Excellent, a Must See

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This movie is a brilliant representation of both the political situation in a certain part of the world at that time AND mental illnesses inside out. It intertwines the two into a story that captures what the reality of a lot of ordinary people used to be back then, stuff we never actually get to see in movies. Even a slight hereditary mental illness could grow and devour a person completely in such a toxic environement. I'd recommend the movie to anybody who wants to see a fresh aproach on the topic in a beautifully executed form.

I heard a lot about this before I watched it. And I seriously don't get all the fuss. Anyway I suffered through the whole movie, and for me it was horrible by all means.If you want to see some nice animation, don't ever watch this movie. Technically it mixes animation styles: stop-motion and traditional frame-by-frame, but it fails so badly. And it's not that I don't like weird characters, but these are just too simple and unpretending. The animation is low frame, not flawless at all, and that makes the scenes even harder to embrace. The stop-motion scenes look awful, for example a house looks like a simple paperboard box, that a five year old would make as a mock-up.About the story: there's not much to be told. Long story short: the main character has mental illness, and all her female family members too. Their life s*ck. Some of them commits suicide, but not her. The End.In my humble opinion the movie is really depressing to watch, and there's absolutely nothing to enjoy about it. It's not interesting, or fun, or clever, it's just sad and ugly, and very dull. After this movie I felt nothing but a deep urge to kill myself, so I don't have to watch this anymore.And her voice, which narrates everything, is so irritating, that I can't even describe it.I didn't find anything in this movie that worths mentioning. OK, maybe the moral of the story. But the idea, that someone with mental illness can live together with normal people, is not enough, at least not for me, to keep me interested and/or entertained for a movie this long, or to make up for the wasted time, and for the insulting quality of animation. Still I think the director/writer really tells the story of her life, which is nice, and she deserves all my respect for that. But if you go crazy in animation, do it with style! Please.

This afternoon at the Palm Springs International Film Festival I saw this wonderful film. Signe Baumane is a gifted animator and storyteller, integrating her family's story with events in Latvian history. Every family has skeletons in the closet, and Signe's is no exception. The difference is that she tells us the story of mental illness in her family as if she is talking to a close and trusted friend. Her approach uses humor and a realistic approach which draws us in and helps us to gain a better understanding of the challenges she and others in her family have faced. This is a brave and touching story, and an important story to share with others. Signe - congratulations on an outstanding film!

This is one of the most important films of our generation. A must-see. A stunning, rich, poignant piece which exposes issues that no other filmmakers have been brave enough to address. Watching it is like having a window into the minds of writers and artists who we have lost to depression and suicide- the contrast of the fight for survival, living with enhanced sensitivity, and struggling with the often cruel and icy world in which one is expected to thrive. It is a masterfully-woven visual story; comedic at times, captivating, and filled with tears and wonder. The gift of hearing the film-maker's voice throughout the movie reminds you that there is, indeed, living hope. One of the few films I am looking forward to purchasing and handing down to the next generation.