A Belated Swedish Post and Other Such Notes
A very late post about the Swedish Film Festival which I attended a few weeks ago.
I started off with Songs From the Second Floor, which I'm kinda ambivalent about. It was gorgeous, with scenes played out in single takes against crazy tableaus. There were great bits and socio-political comments and stuff like that. My personal favorite scene was when a crucifix salesman was getting rid of his stock at a junkyard and complaining about his big mistake, "putting his faith in some guy on a cross". He then drives over a couple of crucifixes as he leaves in his truck, and the resultant cracking sound made me laugh pretty loudly. The thing is, everything seems so calculated and theatrical that you never seem to be able to get into anything, since they're determined to keep you at a distance.
Persona was great, as usual, and like all great movies, you get a little more out of it every time you re-watch it.
Cries and Whispers was Intense, with a capital I. Bergman's character studies of women are scarily real and almost emotionally scarring. Either the guy really loves them, or he hates them with a passion.
Ondskan (Evil) was pedestrian. I might've liked it more had it been amongst lesser company, but here it seemed like a case of treading all too familiar territory. Perhaps I'm sadistic, but I didn't really find the tortures inflicted on the main character all that torturous. So my reaction to the whole thing was just "feh".
But My Life as a Dog... They don't make movies like this anymore. Funny and painfully truthful and so amazingly real, it's one of the best coming-of-age tales ever made. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Um, yeah, I can't get more detailed about a lot of stuff because it's been a while and I forgot. Plus I'm sick so I'm also not entirely coherent.
Some other movie stuff:
Team America: World Police is fucking hilarious. The villains always get the best songs, like Saddam Hussein in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and Kim Jong Il this time around. I'm Ronery will definitely stick in your head for a while.
Closer is scathing and depressing, and well, basically is an examination of the fucked-up human condition. There's a beautiful opening sequence where everyone falls in love with Natalie Portman, and then it all goes downhill from there. You can tell how uncomfortable an audience is when they giggle at Clive Owen's interrogation of Julia Roberts - they giggle because they want to convince themselves it's supposed to be funny, because they can't handle it, but they're dead wrong and they know it. Stylistically, it also feels very theatrical because of the long, dialogue heavy scenes. Unfortunately, I can't decide yet if that's a plus or minus point.
The Machinist is slow and dark and depressing. Nice production design, although eventually there's inevitable disappointment at the "twist" ending. When you set up something so much, the payoff seems so tiny in comparison. I don't think the overall quality justified Christian Bale's commitment though... Losing 60 lbs for a role like this isn't really worth it.
I loved Sideways so much though, that it more than made up for The Machinist. There are so many amazing moments in Sideways, the ensemble is so pitch-perfect, I'd watch it again and again. The moment Paul Giamatti's character slips into his mother's bedroom and steals money from her secret stash, you know this is not going to be your typical movie. My favorite moment, and a truly amazing one, is when Virginia Madsen is describing why she loves wine, and through the deft use of sound and shot selection, Payne makes you fall in love with her, then realize that Paul Giamatti's also falling in love with her at the same time. It's beautiful.
The Woodsman was not amazing, but a decent try by a first-time director. It does have an unbearably intense climax that consists of nothing but a dialogue between two people sitting on a park bench. Now that's pretty damn balls-ey if you ask me, which is why I respect this film.
That's it for now.
I started off with Songs From the Second Floor, which I'm kinda ambivalent about. It was gorgeous, with scenes played out in single takes against crazy tableaus. There were great bits and socio-political comments and stuff like that. My personal favorite scene was when a crucifix salesman was getting rid of his stock at a junkyard and complaining about his big mistake, "putting his faith in some guy on a cross". He then drives over a couple of crucifixes as he leaves in his truck, and the resultant cracking sound made me laugh pretty loudly. The thing is, everything seems so calculated and theatrical that you never seem to be able to get into anything, since they're determined to keep you at a distance.
Persona was great, as usual, and like all great movies, you get a little more out of it every time you re-watch it.
Cries and Whispers was Intense, with a capital I. Bergman's character studies of women are scarily real and almost emotionally scarring. Either the guy really loves them, or he hates them with a passion.
Ondskan (Evil) was pedestrian. I might've liked it more had it been amongst lesser company, but here it seemed like a case of treading all too familiar territory. Perhaps I'm sadistic, but I didn't really find the tortures inflicted on the main character all that torturous. So my reaction to the whole thing was just "feh".
But My Life as a Dog... They don't make movies like this anymore. Funny and painfully truthful and so amazingly real, it's one of the best coming-of-age tales ever made. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Um, yeah, I can't get more detailed about a lot of stuff because it's been a while and I forgot. Plus I'm sick so I'm also not entirely coherent.
Some other movie stuff:
Team America: World Police is fucking hilarious. The villains always get the best songs, like Saddam Hussein in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and Kim Jong Il this time around. I'm Ronery will definitely stick in your head for a while.
Closer is scathing and depressing, and well, basically is an examination of the fucked-up human condition. There's a beautiful opening sequence where everyone falls in love with Natalie Portman, and then it all goes downhill from there. You can tell how uncomfortable an audience is when they giggle at Clive Owen's interrogation of Julia Roberts - they giggle because they want to convince themselves it's supposed to be funny, because they can't handle it, but they're dead wrong and they know it. Stylistically, it also feels very theatrical because of the long, dialogue heavy scenes. Unfortunately, I can't decide yet if that's a plus or minus point.
The Machinist is slow and dark and depressing. Nice production design, although eventually there's inevitable disappointment at the "twist" ending. When you set up something so much, the payoff seems so tiny in comparison. I don't think the overall quality justified Christian Bale's commitment though... Losing 60 lbs for a role like this isn't really worth it.
I loved Sideways so much though, that it more than made up for The Machinist. There are so many amazing moments in Sideways, the ensemble is so pitch-perfect, I'd watch it again and again. The moment Paul Giamatti's character slips into his mother's bedroom and steals money from her secret stash, you know this is not going to be your typical movie. My favorite moment, and a truly amazing one, is when Virginia Madsen is describing why she loves wine, and through the deft use of sound and shot selection, Payne makes you fall in love with her, then realize that Paul Giamatti's also falling in love with her at the same time. It's beautiful.
The Woodsman was not amazing, but a decent try by a first-time director. It does have an unbearably intense climax that consists of nothing but a dialogue between two people sitting on a park bench. Now that's pretty damn balls-ey if you ask me, which is why I respect this film.
That's it for now.
posted by cinewhore @ 3:44 PM
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