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Reviews
Pete's Meteor (1998)
****POSSIBLE SPOILERS****An amazing disaster
It doesn't start off bad except for the children's brogue being extremely difficult to understand because of constant mumbling, but it gets worst. The main character is neither Pete nor the meteor, but a troubled 12-year-old orphan named Mickey. Mickey has got be one of the most unlikeable protagonists ever filmed, running the gamut from cute pranks (borrowing a car to drive to a university and demand the return of his meteor), to threatening (with sincere malice) to burn down the home of the scientist who studies it, to playing a significant part in a murder. Yet it's clear we're supposed to love this little tyke. Ugh.
There are plenty of laughs from Mickey's "cute" lines (when they're intelligible), but even if you can stomach Mickey, there's the additional hurdle of a nonsensical plot. Even while watching, you start imagining a stoned writer taking a drag and saying, OK, there's a cute kid, and then there's a meteor, and then there's a scientist, and then there's the vague semi-reformed drug dealer who can't get away from the mob, and then... Very simply, *nothing* makes sense, or even moves. A few surreal scenes only further shatter the broken plot.
But improbability hurts this mess as much as impossibility. Lighting is so screwy that day and night seem to follow each other randomly; sometimes you're never sure if a scene takes place a few minutes or a few hours after the last scene. Whenever there's trouble, the cop or the taxi driver is only seconds away, unless a character is supposed to die. If you're a Mike Myers fan, you might enjoy his 20 or so minutes of screen time in a dramatic role. But otherwise, pass this mess.
1999 nen no natsu yasumi (1988)
Deftly delving into the depths
Hauntingly beautiful, in the tradition of "Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East?", and "Gattaca" this is a small work of art with an excellent, though slow-moving plot, exploring the themes of loneliness, sexual repression, jealousy, tenderness, and violence. It's surreal, in a completely inconspicuous and beguiling way; no adults are ever seen, the kids constantly wear ties, the school and dormitory is unbelievably stark, parts of the story (but which?)are dreams, and the older boys are played by girls!
It works to excellent effect. It may be the best film on gay themes besides the Canadian gem "Lilies."
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
A profound movie for the soul, not a summer frolic
It's apparent that this is one of those movies which people either love or hate.
To me it seems that people who don't like it simply don't get it, either being hung up on detecting whose directorial influences are where, or they are unwilling to meet the movie on its own terms--no explosions, slow pacing, and little humor. (Another barrier to some is misunderstanding what the creatures at the and of the film are--they are not aliens, but robots; robotic technology has continued to develop by robots for centuries. This is a common theme in the literature of science-fiction, but is probably unfamiliar to viewers who have read little sf.)
For those who are able to see it without expectations of what a film should be, this movie is as profound as it is entertaining. I felt almost dumb-struck as the credits rolled, and am still in a state of high wonder as I write these words.
This film brought home to me, as no other has done, the deeper questions behind the stories of automatons, gholems, robots, and puppets wanting to become human: What is the soul? Can we become like our Creator? Can love truly conquer all?
Don't look for ET-ish innocence or Blade Runneresque drama here, although there are elements of both. Look for fuel for exploring the meaning of life, be prepared to find an incredibly beautiful and provoking treatment of the biggest questions of all.
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
Meandering memoire of mindless muddiness
Having enjoyed the quirky little "My Beautiful Laundrette," I was most disappointed by "The Buddha of Suburbia." The film is a disaster from beginning to end, and has the feeling that length was the sole purpose, as one sometimes feels when reading less-inspired 19th-century novels whose authors were paid by the word.
There are nearly an hour's worth of shots of people walking up stairs, crossing streets, and standing silently which would have been edited by any other director. There is truly no reason in the world for it to have gone over two hours. Furthermore, the production is shoddy. Lighting is bad, lines are mumbled, blocking awkward.
There is no "plot" per se, no shape to this massive mess. There are clues that it goes from the beginning to the end of the 70s, yet the events feel more like a three-year span.
The subject simply appears to be the myriad ways in which the people in young Karim's life find to ruin their happiness. Their confusions range from hopeless dedication to old-country ways, (arranged marriages), to faddish spirituality, the constriction of "liberating" politics, disposable families, drugs, etc.
With a theme like this, we want a character who struggles against the tides of spiritual emptiness. Karim's mother and brother might have fit the bill as the only characters with common sense, but they are virtually ignored.
Instead, the main character is Karim, who drifts helplessly on the currents that mangle the lives of those close to him. Life simply happens to Karim, everything that transpires is the result of someone else's plans. Only in the latter half of the film does he actually have any kind of goal at all (becoming an actor).
Never does he ever rise beyond being more than a helpless figure trying to be "nice," whether that means being a peacemaker, a lover, or a friend, or trying all three to find that none of them work. His relationships happen to him, and when they go south, he is unable do much more than voice a vague sense of complaint.
Now characters like this have excellent potential; consider "The Stranger," "Zelig," "The World According to Garp," or "Being There." But Karim is so dedicated to helplessness that our sympathies are never engaged for him.
And without a sympathetic character, a memorable line of dialogue, or even a sense of purpose, "The Buddha of Suburbia" is a waste.