To me this wasn't even about the complexity or minimization of a film.. it was the reality that sunk in knowing.. the turmoils and thoughts I've went through.. How far would I go as a teenager.. when I was a teenager, to change the world for my country? Being a soldier was never in my plans and making a name for myself wasn't my style. Don't get me wrong, this isn't about me either... it's about the fact of "desperation vs determination". Oswald, just the guy next door, no one saw that coming. Kip Kinkle (2 weeks before Columbine, Springfield, Or) had enough bullying for a change.. made some computer aided bombs and said "Amazing Grace" to mom and dad, before heading off to school in the morning. 2 students dead 22 wounded. ( A friend of mine was hit in the leg that day) Regardless... this film, is about elements beyond our self indulged lives. People merrily go about their day and randomly hand a young teenage girl change for the phone, unaware she's calling the very men.. who have planted about 20 lbs. of Semtex in her JanSport.Everything we love and live for, everyone we hold dear is gone, within a Killswitch engage of a second.. and we didn't even realize we walked right past the girl.. and yeah so what if she was crying a little and had some urine on her pants.. I can't remember what she was wearing.. she looked American to me ,Officer!.. I mean I have a kid sister that age, mister detective..."A young girl going from one random street clicking on a Mp3 player, and helplessly being devastated by the fact that she failed her people, and yet innocent bystanders just simply look past her, most not even noticing the possible brush of death knocking so closely at their door.. as they walk right by with their children.Her untrue story is she has no family.. they died where she came from, and something tells you that if she had stated the truth these men would never let her go through with it.. and yet when she reaches out for her parents.. the shame of it seems to make herself dead to them, or she chose this for her punishment. But at what price and what reward.. Honor? Vengeance? No Self Worth? I mean teenagers are teenagers, no matter what country they are evolving from.I believe she was faced with the same humanity we are faced with in every country. We need and we need to be needed. She was reaching out to be important and when she failed in an epic way.. she was no longer useful to herself.. it left her open to face the issue of being in enemy territory, and even more vulnerable and here we grow a bit more compassion for her character. I loved the ending of the movie. Chills on so many levels and if you didn't get them, then you need some deep rooted nature and issues to dissolve within yourself and although I would never want anyone to succeed at these actual acts in reality, it is about time the people get a film where someone finally puts an end to it all. No endings like 2012. No islands to save the lucky innocence. If people want reality, and believe me a movie like this can't get any more true to the bone real, and then they want to complain about how slow and boring it went.. then I say let them have their oblivious ending. It wasn't supposed to have a hero or a fight scene .. running 'lola' or DEA busts. JUST RAW TRUTH. But the wake up call that we are so blind to hate and acts done out of confusion, fear, misunderstanding and pure hatred given from a higher command.. It's a sad and scary thing.. and I can only hope to understand someday why anyone feels compelled to be a suicide bomber. As an American citizen.. I think it's my right to know exactly why they hate us so much to do this? What is truly going on that we aren't being told?? This movie gives me the humanities version..not the stereotypical terroristic "Ironman" version. that was a great movie too. but Not even close on the same level of art!

A young woman is seen arriving at a bus station. Before she gets off the bus she might be giving us a clue as to the purpose of her trip. At the depot, she is met by a man that takes her to what appears to be a suburban motel. She has come for the sole purpose of being trained for a mission to sacrifice herself in a terrorist act. The woman takes a bath, scrubbing herself clean, as though preparing for the sacrifice she is about to commit Masked men enter the room. Blindfolding her, they take her through a training different in a lot of possible scenarios. She is given a new identity and has to learn it by rote. When she is deemed ready, she is taken to a desolate area where a car awaits her to take her to another bus depot. Her destination, we learn at last, is Times Square, the heart of New York City.Leah Cruz, the would be terrorist, embarks on a walk throughout the area. The usual crowds are a reminder of what she is about to do. She is constantly surrounded by a mass of people that are oblivious to the danger so near to them. After trying the explosive device, she realizes it's not working properly, something she, or the team that prepared the explosion, probably didn't count on. As the story ends, we watch her being pursued by a young man, who might be a predator looking for easy an easy mark.Suicide bombers are a recent development in the world. They have been responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people that didn't deserve to die, in the first place. It is hard to understand how a human being will get to that stage. Not only will they kill a lot of bystanders, but in the process they don't live to see the havoc they create."Day Night, Day Night" is the creation of Julia Loktev, a director unknown to this viewer. Not knowing what to expect, we took a chance with this indie film from IFC, a producer of quirky fare. Ms. Loktev takes the viewer into the mind of a person that is determined to carry out a horrible act. We never get to know Leah's background, or what is the cause for which she is fighting. We never learn what has been her reason for getting involved in such a criminal act. When she calls her parents, they sound as though they are concerned about her, but not much more than what a parent of a young person would be.Louisa Williams has the kind of face that could pass for any ethnicity, it is difficult to peg her down to any specific race group. Her eyes tell the story of the conflict within her. Walking among the crowds of Times Square, Ms. Williams appears at times as though she is overwhelmed by the garishness of her surroundings, while at other times, she appears to be afraid of dying for a cause that even she can't comprehend.The excellent hand held camera of cinematographer Benoit Debie, captures the Times Square area as through the eyes of a tourist, or even a would be killer. Ms. Loktev shows she can provoke her audience, however disgusting the central issue is.

Reading the threads about this movie I see that a lot of people say that nothing goes on. That the movie is very minimalistic. Is is, in the fact that there is not a lot of dialogue, there are a lot of close-ups of the young woman's face with a blank expression, the pace is slow in the beginning, and there are not a lot of actual scenes where much of anything happens. But if you really pay attention you realize that quite a lot is going on. This is one of those movies that you have to pay very close attention to. It's all in the minute details. There is no back story, so we do not find out why she is doing what she is doing, and the end of the movie does not give us any closure. The movie does start out slowly, with the young woman in close-up obviously praying. Then the tension begins to build, and does so when she begins a very rigorous grooming regime. Also notice how well-mannered she is. Who says thank you, and so often, to people she does not know and who have arranged for her death, even if she wants to die? Watch the little details when she is downtown. The people around her, especially at the stoplight. What they are doing, or not doing. The sounds around her. The sounds she makes, even when she is eating. How she is showing us her apprehension and nervousness regarding what she is about to do. Take the time to catch these little details, and the movie will be more interesting, though if you have seen it, you know how it ends. Which makes one think, Now what?

Once in a great while, the events of my day conspire to keep me awake well past a time one would expect any sane individual to be up. On this particular night, 5am or thereabout, I flipped listlessly through infomercials, recycled newscasts, and whatever Nick at Night has become desperately hoping to find something to justify my being awake-instead of... asleep for 3 hours.Of course, it is during moments like that that one is often lucky enough to find a gem that would have otherwise been overlooked; the unexpected event of finding such a riveting movie only serves to make the film more special. In the case of this movie, simple intrigue over the title and brief summary lead me right into something I was completely unprepared for at 5am.Now, as I mentioned in the summary, this is a movie where the director used extreme minimalism; using it in such a way that the minimalistic quality actually served to give the movie a bare, natural, yet intricate realism. The plot leaves so much to be desired, the viewer is left to make up their own idea of just what exactly is going on. Since I assume you can all read, I'm not gonna bother covering the jest of the plot again when IMDb has already done it so well, but while the plot (and the way its presented) is incredibly important to this movie's vibe... it really is only a small piece to the puzzle of what makes this movie enjoyable.This movie succeeds in getting more from less, on playing against one's own desire to know what makes this story, and the main character, tick, on denying the viewer's need for some resolution or closure; ultimately offering instead nothing but stark reality, heart attack inducing build up that ends just like the film itself-with a whimper. All of this is executed very well thru good acting, body language, and through creating the feeling of an authentically alive environment; and in that unassuming environment is a powder keg trying frantically to die a suicide bomber. The attention paid to showcasing the contrast between the main character and the living environment was superb, although I occasionally felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack due to this film's blatant emphasis on suspense building without an actual climax.Day Night(x2) is not without its flaws; it is certainly not for everyone, and just like real life, this movie isn't afraid to turn unpredictably, build to nothing, or let you down hard. However, if you're able to look past the less than traditional direction and plot, and can appreciate the wonderful wordless nuance in this film it really is worth watching. If you're lucky, you'll catch it the way I did... completely unanticipated when you've just nearly resigned yourself to sleeping like a normal person. Those are the times an overlooked film like this can really shine!