End Of The Week Shorts #32
Dimensions of Dialogue is a thoroughly ingenious, incredibly impressive stop-motion short.
Beyond being a mesmerising spectacle of stop-motion, this is an abstract depiction of devolution in communication. Part one, eternal conversation, seems to show the conquering of an opinion; part two, passionate discourse, shows the problematic fruits of interaction which can lead to conflict; part three, exhaustive discussion, seems to be a debate that compares apples to oranges. There then seems a clear allegory drawn by Czech director, Jan Švankmajer, concerning his own socialist state - which would have been somewhat common during and following the Czech New Wave (which includes films such as Daisies and The Firemen's Ball).
At whatever level of complexity you choose to see this film at, I highly recommend it.
My Life as a Zucchini is a solid piece of stop-motion animation. With an array of pleasant characters, smooth pacing and some sublime moments of cinematography and craft, this is very easy to sink into and enjoy. The only downfalls of this film are a few cheesy or slightly contrived moments. Whilst it has to be noted on this point that I watched the English dubbed version, the structure of this film is very clearly meant to evoke many emotions.
Unfortunately, I can't say that My Life as a Zucchini, for all its attempts at emotional engagement, achieves much in this regard; having seen Mary and Max, it's hard to taken aback by the serious sides of this picture. Nonetheless, this is a warm film executed very well. If you're into stop-motion animation, this is worth the watch.
This Is Not A Film is a day-in-the-life documentary that follows Jafar Panahi, an Iranian filmmaker who is under house arrest and is awaiting a verdict on his court case that could potentially have him imprisoned for 6 years and banned from making films for 20 years. Unable to shoot his scripts, Panahi hangs out with his pet Iguana, attempts to recreate scenes from his most recent screenplay and pesters his friend and a passerby into being apart of his "non-film". Everything that he shot was smuggled into the Cannes film festival and got Panahi international recognition that lead to filmmakers across the world protesting his persecution.
This Is Not A Film, whilst it is, on one level, just a whimsical and pleasant video diary, is a subdued, yet powerful statement on art and freedom that, without any direct words, says much about the Iranian political climate. Highly recommended.
Romantic comedies do not get much better than this. The Prince and the Showgirl is a film that is as much abut love and sentimentality as it is the preciousness of a well-structured romance. Building upon archetypes and tropes, this film then hits all the beats you'd expect, but with expression and grace that cannot be expressed in words. And thus this is a pure film, one that can only really be seen.
Though Olivier directs and performs brilliantly, this is a Monroe movie. Like few the actors/actresses that have ever been, and better than almost all who have ever managed to become, Monroe is the voice, crux and de facto auteur of her best films - and this couldn't be more true with The Prince and the Showgirl. For all the cinematic magic you could hope for, this one is well worth the watch and a personal favourite.
As with Black Girl, Sembène explores European influence as a catalyst for corruption and conflict in post-colonial Africa with Xala. Following a corrupt business man who, under the ruse of sparking independence, sides with Europeans and exploits impoverished and disabled African citizens, Xala is a satirical film about being a real man. Using impotence as a euphemism for personal short comings and greed, there is then a strong sense of fate and justice present throughout this narrative - as, of course, impose by Sembène and his politics.
Unfortunately, whilst this is a well-constructed film, I found it dry and very boring. In essence, Xala failed to captivate me in any way and so I had to struggle through, and don't feel much the better for it.
A Prophet is a truly tremendous gangster film that follows the rise of a French-Arab man of Algerian descent in a Parisian prison system. Clearly intended to be reflective of French cultural and historical tensions - much like De Palma's Scarface was for America - with allusions to ethnic conflict and an immigrant's struggle, A Prophet is packed with constant questions of place and loyalty. It is the perfect management of this subtextual conflict that gives so much power to the narrative and provides such a complex, yet compelling, anti-hero. The only short-comings of this narrative are its loose references to religion. In places they make sense, but this motif doesn't build to anything particularly substantial - at least, it didn't strike me as such on this first watch.
Nonetheless, A Prophet is an incredible film that is technically faultless and imbued with subtle, unapologetic beauty.
Waterboy is about as stupid as a movie can get whilst still being watchable.
I can't deny that that this makes me laugh. The jokes shouldn't work, the acting is horrific, the writing is ridiculous and without any sense of wit or brains - and in regards to the technical aspects... nothing really needs to be said here. Following a time-tested narrative formula without any risk, what Waterboy manages to achieve - as many of Sandler's best movies do - is to pull you into a world of silliness. It's then through the transparently stupid writing that all standards are dropped and you feel yourself inebriated by Sandler's approach to comedy. In one sense, watching Waterboy makes you feel like you've dropped a few I.Q points, in another, it just makes you feel human. Good, dumb fun.
It's impressive to see how shameless Disney (and Pixar more increasingly) can be. Whilst we all know them for their best work, it's probably for the best we remember the huge pile of dog shit that they've built up over time (especially on T.V and sent direct to video/DVD in regards to Disney).
Alas, Cars 3 isn't on the dog shit pile. Structurally and aesthetically, this is a solid movie; there are even moments and shots sprinkled throughout that struck me as genuinely brilliant. However, in terms of character and dialogue, this is a very shaky movie. Imbued with just a bit too much sentimentality, this narrative provides very direct and unambiguous commentary on what it means to pass on a baton. And whilst this is done pretty well, the means through which this is done is very contrived and often too derivative to take to heart. So, seen as a family movie and with low expectations, there's ultimately not too much to complain about here.
Kahaani (or Story) has got to be one of the greatest crime thrillers I've ever seen. Following a pregnant woman in search of her lost husband, this film explores motherhood as almost a force of nature whilst putting to the screen one of the most genuine "role reversals" (I would suggest that this narrative is far above that) ever conceived of. With numerous perfectly constructed characters and some truly gorgeous cinematography, Kahaani brings you into this narrative construction masterfully, engaging you in the plot and character conflicts to levels that continually deepen.
The only elements holding this film back are small moments in which the soundtrack becomes too invasive, the editing too audacious and the action too contrived. Beyond this, I have to say it again: one of the greatest, semi-unconventional crime thrillers I've ever seen. Everyone needs to see this.
I loosely remember seeing this near to when it came out and it didn't seem awful. In fact, I remembering being told--and more so than I remember the film--that this was a good movie. A few years later, I heard other people talking about The Happening, suggesting that this is 'one of those movies that are so bad that they're kind of brilliant'. I never knew what to think, and I couldn't remember the film at all, so, today of all days, my curiosity peaked; I had to see how good or bad the movie was.
30 seconds in, I was bored by the elongated opening credits, so I hit fast forward. 2 minutes later... yeah, this is a truly awful movie. I don't need to say why, it is just ridiculously bad. I couldn't get through.
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