Rating: 
Summary: One of the best and most honest movies about gay life
Review: I loved this movie. I found it provocative, surprising, angry and true to the life a typical gay man must often live. Dan Futterman is wonderfully touching without a hint of sentimentality. His performance--like the movie--is spare and clean and poetic.
Rating:
Summary: Food for your mind.
Review: Tonite I watched URBANIA for the 20th time (or more). I have this DVD since last year, and everytime I see it I discover new details, new bits of a wonderful story. Dan Futterman's performance is incredibly real, his character Charlie fits to him like a glove. I'd love to see Futterman performing in big hollywood movies, casting a shadow over those overpaid primadonnas... But let me warn you: to understand URBANIA, you should watch it at least twice.
Rating:
Summary: As real as it can get
Review: This movie is very disturbing, very sad, And VERY REAL. You CANNOT see it once and understand at all what is going on. If you see it with a friend, you will argue what the flashbacks mean. The "Urban Tales" mean nothing-the man who loses his kidney, the poodle in the microwave, the bartender and his "conquest", but a lot of life means nothing, and this movie follows a day in the life of a man that means EVERYTHING to him, and a lot of the incidents are things that happen in real life that mean "absolutly nothing". The end of the movie will blow your mind. HE COULD HAVE KILLED HIM. he thought about it, and didn't. The second time you see it, you will realize, like the reviewer from the San Francisco Chronicle said: BEST MOVIE OUT THERE. PERIOD.
I don't think he was talking about last year. See it, and I believe you will be seeing this movie again and again as a classic for the ages. THIS IS NOT A "GAY" MOVIE. It is about what a profound loss means to anyone. (If he is a REAL man!)
Rating:
Summary: Don't Pass This One Up!
Review: Speechless! That is how Urbania left me. The frenetic first half, surrounding the plot with tales or enactments of urban legends, leaves us a little confused about what is real and what isn't. It all comes together during the last half, and boy, does it hit you hard! Dan Futterman sizzles in this film. His acting nuances, tiny facial expressions, and emotional explosions are the stuff of great acting! Where has he been hiding?? The movie must be seen twice so that the sheer brilliance of the plot lines can be rediscovered (there's no cheating by the director to get to the surprising twist at the end), the super-16 saturated colors and the scene color schemes that add emotional hue to each "story" are mezmerizing. Even the cameo actors approach their characters with care and passion--so much so that they pop into your head days later. This film is haunting. Futterman is utterly believable (and this MUST be the best acting of his career), and the not so tidy ending leaves us wanting more (but it doesn't just stop--there IS some resolution and hope at the end). Rarely have I seen such powerful images that they stayed with me for days. This film is one of the best of 2000; others may not have appreciated the story, but there is so much more going on in this film. This movie definitely deserves more credit than it has gotten. One can only hope that it is rediscovered soon!
Rating:
Summary: Mind Blowing
Review: I'd read on a few websites about how good this film was but it's not available in the UK, so I ordered it form Amazon.com. Well worth it. The film is fantastic, amusing, sad and ultimately uplifting. A towering and extraordinary performance from Futterman and a brilliant supporting cast. No Hollywood nonsense going on here. Just brilliantly telling a moving story.
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than I thought ! Good scenario and acting !
Review: I bought this DVD along with other gay-oriented movies. I have to confess that it was the last of the stack I chose to play, because I thought it could be boring.True, the beginning is quite slow.
But the scenario is very well written : the moments when the main actor misses his boyfriend made me cry (a crying French cop - just figure this out !).
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Make The Same Mistake I Did
Review: To put it succinctly, this movie (is not good). Don't be fooled by the positive reviews as I was. Yes it's a gay-theme film with some attractive bodies but you'll be giving up 105 minutes of your life that you'll never have back. It's predictable, boring and ultimately depressing. All in all, a horrible excuse for entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Get this moive now!
Review: Takes spin on urban legends, but that's only a minor thread of the film. Original and provocotive. Not many movies are all that great anymore. None dare to take a chance, and if they do they fail. This one succeeds on so many levels.
Get it now and no penalties will be issued. :)
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Urbania is one of the more interesting independent films I've purchased recently. As a writer, I am fascinated with urban legends. As a filmmaker, I enjoy movies that challenge traditional structure while still delivering a coherent story. On the second level, this movie really delivers. On the first, it's a little muddled, but still affecting. The story centers around Charlie (Dan Futterman) who is coming to terms with the end of a relationship. He is a lonely writer who wants to give his life meaning--to turn it into the stuff of urban legend. He becomes obsessed with a man he sees on the street whom he believes can relieve him of the despair he feels. It would be unfair to say anything more than that as I don't want to spoil the intricate plot. The performances are all excellent, with Dan Futterman and Alan Cumming give standout performances. The script serves them well as does the direction. This is a movie that improves on subsequent viewing as subtle pieces of the puzzle that you may have missed the first time(s) become more noticeable. Given the virtuosity of the filmmaking, I found it difficult to believe that the script was based on the play "Uran Folk Tales" by David Reitz. Reitz shares screenwriting credit with director John Shear. It would intrigue me to see the stage version, as I can't imagine how the play could work as powerfully as the film version. The way director Shear movies his camera (and the audience) through time and space is so integral to the storytelling that I have trouble conceptualizing how it would play out on stage. I strongly recommend this movie to anyone who saw and enjoyed "Memento" and "Green Plaid Shirt." (The reverse is also true, if you've seen "Urbania", but not "Memento" or "Greend Plaid Shirt", then do so.) I also find it interesting to compare "Memento" to "Candyman" in its use of urban legends. (C)2001 Joe Edkin
Rating:
Summary: Weird, Disturbing, Depressing.
Review: And why did I give it five stars, you ask? Well, maybe I like weird things. Maybe I like being disturbed and depressed. A girl needs a little angst in her so-so life every now and then. This film is WEIRD, and if I told you what it's about, I'd give too much away. What I can tell you is that the movie recounts the story -- or stories -- of Charlie, a man who finds himself tailing a shady character on the night's city streets, trying to find the solution to his problems. Throw in a host of oddball characters and few even wackier urban legends, and -- well, you'll just have to sort it out for yourself. Like I said, I don't want to give too much away. I'd never even heard of this movie before, and chances are you haven't either. Independent films. You know the deal. If there isn't at least one exploding car in the film then it can't hope to get much publicity. Which is too bad, since "Urbania" really is a decent movie. Jon Shear's directing was dead-on, giving "Urbania" a polished look, with moments of visual surrealism thrown in to amplify the odd mood of the story. The ending'll leave your brain bouncing off the inside of your skull long after the flick is over. So if you want to spend a blissful two hours vaccilating between brow-quirking confusion, slackjawed stupefaction and bury-me-now woe, watch this film. Only the best movies can manage to rip those kinds of emotions from you, and trust me, this is a good movie.
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