Why so much hype?

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Great Film overall

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Another quiet indie drama that went under the radar, its unfortunate really because these low key films have some of the best cinematography out there. A famous modern war photographer, who uses pictures of conflict to express the damage of warfare, is killed in a car accident. The remaining family members must go through her unpublished work for a final article, to which becomes more of a personal journey for them all. Essentially it's another drama about grief, an all too familiar concept that is completely saturated with depressing dramas. This one is no different, but it's execution sets it apart from the basic example. Each family member goes through grief in their own different way. The husband remains tranquil and yearns to communicate more with his sons. The eldest son cheats on his wife with his ex-girlfriend. The youngest son shuts himself off from the world in solitude, continually playing video games and being apart from others. It didn't feel artificial, in fact I thought these characters were perhaps some of the most realistic I've seen in a drama of this type for quite some time. Then we find out that the wife also isn't exactly perfect, and so we have ourselves a broken imperfect family. The problem with that, it's not exactly exciting. Various scenes of just characters staring into the distance as internal narration takes over. A decision that perhaps over stylised the narrative, to a point where it felt too glossy and superficial. I wanted the plot to delve deeper into their emotions, a few more outbursts and some powerhouse scenes. Alas, the tone remained calm throughout which I can also appreciate. Director Trier does utilise a competent cast to deliver the emotional captivation. Huppert's small screen time felt everlasting. Eisenberg gave another understated performance. Druid surprisingly held the film together. A novelistic approach that just can't quite reach the heights of sophistication.

Louder than Bombs is a frustrating movie because it's so beautifully edited and directed but everything about it just falls flat. The film is about the Reeds, a family made up of a father and his two sons, one an adult starting his own family, the other a teen, who are all coping with the loss of the mother of the family Isabelle, a war photographer who died 4 years earlier. The events in the film are triggered because a retrospective of Isabelle's work is being put on and a friend and journalist writing an article regarding her life warns Isabelle's widow that he plans to be "honest" about the way she died implying that the car crash she died in might not have been accidental after all. The rest of the film follows these three men as they stumble around their lives, reminiscing about the Isabelle they knew and didn't know and struggling to move forward. It's a very watchable film, but it's also somehow not enough. The struggles of the film feel self-indulgent and it's one of those films where women exist only to be lusted over or listen sympathetically to the men as they talk about their problems and throw tantrums. Even legendary actress Isabelle Huppert, as the ghost that haunts the family, doesn't get much to chew on. The worst part is that it's a movie that isn't easy to write off entirely. The youngest son is a bit of a writer and the way his text is layered over with images leads to some beautiful editing and some true movie magic. It's just a shame that these great moments don't quite live up to what they could have been if they had had strong emotion to back them up.

This film tells the story of a father and his two teenage sons, who core cope with the untimely death of their wife / mother due to a traffic accident. Their grief is further complicated by a breakdown on communication.I tried very hard to understand the story, but honestly I didn't understand a thing. "Louder Than Bombs" tries to tell a story of a dysfunctional family, but it ends up being an aimless drivel. I have no idea what the story is trying to convey. It jumps between the past and present inexplicably, and there is little continuity and connection between the past and present. And what's the fascination with decomposition of bodies? Those scenes are just plain gross. Perhaps the scenes are there to be provocative, but they simply alienate viewers from the film. Furthermore, it is not interesting to see teenagers sulk all the time. I regret having wasted my time watching this indecipherable collage of scenes.

There is a scene towards the end where a teenage boy is walking a drunk teenage girl home after a late party. He is a quiet boy and she is the cheerleader. They walk through the neighborhood in the early hours of the morning right before the sun rises. This scene is what I like to call a Life scene. It goes on and on just like real life. Its a real and beautiful moment. It is true. Louder than bombs consist of a few more scenes like this and although I didn't Love the movie as a whole I did Love a lot of scenes. Jesse Eisenberg gave one of his worst performances in Batman V Superman and now he gives one of his best performances. He is sly and cunning and seems that have everything in check. So does the father played by gabrielle Byrne. In the beginning in seems like the youngest son is the most lost after the death of the mother played by the always excellent isabelle huppbert, but it isn't until the end that we see that the youngest son was the one that was the most put together. Louder than Bombs is a good movie, maybe not great but good and it has terrific performances from the entire cast. ***1/2 out of 5.