American Beauty (1999)

All good!

Not every picture that wins best picture Oscar is the best picture for that year. This One= definitely was.The only thing that's sad is that people aren't connected to each other anymore, even if they only were impossibly, so all of the interactions are from a bygone era.Still Beautiful, though....

Was blown away by this when it first came out in 1999 - have seen it at least 10 times and it is still just as poetic and just about perfect as a screenplay can get. The writer - a gay man - clearly has a passion for the material that shows. Slam dunk Academy Award winner in several categories. I don't subscribe to the "theology" of the movie but as a screenplay it works just about perfectly.

By the end of American Beauty, I knew that in whatever evaluations I might articulate about the film, this was one case where I can't pretend to have any kind of objectivity.The emotional impact of this film on me was so great that I felt personally affected, a rarity when I watch a film these days. No character of any weight is neglected in this film, each with a carefully considered arc and deep-welled needs and desires that make you care. Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham brings to life the complex psychosexual dilemmas of the character effortlessly, with his trademark offbeat charisma and wit; Wes Bentley, with his penetrating stare and sensitive characterization, brings a tenderness and nuance to the oddball-kid-next-door role of Ricky Fitts; Thora Birch projects deep maturity as Jane, clarifying every internal change her character goes through as she starts becoming drawn to Ricky to leave her family behind; Mena Suvari joins the ranks of Katie Holmes and Sarah Polley as a young actress to watch for, injecting remarkably depth and absolute honesty to the role of Angela; even an antagonist like Col. Fitts is filled by an excellent portrayal in Chris Cooper's performance, a wrenching mix of hardened hatreds and shattering vulnerability. The only character that was questionable to me was Annette Bening's, where I actually feel like Carolyn's private moments (where we're supposed to be able to poke through her mask) are also not believable. However, given so many other moving moments, points of delicious humour, and visually gorgeous cinematography, I didn't really care. And aesthetically this is a feast for the senses: Conrad L. Hall's acclaimed cinematography both makes the actors and scenery look good and help probe into the life within them, and Thomas Newman's score is perfect, as light-fingered as director Sam Mendes' staging and tone, as delicate as the performances, as witty and suggestive as Alan Ball's multi-layered, richly evocative script, and as beautiful as the visuals.This film soared to the top of my best-of lists right after I saw it, ranking alongside diverse favourites I've seen over the years including GoodFellas, The Killer, Manon of the Spring, Fun, and Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior. American Beauty is every bit their equal in terms of visual sophistication, performances and craft, while surpassing them all in its quest for emotional catharsis and engagement.

How to escape the circuit of dreams that bind you? American Beauty, which shines through an exciting plot that leaves you thinking and moved tells the American Dream from the perspective of the protagonist, Lester Burnham, a family man who is going to fulfil his personal idea of the American Dream which ruins his family life in the end. The film has a circular structure, beginning with Lester, saying that he will be dead in less than one year and ending with a monologue by him when he's deceased.Lester is about to quit his work career just to get in touch with the most less amount of responsibility from now on. Moreover, he finds the friend of his own daughter Jane, a teenager, attractive and is completely lost in her.While Lester's wife Carolyn is having an affair and completely focused on her own career, Lester is doing his own stuff regardless of what's going on around him. He is even losing connection with his own daughter who starts to hate him due to his embarrassing behavior.And that is how things are in American Beauty: tricky and destructive: A trigger got pulled and there is nothing to do to push things into another direction.The characters are pretty coloured.We find Carolyn on the one hand, who is masquerading. Lost in her career, she is trying hard to keep a certain status, not accepting that her husband can't share her lifestyle anymore.She is one of those characters you feel pity for as a viewer.Lester in contrast of that is the typical movie hero. For realizing his dreams in a kind of innocent way, the things he wents through, for paying the bills in the end.The most incredibly played character is that of Ricky, a typical weirdo from the eyes of most people. The reason i mention him is because he deserves a special treatment for he is already at a point of life that Lester is trying to reach hard.The director, Sam Mendes, is obiously criticising "the AMERICAN way of DREAMing" by all the symbols and sequences you can see that show and deal with the naked truth of life. All dreams that come along in this movie will be ruined in the end. What is all money and influence good for if you get never in touch with all the beauty life can offer ? One can't live with and not without the American Dream when there is no balance with life's beauty.I definitely recommend the film for the simple fact that it is dealing with life in a unique way.Once a movie can move you - it has done it's function. And if that movie can even entertain your mind, eyes and ears all at once, it must be worth watching. Clever and smart but also with shocking elements. A ying yang - movie: many contrasts that clash on each other but get balanced out in the end.By M. Ü.Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is this kind of guy who has forgotten to live even though he has reached the suburban-lifestyle a lot of people attempt to achieve. His wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) works as an estate agent and she is still filled with ambitions. Jane (Thora Birch), Carolyn and Lester's teenage daughter, goes to high school and attends the schools cheer leading group. The familiar situation begins to escalate as Lester recognizes that he cannot suffer the emotional side by side life any more. Motivated by Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), Jane's friend, who reactivates his long lost libido, he decides to drastically change his life conditions. Therefore he quits his ordinary office job in favor of applying as a Smiley Burgers(tm) service member like he used to in his childhood. He tries to regain his lost youth. But the familiar situation escalates even more.Even though Lester is one of the coolest characters towards the end of the movie, in the beginning of the movie he is a coward without confidence. As his character progresses, he appears more and more as a rebel. This character development is initiated by the self-awareness of his former boring and very common lifestyle. He tried to life a second youth, gaining the coolness and self-assurance he failed reaching in his first. This is a quite interesting development because in fact he already reached everything which is part of the common American Dream. He already had a family, a recognized job, a large house and two cars - but obviously these things were not the ones which made the point for him. Now he is trying to start over again, to reach a better relation with his daughter and wife and to finally enjoy life intentionally.On the other hand, there is Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley). Ricky is the son of the new neighbors of the Burnhams, he goes to the same school as Jane does. On the first sight he seems to be no more than a strange guy, but after a closer look he turns out to be sensitive and straight forward. Not in terms of realizing the material part of the American Dream, but in terms of living life intentionally. In this context Ricky is the exact opposite of Lester. At least, as the movie starts. As the movie progresses Lester continuously develops towards Ricky's attitude. And as it ends you hear him say what Ricky had already recognized long time ago.You might compare American Beauty to similar films but honestly there are no similar films, there is nothing comparable. American Beauty shows us a unique view on the American Dream particularly emphasizing the negative flipside of the American Dream. We never even considered how wrong and bad the American Dream could be. Our surfaces are mostly polished and cured from everything what could be considered as a bad trait but underneath this kind of masquerade the real needs become obvious. Namely the need to live how we really want, to live our lives with our unique way of American Dreaming and not just using what is commonly assumed as the typical American Dream template. We should learn to tailor our own dream, this is the message.All in all, we would fully recommend this movie, because it shows a shocking version of dozen failed American Dreams bunched in one or two families, contrary to the mostly used Happy-World-American-Dream. Did i say failed American Dreams? Failed - yes, in terms of family living and the pursuit of mental happiness. Failed - in terms of getting the suburb status, having a family, having a house, own a diversity of material goods - absolutely no. It depends on the point of view and what you define as failed in this case. The author emphasizes particularly every imaginable negative part to sensitize the audience and to assault their deep rooted picture of an American Dream. And this is the only one weakness of the film, it feels like science fiction. As the viewer I would say "Nope, this would never ever concern me" but with some more realistic circumstances the author could reach something you might say unreachable through films, namely a drastic change in our minds.Putting it all together, this movie is a typical example of persons forgetting to enjoy everyday life while they are pursuing their aim of a better life in the future. According to the path-goal theory, the journey is the reward. And even it all end in tears within this case study, it does point out the responsibility we all have and always forget - the responsibility not to forget to live.So, American Beauty isn't just a sort of roses as commonly assumed, it is even more a metaphor used in movie's title to concentrate the message in one striking word. Well, where is the beauty in our daily life? In fact it can be found everywhere, because it is everywhere. The sticking point is that we need to have the sensitivity to identify and feel it, no matter where it is. Does it sound strange to you that the beauty of our world can be found in a plastic bag? If yes, than you should definitely watch this movie.By C.V. and R.B.American Beauty is a story about a family with Lester (Kevin Spacey) and his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) who are stuck in their joyless and unlovely marriage. Their relationship is plodding aimlessly at this time. Both of them are unhappy with this situation. Carolyn is only focused on her career as estate agent. Their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) finds her father disgusting because of his lack of communicating with her. Once he quits his job and starts his youth revival he works at a burger company, and lays eyes on his daughter's schoolfriend Angela (Mena Suvari), though, Lester is suddenly changing his whole life. Freed in his mind from the life that was strangling him. But everything has consequences.Carolyn, the third main character, is stubborn in her doing she wants to be the best estate agent and she is proud of her house and life standard. Jane is a beautiful girl but she don't see it. She want to have a normal family but her family is a shame for her. She is a person that gives people a chance and she tries to see behind a masquerade which is pointed out while she gets to know Ricky the new neighbour.The most interesting character seems to be Ricky, who is a supporting role but his behaviour is interesting too: he is a boy different from others. He is filming very much and often but he does it to see the good sides of life. He is filming things that are beautiful. In a scene he shows Jane his greatest film. And it shows a bag that is dancing with the wind. This shows me that there are always beautiful things. Carolyn is the character that I reject most because she is bitchy and too much focused on her job, her roses in the garden and her reached economic status.The director wants to express that the American Dream, namely to pursuit a better job, a better a house, a better family, a better life, etc. has consequences and he points out that it is very often a masquerade.For me the message of the film is to avoid being egoistic and live a life with a masquerade - but also to see the little beautiful parts of life.by J.F.The movie American Beauty deals with the last moments in life of Lester Burnham, who lives with his family in a suburb of an American city. The focus is on Lester's thoughts about his last days in life. The viewer gets an impression of his family and personal environment and, furthermore, it is possible to see the way people who are close to Lester live their American Dream. The film ends with the conclusion that everything is a masquerade.The main character is Lester. After he gets into his midlife-crises, he begins to live his American Dream. So he starts working out his body, he buys things he dreamt of his whole life (like a new car): He gets back to a life of drugs and Rock`n Roll and is in love with Angela, the friend of his daughter Jane. At the end of the movie you can see his soft character when he is in the situation of having sex with Angela and he finally refuses. As an important aspect Lester is connected to all other characters of the story. He comes into a personal bond with every character.Instead of identifying with only a single character of the movie, it is easier to identify with each character. Everyone wants to be successful as shown by Carolyn. Everybody aims (at least a bit) for beauty like Jane. Like Lester, many would like to be athletic, fit and enjoy life.Personally, I think it is very easy to reject someone in the story. Ricky's father, a brutal man who is not capable of dealing with his son and his wife in a lovely way. He also denies his feelings for men. The intention of the director was the suggestion to the public, namely to make themselves think about the meaning of life. Is the American Dream the meaning of life ? You can have the impression that the director criticizes the American Dream. The main message could be that the American Dream does not necessarily make everyone happy.Compared to movies I know this one has inspired people to think about their own lives and the way of life, as you are and how you want to be. Life can be very short. The American Dream could symbolically stand for the American society. On the surface, many things look pretty and beautiful. But inside it could mostly be broken. A strength of the film is the camera movements in combination with the sound. I like the presentation of the film, which begins with Lester's story and is repeated at the end. The weakness of the film is an exaggerated portrayal of the characters.Whoever has the desire and joy to a combination of a typical American film and American culture, should watch the movie. It is a film with a bit of irony and cliché as well as scenes with reflection.by I.A.American Beauty was released in 1999 and directed by S.Mendes. The film takes a look inside the suburban middle-class houses of some average families, at least by all appearances. The focus is on Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) and their daughter Jane (Thora Birch). All of them are missing something in their lives, and everyone of them has its own way to compensate these absentees, but neither of them knows how to solve their problems.Lester Burnham is a middle-class man with a daughter who doesn't love him and with a wife who spends more attention on her career than on her family. There is also the fact of his mid-life crisis, which makes him feel old and unloved. At this point he finds himself fantasizing about Jane`s school friend Angela (Mena Suvari), due to that he starts to rebel, he quiets his job and began to work at a fast food restaurant. During her father is living his 20s again, Jane recognizes his sort of interest for Angela and that gains her dislike for him.The characters who surround Lester and his family are equally fascinating, for example Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), who doesn`t introduce himself without mentioning his army background and rank. His wife seems mentally disturbed due to the constant struggle between her son and her husband which is caused by his drug dealing history. Their son is a quiet guy who videotapes everything and seems to be a "tech geek", he finances himself, by still selling drugs.All these characters are unified by one thing, they are hunting for their "American Dream". Not one of these characters is really bad, some of them are likeable and even loveable. The movie creates rather of a mood than a actual theme or message, even that mood is hard to describe. You have to see it, that even by seeing it you may not understand it. All I know is I would recommend this movie for its interpersonal relationships, its black humor and its amount of hope by the end.by. K.-H. S.In American Beauty we see Lester and his family who are broken. The American Dream is a problem for them. Lester doesn't like his job anymore. He quits and changes his life style. He wants youth and is in love with a teenager. Her name is Angela and she is the friend of Jane who is the daughter of Lester. His wife Carolyn is living the American Dream. She has a good job and her career is important to her. Lester and Carolyn are only fighting and Jane suffers because of them. Later Jane finds Ricky, a neighbour the first boy that is interested in her and who gives her the feeling to be important. With him by her side she changes her personality. They like each other. Ricky is a very strange person. Mostly he is recording simple things in life. Even when Lester is dead, Ricky thinks that this situation is beautiful.Angela is Jane's best and only friend. She is a men dream because of her look. She is the opposite of Jane and is very self-confident. Her interests are boys and her looking, but at the end the viewer learns the other side of her.I think that the director wants to show us the dark side of the American Dream. It can be bad for someone to forget about real life and think only of realizing the American Dream. Both live at first the American Dream, they have everything someone can dream of, but after Lester quits his job the question turns why he does it even he had all which means the American dream is achieved. Why does he want to leave this? Only to be a young man without responsibility? Every viewer can decide himself. It is a movie with a little bit irony but with an earnst confidence. Try to get the confidence. About how the society must be and how the society really is...it's worth watching. You will not have any regrets.by L.S.The American drama "American Beauty", released in 1999, is about a middle-aged office worker, husband and father who suffers from a midlife crisis as he feels sexually attracted to his daughter's friend Angela. He gets involved with her after seeing her dance at a basketball game. As Lester fantasizes about Angela in a sexual way, red rose petals are a repeating and recurring motif which emphasize Lester's sexual attraction towards Angela. Meanwhile Lester's materialistic wife Carolyn, a real-estate broker, begins an affair with a business partner, their daughter Jane gets involved with Ricky, a marijuana smoking drug dealer and neighbour. Lester tries to get back being younger by working out hardly and also smoking marijuana as he overhears Angela telling Jane she would find him sexually attractive if he changed and improved his looks and physique. When Lester is about to have sex with Angela, he stops because of her being a virgin. By the time Lester discovers his wife's affair and Ricky convinces Jane to flee to New York City. In the end, Lester gets shot by Carolyn and dies.The main characters in this film are Lester (Kevin Spacey), his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening), their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) and her friend Angela (Mena Suvari). In addition Lester is shown as an easy going but loving father and also capable of being influenced, for example by Jane's friend Angela. Carolyn seems to be a materialistic and cold hearted wife, only having her ambitions and business in mind while Jane appears to be an emotional young teenager who doesn't really know what she exactly wants. Furthermore Angela apperas to be an exciting young woman who is funny and fascinating and attracted to older men like Lester.I do mostly identify with Lester's character as I guess it's possible to feel the urge wanting to be younger by working out and trying to improve your own physique as one gets older and tries to be more attractive for a young woman. I do not support him consuming marijuana, but I do support the fact that he wants to try out something new that he maybe did not experience in his younger years. Besides I do not judge Lester for having a "crush" on Angela as his marriage is almost torn aparty anyway and his wife is only concerned about her business. Lester's attraction to Angela also implies realistic aspects that one can still feel attracted to somebody else even though this person is married.Referring to which character I reject most, I choose Carolyn as she is a perfect example for what I declare as cold-hearted, insensitive, materialistic and only focused on business, not paying any attention to her family, instead of that even having an affair with a business partner and seriously cheating on her husband by breaking the promise of being true as she also has sex with him.The director's intention in making this film was to create a picture, a situation about a middle-aged man's life and his family and what it can turn into if one is suffering from a midlife crisis. Even more the director maybe wanted to simply allegorize possible developments in different relationships, for example the relationship between Lester and his wife or Lester and Angela and things like cheating, a marriage falling apart or murder is not that "unusual" and "rare" as people always suppose it is. These incidents actually, they are the message the director wants to transport to the viewers. One message I could think of would be "you can never know what might happen to you" which refers to Lester as he fell in love with a very young woman or that his marriage could ever fall apart. Actually, it doesn't relate to many films I know as there is no other movie I know that has elements of drama, melodrama and comedy included. Of course, there are different films in which several relationships fall apart, but there is no film I know that is concentrated on the midlife crisis of a middle-aged man and his trials to turn younger.It relates to US-American culture by showing a "pretty normal" life - at first - of an American family living in the suburbs and sharing a family life. But this film also relates to the American Pop Culture as the scenes in which red rose petals are all over Angela's body, are real and true art combined with the music creating a special atmosphere having in mind that these scenes are Lester's sexual fantasies. This film is not just a film that shows life referring to the US-American culture, it also does give the viewer a slight sense of US-American "art-culture" as there is no other film that is so specific and actually one-of-a-kind.I think that this film is a masterpiece which maybe doesn't appear at a masterpiece at all at first sight. It is a little bit like love at "second sight". The plot is amusing, entertaining and also melodramatic because of the dramatic elements this film includes. One of the film's strengths is the directing, editing and camera as one can just take the wonderful example of Lester's sexual fantasies about Angela with all the red rose petals all over her body. Different camera shots and structures emphasize specific situations that are usually not that specific. Moreover the music is one of the film's biggest strenghts as it feels like the music was produced and the texts written in a combination while the plot was written, to me it seems like film and music have finally come to be one piece. I cannot see any weaknesses in this film at all.I highly recommend this film as this film is a must-have-seen and those people who do not watch it are going to miss one of the biggest masterpieces in the filmhistory ever. This film is amusing, interesting, entertaining, exciting, sometimes even confusing, but all these characteristics make this film wonderful.by B.B.The movie American Beauty is about Lester, a family man, who has the desire to break out from the classified life. He has enough of the thankless life with a wife, who always wants to be perfect with no human feelings and a daughter who hates him.Trying to do only what he thinks is fun without considering any sort of moral obligations, Lester manages to destroy the perfect family picture in the shortest time. Getting away from routine life, only doing what he wants to do, doing sports to be desirable again, smoking a joint because feeling like it, buying a Firebird because he's always wanted one, say things that he actually means because he doesn't have to adapt to anyone...just being twenty years younger.The consequences of his midlife crisis causes unsalvageable damage but, even if too late, brings along important realization.Their daughter Jane walks in the shadow of her confident friend Angela, whose perfect facade breaks together like a house of cards in the course of the movie through inexperience and vulnerability. There isn't a single boy who shows interest for Jane, unlike Angela. Behind heavy make-up, Jane tries to hide herself and thinks that by having her breasts enlarged she can fight off her the doubts about herself.But it's the new neighbor boy who helps her find confidence in herself. Ricky is a voyeur and a criminal in one. He deals with drugs and one of his customers is Lester. He goes to the same school as Jane and he's the first boy who is interested in her. His father, Colonel Fitts, is a former soldier who tries to hide the fact that he likes men by having an aggressive opinion towards gay relationships.The main character is without any doubt Lester. After breaking out of this role, Lester's zest for life returns a new because his seemingly perfect life is anything but in his new position, Lester awakens; he's confident and happy. Lester is the first to break out of this perfect life but it doesn't take long for the other characters to follow him and show their true faces.Every protagonist is clearly and naturalistically drawn but it's Carolyn who carries the greatest responsibility and with it the heaviest burden. Her goal is always to be perfect. Through her own high pretenses she loses the natural ability to simply be human. Carolyn isn't able to show feelings in front of her daughter or her husband because showing any sort of emotions is a danger to the dominant and emotionless Carolyn. For her reputation in society and for her pursuit of material things she inhabits the role of the emotionless wife and mother but sadly she breaks out far too late. I wouldn't turn down any of the protagonists in this movie because each role is only an end product of society's expectations.I feel sorry for each character one way or the other, be it the inexperienced Angela who pretends to have sexual experiences or Colonel Fitts, who beats his son because he assumes his son is having an affair with Lester. Colonel Fitts, who's gay himself but suppresses his urges as best he can, wants to save his son from the humiliation. In a perfect society you simply cannot be gay.Personal happiness, which makes life worth living, is being set behind the expectations of society. Therefore it is only a matter of time before the true personality dies.Everything is only a facade, seemingly normal for the outside world but not necessarily reality. The American Dream, no matter which nationality, is the reason why millions of people emigrated/still emigrate to the USA. People who wanted to achieve a lot of popularity. But do expensive homes, gardens and cars make us happy? The higher the social class, the higher the expectations.Is the daily trying to make the right society" decision not too stressful? The intact family, is it real? Is a human being able to step out of his role, to step off the stage and take off the make-up? Despite a few amusing parts in the movie, it's a movie that criticizes society. It's a movie without a happy end. Lester's insight comes far too late but no one blames him because he's only the victim. In movies such as "Saving Private Ryan" the American is portrayed as the proud, honorable person who's willing to die for his country. All this is shown as a facade in this movie. The movie is most definitely convincing. The camera angle as well as the lights and sound effects were especially configured for each scene making them so much more believable.Through camera angles such as "medium shot", the audience has the feeling of being there in person. The protagonist doesn't have to talk for the audience to know what he's feeling, it seems so real. The "eye level shot" camera angle for example, the audience can watch through the perspective of a certain character, which supports the audience compassion. The music becomes louder and faster the more their lives break apart and the light fits into each emotional state of the main characters. The reason the story is so good is because it's different. Even though it might seem unrealistic at first glance, something like this could happen anywhere because society's pressure is everywhere and everyone goes through a midlife crisis at least once in his live.I would recommend this movie to everyone who's fed up with American movies that portray America to be perfect. On top of everything, the superb cast is a plus as well, added to the great script. Have fun watching!Z.Z.American Beauty is directed by S. Mendes and was a coming out in 2000. The film deals with an American middle-class family tragedy which is played by the main character Lester, his wife Carolyn Burnham and their daughter Jane. At the beginning it seems to that they achieve the American dream but everything turns into a nightmare.The Burnhams are living in a suburban city and Carolyn is employed as a real estate agent and Lester is working for a media company and their daughter Jane is attending the high school.To begin with, at the begining Lester Burnham is shown as a boring and ordinary employee until he gets a midlife crisis. All the desaster starts by seeing Jane's best friend Angela. Suddenly he feels like a teenage boy and he knows that his life is so unfulfilled and he wants to become a new and strong man to make Angela fall in love with him. Lester gets a new meaning of life, he tries to be attractive to Angela , he increasingly sees the complete life in a rather simple way, he finds a new job without responsibilty at a fast food restaurant and he buys a new car, all in all, it seems that he loses all of the old" life and he behaves like a teenager.Furthermore, he knows that his wife Carolyn is unfaithful and betrays him with an other men, but Lester shows no interest in it. Carolyn is represented like an ordinary and bustling woman, who is eager to be sucessful. Also she is proud of their way of living, all the material things in their life make her happy, but she is unhappy in her marriage, too. Thus she cheats Lester. Carolyn means that she has reached all aims in her life, she has one child, a beautiful house and a well-paid job, but in the ending she realizes that she hasn`t established anything in her life. On the contrary Carolyn has recognized that she probably waseted her time by getting married to Lester.Jane is an American teenage girl who doesn't want to be beautiful, conceited and ordinary like her parents so she dresses herself dark and unpretty. But what is so paradox about her attitude being not marvellous is that she plays with her thought getting a breast surgery what is probably just a teenage complex. Also Jane is fighting with her dad because her father has a crush on Angela and Jane totally feels ashamed for her dad that he is able to act like that, in case of it their relationship isn`t a regular father-daughter thing. Ricky is Jane's neightbour and also her school mate who caughts her on his video cam which is the reason that that she calls him a "pervert" and for a while it was pretty quiet around him but after Jane is recognizing that Ricky is watching and being interested in her she kind of feels attracted to him: Jane gives up the typical yuppie life for the "true love" for Ricky.Ricky is in a way comparable to Jane because he isn`t the most handsome guy around the neighbourhood and probably doesn`t fulfill the typical American way of beauty also he lives a very secluded life. The reason for his behaviour is supposedly has his mother has a mental issue and lives pretty pulled back but in the contrast to Ricky`s dad who is a tyrant probably because he suspects that Ricky is dealing with drugs which would be totally against his way of military thinking and the American moral.by K.K. and N.S.

Impecable edición de esta película. Suelo comprar las películas con castellano incluido en audio y/o subtitulos porque muchas las he visto así, pero en este caso, tenía la edición en DVD que no incluía subtitulos en castellano, sino en portugués, y encima sabiendo la resolución que tiene el DVD, perdía muchisima calidad en una televisión en 4K, porque lo que esta edición el 1080p se ve esplendida.

I love this movie! I'm also a big Alan Ball fan! Unforgettable.

This movie is a great choice if you like movies such as Lolita or Memoirs of a Geisha. The acting, everything is amazing. Love Kevin Spacey in it. A must watch if you're into this sort of movies.

Schock, Begeisterung, Spaß, Nachdenklichkeit...Anfangs noch köstlich amüsant, wandert die Story im Verlauf tiefer ins Realistische, welche mit einer bitteren Tragik serviert wird. Wenn man sich auf American Beauty einlässt, wird man am Ende geschockt dasitzen und sich viele Gedanken machen, anstatt sich zu amüsieren. Wie lange dieser Schock anhält, liegt an jedem selbst. Nur sehr selten erlebt man Filme, die so unter die Haut gehen - American Beauty ist einer davon.Wir sehen Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey): verheiratet, durchschnittlicher Typ, nervtötende und stressige Ehefrau, pubertierende Tochter, vom Alltag gestresst. Als wäre das schon nicht genug, bekommt Lester Null Respekt entgegen. Der einzige „Höhepunkt“ am Tag ist der, unter der Dusche zu masturbieren. Gefangen im imaginären Käfig, erlebt er keinen Spaß mehr und versucht deswegen, auszubrechen.Eines Abends sieht er bei einer Sportveranstaltung Angela, eine Freundin seiner Tochter und ist darauf hin und weg. Durch ihre Attraktivität ist Lester wie ausgewechselt und träumt sogar von ihr. Voller Energie versucht er, seinen eingerosteten Körper wieder in Form zu bringen, um die Attraktivität zu steigern und somit bei Angela zu punkten.Hinzu kommt, dass er seinen erdrückenden Job kündigt und dafür eine Stelle in einem Fast-Food-Restaurant annimmt. Lester schafft es noch während der Kündigung, einen entsprechenden Jahresgehalt abzukassieren, womit er sich sein Traumauto, einen 1970 Pontiac Firebird, erwirbt.„Ich suche einen Job mit dem geringstmöglichen Maß an Verantwortung.“Nebenbei lernt er Ricky Fitts kennen, welcher erst kürzlich mit seinen Eltern in die Nachbarschaft gezogen ist und später bei Lester's Tochter Jane versucht, anzubandeln, und kommt wie in seinen besten Jugendtagen durch Rick in den Kontakt mit Marihuana.Langsam aber sicher wird Lester wieder der, wer er einmal war und ist dabei glücklich. Im Rausch des Glücklichseins, versucht er bei seiner Ehefrau die guten, vergessenen Zeiten erneut aufleben zu lassen, dies jedoch scheitert. Im Materialismus verfallen, denkt die Ehefrau in dieser Situation stattdessen nur an das Sofa, wo Lester zuvor etwas Bier verschüttet hat. Lester schließt mit der Ehe so gut wie ab und es ist ihm nun alles egal.„Es ist eben nichts so wie es scheint … sehen sie genau hin.“American Beauty ist ein Film der zeigt, wie bitter und schön das Leben sein kann. Es zeigt, dass man im Leben selbst mal etwas genauer hinsehen muss, um zu erkennen, wie verrückt gewisse Dinge sind, sei es die Gesellschaft und deren Ziele, deren Moral, deren Einstellungen. Ein Film, der zum mehrmaligen Anschauen einlädt, um beim dritten oder vierten Mal neue Aspekte zu erkennen, welche zuvor noch transparent erschienen. Cineastisch auf höchstem Niveau!Alle Schauspieler sind bis ins kleinste Detail hervorragend besetzt. Hier bekommt sogar ein gewisses Objekt eine kleine, aber große und bedeutende Rolle. Im kompletten Cast sticht natürlich ein Schauspieler besonders heraus – Kevin Spacey. Dieser sticht aber nicht durch die bessere Leistung heraus, sondern deswegen, weil die meisten Szenen (Screen Time) mit Spacey vorhanden sind, die wie für ihn gemacht sind. Die Rolle seines Lebens! Aber auch die Rolle der Ehefrau Carolyn, gespielt von Annette Bening, sorgt an manchen Stellen für Gänsehaut pur, auch wenn diese etwas weniger vertreten ist.Erstaunlich ist auch die Inszenierung. Wir sehen die komplette Vorstadt aus der Weitsicht, im Herbst umhüllt, wodurch wir sofort sehen, wo und wie die Familie Burnham lebt. Wir sehen saubere Straßen und gepflegte Vorstadthäuser, wie man sie aus Amerika größtenteils kennt – im Gesamtpaket sehen wir also wunderschöne Aufnahmen. Aber immer mehr wird man erkennen, wie dieses harmonische Bild zerfällt und beginnt, zu bröckeln.Special-Effects wie die Rosenblätter werden hier nur minimal und wirkungsvoll eingesetzt, ansonsten war's das schon an Effekten.Ein ganz großes Lob an Regisseur Sam Mendes, welcher mit American Beauty sein Regiedebüt gab und gleich so eine Wucht von Film ablieferte. Wie brillant muss man sein, um solch ein Werk zu schaffen – schonungslos, ehrlich, realistisch, hart… die Menschen in diesem Film tun einem schon leid, dass man es kaum noch aushält. Mendes zeigt uns, wie das Leben in all seinen Facetten ist: Beziehungen, Arbeit, Status, Coming Out, verpasste Träume, gefährliche Vorurteile, Lebenskrise, Liebe…Zum Soundtrack kann man nur sagen: Wow! Thomas Newman komponierte hier Klavierstücke, welche exotisch, mal klassisch daherkommen und dabei mit begleitenden Instrumenten wie z.B. Glocken unterstützt werden. Ohne diesen Soundtrack wäre der Film nur halb so schön.Von der anfangs noch einfachen Handlung, wird diese durch weitere Personen schwieriger und komplizierter und wir sehen Menschen, welche auf der Suche nach sich selbst sind und fragen: Was nun? Wo geht es hin? Was ist der Sinn des Lebens? - alles fließt wie aus einem Guss zusammen. Keine Szene ist zu viel, keine zu wenig. Die Arbeit eines sehr guten Drehbuches kommt hier zur Geltung.American Beauty einem Genre zuzuordnen ist schwierig, da hier irgendwie vieles vorhanden ist: Drama, Tragikkomödie, Satire, hier und da etwas bissiger Witz. Stellenweise ist es auch wirklich kompliziert, exakt zu urteilen und die passenden Wörter zu finden. Diesen Film muss man einfach selbst gesehen haben.Hier einen Negativpunkt auszumachen, ist schwierig. Es kann einen schon mal kurz vorkommen, dass der Spannungsbogen etwas unterbrochen wird oder ein paar witzigen Stellen die Ernsthaftigkeit nehmen. Jedoch ist dies meiner Meinung nach meckern auf hohem Niveau.Die Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences haben im Jahr 2000 American Beauty mit 5 Oscars ausgezeichnet, darunter Bester Film, Beste Regie, Bester Hauptdarsteller, Beste Kamera, sowie Bestes Original-Drehbuch. Mit dieser Vergabe kann man sehr zufrieden sein und der Film wurde zu Recht damit überhäuft.Ein Film, den ich schon vielen Leuten empfohlen habe und meistens 85% positives Feedback zurückkam. American Beauty ist auch ein Film, wo ich Leute verstehen kann, wenn diese viel niedriger bewerten, da es ein sehr spezieller Film ist.Blu-rayDiese kommt eher mager daher. Einzig der Film, sowie Szenenwahl sind vorhanden. Keine Extras, kein Making-Of, kein Bonus.Danke!

Strange film, lots to think about. Not sure I understood the ending but enjoyed it nonetheless. As always from Amazon, great price, packaged well and arrived quickly.