YMDB Part Deux

[JakeA]

[luckytourist]

You should see Paris, Texas soon. I don't know if you'll like it that much, if at all, but it's worth a shot. Have you seen any Wenders yet?

[sidehacker]

Made in Hong Kong (Fruit Chan, 1997) - 8.25/10 - August 24th

Any technical shortcomings here might be excused by the fact that this is Chan's first feature. Still, this is really impressive no matter what the circumstances are. Sadly, it's easy to accuse it of being derivitative of Wong Kar-Wai. It's bad enough that the main love interest is trying really hard to by Faye Wong but there's plenty of other things. Wide-angle shots, extreme color saturation, jump cuts, voiceovers and even slow motion rain sequences. The over-stylized action sequences seem so out of place until you realize that it's most likely a nod to Fallen Angels. The only one thing that isn't reminiscent of Wong is the music. Which, much like all of Chan's other films is really embarrassing. There's a sequence where the three protagonist run through a graveyard (a la the Lourve scene in Band of Outsiders) and there's this really odd Misfits-esque song playing in the background. I have to wonder what goes through his head as he chooses these songs. From a narrative standpoint, it all feels too familiar. I have no problem with angsty Asians, on the contrary, but it just seem to go anywhere emotionally, I suppose. That is until the end but that still doesn't dismiss the moments of the retard third wheel guy. It seems like his presence was only served to make Moon's final decision a bit less nonsensical and at times, provide some conventional and boring comedic relief. I love the movie, though!

[sidehacker]

Dumplings (Fruit Chan, 2004) - 9/10 - August 25th

Easily Chan's most cinematically advanced and impressive film. It's automatically on a technical plateau reached by very few films. I'm not saying I didn't feel anything while watching it, but a woman eating fetuses to keep her marriage alive doesn't seem to have as big of an impact on me as does a woman taking a trip down memory lane, which is what Durian Durian is. Of course, this isn't a simple horror film but I think the film could have benefited from being a bit more interesting on a narrative level. Not to say the story doesn't probe into things like relationships but they're still invaded (so to speak) by corny horror elements - sudden loud noises in the score seem cliche and boring. Really, these things don't bother me that much but it's just that the film doesn't resonate deeply enough with me as Durian Durian does/did. On the other side of things, it's a more impressive film.

[sidehacker]

Camera Buff (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1979) - 9.25/10 - August 25th

Definitely my favorite Kieslowski film thus far. He's able to use the camera-driven, handheld / jump cuts aesthetic and still maintain his eye for wonderful visuals. Visually, it's quite reminiscent of Landscapes in the Mist which may or may not be a problem. Personally, I think the colors are a bit too bleached and soft. It lacks the distinct vividness found in the colors of his later films. All shortcomings are made for the fact that it's Kieslowski's most emotionally successful film. Perhaps the intimacy of the camera work reinforces this and makes it a bit more emotionally accessible but it still had a far more effective impact on me than any of the films in the Colors trilogy.

[sidehacker]

Criá cuervos (Carlos Saura, 1976) - 5/10 - August 27th

I tried to like it. I really did. Not to say this wasn't without it's moments, but I felt the whole experience to be a bit too heavy and ponderous where it should have been playful and energetic. The sequences that seemed the most interesting to me were the ones that seemed very childish, in a good way. The Spirit of the Beehive which people like to compare this to (most likely for Ana Torrent) has a similar tone but it's still rather innocent. Everything is viewed in a way a child would view it, with great wonder, amazement, beauty, etc. Here, everything feels lifeless and dull. Maybe this is the due to the lack of technical personality of Saura's part. It felt like he watched a bunch of films from Buñuel and Fassbinder and basically learned everything about technical film making from them. This is nice, but again, it seems to be the completely wrong approach to the subject matter. It doesn't hurt that a majority of the film's intended "harrowing" moments come off as melodramatic and occasionally, goofy. It's most likely superfluous to mention at this point but yeah, huge disappointment.

[Chaco Salvaje]

I might hold off on watching Criá cuervos for a little while.

[LostCunningham]

[sidehacker]

The Boys from Fengkuei (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1983) - 7.75/10 - September 1st

Surprisingly enough, this is a pretty good representation of Hou's style where as I always guessed it was far different than the rest of his filmography. Of course, it's nowhere close to being aesthetically rigorous as a film like Café Lumière but considering when this was made, it's probably even more impressive. Narratively, the film is not that fascinating. It's sort of like The Sun's Burial or Los Olvidados except far more subdued. In fact, since Hou's camera is so distanced from all the fight sequences (of which is there is a surprisingly large amount of) they all come off as pathetic and humorous. This is okay especially since it creates some of the funniest moments in the film but it makes the main character seem slightly less likable than he really is. It also makes everyone else seem like a complete asshole. Unfortunately, the film gets dated by some rather minor things such as the music; it's distinctly 80s and there's also some oddly placed flashback sequences that are a bit corny.

[sidehacker]

Gespenster (Christian Petzold, 2005) - 9/10 - September 1st

Recently I began looking for a film that I knew absolutely nothing about in hopes of it completely blowing me away and this easily succeeded in doing so. It's a bit too short and even then there's an annoying b-plot about a crazy French mom which gets too much screen time but somehow it's one of the best portraits of a really fucked up romance. Not only is there totally breathtaking long tracking shots of people walking (I guess I just like that) but there's also some of the best performances I've seen in such a recent film. Sabine Timoteo, in particular, is really amazing. The scene where Toni and Anna attend the casting call (?) could have easily broken the film's stride but it works as one of the most memorable and heartbreaking moments I've ever seen.

[sidehacker]

The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael (Thomas Clay, 2005) - 7.5/10 - September 1st

At least least I think I like it. Before getting into the now infamous ending (at least at the IMDB message board) I've got to point that is an amazingly well crafted film. There's a lot of transition fades that don't really go well with the film's minimalist attitude. Clay's camera is in such a way that gives it a sort of "view of God" sort of feeling. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but technically speaking, that's pretty impressive. There seems to be some sort of didactic and stupid social statement, though. Somehow I think it's implying that the current war leads to alienated teenagers and drugs? For a film of this (technical) caliber to be powered by such a silly and stupid message doesn't seem right, though so I guess I'll just ignore that for now. The rape scene itself is definitely hard to watch...as it is intended but it's interrupted by war footage or something? Yeah, what the hell? Okay, there has GOT to be some really dumb political message hidden somewhere here. I think the fact that the actual violent act is hard to watch is proof of how effective it is. But all of this just adds up to some dumb concept. If Clay is implying that teens do drugs and then become evil people who randomly and violently rape people, well that's just the dumbest idea ever. Of course, if I was positive that this was the film's message (or even if I knew that there WAS a message) it would get a significantly lower score. Somehow I'm convinced that something so skillfully crafted and emotionally absorbing can't be so heavy-handed.

[sidehacker]

Death by Hanging (Nagisa Oshima, 1968) - 5/10 - September 2nd

I guess I just really wasn't "feeling" this or whatever. I suppose on some level I could say that I was disappointed but the whole experience seemed completely average and unexciting to me. Within the first five minutes my hopes had basically been lifted out from underneath me. It's not that this film is bad, it's sort of like a halfway point between Oshima's more camera driven stuff and his later (more) formal stuff. The style doesn't really bother me and the setup actually sounds really great on paper but somehow it just doesn't work. Two hours of ten dudes talking about dealing with the failed execution. The film is funny, and I suppose that's what it's known for but by the end of it all, I didn't care. The film never goes anywhere, literally. I never felt anything for the characters but instead, I was only mildly entertained by them.

[sidehacker]

12:08 East of Bucharest (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006) - 6.75/10 - September 2nd

Pretty good but it could have been a lot better. The film starts out quite promisingly as it feels like a much lighter maybe even deadpan version of Werckmeister Harmonies. I would probably call it deadpan surrealism, even. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how mature the humor was. Perhaps it was the very glossy visual style that congers up images of Jeunet's Delicatessen but I expected the humor to be really silly and over the top. Maybe this has become the sort of bad standard being set by Hollywood-approved foreign films. Whatever, that's a topic for another time. I was really loving the film until midway through, almost out of nowhere it completely falls to a terrible death. Three guys talk about the Romanian revolution, there's some personal stuff that's thrown in that's suppose to make it enticing but it's nearly enough to keep up the momentum.

[sidehacker]

Vive L'Amour (Tsai Ming-liang, 1994) - 8.5/10 - September 3rd

Yup, it's definitely fantastic. Maybe Tsai's moodiest film or, at the very least, the one with the least amount of dialogue, even though his films are usually quiet. I think the reason I don't rate it higher is that I think for what Tsai is trying to accomplish he should have waited a little longer. It's beautiful by the 'normal' standards but by Tsai's it's kind of disappointing. It might just be the print but the cinematography doesn't live up to the rest of the film. The colors feel very watered down and not vivid like they are in What Time is it There? It's still a brilliant film, though. Lee Kang-sheng is great, as always, as Hsiao-kang. Yang Kuei-Mei's performance especially in the final scene is amazing.

[sidehacker]

Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986) - 10/10 - September 3rd

The Boys from Fengkuei was definitely a step in the right direction for Hou but this right here is a total masterpiece. It's ironic that I watched this right after Vive L'Amour which, while great, did feel a bit dated. However, this came eight years prior and seriously feels and looks as modern and fresh as any other film I've ever seen. Maybe not as visually accomplished as something like say Bliss but it's really close and again, it was made more than 20 years ago! Narratively the film gets mixed a few times. There's a few times where the camera tends to linger on boring, silly old townsfolk but when the film is at it's best, that is when it focuses on the relationship between Wan and Huen it's unbeatable. I'd hate to make a review full of big, overblown statements but this is, in my mind, the greatest cinematic love story...ever. Of course, the film's subtle yet heartbreaking ending is fantastic but it wouldn't mean as much as it wasn't for the interaction between the couple in the first act. The looks and faces that they give each other speak volumes about the actual relationship and flesh out the characters in a way that no amount of dialogue could ever do. There's one scene in particular, towards the beginning when they're talking with all of their friends that for some small reason completely got to me. I can really only explain the glance that Wan gives in this scene as "shy" but that's definitely oversimplifying it. I really can't say enough about this film.