Press
On Michelle in “The Book of Liz” at The Seaside Rep (Seaside, FL), Summer ’09:
“Michelle Luchese is luminous as Liz. At times it seems as if Luchese’s feet are not even touching the floor as she moves about.”-By LEAH STRATMANN, Beach Breeze
“Michelle Luchese is luminous as Liz. At times it seems as if Luchese’s feet are not even touching the floor as she moves about.”-By LEAH STRATMANN, Beach Breeze
From Ethan Alter, at NYCFilmCritic.com:
“…Although it gets the least amount of screen time, the Ama/Antonio section is actually the strongest of the film’s three stories…The best scene in 212 is the one where Ama first attempts to talk to Antonio about more than which copier needs fixing. In halting Spanish, she asks him why he likes working with machines. “They’re simple,” he tells her. Then, gesturing at her and then himself, he adds “Not simple.” Clich?d? Sure, but it rings true and sounds like something this character would say. Luchese and Sanchez are also very likeable in their roles, which goes a long way to making this kind of oft-told story seem fresh. Out of all the characters in 212, Ama and Antonio would be the most deserving of a follow-up film.”
“…Although it gets the least amount of screen time, the Ama/Antonio section is actually the strongest of the film’s three stories…The best scene in 212 is the one where Ama first attempts to talk to Antonio about more than which copier needs fixing. In halting Spanish, she asks him why he likes working with machines. “They’re simple,” he tells her. Then, gesturing at her and then himself, he adds “Not simple.” Clich?d? Sure, but it rings true and sounds like something this character would say. Luchese and Sanchez are also very likeable in their roles, which goes a long way to making this kind of oft-told story seem fresh. Out of all the characters in 212, Ama and Antonio would be the most deserving of a follow-up film.”
From Flicknut:
“…The third story is that of the girl in the photo, Ama a copymat employee, who has a broken heart and a broken copier. One night she calls for a repairman to come in and Antonio with his limited English is sent to fix it. Ama is soon breaking more and more items so that Antonio can come down and fix things while she works. At one pivotal moment in their arc, she is reading a book about how to get over a broken heart and she asks Antonio, “what else can you fix?” The moment is pregnant with expectation as the thought, flashes, “broken hearts” – before he replies that he can fix VCRs, toasters, and goes on to name most small appliances. It was particularly clever of Ng to include that moment in for the viewer. In fact the sweetest story is that of Ama and Antonio. At the end, after a night of finally eating together, they are shown taking the subway together and falling asleep on each other’s shoulders. It is a pure sweet moment, pure Wong Kar Wai and filmed just as Doyle would have.”
“…The third story is that of the girl in the photo, Ama a copymat employee, who has a broken heart and a broken copier. One night she calls for a repairman to come in and Antonio with his limited English is sent to fix it. Ama is soon breaking more and more items so that Antonio can come down and fix things while she works. At one pivotal moment in their arc, she is reading a book about how to get over a broken heart and she asks Antonio, “what else can you fix?” The moment is pregnant with expectation as the thought, flashes, “broken hearts” – before he replies that he can fix VCRs, toasters, and goes on to name most small appliances. It was particularly clever of Ng to include that moment in for the viewer. In fact the sweetest story is that of Ama and Antonio. At the end, after a night of finally eating together, they are shown taking the subway together and falling asleep on each other’s shoulders. It is a pure sweet moment, pure Wong Kar Wai and filmed just as Doyle would have.”
