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jnine31
Reviews
La otra conquista (1998)
third world cinema
Triumph of the human spirit is a common theme in many movies, however this film is truly a David vs Goliath story. So often the history, and movies that we see are from a point of view of power. No one wants to tell the story of what really happened, but the popular agreement of what our government has deemed important. Everyone goes along with it, and the sun is shining and the birds are singing. Very rarely is there someone who is wiling to stand up against the giants and get the truth out. There have been people who have tried, but not succeeded. The Other Conquest, has fully succeeded and proved a valuable point. The story was truthful, in what happened during the Spanish conquest of the Americas. It did not sugar coat anything, the hero did not live a happy life in the end, he died. But throughout the story, there were important details mentioned that should be noted. There is a scene where the Aztec princess, Tecuichpo, is a translator for Cortes, and she wrongly translates what he is trying to communicate to Topiltzin. Language, is one of the last significant parts of a civilization to disappear. Even when most of it is gone, and people can't write it, or their religious relics are destroyed, language remains. It can be a very powerful tool against enemies who do not know the native language. In this scene, it is what ends up saving Topiltzin from death, because Tecuichpo can communicate with him, and help him through a horrible situation. In the end, it is the human spirit that triumphs over all. It is something that can never be fully understood, and in many ways should never be, because it is precisely the human spirit that manages to pull us from the deepest unthinkable blackness and pushes us to the light at the end of the tunnel. Overall, racism exists in every culture and every country. The conquistadors were not trying to understand the Aztecs, they thought they were barbaric and stupid people. They did not want to see the complexity and beautifulness. Doesn't this occur everyday? It is precisely in the ending when Topiltzin dies, that the priest recognizes this. Two different cultures can exist side by side in harmony, if people allow it. But mankind has become so overzealous with power that it makes it an impossible task. Carrasco does a marvelous job of telling the story realistically with a bit of magic behind it. It makes the story heartbreaking, but manageable, making a bigger impact on the audience. It is relateable from all cultures, and any type of human watching. Each shot is highly charged with such enthusiasm behind it, it really shines through when watching. Pay attention to all the detail, because each scene is historical and all locations used were in Mexico (not a sound stage Hollywood).
Yuki yukite, shingun (1987)
cinema verite
While I do not completely agree with the subject matter. The director does a great job at literally filming what is going on, without interfering in any way. The protagonist is in the process of getting beatin up in one scene, and the director just keeps filming and letting it happen. There is direct parallelism to what is going on currently with our country and Iraq, with this movie. This movie undoubtedly opens our eyes to things that were trying to be avoided or swept under the carpet without becoming public knowledge. The bottom line is that this movie is trying to make a difference in the next generation of youth, and while the topic is hard to stomach, and the actions of the protagonist definitely questionable it gets its point across as clear as possible. War is ugly, there is nothing pretty or wonderful about it. It is not clear cut who is bad and who is good, if/when you are out there on the battlefield anything is possible. The orders that you might get from higher ranking soldiers' are not always in the best judgment. The last thing to do is sweep the problem under the carpet. At least give the next generation a clear view of what to expect should they choose war. The protagonist is similar to many story's in which it is the sheer will of the human spirit that makes it. He wants the ex solider's to admit what really went on. He wants the truth to come out. Like I said before, his actions are definitely questionable, he beats up an old man who just had major surgery. He runs around like a mad man, and when they won't openly admit the wrong that has occurred and threaten to call the police on him, he calls the police first for them. All this sounds like the making of a lunatic, but it is precisely in his craziness that the truth is unfolded. This movie was banned in Japan, and while this part of history is not taught either this movie can still be used as a teaching mechanism in other countries. Japan prides itself on work ethic, and service. It is a country unlike any other, they have the lowest crime rate of any country along with the most order. There is a give and take in everything, a balance and harmony created. This director is notable, and important for the younger generations to come.
Fa yeung nin wah (2000)
great Asian auteurs
YAY! for amazing Chinese directing. Wong Kar Wai is a true gem of a director. This movie knocked me off my seat. His style, is trade marked by the slow mode long shot. Every little detail is noticed and taken in by the audience. How a characters fingers linger on a door frame, the delicate smoke billowing above another character. All your five senses seem to take play in this movie, you feel like the story is literally unfolding before your very eyes. I felt like I was in Hong Kong, not a classroom watching this film. It was amazing!!! Truly authentic, the characters and their dispositions and social customs to the T are followed by Wong Kar Wai. Mrs. Chans' costumes, are absolutely amazing. The audience is left wondering if it is fate that brought Chow and Mrs. Chan together? or if it was planned by their spouses? It was a little hard to follow, at first I thought when a scene occurred twice it was "his" and "her" point of view playing out, until I was told it was time that was suppose to be followed through their wardrobe changes. But the emphasis on detail is astounding. Wong Kar Wai masters the close-up profile, hardly seen in movies. He meticulously gets Chow's face on screen telling the audience so much of what is going on inside of him, yet how much is left a mystery because its only half of his face that is shown to us. I have fallen in love with the story, and feel like I am part of it. The heart break that they experience is breath taking. Even the small suspension of disbelief that occurs when Wong Kar Wai does a montage of what is going on in Cambodia, and with china and the general is amazing. The ending is just as beautiful as the entire story itself, of Chow whispering his secret into a wall of the most sacred temple in Cambodia. It is definitely a movie that needs to be watched more then once so that you can really take everything in. Watching the movie only once, does not do justice to the film maker!
Le fantôme de la liberté (1974)
great European auteurs
Bunuel is one of my favorite film makers! He is wonderful at making you think of things that seem like everyday habits. He is brilliant in this movie, it has all his normal obsessions as a film maker-necrophilia, sexuality, religion, and the question of freedom. Freedom is honestly a funny subject. Most people in the US would say that they have "freedom". But if they were to look at it under a microscope, and pick it apart, and look at it again they would realize that they really don't have freedom. Because in reality they live under a lot of social and moral rules, that restricts freedom to its very core. This movie, is surrealism down to its very core. Everything is presented in a very realistic way that could quite possibly happen in life, if someone were willing to stand the scrutiny of the greater population. This movie is definitely not normal, it is really a bunch of shorts put together, each transition is just a character followed to another scene and can at times seem confusing; because its right when that short climax's and you are about to find out, and then it switches and you are on to the next one. Most people would probably find this frustrating and rather irritating, but its exactly the point. You don't need a climax, just a point that gets across to the audience that makes us think about it. You can not watch Bunuels' films and think about them logically, his films are made of the logic of dreams. In their own insane way, they make perfect sense. But if you try to analyze it and pick it apart, you will realized that there is nothing that makes sense and as if it almost disintegrates because you are not suppose to analyze it logically. There is a crazy scene where a man goes to sleep and all these crazy things start coming into the bed room, and he looks at the clock and it appears a few hours have gone by. But in reality it is continuous time because there were no edits in that scene, it was shot as one continuous scene. Cinematic time doesn't have to follow real time, and in most films it does not. But when it does, it is for a reason. This movie is a good example of where the directors names start to become adjectives, because the director follows the same theme in their own movies, to the point where they are recognizable and distinguishable, almost expected.
El espíritu de la colmena (1973)
great European auteurs
Amazing film, based on memory and emotion. Erice does a wonderful job, of showing the audience the nature of children and time. Most adults forget, until they themselves have children, or an encounter with a child just how confusing it is for a child to grasp the sense of time and certain life events. As a child everything and anything seems possible. As adults we are aware that certain things are the end, and the way things are sometimes are unchangeable. Erice uses Frankenstein and a little girl named Ana to help us realize how amazing it is to be a child. Frankenstein plays a common theme in all the characters lives, maybe not literally Frankenstein, but a "thing" that all the characters face daily that they deal with. For Ana it is literally Frankenstein, after she sees the movie. For her father it is his obsessions with bees, he is constantly thinking about, and playing with the bees. For her mother, it is possibly a lover that she is writing to throughout the entire movie. Ana is such a brilliant character, most of us forget that she is really a child in this movie. The genuine facial expressions shown, like when she is interacting with the wounded solider in the abandoned farm house. She is not scared, she even gets close to him to tie his shoe, and its the solider who flinches not the little girl. She brings his a jacket, and apple and then runs home. Her ability to be so genuine, is a characteristic most adults hope to possess. The dream sequence where Ana meets Frankenstein, is wonderful, it plays with the audiences mind, and makes your wonder did it really happen? and if it did really happen does that mean Frankenstein really does exist? or was it just a dream? The ending is phenomenal as well, you could not ask for anything better. As Ana is standing in the window, facing inward to the house saying "I am Ana, I am Ana"-so powerful, yet only from a child. She is realizing that she is a child, and its OK to exist in both worlds-the adult world, and the child world.
Idi i smotri (1985)
great European auteurs
Do not watch this movie light heartedly, possibly with a alcoholic beverage (it might help ease the pain). Klimov does an amazing job of jolting the audience and showing how close to annihilation we were when the Nazi's were trying to take over. Set in Byelonessia 1943, a little boy is digging in hopes of finding guns or grenades that have been left behind. He finds a rifle, which he is so happy about, but doesn't realize the events that have been set by him now trying to be a solider. Klimov does an excellent job of showing "glasnost", creating a vertical relationship with the audience, and a holds no bar kind of feeling. The audience experiences everything with the Flor, from his hearing loss when the bombs go off, to swimming through the mud. You feel disgusting and want a shower as you watch this. All and all though, it is the triumph of the human spirit that shines through. Flor is put into unimaginable situations, where he must survive, grieve his family members who have all be killed, and become an adult before he is fully ready. There is a scene, where Flor finds bandages, and tries to bandage his rifle (as if that is going to fix it) but it is from a little boy's mentality who is obviously not really ready to take all this on. The Hitler Montage in the end, is perfect way to create another vertical relationship with the audience. It starts with images of men found in Nazi camps, and runs through everything down to the baby picture of Hitler. It makes you question and think, babies are suppose to be harmless and adorable. But this baby is responsible for killing thousands and thousands of people!
Dom za vesanje (1988)
European auteurs
Time of the Gypsies is one of the great European auteur films. It is a tragedy, comedy, and romantic movie all mixed into one as a boy becomes and adult. It is also the only movie produced in Romanie, the language of the gypsies (the language is almost extinct! so few people currently speak it). Kustrica manages to create a film that stylistically can be called none other then realistic fantasy. Kusturica is incredibly meticulous with the detail portrayed in each scene, and treats it in a very realistic way (a way that makes it quite possible that it could actually happen in reality). Its like magical realism, because it is obvious that there is more going on then meets the eye. Perhan has magical abilities, being able to move the spoon, it ironically becomes the mode of his revenge. The story was a little difficult to follow, as most movies that make you think and question are, but overall Kustrica does a great job-of showing the inside of a world most people do not know. The gypsies are a incredible group of people, solid and hard, they don't follow the normal rules that most people follow, but they do have a code all their own that they stick to. This movie does a good job of breaking all the stereotypes that most people have of the gypsies, and allows us to experience it in a way anyone can relate to; because at some point we all grow up and learn the difference between being a child and an adult. I do have to say I wish Perhan did not die in the end, it would have been nice if he could have lived and spent some time with his child (maybe that is just my happy Hollywood ending). The final look that Perhan and Azra share right before she dies, speaks a thousand words and then some! The love of his life, he questions and treats so horribly up until she dies, loved him and waited for him. Im glad that they got to share that look, at least they got to end with the same kind of knowing feeling together-they were so in love in the beginning of the movie. I did enjoy the turkey, maintaining a common theme throughout the movie, in the beginning it was Perhans friend/pet. In the end, it was what was showing him the way home.