Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
jessicafischerqueen
The Ideal (2011)must be as close to an outright copy of The Shining as it could be without getting sued for making it.It also appears to have had a production budget of $1, or perhaps "around three fiddy."I almost stopped watching it six times during the first 20 minutes, but something kept pulling me deeper into the film. It's utterly without pretension. For example, the pretty, but dressed down, heroine has very attractive and very large breasts. Wisely, the filmmakers portray them in a naturalistic manner; they don't keep shoving them in your face. Not that there's anything wrong with that. All of the characters have a goofy kind of charm, and this ingenuous production may sneak up on you too, if you give it a chance. I'm glad I did.The film does introduce a central theme distinct from that of The Shining, involving an esoteric "interpretation" of time seen through the lens of Nazi Germany, Nietszche, and Kafka. I found this aspect to be quite interesting. I wish I had been given the chance to watch this film in Philosophy 104 instead of having to wade through desultory and truncated text books that were probably also published on a budget of $1.This movie is definitely not for those in a hurry. It takes time to get into this, but if you do keep watching the atmosphere becomes more and more creepy. The plot arc is just different enough from The Shining that I wondered how it was going to end. IMDb users give it a gaudy 3.8, but I give it a 6.5 and a thumbs up.
tim-arnold777
It can cause drowsiness and lapses in consciousness. If you struggle with insomnia, watch The Ideal and be prepared for some serious snoozing. Rarely does a film create such a deep and unbroken monotonous boredom leading downward to an unavoidable state of comatose catatonia. It seemed as though even the actors themselves were drifting into intractable stupors from having to act in this hypnotic bit of sedative celluloid. I gave it one star as a film. I would give it 10 stars as one of the most effective sleeping aids I've ever encountered. Not to mention that Alex looked more like a 30 year-old CPA than he did a believable high school student. And how in the world was the actor who portrayed his father billed as? Loser farting father? Man alive!
dominic soreco
To start with what i liked about this movie is that it was a unique story. I would imagine its hard to come up with a plot that hasn't been already done or similar to something that's already out there. The Ideal is neither. Also to learn that it was written by a student who was a junior at the high school it was filmed, Rivka Rappoport, also intrigued me. The imagination and vision of a young mind put to film. This is where the director Wes Tomasz Ciesla comes to play. He does an excellent job with the character development and changes that happens from the introduction of the characters to the end of the movie. Especially the relationship between student Alexander Dessler and his teacher Mr.Zenidro. This movie is hopefully the first of many films for the cast and crew. I look forward to see what Wes and Rivka's next project might be.
moo moo
I was fortunate enough to be invited to the screening of this movie. This movie is a definite character study in its extreme. All movies throw us in hypothetical situations and we imagine a solution with the characters in the movie. In the most suspenseful way this movie throws us into a situation of all teenagers' nightmare; How to deal with a broken heart. I hope I am teaching more than math in my class. I hope students are learning how to persevere and deal with difficult situation whether solving math or broken hearts. This is a movie that all schools around the world should have a screening with its students and have a discussion. Because I sincerely hope my students learn to deal with the situations depicted in the movie. The movie also shows what happens when you do not learn to deal with the situations. Go see it you must!