Madly (2016) Movie Review

Madly is an omnibus film that has cast its gaze on love from other cultures and regions. This 106-minute film explores, through some of the most innovative directors from around the world, the inclusivity of love in all its complexities and forms. This eclectic mix enables the film to take another turn in how it melds the genres of romance and drama in multiple stories.

With this unique structure and international scope, it's not really comparable to other anthologies. Each segment of the movie is from another director; it offers a new, different vision of love, therefore. The participating directors of this ambitious project were Gael García Bernal, Anurag Kashyap, Bat for Lashes, Sebastián Silva, Sion Sono, Mia Wasikowska, and Mariana Chaud, all having styles that differ regarding storytelling.

The ensemble is supremely talented and gathers into one frame from the world over, such as Kathryn Beck, Tamsin Topolski, Radhika Apte, Justina Bustos, Pablo Seijo, Yuki Sakurai, Ami Tomite, and Satyadeep Misra to give that international tinge to the film.

Although Madly is a production of the United States, because it was released in 2016, it encompasses talent and creativity by filmmakers around the world. It really will be a universal production with themes of love and relationships filtered through cultural diversity.

It is prepared by a team of writers to which the directors themselves also belong. Each piece has its peculiar writing style, as every segment reflects the peculiar view of the filmmaker with regard to what love means. As such, it is fittingly realized through the aptly assembled ensemble cast. The original score in the movie was from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans; it added an atmospheric layer to the emotional depth of the stories.

Cinematography by Stefan Duscio, Julián Ledesma, and Chloë Thomson elevates its vision and narrative. Production companies behind this film include Cowboy Films, Diroriro, Django Film, Nikkatsu, Phantom Productions, and Rei Cine.

Madly is a film about the universality of love, as depicted through many varied worldwide perspectives.