Week in Film: 8/15/16-8/21/16

Week in Film: 8/15/16-8/21/16

Film of the Week: Ran

   Year: 1985

   Director: Akira Kurosawa

       I'm surprised the old man made it so long. Throughout most of the the nearly three hour runtime, the one time ruler of large and expansive land in feudal Japan looks on the verge of death. There were many times where he didn't move for quite a while and I was sure someone was gonna look over and say "Shit." But he just kept going, until the bitter end, at the right moment, right when he was hit with the one blow he couldn't bare to take; the last domino in a chain reaction he set off through an act of his own poor decision making. He doesn't die of old age, or in battle, or of illness, unless a broken spirit can be called such a malady. But the breaking of a man's spirit, usually, has nothing to do with sickness, but is an act of violence.

   Rating: A

The Rest: 

Apocalypse Now

   Year: 1979

   Director: Francis Ford Coppola

       Simply put, one of the greatest films of all time, mostly because it has one of the best beginnings, middles, and endings in all of cinema, not to mention endless quotable lines and memorable moments. Screw the Godfather films, this is Coppola's masterpiece, and possibly the greatest and most defining film 70s American cinema. 

   Rating: A

Osaka Elegy

   Year: 1936

   Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

       My first exposure to Japan's third great director after Ozu and Kurosawa: Kenji Mizoguchi. This isn't typically ranked among his very best efforts, and I can certainly see that, but it has its merits too. 

   Rating: B

The New World

   Year: 2005

   Director: Terrence Malick

       Disappointing, in a word. I have come to the conclusion that just because Terrence Malick made one of my all time favorite movies, I'm not sure he qualifies as one of my favorite directors. Half of his work that I've seen I've loved (Badlands, The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life), the other half considerably less so (Days of Heaven, this, To the Wonder). He is without a doubt, great, but not quite in one of those top spots for me. But the circumstances I watched this under were less than ideal, so maybe in a few years (twenty) I'll revisit this with different eyes and hopefully get something more out of it. 

   Rating: C

The End of Summer
   Year: 1961
   Director: Yasujiro Ozu

       Ozu is a director that is passively enjoyable, but can reveal hidden depths if you choose to view it that way. Not political meanings or allegories or anything, but emotional depths. Sometimes, however, it is just nice to let something wash over you, and Ozu's films are always good for that. 

   Rating: B

The Only Son
   Year: 1936
   Director: Yasujiro Ozu

       This Criterion double feature starts with a touching tale of family, as all Ozu films seem to be.

   Rating: B

There Was a Father
   Year: 1942
   Director: Yasujiro Ozu

       About as good as the Only Son, maybe even a little better. 

   Rating: B