So. Festival season is still in full swing. Marina is chewing on VIFF, Andrew is moving and gearing up for TAD, and John & myself are still recovering from the madness of TIFF. Even though it has been a nearly a month I’m still chewing on TIFF stuff and more than a little burned out in a filmic sense. Here is another abbreviated edition of “Movies We Watched,” films that the Rowthree contributors have been taking in in the past fortnight, but not necessarily posting about. For the increasing list (coming up on a years worth of additions) click the similar icon on the sidebar.
Killer of Sheep (1977) 5/5
Charles Burnett’s 1977 film was a major influence on director David Gordon Green, notably on the latter’s debut film, 2000’s George Washington. While Green may have the edge on beauty of presentation (perhaps a bit unfair, seeing as Killer of Sheep was primarily a student film), Burnett’s masterpiece certainly is more realistic, interested much more in character study than any sort of narrative structure. -DAVE
Tell No One (2006) 4.5/5
If someone mashed together The Fugitive, The Third Man and Chinatown all into one super-genre-flick, and perhaps removed some of the weightiness of the latter two, and you have this classical French thriller. A certain higher profile casting decision may tip the cards a bit, and there is probably a plot hole or two, yet this type of film is why I go to the movies. Story telling, and visual hinting at its finest. This was a better version of L.A. Confidential (I don’t know why it reminded me of that flick but it did) and it has the vibe and overall oomph of Ronin, even if it doesn’t resemble the intent or story of that movie. It’s definitely in the Frankenheimer, Hitchcock, and even Brian DePalma (visual sense of storytelling did indeed remind me just a smidgen of Femme Fatale and Blow Out); the sort of movie-making that there just do not seem to be many modern examples of. Tell No One is one of the best theatrical releases of 2008. (It is a bit sad that it took so long to end across the pond; but better late than never.) -KURT
Malèna (2000) 4/5
Giuseppe Tornatore’s tale of how gossip and backroom chatter have the power to manipulate lives is set in Fascist Italy, during the days of World War II. As with Tornatore’s other notable films (Cinema Paradiso, The Legend of 1900), it’s sometimes difficult to determine where fantasy ends and reality begins, which is definitely this movie’s strong point. Young Giuseppe Sulfaro is excellent as the boy who has fallen in love with the widowed Malena (Monica Bellucci), fantasizing every chance he gets about the two of them together. Yet his fantasy also allows him to see the reality of Malena’s situation, and he does his best to watch over and protect her from the sometimes spiteful townspeople. A truly moving film. -DAVE
Snow Angels (2007) 4.5/5
Loved it. A look at a budding relationship, a relationship at a crossroads, and the end of a relationship – all of their stories intertwined and told well by the talented beyond his years David Gordon Green. The acting is really where the movie shines and I won’t name off everyone, but Kate Beckinsale shows again that with the right material she can be great, and Sam Rockwell continues to show why he is one of the most talented actors working today with every detail of his performance. Very well-made little film. -JONATHAN (4/5)
This is David Gordon Green doing what he does best – sitting back and observing. There are excellent performances throughout (Rockwell is predictably great, and Beckinsale has never been better), but the real key to Snow Angels is the smooth, seamless flow of the story itself. Nothing is laid out for us at the start; it’s up to the audience to make the connections between these characters, and in so structuring his film in such a manner, Green keeps us sharply tuned in to everything that transpires. Thus far, it’s one of the best films of 2008 I’ve seen. -DAVE (5/5)
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) 3/5
You know, it was probably as close to the source material as it could have gotten, I guess, but having read the masterpiece that is Gabriel García Márquez’s novel before I watched it, I knew it was going to be pretty unfilmable. So much of what happens in the novel is in their minds or from the way Márquez crafted his words. And yeah, they just didn’t (maybe couldn’t) capture the essence of the novel, which I think would be impossible. Great costumes and set pieces and Javier Bardem was certainly perfect in his role though and they couldn’t have picked anyone better for Florentino Ariza. One major complaint other than not capturing the novel was Florentino’s revealing of his sexual exploits – even the exact number – to his companion, which if you read the book, you would understand why that was such an unneeded and terrible decision. -JONATHAN
“more than a little burned out in a filmic sense.”
So what happened to “the schedule is not a problem at all, and I actually came out envigorated at the end”? Be honest man.
The only one of these films that I have seen is Malena, which I thought was pretty boring. Much too southern-europe for my taste, in that it never reaches any insight. Interesting cinematography, but nothing impressive.
This year is was a delayed burn out, I did come out elated, then about 3-4 days later, life and stuff caught back up and I realized I was going to go thru a TIFF hangover after all. Haven’t had the energy to watch much since then. Good thing that TELL NO ONE has gotten me out of the funk.
Back to business as usual.
“If someone mashed together The Fugitive, The Third Man and Chinatown all into one super-genre-flick, and perhaps removed some of the weightiness of the latter two, and you have this classical French thriller.”
Wow, Kurt. You just sold me.
I thought that might. I had high expectations, in no small part in talking with Andrew and seeing a review or two, and following in part the production of the film (It’s got a really, really catch ONE SHEET too). Nice to see your expectations met and exceeded by a fair margin. It doesn’t happen often.
Hmmm, that being said, I’m off to take in a second showing of BLINDNESS.
I’m up late and “Wrestling With Shadows” is on TVO. You know, the Bret “Hit Man” Hart documentary. I think I’ve seen it like 20 times. Its on TVO a lot. Almost every Canadian I know has seen this whether they like wrestling or not. I wonder if thats true among the Canucks here.
I watched SNOW ANGELS today to try and flesh out my opinion on David Gordon Green. I was underwhelmed by Pineapple Express and while I quite liked All the Real Girls when I saw it, I barely recall anything about it anymore.
So I watched this, and I don’t think I liked it very much. It’s another case of a movie that didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, but felt distant and mopey, to the point where I was simply apathetic about everything that was happening. It merely felt like I watched some decent somber performances for 2 hours – sad music plays in the background while characters bare their souls to each other in a way I’ve never known anyone to do.
There are little touches Green has, from the camera moving past the characters as they are walking, letting them fall out of screen, and the little moments like in the library where they look up ‘blowjob’, that tell me more about the characters than their long winded poetic declarations. In the end the sad glum tone is present but for me, is unearned.
So while I can’t cite much that is bad, there’s not much for me to single out as being very good either.
Cribbing from LV Weekly:
“Life is hard and often full of tragedy, sure, and movies can show that in a way that finds both beauty and emotional power in everyday horrors. But Snow Angels, especially in its overwrought second half, merely wallows in unearned sadness; all of its artful lens flares can’t substitute for believable characters whose lives are worth caring about, and by the time the absurdly operatic ending rolls around, you’re as ready as the characters are for it all to be over”
So I don’t know what the fuck I think about DGG right now. I’m wondering if for me he’s like a Mogwai album – you’ve got to be in the right mood, and even if you really dig it, getting additional albums aren’t going to give you much as far as a new experience. I tend to wonder if I saw this THEN All the Real Girls, it would be this I really liked and that one I was bored with. The movie came, I watched it, and it was over.
So I’d rank it a 2/5, and so much of that for better or for worse is gut truthiness and apathy and not really any harsh declaration of hackery or awfulness.
Oh, and the movie/story as a whole reminds me of In the Bedroom, except I think it would personally work a lot better for me in Todd Field’s hands.