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| mo_flixx |
 Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:41 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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gromit wrote: Worst of 2008:
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Man on Wire .. coy, oh-so-cute, and heavily padded out.
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Interesting reaction to "Man on Wire" which was generally thought to be a lock on the year's Best Doc. I do think that Petit himself was a bit "oh too cute," but what fascinated me about this movie were the very clever recreations and use of actors as well as the real people to play his cohorts in the stunt. It is done so well that you almost cannot tell. It is easier to discern if you watch the dvd's extras. I really admired how the filmmakers carried this off. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:24 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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My responses to Kaufman films have spanned the full range from loving Being John Malk, semi-liking Eternal Sunshine, mostly disinterest in Adaptation, and loathing Human Nature.
So I'm as good a test audience for Synecdoche, N.Y. as any other.
My Review:
With its death-obsession, hypochondria, and an inability to relate to women who remain quirky and mysterious -- Woody Allen's thematic fingerprints are all over Kaufman's Synecdoche. It even has New York in the title, though it's a low-rent, upstate approximation of the City. And Germany provides the other/alien location usually occupied by California in Woody flicks.
I thought the film was a fun, interesting ride.
All the world's a stage, Dostoevskian doppelgangers, an examination of the way we perform for the world and direct our lives. Lots of ideas cascading around -- personality, identity, and life all up for grabs. I think it will be an interesting film to re-watch.
Probably worthwhile to give a quick Wiki read on Cotard's Syndrome before a viewing ... Cotard being the family name of the main character (PSHoffman).
Not everything worked for me.
I didn't care much for the conceits involving audio devices -- particularly the off-putting translation scene with the daughter, but also the godlike hearing-aid at the conclusion. I didn't have time to work through the symbolism with the house afire or the miniature portraits, though I connected the tiny artwork to the multitude of character notes ... perhaps a search for the self, soul, meaning within our existence. And maybe the way we process memories.
I didn't find it to be confusing which seems to be the standard complaint, buy rather a sprawling and interesting film of ideas. On second viewing, I think the symbolism and the interactions between the doubles would grow in richness.
I loved the way that first Sammy, and the later Ellen, sums Cotard up so succinctly that, despite their complete lack of physical resemblance, he immediately casts them to play himself. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:15 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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| I'm taking in The Sorrow and the Pity. Well........I took an intermission and watched an Egyptian film from 1971: Adrift on the Nile. It was interesting.....taken from the book of the same name by a nobel prize winning author. Intellectual/professionals living in Cairo gather nightly on a houseboat on the Nile.......smoking weed from a bong.....and trying to stop taking life seriously. They almost succeed. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:19 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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"Punishment Park" is a 1971 film directed by Peter Watkins. It _could_ be a documentary, but isn't.
The premise is that according to the '50's McLaren Act, the U.S. is able to enact martial law, arrest and detain prisoners for unspecified periods of time, send them to detention camps, etc. Sound familiar? And this in a 1971 film.
The film opens with hearings of prisoners outside of a "punishment park." This park is somewhere in the So. Calif. desert where it reaches well over 100 degrees during the day and gets down to the 60's at night. All prisoners are found guilty (why?) and have a choice - either extremely long prison sentences for their crimes (draft evasion of Vietnam for example) or 3 days in punishment park. Without fail, the prisoners chose punishment park.
The prisoners look like typical '60's protesters. There are a few Blacks, a successful 19 yr. old protest singer, some campus radicals, etc. The hearing board is composed of older, establishment types: a union leader, academics, politicians, etc.
The film alternates between footage of the hearings and footage of one group of prisoners trying to make the park's 50+ mile course through the desert with just a two hour headstart over law enforcement who are eager to mistreat and kill. The prisoners have no food or water. They spend 2 chilling nights without shelter. The goal of reaching the far off American flag which officials have indicated will mean their freedom seems impossible.
A West German film crew is at the park making a documentary about the proceedings which is how we (the audience) have become aware that something like this ever went on.
The movie looks and sounds like a documentary. It will bring back memories of the 1968 Democratic Convention and other protests of that era. "Punishment Park" is powerful filmmaking. |
Last edited by mo_flixx on Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:36 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:42 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| Just watched Blindness - quite an interesting film. |
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| Kate |
| Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:11 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1397
Location: Pacific Northwest
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Trish wrote: Just watched Blindness - quite an interesting film.
The book was remarkable - very difficult to read due to both depressing story, but also an unusual writing style - but a stunning book. |
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| warpedgirl17 |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:03 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jan 2009
Posts: 51
Location: Salt Lake City,Utah
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Trish wrote: Just watched Blindness - quite an interesting film.
I will probably rent this rent that soon. It does look interesting. |
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I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong.- Christopher McCandless(Into The Wild) |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:04 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| Sansho the Bailiff (1954) is regarded as Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece and holds up quite well more than 50 years after it was made. Based on an ancient folklore story, it deals with the ills of slavery. It was made a year after his other masterpiece Ugetsu. There are similarities between the two since warlords, robbers and courtesans in medieval times are the focus of both. |
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| lissa |
| Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:14 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: my computer
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I have Blindness - have to get around to watching it. With Passover cooking and cleaning, and being hooked on The West Wing, and kidstuff to contend with, and my own school work to do...it'll have to wait...
I also want to read the book - might do so before watching the film. |
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Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarfs aren't happy. |
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| Kate |
| Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:45 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1397
Location: Pacific Northwest
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lissa wrote: I have Blindness - have to get around to watching it. With Passover cooking and cleaning, and being hooked on The West Wing, and kidstuff to contend with, and my own school work to do...it'll have to wait...
I also want to read the book - might do so before watching the film.
Lissa - I have not seen the film yet, but I would say to read the book first - it's a pretty hard read, but a fascinatng one. |
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| lissa |
| Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:12 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 2148
Location: my computer
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| Kate, I had it from my library, but work took priority of my time and I had to give it back. I agree, it isn't the easiest read, but I'll take your advice and try it again. Thanks! |
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Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarfs aren't happy. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:40 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Tell No One is a terrific mystery with a real Hitchcock feeling to it. The French know how to make superior thrillers like no one except Hitch. The plot is devious and the acting is excellent. People have talked about this movie on the forum, but I just got around to seeing it, and since it's in the house (courtesy of Netflix) we're seeing it again. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:56 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Great news, Billy. My kind of movie and it's coming via Netflix soon.
Btw, I've been meaning to ask you if you happened to see the "West Side Spirit" last week. The cover article was on the Ansonia and Plato's retreat. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 12:53 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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Kon Ichikawa’s “The Burmese Harp” (1956) is an anti-war classic. Japanese soldiers in Burma receive the news that World War II has ended. The film is about the soldiers’ life in a British prison camp. In particular, one soldier’s quest to find meaning after the upheaval of war is explored.
The movie also examines the role of music and how simple songs can heal the heart and lift the soul.
Ichikawa continued to work until 2006 when he was 91. He passed away last year. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 1:23 pm |
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Wonderful movie. I saw it by accident in Paris. My ex (before we were married) and I went to a theatre to see Rebel Without A Cause, but when we got there wse found out that the Semaine guide was wrong and The Harp of Burma was playing. Not only did we end up seeing a terrific movie but after the movie, the director took questions from the audience. Unfortunately my lousy French made it hard for me to understand much of what was being said.
Hey. Marc, have you watched your video of The Burmese Harp yet? |
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