Week in Film: 7/25/16-7/31/16
Film of the Week: Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonYear: 1939
Director: Frank Capra
A man of the people, a true hero, is systematically smashed to pieces on the worlds stage. This is a film about against the odds success, yes, but it is also about tragic failure, the failure of a country. At least that's how my eyes perceived it. Capra may lay on the heavy doses of patriotism (something that makes me feel woozy), and he may make the case for the nation in the end, but for me it is plain to see the obvious folly, the obvious unfulfillment of the American way.
Rating: A-
The Rest:
Cafe Society
Year: 2016
Director: Woody Allen
Just not very good. Inoffensive, but pulseless and meaningless. Why set a film that could be set anywhere and anytime in such a specific times and place? Seems like a waste; a waste of Allen, the stars, and a striking setting.
Rating: C-
Hail, Caesar!
Year: 2016
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen
On a second viewing, the themes and ideas behind Hail, Caesar! are revealed more clearly. Just as good on a second viewing, but not among the Coens best.
Rating: B-
Pickpocket
Pickpocket
Year: 1959
Director: Robert Bresson
I feel a little guilty that I'm not loving Bresson. I'm a cinephile, aren't I supposed to worship him as one of the demigods of motion pictures? I just have a hard time connecting. Maybe it's the anti-acting (which I understand the point of), but something isn't clicking. I took me forever to get through this seventy some minute film, which for me, passed like a slow river of honey, except without the flavor of honey. What I'm trying to say is it was slow going. Like Au Hasard Balthazar, I'm just not very moved.
Rating: C+
Certified Copy
Year: 2010
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Improves, somehow, on a second viewing, solidifying its stasis as an A grade film in my mind. Possibly Kiarostami's definitive masterpiece, it's a reflection on art, relationships, perception, and what it means to be an individual, and if we are, in our nature, a split self. Kiarostami's brilliant compositions and use of his camera remind me he was a true master of cinema, and one that will be truly missed.
Rating: A
The Pillow Book
Year: 1996
Director: Peter Greenaway
An experiment in form. Greenaway has always had an interest in cinema as the marriage of many arts: music, literature, visual arts, and theatre especially. Here he conducts his continuing experiment in melding the arts together, this time with a focus on literature. Telling the story of a woman obsessed with body painting, specifically writing "books" on the body, he uses his sensibilities and skills to craft something very similar to a novel in structure. The result is hypnotic.
Rating: B
Vampyr
Year: 1932
Director: Carl Th. Dreyer
A little creaky, but has some wonderfully unsettling imagery and pretty great work with the camera too.
Rating: B-
Harold and Maude
Year: 1971
Director: Hal Ashby
Not one of the greatest films of all time, but one of my personal favorites.
Rating: A
Persona
Year: 1966
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Silent screaming. This is a dense film, jammed with meanings and interpretations. Who's real and who isn't? Are they the same person? What is it saying about filmmaking? What about individuals? Relationships? Through discussion, I learned that there are many, many ways to take this. Maybe that's what it's about too, the multiple interpretations of a piece of art, or a moment in life. There is clearly no easy answer, nor should there be, for that would devalue the importance of this work of art. A rorschach test.
Rating: A
Tiny Furniture
Year: 2010
Director: Lena Dunham
Reminded me of the works of Noah Baumbach and Woody Allen. Can definitely see comparisons that have been drawn. Overall, a solid film.
Rating: B-
The Philadelphia Story
Year: 1940
Director: George Cukor
At first, mostly fine, until a magical sequence in the middle which really brings the movie into focus. From then on it's easy to see why it's so highly regarded.
Rating: B+
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Year: 1979
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Pretty solid, with some good performances, but again, not my favorite Fassbinder.
Rating: B
Certified CopyYear: 2010
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Improves, somehow, on a second viewing, solidifying its stasis as an A grade film in my mind. Possibly Kiarostami's definitive masterpiece, it's a reflection on art, relationships, perception, and what it means to be an individual, and if we are, in our nature, a split self. Kiarostami's brilliant compositions and use of his camera remind me he was a true master of cinema, and one that will be truly missed.
Rating: A
The Pillow BookYear: 1996
Director: Peter Greenaway
An experiment in form. Greenaway has always had an interest in cinema as the marriage of many arts: music, literature, visual arts, and theatre especially. Here he conducts his continuing experiment in melding the arts together, this time with a focus on literature. Telling the story of a woman obsessed with body painting, specifically writing "books" on the body, he uses his sensibilities and skills to craft something very similar to a novel in structure. The result is hypnotic.
Rating: B
VampyrYear: 1932
Director: Carl Th. Dreyer
A little creaky, but has some wonderfully unsettling imagery and pretty great work with the camera too.
Rating: B-
Harold and MaudeYear: 1971
Director: Hal Ashby
Not one of the greatest films of all time, but one of my personal favorites.
Rating: A
PersonaYear: 1966
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Silent screaming. This is a dense film, jammed with meanings and interpretations. Who's real and who isn't? Are they the same person? What is it saying about filmmaking? What about individuals? Relationships? Through discussion, I learned that there are many, many ways to take this. Maybe that's what it's about too, the multiple interpretations of a piece of art, or a moment in life. There is clearly no easy answer, nor should there be, for that would devalue the importance of this work of art. A rorschach test.
Rating: A
Tiny FurnitureYear: 2010
Director: Lena Dunham
Reminded me of the works of Noah Baumbach and Woody Allen. Can definitely see comparisons that have been drawn. Overall, a solid film.
Rating: B-
The Philadelphia StoryYear: 1940
Director: George Cukor
At first, mostly fine, until a magical sequence in the middle which really brings the movie into focus. From then on it's easy to see why it's so highly regarded.
Rating: B+
The Marriage of Maria BraunYear: 1979
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Pretty solid, with some good performances, but again, not my favorite Fassbinder.
Rating: B
You've been a prolific viewer this week. So agree about Certified Copy. In addition to all of your thoughts, I loved the European feel and the reflection upon reflections. Harold and Maude = one of the best. I don't know how I'd like Persona. I've always had challenges with Bergman. What a week!
ReplyDeleteI think Capra's message in Smith is not rah rah country, but to show the system which everyone knows is flawed and then show a character that believes in the ideals of system. With the point being that it is important to stand up for those ideals and not forget what they are and never stop believing that they can work. I think he's really trying to show that while the system is corrupt, it is made up of individuals who can hold their own values. He is a champion of the individual and a believer in the individual, his moto was "one Man one Film."
ReplyDeleteGotta get to Certified Copy.
The setting was the only thing of value in Cafe Society I'm glad we didn't sit through that film set in the present day.
I remember seeing Pesona. Did NOT know what to do with it but watching Liv Ulman was always worth the confusion.
ReplyDeletePhiladelphia Story. . .always enjoy that. One of my favorite scenes is the young girl singing "Lydia The Tatooed Lady."