Normally, I am reluctant to slam another person's comments about a film, but I have to take issue with Noel-74. First of all, the arrogance of comments like, "You've got to be a complete idiot to believe you're seeing something new" takes me back to the self-important little twerps of my undergraduate days. So, Noel-74, if you are an undergraduate, my apologies. Let's hope it's just a stage you're working through. If you're over the of 25, please stay clear. I mean, seriously, your comment that there was something sinister in making abject poverty look so beautiful. Can any person look at the scenes depicted in that movie and feel anything other than horror at the conditions in which so many of our brothers and sisters live? Not to get all touchy-feely on you, but if you came away from that movie thinking about how beautiful it all looked, I'd say it was you, and not the movie, that could use a little more introspection. I liked this movie a lot. I thought it was moving, chilling, depressing and unpredictable. Even the ending (NO SPOILERS HERE) could have gone a bunch of different ways, several of which would have been more conventional than what we are left with. A very good film, with excellent acting.
Reviews
5 Reviews
The Third Man
(1949)
Cheers For The Great Joseph Cotten
30 March 2006
Like most people who post reviews on this site, I love movies. I'm not a professional reviewer, but I've seen lots of movies in my day. And from that vast list, most of which has long since faded into my mind's oblivion, a very few stand out. Casablanca. Chinatown. The Godfathers. Bridge On The River Kwai. Annie Hall. The Third Man stands in that company, and maybe at the front. This site contains so many excellent reviews of this movie and its cinematography, its music, its Graham Greene-inspired plot and dialogue. I won't try to re-do what so many reviews have already done. No, I'm writing this comment to honor Joseph Cotten. This movie will always be associated in the first instance with Orson Welles, who, as most readers will know by now, is on screen for but a few minutes. And while those minutes may represent the most memorable small role in the history of cinema, it's Joseph Cotten who carries this movie. His performance as the bumbling, naive, yet ultimately heroic Holly Martins, is perfect. It's an incredibly demanding role, because in order for the movie to work, we have to see Holly as childlike in his adoration of the evil Harry Lime (played by Welles), adolescent in his pursuit of Lime's bereaved girlfriend, slippery enough to have been Lime's one-time running mate, yet clever enough to unravel a mystery that's fooled the cynical British army cop, Major Calloway, played brilliantly by Trevor Howard. And all that and more, we have to like him. Cotten, who is in virtually every frame of the movie, pulls it off. Nowadays, little is written about Joseph Cotten. Maybe it was his man-on-the-street looks. More likely, he'll always be seen as a lesser satellite in Welles' galaxy. Pity, because he was great, and his performance as Holly Martins in The Third Man, is fantastic.
La Cérémonie
(1995)
Sandrine Bonnaire Is Perfect
23 February 2006
I love Sandrine Bonnaire. Not love her in the "sell my possessions and move to Paris" love her, but love her in movies. In this movie especially. Every second she is on the screen, I was riveted to her. Her somewhat jerky and stiff physical mannerisms, her plain but beautiful face. And even though from the start we sense that her character is odd, creepy even, we can also feel her almost childlike panic and pain early on when we learn she can't read. It's enormously moving, and it creates a sympathetic bond with her that complicates how we view the events that follow. I just love her, and that probably clouded my overall estimation of the film. That's not to say the film is otherwise weak. It's not. The exploration into the class conflict between the rich and their help was excellent. And so was the portrayal of the sociopathic personality, shifting from sweet smiles to cold-bloodedness in a process devoid of emotion. Chilling, especially so when the sociopath is a waifish beauty. It's a very good movie made great by Sandrine Bonnaire's performance.
A History of Violence
(2005)
I liked this movie, not sure why
5 January 2006
I liked A History of Violence. Like many movie experiences I've had, I realized, after the fact, that my reaction depended on other things. Maybe it was the cold night. Or perhaps the holidays. Or maybe I was thinking about a girl I love who lives in Paris and crinkled her eyes when she smiled. I was prepared to like this movie. Ed Harris and William Hurt were fun. I'm a sucker for mafia tough guys, and Hurt's scenes, especially, were riveting. I also liked the basic idea of the movie, that lurking beneath the veneer of Americana can be darkness and violence. Not always. Many Americans seem like fat sheep. A lot are. But some of the sheep are wolves, and this movie explores that idea. The sex scenes were creepy. And I don't mean Hitchcockian-suspenseful creepy. I mean stupid, cringing, squirm-in-your-seat creepy. Moreover, there is, without a doubt, something absurd about this movie. The bad guys walked out of comic book, wearing black and talking Philadelphia smack. I didn't care. In fact, I liked it. This movie was good for me, on a cold night when the darkness and the wiseguys helped keep memories away.
Open Your Eyes
(1997)
Abre Los Ojos is much better than Vanilla Sky
3 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I recently watched Abre Los Ojos. That prompted me to then rent Vanilla Sky. I relate that only because the order in which you see these movies is important. Specifically, by the time I saw VS, I knew everything about the story, and there was no longer any sense of unraveling a mystery that is an important part of these movies. But that is not all. On almost every score, Abre Los Ojos is the better movie. First the acting. In ALO, Penelope Cruz is sweet, loving and heartbreakingly beautiful. Reprising the same role in VS, she struggles with her Spanish accent, and there is absolutely no chemistry between her and Tom Cruise. Also, her character in VS repeatedly engages in a strange kind of smart-alecky banter that is not funny and is just plain misplaced in this movie. And yes, I hate to say it, but Ms. Cruz is nowhere near as attractive in VS as she was in ALO. Watch the movies back-to-back and the difference is startling. As for the other characters, I thought the spurned female role was better done in ALO. The actress who played Nuria in ALO conveyed a palpable sense of desperation and sadness, but also vulnerability. When she kills herself, and tries to take Cesar with her, it's believable. Not so with Cameron Diaz's portrayal of that same character in VS, who comes off as a spoiled tramp whose decision to kill herself seems like a hissy fit. That may not be all her fault. For instance, during the critical scene where she kills herself and tries to kill Cruise, Diaz is forced to utter dialog that is dopey and distractingly vulgar. Nuria has more grace, and more depth. Tom Cruise is not a terrible male lead, but the Spanish actor who played Cesar in ALO is much better suited for the role. He is younger, and portrays youthful arrogance and insouciance perfectly. There is also an innocence about him that Cruise can no longer do. Especially physically. At times in VS, I was thinking more about Tom Cruise's weightlifting regimen more than the mental anguish of his character. Unlike the crippling sadness of Cesar, Cruise's character is a turbo-charged superstar. In fact, it's not until the final scene, when the truth unravels itself, that Cruise finally brings his performance down to a human level. Last, the music. ALO has an unobtrusive, Hitchcockian score (see Vertigo to get my drift) that is haunting, and is very effective in creating a brooding, dreamlike atmosphere. Cameron Crowe's blaring soundtrack in VS, conversely, is a slick pop cliché that detracts, instead of enhances, the experience. The musical differences really do speak volumes here. ALO is dark, ethereal, and moving. VS is loud, brash, and coarse.
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