The ABC’s of movies – part 3
By vrtualme | June 6, 2009
À bout de souffle aka Breathless or By a Tether (1960) - writer/director Jean-Luc Godard’s (Masculin féminin: 15 faits précis 1966) first full length film is considered to be the starting point of the French New Wave movement. It earned this honor because of its jump cuts editing style which is really due to Godard’s half-ass attempt to shorten the movie’s run time without cutting any scenes. I appreciate its place in cinematic history, but wasn’t that entertained by the characters’ self-obsessed rants.
Before Night Falls aka Antes que anochezca (2000) – no wonder Javier Bardem (Oscar winner for No Country for Old Men 2007) earned his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas. He kicked ass in the role, outshining the performances by costars Sean Penn (2 time Oscar winner for Milk 2008 & Mystic River 2003) and Johnny Depp (3 time Oscar nominee). This film follows the poet’s life from birth to death through a mesmerizing series of memories and dreams that won’t quickly be forgotten. Highly recommended.
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. aka The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) – a silent film about traveling carnivals, deadly predictions and murder; or is it? The final scene in this movie makes it one of the first to have you leaving the theater wondering what was real and what was fantasy, more recently done to perfection with The Usual Suspects (1994). Widely considered to be the first true horror film ever made, and to be one of the most influential of the German Expressionist films.
Death Defying Acts aka Death Defying Acts: Houdini’s Secret (2007) – Guy Pearce (Memento 2000) plays the Hungarian-American magician and escapologist Harry Houdini; and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Oscar winner for Chicago 2002) the con woman who eventually wins his heart. Total chick flick, but still entertaining to watch.
Die Ehe der Maria Braun aka The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) - this was the first in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s BRD Trilogy followed by Lola (1981) and Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (aka Veronika Voss 1982). All films about West German women and their struggles to survive after World War II. I’ve yet to watch the other two, but they should be quite interesting if Maria Braun is to be any indication. Braun could be seen as a role model for the feminist movement at the time, in her stead fast determination to succeed on her own terms.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) – I watched this because I needed to lighten my mood and because of a brief fascination I had with Russell Brand at the time. The surprising thing is I actually liked it. Jason Segel (“How I Met Your Mother” 88 episodes, 2005-2009) wrote for himself a perfectly sympathetic and loveable character in Peter Bretter. A role where he not only exposes his raw emotions, but also his family jewels. Obviously not for the kiddies, but otherwise recommended.
Una gota de sangre para morir amando aka Clockwork Terror or Murder in a Blue World or To Love, Perhaps to Die (1973) - I barely remember watching this Italian rip-off of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971). That being said I really can’t recommend watching it, rather I’d recommend avoiding it.
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things aka Le livre de Jérémie (2004) – written/directed by and starring Asia Argento (daughter of famed Italian horror director Dario Argento) this movie is based on the book of the same name by JT LeRoy. There is so much that could be said here that I’m a bit at a loss for where to start. The subject matter is often hard to deal with; no doubt there. The story centers on Jeremiah, a young boy who is exposed to every kind of perversion by his drug-addicted mother, her overzealous religious family and her litany of bad-boy boyfriends. Your heart cries out to this boy till you’re left feeling numb. Yet, the cinematography by Eric Alan Edwards (My Own Private Idaho 1991) is so original and often quite beautiful. Plus, the cast filled with Hollywood’s who’s who of young indie stars, all did amazing jobs. Included are Kip Pardue (But I’m a Cheerleader 1999), Jeremy Renner (“The Unusuals” 8 episodes, 2009), John Robinson (Lords of Dogtown 2005), Ben Foster (30 Days of Night 2007), Matt Schulze (The Transporter 2002), Marilyn Manson, Jeremy Sisto (“Law & Order” 41 episodes, 2007-2009) and Michael Pitt (Funny Games U.S. 2007). Then we can’t leave out veteran actors like Peter Fonda (2 time Oscar nominee for Easy Rider 1969 & Ulee’s Gold 1997), Ornella Muti (Codice privato 1988) and Winona Ryder (2 time Oscar nominee for The Age of Innocence 1993 & Little Women 1994).
Irréversible (2002) – another superb movie that’s extremely hard to watch. One unspeakable act leads to an unavoidably end; only here we start at the end and watch each scene unfold in reverse a la Memento (2000). What reviewers declared as one of the most disturbing and controversial films of 2002 was written, directed, edited, and photographed by Gaspar Noé; and stars Monica Bellucci (Shoot ‘Em Up 2007) and Vincent Cassel (Eastern Promises 2007) in the performances of their lives. FYI: “The first 30 minutes of the film has a background noise with a frequency of 28Hz (low frequency, almost inaudible), similar to the noise produced by an earthquake. In humans, it causes nausea, sickness and vertigo.” This was added to create a state of disorientation and unease in the audience.
La jetée aka The Pier (1962) – this black and white French short film tells the story of survivors from WWIII who play with time travel in an attempt to rebuild civilization, or even prevent the war in the first place. In the middle of all this a man is haunted with a strange sense of déjà vu. I wasn’t thrilled, but it did serve as the inspiration for a much better movie, Twelve Monkeys (1995).
Kamyu nante shiranai aka The Bored Murderer or Who’s Camus Anyway? (2005) - ok, I’m a Camus fan so I was intrigued, and then slightly disappointed. This movie has nothing to do with him. Once I got over that I started enjoying the film again. Basically it’s another Japanese horror film about a bunch of college students putting on a play when one by one they start disappearing/dyeing. I know, done a million times before, but this is one of the better ones.
Lat sau san taam aka Hard Boiled or God of Guns or Ruthless Super-Cop (1992) - a gun crazy cop who’s willing to break the law in order to maintain it. This classic Chinese action movie comes from writer/director John Woo (Face/Off 1997) and stars Yun-Fat Chow (Wo hu cang long aka Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000). It was this movie that brought American attention to both these legends, and gratefully so.
My Blueberry Nights (2007) – the first American project by my favorite Chinese writer/director Kar Wai Wong (2046 2004). Again, a series of short stories that meld together much better than his past works. Norah Jones (in her only acting role to date) plays a heart broken girl who hits the road and learns about life from a series of damaged characters she meets along the way. Costarring are Jude Law (2 time Oscar nominee for The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999 & Cold Mountain 2003), David Strathairn (Oscar nominee for Good Night, and Good Luck. 2005), Rachel Weisz (Oscar winner for The Constant Gardener 2005) and Natalie Portman (Oscar nominee for Closer 2004). All outstanding playing against type in almost unrecognizable roles. I loved this movie; highly recommended.
Naked aka Mike Leigh’s Naked (1993) – David Thewlis (Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter series) plays Johnny, who heads to London to visit an old girlfriend. Seems simple enough, but Johnny’s a low-class thug on the run from the family of a girl he’s raped. And Johnny screws the roommate of his old girlfriend while waiting for her to get home. And Johnny… so on and so forth. You get the idea. There really isn’t much to redeem this film. it’s just a bunch a people who do whatever the fuck they feel like without much thought for anyone else.
Oldboy (2003) – kick ass movie with so many twists it’ll make you sick. “15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance.” A man is imprisoned in a room for 15 years and then suddenly released, both with no explanation why. I don’t want to say any more except this is Asian film-making at its best.
Polissons et galipettes aka The Good Old Naughty Days (2002) – 12 silent era shorts that were the first pornographic films ever made. Make no mistake; these are full-on graphic porn. But it’s all too funny to elicit anything more than a few good laughs.
Quantum of Solace aka B22 or QoS (2008) - James Bond rules. Need I say more?
Repulsion (1965) – written and directed by Roman Polanski (Oscar winner for The Pianist 2002); Catherine Deneuve (Oscar nominee for Indochine 1992) plays a young beautiful woman who quickly loses her mind when her sister leaves on holiday. Really quite odd.
Skinwalkers (2006) – read my preview write-up and see the trailer here. all I have to add is that it didn’t disappoint.
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) – this is the American directorial debut of Susanne Bier who previously gave us the incredibly touching film Efter brylluppet aka After the Wedding (2006). She hits the mark again with this story of a women (Halle Berry – Oscar winner for Monster’s Ball 2001) struggling with life after her husband (David Duchovny – golden globe winner for “The X Files” 1993 & “Californication” 2007) dies in a senseless act of violence. It’s a tough lesson in appreciating those around us while we still have them. Highly recommended.
Ultimo tango a Parigi aka Last Tango in Paris (1972) – Marlon Brando (2 time Oscar winner for On the Waterfront 1954 & The Godfather 1972) almost earned his third Oscar for his portrayal of an American widower who has an anonymous affair with a young Parisian woman. He and writer/director Bernardo Bertolucci (The Dreamers 2003) came under fire for the film’s explicit sexual nature; and the MPAA originally gave it an X rating (later to change to NC-17). Personally, I loved everything about this movie, but the ending.
Vargtimmen aka Hour of the Wolf (1968) – I imagine this film was of great influence to David Lynch (Eraserhead 1977). It was released just as Lynch was starting his career, and if I didn’t know better I’d have attributed it to him. But in reality this was the sole horror film to come from the mind of Ingmar Bergman (9 time Oscar nominee). Max von Sydow (Oscar nominee for Pelle erobreren aka Pelle the Conqueror 1987) plays a delusional artist who is haunted by a group of horrific characters. Liv Ullmann (2 time Oscar nominee for Utvandrarna aka The Emigrants 1971 & Ansikte mot ansikte aka Face to Face 1976) plays his long-suffering wife, who in the end begins to share in his visions. A must see for any Lynch fan.
What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? aka What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004) – quantum physics and manifest realities. It’s all too complicated to explain, but feels a bit like the start of a new religion (cult). I can’t imagine anyone leaving this film without a load of questions. Recommended for the open-minded.
*Didn’t have any “x” titled movies available at the time*
Youth Without Youth (2007) – first let me state that this film took on a whole new dimension because of watching it right after the previous movie (recommended double feature). Tim Roth (Oscar nominee for Rob Roy 1995) gives us yet another amazing performance, here starting off as a 70 year old man whose life is changed in drastic ways after he’s been hit by lightning. Director Francis Ford Coppola (5 time Oscar winner) came out of seeming retirement to head this film as “a meditation on time and on consciousness”, which he considers a “changing tapestry of illusion.” Those statements will make more sense to those who have seen the movie. anyway, enjoying this will take quite a stretch of your imagination. If you can manage that then it’s highly recommended.
Zhai bian aka The Heirloom (2005) – from first time director Leste Chen comes yet another story about a haunted house. Ok, it’s not as boring as that sounded. An architect inherits his family’s estate after years abroad, only to learn they weren’t the nicest people. Curse, ghosts, insanity and death… typical Asian fare, but a little better than average. Recommended to fans of the genre.
8½ aka Federico Fellini’s 8½ (1963) – a blocked movie director (3 time Oscar nominee Marcello Mastroianni) looks to his past for inspiration. This best foreign film Oscar winner is said to be “An autobiographical film of Fellini, and about the trials and tribulations of film making.” it’s also a favorite for Fellini fans.
That concludes this entry. To follow my movie viewing progress click here.
Topics: movies, reviews | No Comments »