Change Your Image
lexm4
Reviews
All or Nothing (2002)
I wept like someone died
A lot of films about subject of alienation were made. I imagine there is this kind of film that would be overtly depressing and boring for first 80% of the time on purpose, just to caliberate audience's mind-set, similiar to cleaning the palate, so the final 20% would really make some impression.
Most of them failed. However for "all or nothing", after almost 2 hours of watching indifferently, near the end of the film I was crying with my whole body shaking (good thing it's an afternoon showing and only 10 ppl in the theatre). I cry like this only once 2 or 3 years, I think last time was in 1999. Yeah, I got chocked up every now and then, but not like this, this is weeping. And afterwards I felt as relax as just had s3x.
The film was unfocused for quite a while, I personally think the teenager love stories can be cut at least by half. But again I am not sure since without the seemly depressing wandering "distractions", I might not be touched as deeply as I was.
Your enjoyment is greatly depend on your experience, I suspect. To me some of the dialog is just like taken out of my family conversation when I was a kid. People worry about money and job and kids, so much so that they forgot each other's feelings.
Wo de fu qin mu qin (1999)
This is how we remember things
This film is like an old women's selective memory. (well, it is, literally) The past is being filtered and idealized via cinematic "trickery". Women were prettier, food tasted better, grass were greener. I enjoy the vivid color of women's cloth and grass on the sloping hills and things as simple as schoolyard fence.
And unpleasant political event (Cultural Revolution in China) was hardly mentioned. I understand this approach because many past chinese films are so politicalized to a point that they started to look the same. It's time to make some different kind of films.
I heard that Zhang YiMou (director) loves recent films came out of Iran. And the film certainly is a prove of that. Those snow scenes reminded me Iranian film "Time for Drunken Horses". That's a complement, because "drunken horse" got a Cannes award for photography.
Here are some minus:
1) Too much close-up. Hitchcock said "To make a good film you only need a camera and a beautiful actress" (paraphrase). It seems to me that Zhang Yimou over-did it. The camera stays on Zhang Ziyi's face ALL THE FREAKING TIME.
2) What's that music ?! Was director afraid that audience can't get the point? he plays mellow music just to ramp it through. Yeah yeah yeah I know she's heart broken, yeah yeah I know he's glad to see her again... IMHO a good film should leave interpretation to the audience.
It makes me think the director uses Titanic poster as a homage (also as contrast), not as satire. I just hope it's not the case.
Overall, 8.5 out of 10.
Fa yeung nin wah (2000)
Wonderful film
Romantic without being sentimental, sexy without a naked-love scence. Wong's film proved that human's imagination is much more powerful than anything best film maker could put on screen.
Perfect use of camera, music score, set design, give this film's simple story an irresistible rhythm. Actors come and go like tango dancing.
(Hollywood bashing ahead) Hollywood film always portrain women as wives, mothers, girlfriends not as individuals with their own need and intelligence. If they want to portrait women as individual (e.g. Bridge of Madison County), they somehow tell you flatly from viewpoint of others (e.g. "Gee, I never knew mom had a lover, I guess she was not happy with dad")
This film treat both male/female charactor as human, in fact, it doesn't show their spouse's face at all. You don't see them as husbands or wives, even they were locked in traditional moral code, instead you feel their character transcends their time, profession, marital role, hobby (reading martial-art novels), it became you. (sorry, maybe a little cliche)
It was said that this film took 15 mon. to shot, and during the time there was no script, and actors never know what role they are playing. It was also said that he was going to shot this film more like "Chungking express" style, with 2 or 3 stories, but somehow other stories ended up on the cutting room floor. (Hollywood bashing ahead) In light of more and more films are based on previously published material (TV, novel, comic book), I appreciate Wong Kar Wei's genius on created a satisfying piece fully utilized unique appeal of the art of film.
Ah fei jing juen (1990)
A film with life of its own
It made me feel like becoming a stalker, following the characters around; or it's like secretly opening other people's mail and reading their letters. Although nothing happened, somehow I was thrilled.
"While you live, nothing happens. The scenery changes, people come in and go out, that's all. There are no beginnings. Days add on to days without rhyme or reason, an interminable and monotonous addition...
But when you tell about a life, everything changes; ... events take place in one direction, and we tell about them in the opposite direction.... The story is going on backwards: moments have stopped piling themselves happy-go-luckily one on top of the other, they are caught up by the end of the story which draws them on and each one of them in turn the previous moment..." -- Jean-Paul Satre "Nausea"
If a normal film tells a story, this film makes you feel like living through it. Following the grand "French New Wave" tradition, it is as good as it gets.
Les parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
Pleasant surprise
I usually detest romantic movies. But this film totally charmed me, the most cynical person around the block. The ending is very satisfying, and the rail station scene is pure movie experience. Nostalgically I thought that bus station or airport couldn't do nearly as well as railway for romantic farewell. Amtrak could really use it as their commercial. :)
The singing stopped bothering me 5 min. after the beginning. Although other than four sentence of the main theme, no other music segment really stand out. The theme was just repeated over and over, it did annoy me a little when I re-watch it the 2nd time, as soon as I watched it the 1st time.
I thought was Ellen Farner (Madeleine) acted really well. Her first scene, first glance clearly told audience everything between her and Guy, without saying a word. Made me shake my head in envy (of her acting, not of Guy's good luck :)
Voyages (1999)
subtle film leaves for imagination
According to one of the review, the director used to be assitant director to one of Kieslowski's film. Being a fan to Kieslowski's film, I could see the influence of story construction and telling on this film.
The film is about three women, somewhat related, mostly because all the women in these stories lived in Paris before WWII. It's different from most films is that there is no urgent mission to be accomplished, or grand political/cultural statement to be made, in another word, no heros or villians. Rather, it's like looking at passing of time for people 50 years after WWII, who happens to be Holocust survivors.
When their life intersect, there is a mysticism (like from Kieslowski's "Double life of Veroniqe") that make me speculate, are they long lost relatives to each other? Of course, the answer is not important, rather, the raising of the question is enough to let you feel the impact of history on these survivors.
The acting is minimalistic, but it's very effective. It has an air of wistfulness and timelessness to it. Not for everyone, but good for me.
Heintje - Einmal wird die Sonne wieder scheinen (1970)
Finally found it
It's a children's musical movie. Similiar style is "Sound of Music", of course, latter one was more well known and well made. :P (Interesting fact, apparently sound of music is not widely known in Austria). Except that there is no dancing and this movie is actually in German.
Plot: Teenager Heintje's mother died, father wrongly accused of financial fraud and arrested. Heintje moved in with his maternal grandpa, who was a rich/stingy man with bad temper and didn't like the marriage of Heintje's parents, and thus didn't care for Heintje. 90 minutes of comedy/singing/car-chasing later, justice served, ppl fell in love, stone cried...
I watched this when I was growing up in China when I was kid (80's). Now one of my childhood friends, who is depressed and become sentimental and nostalgic (listening to light FM now, yuck!), want me to find it for him because he think it is therapeutic. This is quite a task because we only know its chinese names. I searched chinese web site to get director's name "Han Hai-En-Lee-Chie", and guessed Heinrich ...
The reason I mention this is, I guess this movie made a kid recall it 20 years later, maybe it's actually good, or maybe that kid was a retard. :) For kid under 14, okay, maybe under 10 only.
East Is East (1999)
maybe it was true in 70's
Immigrant father vs. assimilating sons. How many "american" films have I seen those? The film is funny at points, but it tried to be a serious film about father, family, social commentary etc etc. It got nothing new for me. Maybe it's something new for British ppl.
It's hard to believe an immigrant who married a local english woman, lived in England for 30+ years would be so fanatic about arrange marriage. And arranged marriage is such a watered down process now days (at least in America) it merely resembles an anonying setup date. Of course, this is not America and this is 70's england. Even though other reviews tried to explain away that the father wanted to find an identity. It's still quite ridiculous. And is there any father in the world who wanted to find their handsome sons ugly wives?
Another problem is that the film family just simply have too many sons, and it almost took whole length of the film to get to know everyone of them (the run-away, playboy, playboy-wannabe, artist, religous, kenny), forgive me I don't remember their names. The middle two or three of them have little contrast to provide different view of the father, instead they just add the confusion. I'd think playboy-wannabe and artist son can be do away with, and religous son could have more lines.
Why was the daughter charater needed? She doesn't participat in any emotional conflict, rather, she is merely a lesser version of playboy son. If she was also arranged to be married then maybe the film gets more interesting (one daughter leaving, one or two daughter-in-law coming). But I'm not making the movie.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Entertaining, not perfect
I was originally from China, so I could listen to the dialogue instead of reading subtitles, and I found Chow and Yoeh's chinese are surprisingly good, considering Yoeh doesn't read/speak Chinese (any dialect) at all. Maybe I was not hurried to read subtitle and have some time to feel unsatisfied.
Yes, the action seq. is fantastic (maybe too much wire, that depends on your taste). The scenery and music are outstanding, but something is wrong with the rhythm. From action to story telling sequence makes you feel you just drove from airport runway to a dirt road at 100 m/hr. The non-action scenes are too streched without much happening.
Since this film is so over-hyped as art film and action combined, I can not help but feeling dissapointed. It's not "Sense and Sensibility". Maybe it's just bad enough to be nominated an Oscar.
P.S. I saw it in San Jose, CA. Tampa ppl has to wait a few more weeks.
Me & Isaac Newton (1999)
not as good as NOVA
But if you don't watch PBS often, you might find this film interesting.
The film starts with seven scientists' childhoods, then goes to their professional "work", then their "Eurika" moments (or the lack of it), then every one got to say something about "future".
Every sections jump cut through all seven scientists. I sensed some discontinuities between these jumps, like half finished sentences. Maybe I completely missed the rhythm of this film, or maybe I watched too much NOVA series that I was numb to all the sweet spots this film was trying to hit.
I kept screaming silently, "I KNEW THIS ALREADY, tell me something new!". But the film never did.
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
European vs. US, bring it on
I am the first to admit I didn't see any other Trier films.
Maybe it's election year and all, but don't you just see the film is trying too hard to deliver a 'subliminal' political message? death penalty, (in)justice system, health care... After all, in european countries (and Canada) you could get an eye operation for free (despite a long waiting list). If it's an anti-american parody, it's a badly done one. (South Park style would be preferrable, Oops, excuse me :)
The melodrama is too thin to wrap the message(s). I am voting for Nader but I don't need to see a film shuffle political slogan down my throat. The US setting (community theatre, US court and jail etc) a little bit cartoonish, maybe the film could be set in 50's instead of 60's. Did I mention the melodrama?
The song and dance of Bjork almost made the film bearable, the charactor was escaping cruel reality, I was escaping non-stop handy camera motion (it made me seasick for the first 30 min.)
Bjork's acting is fine, since this is her debut. But why does Deneuve in a role Whoopi Goldberg is good at?
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Blow up the bridge already!
The one thing doesn't make sense to me is, (and I'm no military history expert), Why don't they blow up the bridge in the first place.
If everybody has a little child's voice inside of their subconscious, when it comes to movie viewing, there must be a voice of this little old country lady inside their head. Imagine this lady with her arched back, half-opened mouth, and commenting "Oh, lord, look at that. Isn't that something". I sure feel that way.
Chutney Popcorn (1999)
Maybe I am too radical
Firstly, it's a refreshing film worth watching. Indian/Lesbian twist really adds spice on an old rebellious child eloping plot.
I have some problems with some minority themed films. In these films, somehow gay/lesbian always had a brief dancing with heterosexuality, and minority character has to have conflict with mother culture by dating white guy/gal. What's up with that? Otherwise audience won't "get it"? It's almost "pandering" to mass audience.
But then others might say "otherwise it might not worked". It really depend what the author is trying to make, a "product" or an art statement or whatever is in between.
Conte d'hiver (1992)
Pascal's wager, resurrected
Rohmer's 1969 film 'Ma nuit chez Maud' had explored at great length about "Pascal's wager", which came down to the fact that people willing to bet against enormous odds to attain their life affirming gain (sorry I never read Pascal). This movie is basically a human story built around this Paradox. It did mentioned Pascal once.
I find the character of Felicie is well developed and evoke empathy from me. I was a little disappointed at the ending because it doesn't really answer my question, "... but what if I lose?"
But I guess like Checkov said the artist duty is "the correct way of putting the question". The question is well put in this film and I can't ask too much.
Very intelligent film. Since I don't speak French, at times I feel like reading a book (subtitle) rather than watching a film. But overall I highly recommend it.
La double vie de Véronique (1991)
Delicate feeling well expressed
This film has such a richness that it's enjoyable to watch it over and over again, each time I could discover some thing new about music (which is great), character etc. And every time I feel like waking up from a beautiful dream.
It's a bit hard at first to fully understand the character's feeling of "at two places at the same time". The only way I could relate is by recalling my own feeling of "Deja Vu", which is so fleeing that I suppose only French could give it a name.
I don't know how much Ms. Jacob's acting benefited from Kieslowski's directing, but result is a joy to watch. Esp. like her expressions when she asked "pourquoi?", so many times, every time is different.
It's a film has to be watched at least twice. First time just to know what happened (or didn't happen). With the expectation of a nice story out of the way, viewer could relax and just let the film take you into a dream world.
Ma nuit chez Maud (1969)
Intelligent Movie
A simple story about... (spoiler sniped)... The repeated mention of Pascal's philosophy and mathmatic of probability kept the question alive: that your faith and principle in life (religion, love, moral), is it absolute or relative, and under what kind of circumstance you would choose (or bet) against your previous convictions.
Or, put it plainly in American English, what made a good christian act like a river boat gambler and cheat on his wife. It's very vulgar this way, and the movie is much more than that.
A movie relies heavily on dialog. I particular like the way that the camera stays with one speaker of the conversation instead pan back and forth among multiple speakers (tech terms?). This draws you into the character and along with good acting, makes the movie very enjoyable.
Although in Bland and white and made in 60's, still looks fresh and provocative.