Change Your Image
mattiverson
Reviews
Northfork (2003)
beautiful--and more
---(POSSIBLE SPOILERS WITHIN)---
so---this film is perhaps my favorite film i have ever seen---the polish brother's first two films, 'Twin Falls Idaho' and 'Jackpot'--they were also good---but Northfork takes the cake, ladies and gents.
or you might think it is boring, worthless, and a waste of two hours and however much it cost you to see it.
This is what the film does, and in my opinion, does so wonderfully and honestly: it mixes differing levels and states of reality on the parts of the characters, but presents them all equally for the audience, leaving interpretation largely up for grabs.
It does all this by placing us in a color-drained ,ominous ,almost mythological landscape, with barren plains and ponderous mountain backgrounds; and by putting the emphasis of the story on the emotions, memories, and realities of the characters, rather than on the dramatic motion of the plot. Yes, the government agents are in a race against time to get these folks up to higher ground; but a montana version of 'Speed' it ain't-----to the point: where some might find it brilliant and transcendant, some might find it boring and pointless.
now for myself ,i loved this film. The bizarre wordplay, the the perfectly realized dreamworld of the little boy, and the wonderful fragility James Woods brought to his character's part are just the few things that come to mind as i write this, but there is much more. Stuart Matthewman's score is another. I suggest that you, dear reader, get yourself out there right this minute and give this film a look. you'll either love it or you'll hate it. or possibly be indifferent. but at least you won't have to sit and read any more of these blithering reviews, eh?
Le beau mariage (1982)
carefully shaped discourse on life, love, penguins, et cetera
eric rohmer's films are so clearly his. The slow but deliberate pacing and crisp, to-the-point dialogue are two hallmarks of his style for me, and this film is an excellent example of those two qualities.
As with the other rohmer films I have seen, the characters are less individual, specific personalities than they are vessels for a type of person or for one side of an argument. Here we have the two female leads almost skipping exposition entirely, and going straight into philosophical discussions of love and marriage. What I like about monsieur rohmer is that he manages to do this without taking away all our empathy for his characters. He always shows us how the character's hands are played out, so we can see what the result of their actions were, and think about what we would have done, or will do in our lives. tres bien, monsieur rohmer; j'adore vos travails.