The Truman Show

It’s been long since a film thrilled me this much. Funny, poignant, original; perfect, really. The premise exploits the contrast between utopia (Truman’s artificial but safe and carefree life) and anti-utopia (the TV mogul controlling human lives from an almost god-like position while people watch it without complaints). Although both have a common basis: the absence of the right to be freely happy or unhappy, they have two very different causes: Truman is denied this right from above, while the viewers don’t give a toss about it, for them it’s enough that Truman is enjoying this right, even though he doesn’t actually have it, which puts us in a vicious circle where nobody is free, but nobody cares. How much this situation reminds us of our world, that’s up to each one of you. The Truman Show offers a lot of food for thought in an entertaining package, and I love it. 100% (2008-12-28)

A wonderfully conceived and cleverly crafted story, thanks to the advertisements during the broadcast, weather changes, and the shining sun, excellently directed by Peter Weir and perfectly acted by Jim Carrey. The guy whom I have always admired for his countless facial expressions delivers a stellar performance in a poignant drama wrapped in a sharp satire. A must-watch for all paranoids. (2007-01-19)

In its day, The Truman Show was one of the fascinating great cinematic experiences that transcended media. At the time, we read articles in magazines and were unfamiliar with the reality show format, yet we knew Jim Carrey had crossed another milestone. That feeling has remained, and even after becoming familiar with the format, The Truman Show must simply be admired. (2021-07-05)

Spoiler... A film whose main theme is our own perspective. Limiting it to the phenomenon of a reality show and tabloids is superficial. Niccol's script focuses much more on how we construct ourselves as subjects, how we build our own perception of reality, our own identity. Peter Weir subtly captures this finesse, plays with the viewer, and is consistently ironic. The ending forced me to make a triumphant gesture - if anyone considers it a happy ending, he has clearly been the victim of his own The Truman Show. This is reality as we know it and accept it... The point of the film is not that Truman finds his exit, but that our exit is still far-off. "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented. It's as simple as that." The entire Truman Show is built on this principle reflected in its form (consistently within limits of possibilities). (2011-10-24)

Along with Memento, this is probably the most original Hollywood movie of the 1990s. The idea behind it is brilliant, executed in a perfect symbiosis of depth of thought with tremendous emotions. I admire The Truman Show for absolutely every component of it. I understand that it may not captivate everyone, just as the supposedly brilliant American Beauty, for example, didn’t captivate me. (2003-05-15)