The story appears simple on the surface, but is revealed, especially after multiple viewings, as more multi-layered and textured than Cassavetes at his best. Ostensibly it concerns a 14-year old Catholic girl, Wynne (Agutter) growing up in this post-modern wasteland, who develops a crush on her much older adoptive brother (Marshall)- a crush which perversely deepens and grows into infatuation once she starts to believe he is the local sex killer. This is in itself an idea that makes you sit up and jolt, but as the narrative develops, it continues not necessarily along a linear path but in several confusing and fascinating directions: the family's history, (detailed effectively in chilling flashback during an improvised seance) is a chequered one, and has suffered at least one major relocation and upheaval in the last ten years. At the crux, however, it's the depiction of socialal changes that make I Start Counting so fascinating and elevate its language far beyond the confines of the standard horror film. The major subtext- that teenage girls were maturing more quickly than before, and developing full sexual and romantic appetites (even if in thought rather than deed) but were not possessed of enough discretion to make the right choices- was a step forward for a genre in which its young females had previously been portrayed as bimbo victims (Cover Girl Killer and The Night Caller spring to mind), but not one that all viewers would necessarily agree with. But most striking of all, and possibly the most enduring image which the viewer will take away with them, is of the masterful symbolism with which director Greene invests every shot. Every inch of the Kinch family's world- their house, their walls, their TV, Agutters underwear, bedroom furniture and toys, Sutcliffe's clothes, Marshalls van, the local Catholic church, their town centre, their record shop) - is painted a bright, scintillating white- a white which, by inference, is slowly becoming smudged and corrupted with the dirt of the outside world. White also symbolises, of course, purity and innocence (two qualities Catholic schoolgirls are supposed to hold dear), and it is into this world of innocence that the ever-present red bus (a symbol of violation and penetration), conducted by the lecherous yet similarly juvenile Simon Ward, makes regular journeys. The allegory is further expanded in one scene where Agutter believes she sees the Christ figure in church weeping blood: by the time we acknowledge it, its gone, but the seed has already been planted. Rarely in a genre production has the use of colour and background been so important or effective in creating a uniformity of mood. I Start Counting is as near-perfect an end to a decade as one could hope for, and exactly the kind of film people should be making now- which is, of course, exactly why they never will. A genre essential. by D.R.
6/10 台湾爸爸这么亲陆，台湾同学这么反美的吗。结尾被打了一顿后突然生性了，是被马说服的吗？
能明显感到导演想拍什么内容，但欠火候的感觉也很深。摄影调度真的很有问题，各种不舒服，没什么地方好需要抖的不知道摄影在摇个什么劲儿。吵架那场戏看哭了，但也仅此而已。文化冲突拍的比较表面，再接再厉吧。
想討論和值得討論的點都沒太展開（包括文化差異、疾病對家庭的致命衝擊、經濟影響、sars 意外、青春期、家庭內部的溝通問題……），擺了個很好的架子出來但看不到細節，每一塊都是淺嘗輒止的，情緒的展現（爭吵和憤怒）遠大於對困境和矛盾的深層探究。
yah its about whether or not you think you have a choice and how you understand every bits of frustration in life。美国是完美的远方，通往成功的下一站，而眼前的生活只是羁绊。和短片《姐姐》一样，深刻的隐喻贯穿。没有隐喻我们就不会讲故事了。结尾动人。
做人好难，做小孩好难。等终有一日理解大人处境时，又会有小孩让自己明白没长大的时候多不懂事，其实谁想懂事。
sars时期的故事放在疫情时代上映很讨巧，但整体上缺点不少。家庭部分的矛盾与和解，总体过于平淡，没有看到人物内心转变的细节，也缺乏高潮段落；时代背景的体现过于符号化，流于表面；本应很重要的一块身份认同，也如短线风筝般没有下文。总的还说就是时代坐标模糊，又缺乏足够强大的人物内心力量，太过温吞、无趣
第3452-影片可看，演员表现都不错。
「這個世界上我最不想成為的人就是我的母親，因為她的恐懼會成為我的恐懼，而她的軟弱會使我軟弱。」阮導在訪談裏說，她越不想自己像媽媽，偏偏發現自己越像她。吵架是因為，母女倆的個性太像了—— 倔強得脆弱，理想化於是失望。//「你為什麼對你媽生氣？」「我覺得她可以做得更好。」「但如果這是她的最好呢？」”good enough mother”
平淡真实，内涵丰富，耐人寻味。
SARS背景下的一个家庭故事…比较细腻的日常，虽然平淡但也有动人的点。
我看之前，电影群的人说，太好哭了，有人说从十几分钟就开始哭，我想我眼窝子这么浅，特意找了独自在家的时候看，打算痛哭一场，没想到，这片共情真是有门槛，相比让我哭的稀里哗啦的狗十三，我看这片全程，无法被打动，无论这母亲还是孩子，是家庭还是学校，都让我觉得烦躁，压抑，厌恶，导演短片Jiejie可以看成是前半部，去的时候难以融入，回来又是如此，换环境对孩子来讲确实伤害很大，不过这里面，妈妈当初到底为什么去美国，去治病？去生孩子？我一直在等一个答案，却一直模糊处理，内容文本上更像是自己人生某一段过往的事件的拼接，像那辆自行车一样，出现之后从没被骑过，造作，
3.5。但是，有一点想说的是，这个年纪孩子的叛逆，很多时候，没这么“冠冕堂皇”的理由。（虽然并不能否认电影这样表达是没问题的）
中国式家庭。没《瀑布》那样想得太多，却反而将情感表达得更加贴切。
欠缺力道的結局最終怎樣都無所謂了，因為癥結一直未被觸碰。我呢，已經放棄兜兜轉轉在家人與親情之愛之間
我们东亚的亲密关系似乎永远也跳脱不出以爱为名的责任、伤害与磨砺。
有那么一丢丢李安早期的感觉，但总觉得还是差一口气，不过很喜欢这些年港台社会人文主题的一些电影，因为咱国产电影几乎很少拍，或者说是没市场、没投资、没法拍。
好看。覺得劇本和表演都非常扎實得讓人珍貴，也很難得。作為幾乎同齡人，看到反叛心理的姐姐真的很有帶入感。03年的氣息撲面而來。最喜歡的細節是爸爸在樓梯間哭時手上拿著的那個鑰匙扣
润物细无声却各自汹涌般的精彩，仿佛又一部「爸妈不在家」。
那细碎的难和哀，大概只有中年人能懂吧。林嘉欣影后级。不过全片的台词略有点怪。
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