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

The Ascent - Larisa Shepitko (1977)

Who is Larisa Shepitko? Most of us haven't heard about her. She is quite an overshadowed director compared to Tarkovsky and her partner Elem Klimov. She died young in a car accident while pre-producing the film Klimov had to finish for her. The Ascent was her last film. Such a shame. 

The most outstanding thing about this film is the sensitivity with which it's filmed. It's a war film, soviet partisans are fighting the nazis in Belarus, but as most good war film it's about something. This film has two parts, one more introspective and with a strong nature presence. The second one more cruel. It's about ideals and ... even spirituality. It raises more questions than it gives answers. Is a cause more important than life? How cruel can humans be? How can someone live with guilt?

It's nicely shot in black and white, nicely, not stunning, but still very well shot. The landscape looks large, powerful, violent. I wasn't a fan of the use of close shots (and zooms?!) but in this case it's forgiven, it serves a purpose. 

The use of sound is impressive. Technically it isn't amazing but how they use it wisely is amazing. Replacing torture noises by the sounds of torture isn't just a great resource but also an ethical one. It causes a lot more of an impact this way too, as it's not what you expect.. and the torture noises are created in your head. For this, Russia can claim to have created great filmmakers. It's not about a big budget as much as it is about a big emphasis in creativity in storytelling. 

The actors... are ok. I'm not sure about the type of acting - overdramatic? - but they do fit in the drama. The women are a lot more natural than the men. It's still about what happen to people in conflicts rather than about the conflicts.

Voskhozhdeniye

Larisa Shepitko


Elem Klimov, her partner made a short film about her (found in very poor quality): Larisa (1980)

 

Crazy Heart - Scott Cooper (2008)

Is slightly small American road-movie a genre? It should be one by now. This film follows that tradition.

Crazy Heart is beautifully photographed. Really warm colours... to match the warm characters. The actors are extremely well chosen. Particularly Jeff Bridges. He's an alcoholic but also a nice man. You feel you should stay by his side. Empathy. He falls in love with a girl... who happens to be Maggie Gyllenhaal who always seems like a nice simple woman who can see the best in people you wouldn't bet.

Three things about this film.

• The Screenplay. I was expecting the worse to happen at any time. I'm not sure if was me being negative or they really wanted me to constantly think "oh here it's where it goes wrong...". The ending was bittersweet. Is it happy? Is it unhappy? Is it a lot like real life?! 

• Why did it remind me so much of The Rain People? Is it the big car through the roads of America? Is it the characters who are all a bit helpless in their own way? Is it Robert Duvall?! I was surprised when he appears in the film... surprised that he wasn't doing little tricks on his police motorcycle any more, maybe. I wasn't surprised that he produced the film too. They are different films but still have a something in common that I can't figure out.

• The music. Okay. It's the story of a country singer, fine. But also country music seems to be generally the sound track of Southern America. So if you don't like country music... it can be a bit too much and ruin the film for you. Though Jeff Bridges sings very very well and I think his performance as a singer is great too.
(Apart from that the sound design isn't terribly good)

I liked this film. It's not superb, but it's a perfectly humble warm film for one of those days when you need a nice time.

Crazy Heart

Camino - Javier Fesser (2008)

This film talks about religion... and it's quite anti-religious.

It claims to be inspired by a true story of a girl who's in process of beatification. But it doesn't adjust to the fact. Does it matter? No. It works as a film in itself.

Visually it's very beautiful, I enjoyed the camera work a lot. It's also well performed. Still it's not a great film. The screenplay and the name games were too easy. The sound... isn't bad but it isn't creative either. Though the dubbing Spanish people seem to be obsessed with ruins everything. It would ruin anything.

It's a strange film. I found it a little disturbing. But perhaps it was because I could think of a few ultra-religious people I know and that's what disturbs me the most.

Camino

¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!! - P. Almodóvar (1984)

When I say I like small films I'm not sure if I mean films with no complications or extravagance or films about common ordinary people. This is probably the latter and I would call it a small film but it is mildly flaboyant. Well it's Almodóvar after all (though in this film it isn't over the top).

You could say this film is related to El Cochecito and El pisito in the dark comedy/ satire of Spanish cinema. It's also a film of its time... if the others were the late 50s/early 60s this is definitely an 80s film.

Almodóvar is known for exaggeration in everything (colours, performances, sets, situations). What I like about this film is that it's absurd and strange but still very measured. It does keep a healthy simple portrait of everyday people.. who are a little crazy, yes, but that's how it is.

Carmen Maura is always great. I'm never sure if she plays only one character, but it certainly is a very human one, with strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly one you empathise with and understand despite everything. Chus Lampreave, who was also in Ferreri's films, is definitely an Esperpento character.

What Have I Done to Deserve This? isn't a comedy. But it isn't a drama either. It's something in between both. A good something.

¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!!

Je l'aimais - Z. Breitman (2009)

Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for this film.

It's nice to watch, the transitions in between scenes are very good, the actors are ok (you even believe the love affair between Daniel Auteil and the younger girl *and* his version of his old self). It's a film about the choice between love and comfort. Not excessively cheerful, not excessively romantic even, not excessively about the crisis of love... it either needed something else or I wasn't in the right mood for it.

Je l'aimais