An Angel At My Table - Jane Campion

An Angel At My Table is a film that allows you to write a lot about it. I won't. I will just say it's a great film.

How can a film last nearly three hours (it was originally done as episodes for television) and still keep you there watching, even when the main character is suffering terrible things? Jane Campion is a great storyteller, she treats her characters tenderly and makes you feel that compassion and love for them too. She makes it look simple too, easy.... when it really isn't!

I want to remember I saw this film, I enjoyed it, I thought I was in for a major depressing film... well it's certainly not cheerful but her story engaged me, her humanity and a certain awkwardness that feels so familiar.

There's a very interesting article written by the director herself on her encounters with Janet Frame: In search of Janet Frame

An Angel at My Table

35 Rhums - Claire Denis (2008)

Let's agree it's not my kind of film. But if you read anything about this film, you're most likely to be expecting a masterpiece, I thought it might be more interesting when I rent it and everyone says great things about Claire Denis (and yes, I do have a soft spot for French films).

35 Rhums is the story of the relationship between a widowed father and his university student daughter, they share a flat and have a very close bond, almost too close bond. Almost. It's all father-daughter love.

That's it. That's all there is. I've mentioned before films that don't follow the traditional structure but might rely on the characters. Here, you know this father and daughter are very close but you don't get to know a lot of them. As if the director wanted to protect their privacy (which we can say is a bit silly). So you don't really engage on whatever is going on, you don't find that humanity, that something that makes you feel something for them and keeps you hooked to the drama. It's a bit disappointing. Something didn't work. I'll mention Mike Leigh again. In Another Year you witness these people's lives but they also touch your heart... these father and daughter aren't touching, you observe them without participating and that's not what I want from a film.

The camera work and cinematography are very nice. The pensive moments. But is that enough? Not for me anyway.


35 Shots of Rum

Walk The Line - James Mangold (2005)

Biopics can be tricky, especially when it's a very popular figure. You can say Walk The Line gets away with it successfully, it leaves everyone happy, Jonny Cash fans and film fans alike.

One thing about biopics is that usually characters aren't portrayed in all their humanity. I think this script was very well constructed around Johnny Cash's weaknesses and strengths. June Carter is the perfect woman with strong charming personality who can't do anything wrong, but she's also complemented well with Vivian, the annoying first wife we all want him to leave and get away from. They work well together but aren't as strong as Johnny. The best thing about this film is how well structured around the father-son relationship it is. It's not enough to have an interesting character like Johnny Cash, you also need him to have something that's universal and common to everyone. Starting the film with a memory and then going back to it, is a common resource... but here it works very well and makes perfect sense.

Would non-country fans like the film? I don't know. The music is contagious, well chosen and keeps the narrative going, without it being a video-clip. I had no problem with country... I think it's so well done that you might not even notice what it is.

The actors' work is impressive. Just like George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon seems to not always get characters where she can show she's a good actress too. In this case she's surprisingly good because we are just not used to seeing her doing several things (although she is still the nice woman, she couldn't play anything else because we wouldn't believe it!). Their singing is just amazing, you wouldn't believe they aren't professional singers. Joaquin Phoenix is great too, doesn't over do the drama (which could be the case).

The production design is perfect, everything is well chosen and it's really another time in the film. Commercial films always have the best resources when it comes to technical aspects, but in this case it's also a film that deals with feelings (without moral judgements). All in all it's a stylish and emotional feel-good film.

Walk the Line is a film that needs to be experienced, writing about it might make it sound boring... I wanted to include a nice clip, but sadly (I assume for copyright reasons) found mostly trailers.

Walk the Line

The Descendants - Alexander Payne (2011)

How can one write about a human drama after just writing about a human drama by Mike Leigh ? I saw The Descendants before, so I'll be considerate and remember the things I liked about it, because in all I liked it. After all, there are many many reviews praising The Descendants (I guess they didn't see it together with Another Year).

Surprise! George Cloonney can act! I think that's the first thing people who've seen the film thought. And yes, he can act (I am tempted but I will not compare him to Jim Broadbent). I think he's got a good role in this film (different from most parts he gets): father of two daughters who discovers his wife, who is dying, has cheated on him. Good place to start for any actor, he really makes the best of it. Most reviews want to make you think it's about him having to bond with the girls... I disagree. That isn't the problem. If he was an absent father before, it's not in the film. They have a hard time but their relationship isn't the problem, their relationship with the mother's action might be. One thing that is quite weak is how they cope with the feeling of actually losing her (it seems that's more important to find this person she's cheated with, rather than face the fact that she'll die). It makes me think of Genova... there's a real sense of loss and pain in Colin Firth and his girls, there isn't in George Clooney and his girls.*


Surprise! It's an adaptation! Yes, well, I didn't know it was a best-seller. Often I have problems with adaptations. They tend to want to include everything a reader of the book would like to see, when a film should be for a different audience entirely. I won't get into that now, because I will have a chance when I have time for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Back to The Descendants, yes, it works very well as a film. I thought it had weak things (like I mentioned the real grief of losing a mother/wife) but in all it was well structured. The fact that there's a dying wife situation and there's also the dying heritage situation helps it a lot. The heritage situation is clearly set and perfectly settled, it makes sense. Part of me would have been happy with just that conflict in a shorter film, but that's just me and my love for small films.

The rest is okay, the cinematography is nice, lovely Hawaiian landscapes, the music is Hawaiian... does everyone in Hawaii dress colourfully? If they do follow the Hollywood cliché, then it's fair enough. Nothing is extrodinary. Entertaining film.

*When did leading men started playing fathers?!

The Descendants

Another Year - Mike Leigh (2010)

Mike Leigh is an actors' director. Gary Oldman (again) worked with him in Meantime (1983) and it seems as if his way of directing and working with actors influenced him in the making of Nil by Mouth : rehearsing until actors become their character and bond in a natural way.

I have to say I was a little scared when I read reviews of Another Year: "the life of a middle-aged middle-class couple and their friends and family through four seasons". Part of me thought: typical middle-class family drama. It is.. and it isn't.

Tom and Gerri are the happy middle-aged couple are who we all would like to be when we grow up: living a comfortable life, having a succesful professional life, extremely tranquil marriage with a loving grown-up professional son. The film isn't about them though, it's about the others, the people whose lives are closer to what real life is about.

There's this character... Mary. She is the main story in the film: single fourty-something who is very unhappy but wants to tell herself she isn't, so she can't really improve her life is she can't face it. She is so pathetic we hate her at times... but she's so human that we end up feeling sorry for her. If Tom an Gerri are our ideal selves, Mary is our worst nightmare.

One major achievement in this film is that it's full of dialogue, people talk all the time, but nobody says a line regarding what's really happening. That's not how the story is told. There's thinking and feeling involved in understanding and reconstructing the storyline. There's traditional narrative storytelling, there's "independent" non-narrative storytelling... and there's Mike Leigh.

The visual aspects of the film are all very stylish and well achieved. Tom and Gerri's house represents not just them, but their happiness and that ideal world. Still, the main strength are the actors. There's not one of them who gives a bad performance (I thought the son's new girlfriend was a bit over the top, she wants to be charming but she ends up being a bit annoying... I didn't really like her). Leslie Malville who plays Mary is  great, so is Ruth Sheen who plays Gerri... but my favourite was Jim Broadbent, maybe because he plays an ideal man. Imelda Stauton is in two scenes... but she never leaves. I think you might forget her at first, but she when you think back she represents Mary and us, finally looking for a way out. We would like a new life, but the only thing we have is try to begin sorting out the one we have.

Another Year is a human drama, but is also a performing lesson and a storytelling master class.

Another Year

Nil by Mouth - Gary Oldman (1997)

I am not sure many people are aware that Gary Oldman has directed a film. A good one too.

Actors directing isn't always a good idea, especially because they often try to act in their own films. (I can't help thinking of Clint Eastwood). But in this case, it works very well, mainly because the story is very personal to Oldman: he wrote the film inspired in his own life and experiences living in South London. It is truly one of those films born from the exorcism of someone's demons - might explain why he didn't direct anything else again. There's also a compasionate, loving, way of seeing the story, Oldman isn't judgemental about violence, drug addiction, alcoholism... that's how the lives of these people are, it just happens like that even if they don't want to do it.

The story in Nil by Mouth is built through the characters, a very clever way to face a film if you're an actor directing for the first time. It seems most dialogues and situations were discovered during rehearsals, also the strong bond between characters and how familiar they are with each other can only be built this way. Even though the narrative doesn't develop like the usual storyline, there are key moments and there is what most people would call a conflict.

Of course the performances are the main strength of this film. They are all excellent and well chosen for their roles. But the cinematrography is very interesting too. It was made in 1997 so it has that Dogma influence, in this case it goes very well with the story, the restless camera, the raw use of light... it's not as stylish as bigger films but I think it's very well done. Mike Leigh meets Dogma 95.

Nil by Mouth

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Tomas Alfredson (2011)

Where to begin with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?

Gary Oldman. Who doesn't love Gary Oldman? Is there a film where his presence doesn't own everything?! Such a great actor, he can play Dracula, Beethoven or George Smiley and be each one of those and at the same time still be Gary Oldman. In this film he plays someone older than he is... and manages to get away with the ageing make-up (I think this is tricky for most actors). He carries the drama on his shoulder mostly because his character isn't just looking for a mole, he is also human and has weaknesses of his own.

(I don't believe in spoilers, but if anyone who does is reading this, perhaps skipping the following paragraph is a good idea)

Colin Firth. I have said this before, but he's too strong of a presence in any film to just play a supporting role. So from the moment he appears, I knew who he was and what was going to happen. He plays it well though... I think we get distracted until at a certain point we say "Aha! I knew it!". He's an actor who doesn't over do it, he's always in control of his character and all of himself.

/ end of "spoilers"

The Screenplay. How do you judge a good adaptation of a book? By not even noticing it was originally a book, especially if it is a famous book (and it had been done for television too). Tinker Tailor... doesn't really need any other explanation... nor gets into obsessive details the book reader will be waiting to find there. You just understand the rules of the world from the beginning and follow the story, because you engage with these characters who all have a story behind them. It's a thriller all along and it works wonderfully: well paced, the information is well administered.... unlike other adaptations like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The visuals. The cinematography and art design are amazing. The camera is used to see through things, it's a spy story after all. It's a clever trick and it looks great too. The seventies are always classically stylish and the films looks just like that, everything is shiny and elegant (I've yet to see a dirty car from the seventies... dust just didn't exist back then). The only problem is the lovely Tom Hardy's hair. Something there didn't quite work, unlike Gary Oldman's ageing effect.

The music. I like the idea that Alberto Iglesias has an international career. He's done extensive work in Spanish cinema (mainly writing for Almodóvar) and I think he deserves to compose for all sorts of films. I like the work he did for Tinker Tailor... it's subtle, it goes well with the drama. At times, it's a bit too much music, but that's because I would have liked to listen to more of those lovely sounds.

The Sound. It is so good it made me want to cry. Little details, lots of clear crisp sounds that just set you in the drama and together with the characters. It's such a good film visually that I'm glad they made the effort to also take that level of work to the sound, it makes it a much better film.

Something strange. The lack of women characters. There's the Russian wife who suffers so she has an affair with a British spy. There's the cheating spy's wife (whose face we don't really see!). There's this lady who used to know too much but now is retired... So yes, it's mainly a boys film, perhaps the world of spies was all about boys? Anyway, it is still a good film.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The White Diamond - Werner Herzog (2004)

I am not sure how he does it but Herzog does it over an over again. He's the master of documentaries.

If you analyse most of his documentaries he uses the same formula: find an interesting topic, find interesting characters, go to a unique location... oh and yes, you can't forget Herzog's madness and his Bavarian accent. You can say that's his secret and it works every single time.

The White Diamond begins with an engineer making a flying device. You find out early on that he has a haunting memory: it's not his first experiment, someone died trying to make a film and he is traumatised. But the story will unravel slowly, interestingly... only great story-telling can do that, and that is actually the secret Herzog has mastered.

The landscape is beautifully photographed and the sound is extremely well used. The sound of the canopy, the noise of the waterfall... when we finally hear the accident's story you can almost imagine it. The music is very well chosen and it's just go really well with the images.

I hope never stops making documentaries, I hope he never stops finding stories and characters that are as crazy as he is. ♥

La mujer sin piano - Javier Rebollo (2009)

There are films for everyone. There's an audience for everything. Those seems to be two of the most important laws in cinema.

There's a certain audience that likes the idea of "independent"* cinema.... meaning non-traditional, non-narrative, a bit pretentious too. This is a film for them.

We have a main character, she is very well played - the actress has a career as television comedian but here she manages to do very well in drama. It's not a performance problem. The film is about her.. the problem seems to be that we don't get to know a lot about her. Okay, she's fed up with her life, she wants something else... we don't know what or why. She just wanders around. She drinks cognac. There's nothing wrong with not telling everything. But you need to get the audience to empathise with her and really feel the way she is feeling and want to run away to. I think here is where it fails.

The photography/camera is very good. The lighting is very simple but very well done. Tidy. The movements are stylish, I'd call them meticulous to an immaculate level. 

Nice surprise** : the sound is also interesting. Lots of atmosphere sounds. Her character is mostly her heels. But she also comments she has a hearing problem... which isn't well used in the film. It could have been better. The music is well used... it represents her feelings, her drive, whatever it is that they are not telling us, the music gives us a hint. And it's used only for those moments. Good choice.

The ending... is the beginning of a new film, a more traditional film. Did I like La mujer sin piano? I didn't hate it but it isn't my kind of film. I like feeling together with the character, I wanted to cheer for her to do well. I didn't get involved in her story. You can do a non-narrative film an still convey emotions.


* I could start a rant about "independent" cinema, "independent" of what/whom... but I won't do it this time.
** Why should anyone be surprised to find good use of sound in a film?!

La mujer sin piano

The trailer. That's the film. That's all you get from it. 

Genova - Michael Winterbottom (2008)

Sometimes little stories in films are necessary. This is a small story, nothing pretentious. Purely human drama: how will a father with his two girls cope with the sudden death of their mother?

The film shows how scary everything becomes... that feeling of life being so volatile is very well expressed. I think that's good storytelling, it keeps you engaged throughout the film. The problem is that the characters aren't too deep. The exception is the little girl, who has secrets, has things troubling her... is alive. We don't get to know a lot about anyone else. I don't expect to know everything or have all questions answered, but it's nice to ask myself questions and be moved somewhere by a story.

The photography is very  nice, the camera is very well done. But Winterbottom always makes pretty films. They might be hit and miss, but their photography isn't. He's very good at expressing visually what he wants to say with the story. He doesn't present a touristy vision of Genova, more like how the newcomers see it... though it has to be said, it is Genova but it could be any city in the world (it could be their own city changed after the death of the mother!).

The music is okay.. not great. The sound is fair... nothing exciting (which is disappointing as such a capable director could make way better use of sound).

Colin Firth. He's a good actor. He's got a very strong presence. He's not someone you just see, he's someone you probably expect to take over the film. In Genova his perfomance is reasonable, I think he's too much of an important presence for such a small film. It makes it a larger story than it really is (nothing wrong with simple stories, but they usually require actors who aren't so obviously visible). The girls are quite unknown and seem better suited - the youngest one is an amazing actress.

Genova was written by Laurence Coriat, who also wrote Wonderland (1999), another of his film that I quite enjoyed. That is a small film, nicely performed, simple stories... I think having a big star and an 'exotic' location didn't help this time.

It's not a great film, but I found it entertaining.  I like Winterbottom, I'm tolerant with him and he's such a
prolific director that he's allowed to miss sometimes.

Genova

Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Werner Herzog (2010)

How does Herzog finds such interesting characters? I feel I have written this before. He does it again in this film. 

I was a little disturbed. I still can't imagine thousands and thousands of years... and how humans managed to have survived that long. It's mind-blowing how some paintings in this cave were done thousands of years apart and are still well preserved. It's also amazing how it took them so long to discover this cave (fortunately!)

The people Herzog meets are always fascinating, the former circus artist geologist? The perfumer sniffing the cave?! The playing the flute dressed in fur?! 

The sound could have been better... the eerie place needed eerier sounds, not so much music, the cave needed a voice and an ambience. 

Lots of links:

Details of production and reviews on Herzog's website

Very very interesting interview with Herzog's Bavarian accent talking about Science and Art

The article that made Herzog want to make this documentary

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

La piel que habito - Pedro Almodóvar (2011)

Somehow I was expecting a much better film, a thriller, something darker. 

I was also expecting Antonio Banderas to act better... he wasn't a bad actor in his Spanish era. English was a barrier for him so I thought maybe now after many years without working with Almodóvar he'd be better. No, he wasn't. He also has a sort of strange dubbing... to make his performance more serious? It doesn't work. Perhaps because everyone is outshone by Elena Anaya. She's just perfect in her role, not a hair out of place, the perfect main character... nobody else could have been better.

The film is very stylish. The art and photography are as good as Anaya. But aren't all Almodóvar films like that? 

The big problem is the story. It is an adaptation, but very much adapted to Almodóvar's world: transgender characters, crazy people, kidnapping, loving mothers... it's just not all the way weird as most of his films are (if someone is going to kill someone else, they use a gun, not a ham now...). It's also predictable. It's not a story telling problem, it's a plot one. You just know what it's going to happen.

The music. Alberto Iglesias is a good composer. The score isn't bad, it's just too overused. If the suspense isn't in the film, the music won't help a lot. Especially if you use music as a dramatic resource all the time. 

It isn't a terrible film but it's not a great film either... which isn't good. See the look on his face? That's how the film leaves you.

La piel que habito

Martha Marcy May Marlene - Sean Durkin (2011)

MMMM is a good film, it's simply made, it's engaging, the actors are good at their roles... I did find it a bit disturbing. 

The storytelling is very convincing, you end up thinking that the scary thing is that this can be a true story (and probably is).  I think it's got to do with how naturally everything is told. 

The photography is pretty (a bit too obvious having the dark memories darker than the brighter present?). It's very nice to watch. There are the odd zooms. Oddly enough they didn't bother me too much. 

One thing I like was the transitions from present to past. Often flashbacks have cross dissolves or a white flash.. or something. Here it's done by simple cuts, the continuity makes things become closer- the idea that she's constantly living with her traumas as if it was still happening to her. 

I liked the ending. I like the idea that not everything needs to be explained. This is her story, her confusing, her paranoia... it's something that will stay with her. Whatever happens next... is another film. 

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Taxi Driver - Martin Scorsese (1976)

There are certain films you always hear about and think "I should see that". Taxi Driver is one of those modern classics. But a disappointing one too.

All the actors are well cast, no problem with that. Robert De Niro is always good. Everyone else is alright. The problem isn't there.

The photography is beautiful, really nice to watch. The music is right for the film, it sets the story, it is really New York (I'm not a fan of it, but it's a personal taste). 

The problem is the script. The dialogues are very good, each character says the right thing. How it begins and the character of De Niro develops is good, you can see the progress. It's just... at some point it gets weaker. And the ending is just wrong. 

I don't believe in spoilers, but anybody who does should stop reading here. 

It is wrong because the man is a psycho and justifying his killings because he's trying to be a good citizen, would be wrong. If it's an ironic way of seeing society - who will make anybody a hero - it's not entirely clear. Saving the girl is just wrong, if she had returned to her parents surely she would have been traumatised (it would make more sense if she had ran away from them again). This weird creepy psycho driver even almost gets another date with the girl. Any girl would have never got in that taxi. I also thought the possibility that it's really his dream or his version of the story.. but that's not clear either. Is he a ticking bomb then, ready to go on another killing spree any time? It's not clear either. I agree with the people who think the film should have ending in the shooting, just him on the floor. That would have been a much better film.

Taxi Driver 

Tirez sur le pianiste - François Truffaut (1960)

I like Truffaut's work.I enjoyed the Antoine Doinel series and Jules et Jim. This is a little masterpiece. It does take a lot of genre elements but it is also an author film and very innovative. 

Simplicity is something I like in films. This is just casual and natural yet very creative. The night walks are great... you can even see the camera shadow, but it doesn't matter as the narrative flows so well.

There are things like inserting subtitles... you do wonder what was that about, as it's not repeated anywhere else. I wasn't too bothered by the non-related stories added in the middle.. I didn't really think it wasn't related. 

Charles Aznavour is just great. His performance is just perfect, he was such a good actor he should have been in better known films in his youth. I should probably see more of his films.

Tirez sur le pianiste

Little Dieter Needs to Fly - Werner Herzog (1998)

Is  there a better documentary film maker than Herzog? I doubt it. He's terribly good at finding the right stories and the best characters.

Dieter Dengler was a German born pilot who grew up in a poor post-war Germany. He moved the the US and was sent to Vietnam... and was held prisoner in a camp until he managed to escape. His life and story are just unbelievable. But there many ways you can make a documentary about him, with his testimony, archive footage.. Herzog uses both, but the most impressive thing is that he takes him back to Germany, Vietnam, Laos to tell his story and even do a re-enactment of his captivity. You can't help thinking how crazy and bold they are... which helps it be an amazing documentary.

There's not much to say. You are engaged to his story during all the film, Herzog doesn't need a lot more than his main character.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

The Piano - Jane Campion (1993)

I don't want to think this film in terms of feminism as I think it's not about women, it's about passion. Clearly the character is as passionate about playing the piano as she is about a man. When passion takes over her she can't help it, despite having a husband. That's the best thing about this film, it's so passionate, it's so emotional, it has feelings. Campion is a sensitive director.

Simply filmed yet beautiful to watch, you float through this film. I think the landscapes are beautifully shot. The light is so natural and the lenses so well used.

The actors are all well.The main character, her husband, her lover... but Anna Paquin as her daughter is something I've never seen in a child actress before. She does everything as if it was really her, and it is not an easy character. She delivers her dialogues naturally, it's just amazing.

The sound is nice. Great use of ambience sounds and silence. The music is so important and really well chosen for each moment. Delightful. It's a very delicate and thoughtful use of sound.

There are some very interesting interviews here: Making of the Piano - Pt 1 of 2


The Piano

Zavet - Emir Kusturica (2007)

See the disappointed look on the boy's face? Well that was me after watching this film. I probably needed a friendly hand to hold me too.

I like Kusturica, I think he's a great director. He knows how to set up scenes and how to move the camera. I enjoyed most of his films. I've seen most of them. Time of the Gypsies has an amazing sensitivity to it. Underground is a major film. So is Life is a Miracle, where seemed to have become a grown-up director.

Promise me this is... boring. It seems as if someone was trying to copy Kusturica's style and stories and exaggerating everything until it turns absurd - not in the good-absurd way sometimes Kusturica manages to get away with. The boy and girl give the best performances (well the old man does too). Women don't have a very interesting role - prostitutes or wives. The music is... bad. I didn't like it. It doesn't have the subtlety, variation and effect like the music for Life is a Miracle, for example.

I understand now why this film wasn't broadly praised and distributed.


Zavet

Wheel of Time - Werner Herzog (2003)

The subject of this documentary is interesting: a religious ritual about salvation. A Buddhist ritual about Enlightenment, in this case. It's very colourful, very visually attractive, it's got the careful making of a Mandala which is later destroyed, it features the Dalai Lama. Still it's mainly about religion, religious leaders and how people follow rituals.

I expected more from Herzog. I expected him to talk about a big theme, he does that well. It's an okay documentary but it isn't extraordinary. It made me think how Buddhism isn't considered as a religion as much as a philosophy. But it is that, with rules, leaders, ranks, rituals...

Wheel of Time

El Bonaerense - Pablo Trapero (2002)

Carancho is about love in the middle of road accidents. An ugly world full of people who want to help others and people who want to take advantage of others. The world is a dark place but sometimes there is the light of love trying to save us. 

El Bonaerense is about corruption in the middle of the police force. A relatively young man from a small town ends up as a cadet. He got there by chance and had no better prospects. He is a man of his time, the end of 2001, when the country was both confused and demoralised. But he's also an excuse and a mirror for us spectators to travel into the world of La Bonaerense (Buenos Aires province's police force). For people who are familiar with it, it's no surprise the corruption and behaviour of people who should be instead be fighting crime. I'm not sure how it works for people who aren't familiar... I would say this film is too much, it can't be like this, this director is exaggerating. No, he isn't. That's how things are.

Trapero's vision of things is bleak, but the characters of both of his films belong to the same world. El Bonaerense is weaker in the story aspect, maybe because the characters aren't strong enough. It's still an alright film, a journey into corruption. It's nice to watch. The use of music annoys me a little, too stereotyped, too easy choices... exactly the same with the characters.

El Bonaerense

Carancho - Pablo Trapero (2010)

I like this film. I like it because it makes me think that Argentinian cinema can indeed create good things. I like the way it's filmed, the camera and the photography... the sound is alright too.

Not long before Carancho was released, El secreto de sus ojos was a huge hit, Oscar included. A film about a troubled policeman, haunted by an old love at the same time that someone dies and he has a new case to investigate. The story develops into the old love affair (rather boring too) and ends up forgetting about the girl who died in the hands of a psychopath. But it doesn't matter, because her husband is taken care of it by finding the killer himself and torturing him to the end of their days. I remember having trouble putting into words why I hated the film... until someone commented he hated it because of how it's acceptable to take hand in their own justice. That was it, mixing things, trying to make a film about justice and love and failing to do both. (Someone else I know thinks that the film is also saying is that there is no point in fighting lost causes, which is very discouraging). 

Carancho has a troubled character too, in this case a thieving lawyer. And he falls in love, so badly that he decides to finally start doing things right and improve his life. He has feelings, he is human. She is a doctor hooked on drugs. They are a couple that work in the same rotten world where life is at the edge, always. But they are right for each other. It is clearly a film about love. The context is bleak and their story might be hopeless but they are real people with real feelings, with actual difficulties to live their lives. Life has more meaning in this film. So does love. The ending might have a little too many twists, but you can't say it doesn't make sense. It's well written. Even though they share the main actor, it is a world apart from El secreto de sus ojos and a much better film.

Carancho

True North - Steve Hudson (2006)

What a lovely poster. It looks like a watercolour painting. The film doesn't look exactly like watercolour but it still looks nice. It captures the sea, the storm, the drama.

I like stories that are about human drama as much as social ones. This film combines them both. It's also about desperation, and people who are at their last resource. What's right and wrong when you have more to lose than to win?

There are a bit too many twists in the script. You are until the end expecting to see what's going to happen... though I must admit that it gets a bit too much. Thinking about it, you know that there are certain messages the film just won't send. If you do something terrible, there's no way you can get away with it. It is grim but it's also real and extremely careful with the moral of the story.

The thing I liked the most was the editing. It had great continuity moments and that's always exciting for nerds like me. The sound is okay, it makes a good team with the editing.

True North

Violeta se fue a los cielos - Andrés Wood (2011)

Films about real people are always tricky. Especially when the character is someone like Violeta Parra, who was so complex, multi-faceted and interesting. I've seen a documentary about her and it was quite interesting in terms of the interviews it had and how it should a lot of her aspects (in terms of documentaries, it wasn't particularly innovative or creative). With fiction of course it's accepted that dramatic licenses will be taken. I the problem here is how the view they are showing on her is so poor. Compared to a film like La Môme, also a very interesting character, it's very poor. 

Perhaps it fails as a biopic, but does it still work as a film? I suppose so. There's a story to it, you engage in her story... you're introduced to the world of Violeta Parra, just not in all its complexity. One thing is that characters are confusing, I've heard people talking about it (who's that?!). It wants to be an introduction but it also doesn't explain everything (which would mean it's for people who are already familiar with her life.

Still, it's visually very attractive. The music is used reasonably - entirely performed by the actress who does an amazing job as she really turns into her. The sounds... is ok, not great. The editing is a bit weird. There's something wrong with the continuity in between takes (who else notices but me?).

By the end it gets a little... hm. Okay, everyone knows she committed suicide. She had several attempts. So I was curious to see how it was shown. And it doesn't show anything gross or demeaning, which is good. But it doesn't really portray the sadness and difficult times she was in (not just because a lover left her, but because she was suffering in other aspects of her life). It makes it look like a sudden thing, an impulse, when she had been in pain for a while.

I enjoyed the film, I can't say I didn't but it could have been a lot better (especially for all the things I had read about it).

Violeta

Los abrazos rotos - Pedro Almodóvar (2009)

There are weak things about this film. Mainly the fact that key dramatic moments aren't told cinematographically but in dialogues. There's a character who keeps a few secrets... and she tells them while having dinner at a restaurant. And there was one left for breakfast in the morning. Instead of using them narratively in one dialogues everything is revealed. Poor, to say the least.

Is this a love story? I'm not sure. Obsession maybe? Not entirely. That's another weakness. It's more about relationships and memories of Almodóvar himself.

The real strength of this film is the visual aspect. It's all very colourful, impeccable art, not a hair out of place on anyone. That and the fact that actors are well directed. Even Penélope Cruz can act with the right guidance (and without the language barrier). Perhaps she's used to being an object of obsession? Anyway, she's okay. She doesn't even annoy you.

The thing I liked the most was how Almodóvar manages to quote himself. Isn't everyone familiar with Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios ? I would say so. I enjoyed how he can make fun of himself quoting his own personal biggest comedy (and I film that still makes me laugh).

Broken Embraces could be better, but it's not a bad film. Almodóvar has always been praised as a director but I think it was with maturity that he could become more solid at it.


Los abrazos rotos

Sicko - Michael Moore (2007)

I find the subject of this documentary very interesting. I think the investigation is also interesting and how he structures his idea. I also prefer it to his other documentaries, mainly because it's not so much about Michael Moore. I mean, you might agree with his idea and with what he's saying but I don't think he's a very charming man. Here, he lets others make his points and it works a lot better. It's not very innovative in filmmaking aspects, which is a shame. It could be interesting to have nicely done graphics or original music...

I tried to look for images of it, but I couldn't find anything interesting. The poster is rather horrible too.

Sicko

Bellamy - Claude Chabrol (2009)

This poster is quite nice. The idea of this film is quite interesting: a policeman on holidays gets involved with a case out of curiosity. The policeman is Gerard Depardieu, the director is Chabrol. It sounds promising. Well I felt cheated. Instead of it becoming interesting it becomes boring. The problem isn't that it's slow, the problem is that there isn't enough there... There are also certain uses of zoom. I hate zooms, but it can be tolerable in certain films. Not in this case.

I'm disappointed. Maybe I should have expected less of Chabrol.

Bellamy

The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick (2011)

I've heard a lot of praise regarding this film. If you read the reviews you'd find that it's meant to be deep and meaningful... well I didn't think so. It doesn't really created the mood for you to engange into deep thinking. It might pretend to, but it doesn't get there. It's beautiful to watch, every frame is, but that's as far as it goes. The narrative is... interesting, but it's not that innovative. It's not bold enough for you to have to recreate the story, you can still follow it. I don't know. I felt a bit ripped off.

The Tree of Life

El Sur - Víctor Erice (1983)

Víctor Erice hasn't made a lot of films. But he is one of the Spanish directors with best reputation. The Spirit of the Beehive is an amazing film, I have often read that it's the most beautiful film in Spanish cinema. I am not sure about that, but it is indeed beautiful and it is the mother of all the Spanish films that came after it.

El Sur is a nice film. It's beautifully filmed, nicely paced, softly narrated. It's got characters with feelings. It's well directed in every way. The actors are very good and the choice of camera is always interesting. The photography is cold and it does transmit that northern cold feeling the film is talking about.

The sounds. It's got Terence Davies moments... still camera and moving sounds, creates atmosphere, works poetically. The use of environmental sound and music are good. Yet... there's the dubbing. It doesn't completely ruin the film, but almost. The mother is good, the father and the child (who have the main roles) are so badly dubbed it's a shame. I was getting a bit annoyed at his lack of southern accent too, but another character explains it "he's a gentleman" so he speak properly.

There's a story about the making of this film. Both director and producer (Elías Querejeta, important producer in Spanish cinema) had agreed in 81 days of shooting. But after over 40 days they didn't have the rest of the funding, so the producer decided to stop the filming as there could be a film with half the story. They were going to film the second part when they had the money. But the film went to festivals and there really wasn't any need to make the second part... producer claims it worked, director claims it's incomplete. So the second part never existed. Of course the producer is the bad one of this story. But is he, really? I mean the half of the film that was indeed beautifully made was due to his production. Does it work as a film? Yes! Do we need further explanations? No? There relationship father-daughter is complete.

The second part was supposed to be in the south and was never filmed.There is a very interesting interview here where Erice explains his side of the story and tells us what the other part was about. You can imagine through his voice what it would be like*... but films that were never filmed are never films.

*Actually, I was surprised how the way he talks is so much like the way he films. As if his voice is exactly the tone and pace the camera uses to tell the story.

El Sur

Baisers volés - François Truffaut (1968)

I expected this to be a drama... I was surprised it was a lighthearted comedy! Instead of feeling sorry for his character he makes fun of him, taking the best out of his funny nature.

I was also surprised it was colour, it looks nice. The camera is nice. The editing... has strange things, but I liked it. Maybe the cuts are a little bold but I like it that way (I am really not sure who else notices cuts).

Antoine Doinel is older, he's not the rebel boy any more. He tries to be as normal as everyone else is... though he's a little dodgy. I think Jean-Pierre Léaud does a great job: he's comic without exaggerating, Antoine is a little confused and out of place but it doesn't really matter to him.As I saw the film I couldn't help but think about Truffaut himself, and really he couldn't have found an actor who looked more like him (even the hair!)

Baisers Volés

Antoine et Colette - François Truffaut (1962)

This is a short film, part of a collection called L'amour à vingt ans. One shouldn't expect more from it than what you would of any other short film (somehow I think it's a format not considered entirely seriously). Anyway, I think it works well for all 27 minutes of it - I have a very personal theory that an average short film can be 8-10 minutes and it won't be damaged, only very good short films can last 10-15 minutes and they will keep you engaged for so long... and there are very few excellent short films that can last more than that and still remain interesting and not bore you. You can say in those terms that Antoine et Colette does that.

It's not a big story or very innovative but it's really well narrated. It's also an incredibly modern storytelling, it's the kind of narrative that's still used these days.. it fools you so much that you forget it was actually done fifty years ago. 50! 



Antoine et Colette

The Robber - Benjamin Heisenberg (2010)

The Robber isn't a bad film. But it isn't a great one either. It's a film about someone who runs and robs. You don't know much about him or why he does the things he does. You can infer that he gets a kick out of the adrenaline rush. But that's all. It's a film with a main character that you don't get to know. That's fair enough but it makes a poor film because you don't engage in his story. You don't empathise. You don't even dislike him. There's no emotion involved, just you sitting there wanting to see how the story ends. In my terms, that's not what cinema is about.

The photography is correct, nothing outstanding. To be honest the camera from his point of view doesn't really work too well (at least not for me).

The sound. I don't really understand why in every car there is music. Every single one of them. No matter what the music is or if it's well chosen, that's not a good use of sound. There are quiet moments.. but I think trying to convey feelings mainly through music only is just too easy. Particularly because you still don't know how he feels. 

Der Räuber

La Pivellina - Tizza Covvi / Rainer Frimmel (2009)

Everyone should see this film. Everyone should make this type of films. Human, simple, kind with its characters...  La Pivellina is like a cuddle.

The story is set somewhere in Rome, real people from the suburbs living in a trailer. Circus people who survive as they can. Patti and her red hair is all heart. Adorable. There are no words to describe how amazing that little girl is. The work they've done to make such a young child act is really impressive. She is the film.

Some people like to call it neo-neorealism, I prefer to see it as a fiction with the aesthetics of a documentary. It seems to have been filmed in a documentary way. The camera is a close witness, not an intrusive one, a friendly viewer in the middle of this world. It's like the camera of the Dardenne brothers... only gentle, warm and loving.

The sound is also borrowed from the documentary. Ambiences, the world they are in. Everything is diegetic. What I like the most is that there is no mood music, there's really no need for it.

The narrative is linear. The story and the characters are enough to keep us engaged. No need for any artifice.

I saw this film some time ago and it touched my heart. Months later, it still works. It's still as touching as the first time.

La Pivellina 

Balada triste de trompeta - Álex de la Iglesia (2010)

The title of this film explains what the thing is about: Spain, from the Civil War to the times just before the end of Franco. It takes the title from a very popular song from a very popular singer/actor. I think this film is full of such references that are often missed. But that's what I liked the most about it. You could put them together with Distant Voices... in terms on how well they are true to their own social environment, even without trying.

It is a bold film. It's violent at times, over the top at others.. but again, he fiction characters are fiction... the context is real and that's the scariest thing of all.

Visually it's quite an impressive film. The art department did a great job, everything is very stylish. The sound is okay. Right now I can't remember the dubbing ruining everything, but I might have forgotten.

If dubbing is the tragic flaw of Spanish cinema, certainly actors are its strength. A film that has surreal moments needs to engage with the human side and most actor capture that from their characters. Santiago Segura is in the film for not more than 20 minutes and you would say he stays in it for the rest of the film.

The first scene was my favourite. A circus show is interrupted by the war. A child is left alone on stage while a lion walks in from the darkness. It's such an eerie moment, the atmosphere is so expressive... it's also a metaphor of what's going to happen.

Balada triste de trompeta

Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège - Jean Vigo (1933)

This is another innovative film, bold, subversive, surreal at times.. fun. Les quatre cents coups older sister (more humourous, less grim...). I need to see more of Vigo.

Zéro de Conduite

Sherlock Jr. - Buster Keaton (1924)

I don't want to forget I've seen this. There's not much to say about Buster Keaton because there's so much to say about him. A truly innovative director, someone ahead of his time, a filmmaker in love with films.

Sherlock Jr. is a simple film yet it has all the best of Keaton: innovation, a creative way of making films, a director/actor/stuntman challenging himself to more.

Sherlock Jr.

No Country for Old Men - Ethan & Joel Coen (2007)

I had see this before but I had do it again to analyse a few things.

This is a poster for Japan, I liked it.

The Coen brothers know how to make genre films. They take thrillers or westerns and make them their own. Not everyone can do that. (Not even Tarantino). This film has elements of the western but it's mainly a thriller. The best thing about it is the pace of the suspense. They are masters of handling information, deciding who knows what is key to this. They also know how to pace things. For this they use sound as their main tool. Technically, the film is impeccable but what's most important is the way the resources are used. It's not that the sound is loud and huge, it's just simple. It's got a lot of silence, moments of anticipations... and then something unexpected might happen. Perfect example of managing saturation and silence.

The actors are well chosen for their role. Nobody is over the top, just simple performances, you'd imagine that carefully led in a simple way. You aren't sure who's the main character because they all seem as important (they are clearly defined in who they are and what they want which never fails to engage the audience.

The film is so well put together that you forget it's an adaptation and not written by the Coens. I think that's what most impressive. No matter how good they can be with adaptations (and remakes) I'm not interested in their version of The Ladykillers.


No Country for Old Men

A Film with Me in It - Ian Fitzgibbon (2008)

This film is advertised as a "black comedy". Surely it's black, but not that funny. I mean it has its moments and ideas but not really... I have to say I laughed in bits but I didn't think it's great. Not too bad, not too great. Average. Perhaps the characters fail again. Too many clichés, perhaps some of the situations are original.

Technically, it's correct. Not outstanding but not badly done. Isn't there are a worse thing for a film than being average in every aspect? At least when you strongly dislike a film you feel a certain way about it.

A Film with Me in It

Whisky Galore - Alexander Mackendrick (1949)

Innocent comedy about alcoholism. That's about it. It's non-pretentious, simple humour. It borders the stereotypes sometimes but it's a nice film for rainy days. Not as good and entertaining as The Ladykillers, but still good fun. Not much to say about the technicalities.

This one doesn't have a remake. Could it be remade? Maybe. Perhaps an update in the photography and the way the characters are presented would be nice (without making it as bad as the new version of True Grit looks).


Whisky Galore

La Ciénaga - Lucrecia Martel (2001)

There are films that everyone talks about, everyone praise and nobody can really express why. This is one of those films. For the same reasons you're scared of watching them. Over ten years after it was released and unanimously acclaimed, I managed to see The Swamp.

First thing was to try and be objective and not hate it just because. And I did. I didn't adored the film, I think it was okay. I tried to understand what it meant at the time. It probably has a different rhythm and structure than most of the films at their time. It's very much a film about the North West of Argentina, rather than capital city based stories. That's the main innovation. It's about a bourgeois family, the relationships between them and with the people around them. But nothing happens. I always talk about engaging characters and empathy. These are empty characters, you just observe them, almost in a voyeuristic way. With pity or maybe despising them a little. You don't feel anything. There's no human drama.  Just everyday life. Even more boring than real life. Naturalism without emotion.

Painting a social environment that you don't normally see in films was a good achievement. But the best thing about La Ciénaga is the use of sound. Argentinian cinema doesn't have a tradition of good use of sound. Moreover, it has a "bad sound" reputation that almost turned into a cliché. Since this film I can see there have been changes and you can see sound is going somewhere and it is important now. My theory is that the most important change was done by emerging directors who were now trained at film school and were more aware that sound was also a narrative element of film (yes, films being audiovisual never gave previous directors a hint before)

What's so innovative about the sound? It also paints the picture. You don't have to make an effort to listen to what the actors are saying. You can feel the atmosphere through sound too (a film like this without the sounds of an approaching storm or the strong presence of nature wouldn't be right). The awkwardness of situations is even more awkward because of the way sound is used. Nothing outstanding or significantly more expensive, just a little bit of extra work and respect for the sound department. At the time this was a huge improvement.

La ciénaga

The Long Day Closes - Terence Davies (1992)

Second Terence Davies in a row. And last of his autobiographical films. It's Distant Voices's younger sister.

Terence Davies makes films about memories. Beautiful films about not always beautiful memories. In this case there isn't a threatening father, only a loving mother in a very female family home. School is a dark place, so is church, but there's always the shelter of cinema... and handsome boys.

I think Terence Davies is a master of postproduction. The use of music is so good but also the sound and images go so well that you hardly notice the change in between scenes. Perhaps it's just nerds like me who get excited when they don't see he transition in between takes. Still music is well chosen and narrates and keeps the film together.

Davies' camera doesn't just move, it floats... the way the picture is framed is just perfect. As I was watching I kept thinking of The Spirit of the Beehive and then I found out imdb agrees with me and "people who liked" one liked the other too.


The Long Day Closes

Distant Voices, Still Lives - Terence Davies (1988)

There are films that are special to you. Distant Voices, Still Lives is very special to me. Not only it's the kind of film I want to make but also it's takes me back to the time of my life when I first saw it. Rewatching it didn't upset me as much as I thought it would but it still reminded me of better times. Particularly because it's a film about memories.

You could say there's no linear narrative of this film, but there's still a story. Or stories. Through memories (the director's own memories) you build up a story. We don't know these characters completely, we just share their memories as if they were our own. I think this is how we can empathise with them. 

I like to describe this film as a photo album where visually everything is very still, not a lot happening, but very beautiful and poetic too. On the other hand, the sound is alive, it's dynamic, it's got more colour and life than anything else. The use of music is so good because it's not just a musical but a film where music paints the atmosphere. Sound and music convey emotions just like in memories (or dreams). Unlike most films, music here isn't a resource for the audience, it's a resource mainly for the characters, it keeps them together, it keeps them alive, it keeps them going with their life (rather than keep us entertained with a film)

Pete Postlethwaite is superb. He's only in half of the film but the central character of most of it. He's  authoritarian father but he also has a tender side, his children are frightened of him but they also love him because he is their father. The best sequence is when they are getting ready for Christmas and he shows he cares for his children... but then he also can't contain his own anger and throws away the Christmas table. The range of emotion an actor has to handle to portray all this is impressive.

My favourite scene is the one where there's an air raid during WWII. The children are out in the streets while everyone else is running to hide in the shelters. The parents are scared because they don't know where they are. After escaping bombs they arrive and are met by the father who screams and slaps the older girl. After that he asks her to sing and she starts with a little voice to be joined by everyone else.  When you see something like this in a film you know it's happened to someone, you know it comes from someone's past. It's got so much emotion and sensitivity.


Distant Voices, Still Lives is a film that makes you want to write about it. But it's also a film that can't be described in words. It's an emotional experience.

Brighton Rock - John Boulting (1947)

This is a proper noir. Dark characters in a dark world, no way out for anybody.

It's entertaining. I think it's nicely done, I can see how it was innovative for its time (how the camera frames). The photography is ok, though there are better photographed noir. I still think it hasn't aged well. Perhaps the perfomances? I'm not sure. I think the script still works very well and it's nicely paced. I understand why somebody would try a remake, because the photography can be improved, but not by changing the script. I haven't seen said remake but by the look of the trailer it isn't as attractive and it's no longer a noir (more like a strange love story which could be a bit more commercial- though noir films are still commercial these days!)

Richard Attenborough is evil. So evil you can't believe he's the same nice old man from film like Jurassic Park.  That's interesting. I am not sure how I feel about his performance but surely it's good if I struggle to recognise him.

Brighton Rock (1947)

Happy People: A year in the Taiga - D. Vasyukov / W. Herzog (2010)

This is not an entirely Herzog documentary. It's very beautiful to watch, very interesting, well done... I think the human side is very much Herzog's influence. It's the story of simple people, hardworking all year around. It's well structured too. I think the problem with it is the dubbing. Perhaps it was the version I saw that had voice over every interviewee. I think dubbing is just wrong, but in this case it was terrible. In such an intimate film about people you need to hear their real voices, empathise with them, identify the way they sound... it didn't happen and it was a shame.

Nicely done interesting documentary, dubbing hurted it though.

The Apostle - Robert Duvall (1997)

Robert Duvall wrote, directed and produced this film. He also acts. And he really is this film.

I'm always a little suspicious about actors directing, it seems to me that they tend to direct actors and let all other aspects of filmmaking to the crew and take the credit. In this case Duvall does a really great job.

The story is simple: a religious man, who belongs to those churches that rely on their leaders being charismatic, has his own personal devils. It's about a someone who shelters in religion but the good thing is that the film doesn't judge him for his sins, we are supposed to think about it. Can people do something bad and still be good people?

It's a relatively small film, nice to watch, warm colours, with lovely sound atmospheres. The best thing about it are the performances: Duvall, who is really a preacher who would convince and win over anyone, and the non-professional actors. He seems to have chosen them really well. They are not just playing themselves (like non-professional actors should do) but they are also taking their own religiousness into the film which makes them more real, vulnerable and likeable.

The Apostle

True Grit - Ethan & Joel Coen (2010)

I always thought the Coen brothers could really do genre films. I'm not a fan of his comedies but I do like their thrillers. This is a western. And they have really been true to the genre, still keeping their own personal touch.

I liked this film, I just don't know what to write about it. Jeff Bridges was good once again, the girl was good... I don't like MAtt Damon but he wasn't too annoying. The photography was ok, the sound was ok  - nothing impressive... the use of landscape was good. 

True Grit is entertaining, a true western and very well done

True Grit