Week in Film #10: 2/29/16-3/6/16

Week in Film #10: 2/29/16-3/6/16

Film of the Week: The Spirit of the Beehive
   Year: 1973
   Director: Victor Erice

       I've seen a lot of films about young childhood lately, and all have brought different aspects of that time to the surface. The 400 Blows brought the melancholic nostalgia, Pather Panchali the joy and freedom, and this, The Spirit of the Beehive, something darker. That something is the sense of mystery, the unexplainable in the child's eye, the wonder, the misunderstanding, the almost supernatural in it's wispy awe of the adult world, and the impressions it makes on the very young. It's something more akin to Picnic at Hanging Rock than the above mentioned films. It's standing in the shallow end of the pool and staring at the unknown depths of the deep end, maybe even taking a few curious steps forward to peer into that unknown.

   Rating: A

The Rest: 

Chimes at Midnight

   Year: 1965

   Director: Orson Welles

       The greatest Shakespeare adaptation? Not for me, but it's certainly in the conversation. Welles pieces together bits from separate plays by the bard to tell the story of Falstaff, played perfectly by Orson himself. The cinematography, like all of his films, is absolutely stellar. The best scene, the big battle, is shot with an in the action feel that gives it a trance like life that engrosses the viewer in it's impressive virtuosity with it's filmmaking.

   Rating: B-

The Witch

   Year: 2015

   Director: Robert Eggers

       The best horror film since the Babadook, at least as far as I've seen. It is masterful in it's direction and does the right thing by going for atmosphere and dread over cheap scares and pop out moments. The performances are tremendous and truly frightening, particularly the mind blowing one from the young boy, especially in his powerhouse possession scene. 

   Rating: B

Pather Panchali

   Year: 1955
   Director: Satyajit Ray

       By all rights, Apu's life should really suck for him. He's poor, he loses family members, his home is destroyed. But despite this, the film never takes on a dark tone. Bad things happen but Ray always finds the brightness in life to overcome the dark. The death of a family member can't taint the memories of joy shared with them, and the movies hope, and Apu's hope, is irrepressible.

   Rating: A

Black Orpheus
   Year: 1959
   Director: Marcel Camus

       A retelling of the classic myth of Orpheus, only... you know... black. Vibrant and colorful, and surprisingly heart wrenching at times. It's a gorgeous and aching ballad of music and imagery, composed into a simple yet striking folk legend greek myth about love and loss.

   Rating: C+

Chi-Raq
   Year: 2015
   Director: Spike Lee

       As socially important as it is structurally and tonally disparate, it's a bit of a messy masterpiece of truth and justice, always keeping it a hundred. There are brave, bold choices made here that end up massively helping Lees vision. Samuel L Jackson is awesome as the narrator, and the rhyming prose dialogue gives the film a flow when it is desperately needed, almost in place of the narrative structure, which spikes a lot in tone.

   Rating: B-