X
- 2011
- R
- Oscilloscope
- 1 h 43 m
- 2011
- R
- Oscilloscope
- 1 h 43 m
Summary Best friends Woodrow and Aiden spend all of their free time building MAD MAX-inspired flamethrowers and muscle cars in preparation for a global apocalypse. But when Woodrow meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love, he and Aiden quickly integrate into a new group of friends, setting off on a journey of love and hate, betray...
Directed By: Evan Glodell
Written By: Evan Glodell
- 2011
- R
- Oscilloscope
- 1 h 43 m
- 2011
- R
- Oscilloscope
- 1 h 43 m
Bellflower
72
5.7
Where to Watch
Summary Best friends Woodrow and Aiden spend all of their free time building MAD MAX-inspired flamethrowers and muscle cars in preparation for a global apocalypse. But when Woodrow meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love, he and Aiden quickly integrate into a new group of friends, setting off on a journey of love and hate, betray...
Directed By: Evan Glodell
Written By: Evan Glodell
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
72
80% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
16% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
72
80% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
16% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Bursts at the seams with wild creativity.
Bellflower is stylishly watchable - even when it's preposterous.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 36 User Ratings
5.7
56% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
11% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 36 User Ratings
5.7
56% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
11% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
One of the rare films that lives up to the promise of the trailer, and Bellflower's trailer is incredibly cool. Evan Glodell does a terrific acting job as the lead character, but his script and direction are also spot on. The way the film is unfocused, blurry, and jumps frames at certain high tension moments is highly effective. The relationship between the two old friend leads is somewhat reminiscent of the guys in Clerks, though their building of flamethrowers, fire-breathing cars, and in-dash whiskey fountains set them apart. I've heard this movie compared to Fight Club, but that's way off. This movie has a huge heart. So much action, betrayal, and pulp.... I'm fired up to see it again. It was great seeing and HEARing Medusa (the car) at the film's opening night at the Nuart in LA. Evan also spoke to the crowd - his humility and awe at the size of the crowd was refreshing.
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Bellflower is a genuine breakthrough, and after its own profoundly flawed fashion, a work of genius.
Bellflower has plenty of rough edges and it suffers from a bad case of hipper-than-thou-ness. But it's a triumph.
The protagonists and their idle dreams of a fiery wasteland may well be nihilistic. But the movie - with its stunning cinematography and lingering aftertaste of old-school heartbreak - most assuredly is not.
Like its antiheroes, this slacker tragedy has moments of calm and originality that are sadly obliterated by a tendency toward the extreme. Still, in a kind of reverse apocalypse, the movie's toughest stretch is its first two-thirds, a navel-gazing, semi-romantic nothing-a-thon that falls away in time for the movie to emerge from the ashes.
Worse yet is the insincerity of the film's central performances. Too cool by half, Glodell, Wiseman and Dawson speak every line as if it had air quotes around it. In fact, the entire movie feels as though it has air quotes around it.
Bellflower is the result of some filthy filmmaking. I do not mean that as they did a poor job, far from it. I mean the shots are so real and intense that you can almost smell B.O., sweat, and whiskey while sitting in an air conditioned theater. There is a road trip scene where it looks like the camera lens was cleaned with spit and a dirty paper towel. This is not the California you are used to seeing on screen.
Woodrow (Evan Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) are lifelong best friends and share the same goal, to be ready for the apocalypse. In their spare time, which seems to be all of their time, they build their own flamethrower and Mad Max looking Road Warrior car with dual flamethrowers mounted on the back. This is the result of kids watching Mad Max 100 times. When the apocalypse happens, they will drive around in this ready for war vehicle with their hand-held flamethrower; wouldnâ
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It's better to take this film as something made by young filmmakers than as a critically acclaimed sensation. It's more about the vibe, the look, the spirit of a work by young artists. It's not about having everything correct and beautiful.
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This film of very harsh realism and large amounts of symbolism definitely comes from the postmodern tradition, and was interesting and thought-provoking enough for the majority of it to be entertaining. But then came the final scene to ruin the whole movie. Apart from the annoying repetition of the Mad-Max-influenced nickname "Lord Humungous," the scene destroys the deep insights gotten from the rest of the movie by seeming to make the whole film's theme a glorified version of "bros before hos." Still, the characters and filming was good enough to make the film not completely ruined, but very disappointing nonetheless.
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I wish all parties involved in this film well, but it really didn't do anything for me except make me yawn and eventually wonder when it would all be over. I am really surprised by the acclaim being thrown on this film. Reading the positive reviews makes me think of the children's story, "The Emperor's New Clothes." Decent music was well used, but the slacker story was messy and too over the top.
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Production Company
Coatwolf Productions
Release Date Aug 5, 2011
Duration 1 h 43 m
Rating R
Tagline A love story with apocalyptic stakes.
Awards
Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 2 Nominations
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
