I watched this movie based on its sheer praise alone, and I can’t see what the fuss is about. To put it bluntly, it didn’t feel like anything happened. The two characters start getting some characterization, but never got as interesting as I hoped. Likewise, there’s not much of a story beyond showing their relationship and what they mean to each other, which obviously isn’t very compelling if they aren’t interesting. There are a few developments that caught my interest, especially some sadder moments…but only for a little bit because the movie ended without fleshing them out. It definitely had potential if it either used its time better (less time on environmental shots?) or was longer, but it ended up amounting to very little and I left it feeling nothing. The ending being nonsensical didn’t help.
Perhaps the movie required me to make even deeper inferences to fully understand and appreciate it? Even so, a story should at least be entertaining without needing to solve its themes or characters’ motives. The Garden of Words sadly isn’t.
The silver lining is that this movie is absolutely gorgeous—maybe the prettiest media I’ve ever seen. If you want eye candy, especially for rain, then you will not be disappointed. It also has a few moments that are simply pleasant.
There was nothing I hated in The Garden of Words, but I don’t think there’s purpose in spending 46 minutes watching something without appreciable substance, no matter how beautiful it looks.
