was totally grossed out (like the cat scene). And the raw meat incident was sick, then later hilarious when it got served for dinner. There's definitely some "toilet" humour throughout this film.

Almost always I watch movies for enjoyment and I try not to analyse too much because it often spoils my enjoyment. But I've noticed some really deep analysis from previous reviewers regarding this film. And honestly, some of it is way too deep for me. (Maybe I'm the ignorant savage in the art museum.).

I wouldn't really class this movie as a comedy although it has some humorous scenes (very dark humour). I'd say this movie was more like a trip through a mental institution. It is a very haunting movie and I did find myself reflecting on it every so often for a while. It's a thinker for sure. It seemed sensitive, but in a very harsh way.

Acting was very good in my opinion. Any actor who can pull off roles like the ones in this movie has to be good.

Normally, I'm not fond of narration. But for some reason it didn't seem to bother me in this film. It sort of fit in better I guess.

This movie could freak out a lot of people. It's really worth watching, but not for young kids. I gave it 8 out of 10 because it was well acted, made me think on it, and it was certainly unique. Also I respect a person who goes against the flow to make something original.

Wonderful sad film about the tragedy of a sensitive soul in conflict with a society that is brutal, vulgar, and obscene. One of the most unusual films ever made-- daring and audacious, and richly rewarding. And the Tom Waits songs on the sound track are just right for this movie: melancholy and off-beat.