Such a frustrating disappointment

Highly Overrated But Still Good

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

at the first sigh, a film about nothing. at the second, portrait of the most powerful fear. because it is one of the most simple films about terrorism. and, maybe, this is the most important thing. because it propose a view in a large human aquarium. because it gives only the presence, look and steps of a young woman in the middle of Times Square. no details. no story. only suppositions. and this form of minimalism works. not as tool for an art film. but as the right form to define a slice of reality. to remind the voice of news. to give to yourself the right questions.

I usually really like the cinema verite thing when it's done right. Problem with "DNDN" though is...it's not done right. The watchability of the docu-realism thing pivots on one very important factor: SOMETHING INTERESTING ON THE SCREEN. Though the lead actress has a lot going for her, she simply can't handle an entire movie with just a camera aimed at her face (not many could, in her defense).Van Sant's films have an equal amount of minimal dialog but I never find myself watching the clock during his opuses, no matter how seemingly meandering (yes, I like "Gerry").I like bits of this film too. It has a basically fascinating subject. I especially like the jagged bits of steam that get cooking in the last third of the film, when the lead's tension and frustration threaten to boil over, though I'd debate that anything "happens" at the end (other reviews seem to indicate otherwise).I get the symbolism. I get the message. I just thought it could have used an editor's unbiased shears.

Reading the threads about this movie I see that a lot of people say that nothing goes on. That the movie is very minimalistic. Is is, in the fact that there is not a lot of dialogue, there are a lot of close-ups of the young woman's face with a blank expression, the pace is slow in the beginning, and there are not a lot of actual scenes where much of anything happens. But if you really pay attention you realize that quite a lot is going on. This is one of those movies that you have to pay very close attention to. It's all in the minute details. There is no back story, so we do not find out why she is doing what she is doing, and the end of the movie does not give us any closure. The movie does start out slowly, with the young woman in close-up obviously praying. Then the tension begins to build, and does so when she begins a very rigorous grooming regime. Also notice how well-mannered she is. Who says thank you, and so often, to people she does not know and who have arranged for her death, even if she wants to die? Watch the little details when she is downtown. The people around her, especially at the stoplight. What they are doing, or not doing. The sounds around her. The sounds she makes, even when she is eating. How she is showing us her apprehension and nervousness regarding what she is about to do. Take the time to catch these little details, and the movie will be more interesting, though if you have seen it, you know how it ends. Which makes one think, Now what?

I just saw "Day Night Day Night" on cable for the first time; it was almost mundane but fascinating; it would've been even better if I hadn't read the online guide, that she was a terrorist recruit, and let it come as a shock. I only missed about 2 minutes of video making a sandwich.Through the whole movie, I was waiting for her (She?) to realize that people are worth saving everywhere, even New York City, and that she should save her own young, perky life. I was praying she'd disarm the bomb, abandon it in a bus locker, and get a new life, or go home. Or date that black guy. Am I shallow?As an atheist, I did not appreciate the ending -- it wasn't satisfying, it didn't resolve anything, or demonstrate any truth for me. Also not a Disney-enough ending for me...I _was_ impressed by the politeness of the masked guys, and the way they made her wear her seat belt. Also, more nudity would've helped! Oink! Too borderline-meaningful!