Donnie Darko (2001)

"Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion." - Frank Anderson (James Duval)

According to the prestigious magazine Empire, after Reservoir Dogs, this would be the second-best indie film ever made (Sundance Institute/Festival). It is the result of a bet with herself by Drew Barrymore, for the first time as a (co)producer, which was taken quite seriously in securing distribution, but also a credible lobbying platform to support the investment. However, it is also the result of the tenacity and belief of director Richard Kelly (Southland Tales, The Box), a young man (26 years old at the time of filming) who believed in his screenplay, even when all evidence pointed to failure (the film was a financial disaster at the box office, only finding success three years later with the DVD release).

A series of unfavorable events almost caused this important film to be lost in anonymity, as the story of a plane crash, accompanied by a hypothetical apocalyptic ending, was released simultaneously with the events of September 11, and people really didn't want to hear about such scenarios during those days.

It took some time and several enthusiasts who insisted on promoting this extraordinary achievement, otherwise, we would have never had the opportunity to enjoy it. Because Donnie Darko is truly something new in cinema, something strange and bizarre, a story from which most of the pieces are not revealed until days after watching.

When asked what the film is about, lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal honestly, calmly, and convincingly declared, "I have no idea..." and the truth is that in the multitude of alternatives, you don't even know what to choose. Is Donnie Darko the story of a messianic sacrifice? Are they just the illusions of a schizophrenic? Is it a countdown to the apocalypse? Are they just the premonitory dreams of an untrained mind and their consequences? Or perhaps it's about the instability of a tangential universe that runs parallel to the same events and will ultimately be absorbed by a devastating vortex, as suggested in the explanations Donnie keeps searching for?

Hard to say...what is certain is that everyone will find in this wonderful production a story that matches their own background and preparation, and that's an extraordinary technique of introspection, a remarkable artistic act, and an impressive exercise of investigation. Moreover, as a result of the fact that watching the projection intrigues and proposes an array of possibilities, film critics have been left perplexed and have sought the necessary explanations directly from the director. In the remastered DVD version (Director's Cut), we have a series of interpreted commentaries by Richard Kelly that go in the direction of science fiction, with temporal transfers and alternative realities, which the observant viewer will notice are only an extension and multiplication of the same game...In the end, Kelly doesn't tell us what happens...only what he believes might have happened...The facts presented in the film remain the only tools, and they are constantly available to everyone...as are all possibilities of understanding. Everyone extracts from it what they can...

For the comments regarding the sexuality of the Smurfs, the filmmakers received approval from the original creator of these characters, whose motivation remains unknown. Donnie's statements in the film are correct. The soundtrack was composed by Michael Andrews, who, due to lack of funds, had to play all the instruments and later mix the recordings. At the beginning and end of the film, two strange characters appear, identical, who oversees the action from a distance; in the commentary, it was suggested that they might be employees of the aviation authority tasked with monitoring the consequences of the accident that causes an engine from a nonexistent plane to fall from the sky; in the director's notes, Richard Kelly says that he wanted to convey the sensation of a presence that dominated him throughout the filming

Donnie Darko is a huge puzzle, with the final sacrifice being the only certainty...and even that is not until the end.

To be able to construct your own version: Go see Donnie Darko...because he will also look into you.