Stay

One can't help getting the impression that your commentator did not understand Stay. In my opinion Forster&Benioff produced a remarkable piece of art, cinema at its best, in the tradition of Godard as much as in Lynch's. Managing to implement the very essence of cinema as art form, they carry out a wonderful de-construction of space-time to mould these, coordinates of our experience (the reference to Kant does not need to become explicit), into an entirely different conceptual level in which one can not expect dialogs to play the same role they play in Hollywood blockbusters. They are analytical units in which crucial ideas are presented: the subjective nature of reality; enlightenment as becoming aware of the illusory nature of our everyday space-time framed experience of reality (what Leon realizes as he becomes able to see it!) and death as the ultimate instance of this overcoming space-time illusion; trust and dependability among persons as the most fundamental strata of reality; guilt as the inability to live in the present (as one remains trap in the past and projects oneself into a punishing future) open to the too much beauty around (to give up committing suicide); Eros&Tanathos providing the inspirational energy for the work of art . References, verbal to Hamlet and to Buddhism and visual to Lope de Vega, locate the narrative into a subjective-but-truly-real realm in which the two main characters intermix as they interact. Both time and space are handled to the best of the possibilities opened by cinema as art form. Time is reconstrued connecting its units through wonderful camera language and reordering it into conveying those crucial ideas; space is aesthetically transformed both with an absolutely amazing use of architectural spaces (both interiors and public) of noticeable Escher inspiration and with swift shifts through time-sequences. In this way, movements through space via time sequences and through time via successive spaces are masterfully handled. Of course buying this remarkable piece of art cinema expecting to enjoy an amusing psychological thriller can only lead to disappointment and confusion.

I like movies that beg for the contribution of the viewer. I like to be intellectually tantalized during a projection so that I don't feel like a stupid cow in front of a train. With popcorn in my hands. So when, after a few scenes of STAY, I noticed that the main character's name was Sam Foster while the director's name is Marc Forster, I knew then that I was about to watch something different, the icing on the cake being the job of Sam Foster : psychiatrist. Wow.Then comes the inevitable question in the viewer's mind : What is the movie about ? At first, we are prone to believe that the topic of STAY will be to show us how Sam Foster will manage to convince his patient Henry Letham to give up his intention to commit suicide. But soon, other options suggested by the director strike us. Thus, the movie could also be a sci-fi film about a psychic guy able to predict future events. Or is it rather a dream ? Numerous references to the Greek mythology, Freud or the Buddhist mystique seem point to this direction. If not, why does the director insist on showing us so many stairs in STAY ? It is evident then, the word stairs and the second part of the psychiatrist's name Fo-STER creating the kind of association we could find in a dream, that STAY is Henry Letham's dream. Finally, there is a last question the viewer has to answer : why does Henry Letham experience such a dream filled with guilt-feelings ? See STAY to know the answer.A DVD for your library.

Critics didn't like this early movie of Ryan Gosling's but I loved it. I love stuff about dreams and this surrealistic nightmare was just what the doctor ordered. Is the dream Ryan's or is it the psychiatrist's? Who is the real protagonist here?

This film had poor marketing and was panned by professional critics on arrival. This resulted in a bomb at the box office, hence no one seems to have heard of it since.This movie will reward you for paying great attention. Everything will seem slightly off with the characters at first but do not mistake this as bad acting or bad directing. It is intentional.I highly recommend renting/purchasing this movie. To go into it blindly is the best way to experience it.

Disk in awful condition and case dirty

The movis is dark and sinister and filled with foreboding. It would have been a much better movie if someone other than Ewan McGregor had been cast. He dragged all the other characters down with his irritating performance. This is not a movie to watch with the family or to watch very often, but it's worth seeing nonetheless.

A fantastic movie that deserves Oscars and/or Golden Globes for writing, directing, acting, cinematography, and music. All hail the producers who spent a lot of cash for very little short-term reward. A psychological thriller tour de force about life, death, art, and the ancient sage maxim that waking life really is a dream. In this case a prophetic dream. There are a lot of semi-veiled cues and "prompts" for those who are "aware" enough to notice. The kind of flick that will "Stay" around when other movies are long ago forgotten in the waste dump of mindless, soulless mediocrity. A film "empty" critics will despise and average audiences won't understand that future viewers will resurrect and herald into a cult fellowship.

It's true that this film sat on the shelf for a long time and did horribly at the box office. That can be bad news, but in this case, it simply means that no one knew how to market this film. It was advertised as a horror film, but is more of a Hitchcockian/arthouse film than anything.This is not a film for everyone, but for those who enjoy films that make you think about the art of the film itself, not just about some supposedly profound 'message' being pushed, this is a great film. Roger Ebert has nailed this film on the head in his review.

Ryan gosling, actorWas great in the movieAs always

I really liked this film. It's an interesting kind of a mystery story. Initially the question seems to be why Henry (Ryan Gosling) intends to kill himself and why he tells his psychiatrist (Ewan McGregor) about his plan. But through a combination of a decent script, imaginative cinematography and clever editing the viewer soon begins to question everything and everybody and realizes the mystery goes much further. To the point actutally, where one begins to wonder what is going on altogether - who and what is real and what is imagination (and whose) and who those people really are. Oh, and why on earth Ewan McGregor is wearing those trousers that end well above his ankles. There are clues everywhere, but it may take a repeat viewing to see them for what they are. But that's cool. It's a good film with two strong leading men who deliver very decent performances, so I was very happy to watch it for a second time. And probably will watch it yet again and likely spot even more pointers and references. It's that kind of a film.Much as I enjoyed the film, I suspect it's not going to appeal to everybody. Anybody expecting fast paced action and/or a classic horror flick will likely be disappointed. This is the kind of drama where you have to pay close attention to detail to understand what is going on.The DVD I bought (uncut version) has subtitles for those who may need. The extra features included didn't do much for me. There is a "Departing Visions" Featurette and several Scene Specific Commentaries with the director and some cast and crew members. They are easily the worst commentary tracks I've come across. There's a lot of slightly too fast babbling by the director and a few not particularly interesting or enlightening remarks by others. At one point the director actually asks somebody not give away some titbit of information, but keep it for the anniversary edition. Really?

Original e inquietante, onírica y profundamente verosímil en cierto modo, narrativamente original, una suerte haber localizado esta edición, ya no disponible en España-

« Stay » est un film énigmatique dont on ne peut raconter l'histoire sans risque de gâcher le plaisir de ceux qui ne l'ont pas encore vu.Il met en scène un trio d'acteurs très convaincants : Ewan Mc Gregor (le psychiatre), Naomi Watts (son épouse et peintre de talent) et Ryan Gossling (son patient qui lui annonce qu'il va se suicider). Le scénario embarque le spectateur dans un parcours fléché qui sombre, au fil des scènes dans les méandres de la folie, de la paranoïa et peut-être du paranormal. En quête d'explications concrètes, comme le psychiatre qui mène son enquête, le spectateur peut plusieurs fois se raccrocher à des explications partielles, imbriquées les unes dans les autres, réelles ou symboliques, jusqu'à que les pièces du puzzle se rassemblent avec fulgurance dans les dernières minutes du film.La réalisation et la photo somptueuses de « Stay » contribuent largement à la puissance de ce film certes angoissant, mais tout aussi magnifique. Il faut sans doute le regarder plusieurs fois avant de pouvoir s'en faire une idée complète et en mesurer la richesse éblouissante.

"If this is a dream, the whole world is inside it."STAY ist bei weitem nicht so einfach, wie es den Anschein der Story hat. Absolut fesselnd wird hier eine Geschichte erzählt, die immer mehr die Grenzen zwischen Realität und Scheinwelt verschwimmen lässt. Die Schnittarbeit ist brillant; fast jede Szene geht flüssig und völlig logisch in eine andere über, als wäre es das normalste der Welt. Eben war ein Element oder Detail noch unwichtige Nebensache in einer Szene, da befindet man sich schon mittendrin und das Utensil ist plötzlich Stilmittel und Ort des Geschehens zugleich. Die Farben im Film könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein. Mal erfüllt ein tiefes Blau das Bild, danach folgt ein Grünstich, bevor ein strahlender Himmel dem Zuschauer entgegen lächelt. Farben und Details spielen ständig mit der Wahrnehmung des Zuschauers und führen ihn so lange an der Nase herum, bis er nicht mehr weiß, was eigentlich gerade vor sich geht. Früh merkt man , dass in der Welt von Henry und Sam irgendwas nicht stimmt. Wieso sehen viele Menschen so gleich aus? Warum wiederholen sich Dinge? Was ist Real? Wieso sieht Sam Menschen, die eigentlich schon lange tot sind? Warum nennt seine Freundin ihn plötzlich anders? Fragen über Fragen, deren Antwort nie auf dem Silbertablett serviert wird.Im Gegenteil - all das sind Fragen, die während des Films im Minutentakt den Zuschauer quälen und wer denkt, dass es sich hier um eine einfache "Schizophrenie"-Auflösung handelt, der irrt sich gewaltig. Hinzu kommt die absolute Topleistung der Charaktere. Von der ersten Begegnung an baut der Zuschauer Verbindungen und Sympathien mit den Charakteren auf. Ryan Gosling und Ewan McGregor ergänzen sich perfekt auf der Leinwand und schaffen es, Emotionen und Wahnsinn virtuos zu vereinen und dabei zu Höchstleistungen aufzufahren.Es ist wirklich schwer, den Film zu beschreiben. Man muss ihn gesehen ... nein ... man muss ihn erlebt haben. Mehr als einmal. Selbst nach der mittlerweile erwähnten zehnten Sichtung entdecke ich immer wieder kleine Details, die die erneute Sichtung zur Freude machen. Selten zuvor hat es ein Film geschafft, mich nach dem erscheinen des Abspannes so derart zu fesseln, dass mir wirklich die Worte und das Verständnis fehlten, diesen Film in eine "brillant" oder "miserabel" - Schublade zu stecken. Das will STAY aber auch nicht. Er will verstanden werden. Er will erlebt werden.. Er will, dass der Zuschauer sich mit ihm befasst, ihn wirken lässt und immer wieder erneut analysiert.Erst Stunden später entknotet sich langsam die Story und so ergeben viele Dinge einen Sinn - wenn man sich die Zeit nimmt, sich mit dem Film zu beschäftigen. Wer sich nicht damit auseinander setzen mag, wird den Film mit einem Handwinken und Kopfschütteln abtun. Das wäre aber mehr als schade. Wer einen zweiten Filmlauf wagt, wird immer wieder "Aha!" rufen, da plötzlich viele Elemente einen ganz anderen Sinn ergeben. Marc Foster hat hier wirklich einen tiefgreifenden, metaphorischen Psychothriller abgeliefert, der bewegt, zum Nachdenken anregt und den Zuschauer von der ersten bis zur letzten Sekunde an in seinen Bann zieht. Und auch, wenn der Grundtenor des Films unglaublich traurig ist und vor allem gegen Ende selbst bei mir die Augenkanäle etwas auf Funktionalität prüft, sind es diese kurzen Lichtblicke, die ein Lebensfreude vermitteln, die immer wieder vergessen lässt, dass es hier um weit mehr als das Leben geht. Für mich definitiv einer der interessantesten und optisch brillantesten Filme aller Zeiten, auch wenn ich verstehen kann, dass man den Film (überhaupt) nicht mag, weil er einfach entgegen jeglicher Sehgewohnheiten funktioniert."Do you know the Tristan Rêveur quote about bad art? It's: 'Bad art is more tragically beautiful than good art 'cause it documents human failure.'"