jmabel Reviews

The Third Generation (1979)

Undeserving of neglect

[27 July 2000]

I saw this film when it first came out, so I apologize if my recollections are a bit vague after so many years.

This film reflected Fassbinder's increasing alienation from violent German leftist grouplets such as the Red Army Faction (a.k.a. Baader-Meinhoff Gang) with which he had earlier (e.g. in "Deutschland im Herbst") shown some sympathy. Still, the film also contains its own stark critique of capitalism: in a plot somewhat reminiscent of the McCarthyist-Communist conspiracy of "The Manchurian Candidate", the "third generation" terrorist organization of the title turns out to be backed by a wealthy industrialist who backs terror in order to create the danger that will help him sell his security systems.

The film's middle-class protagonists turn to terrorism as an escape from their boring lives. And they have no idea who is financing their terrorist spree. At first it's a lark. Then they discover (surprise!) that those who live by the sword... well, you know the rest.

All that makes the film sound very heavy and serious. Actually, it's a very dark comedy. And the sequence near the end, wonderful. A vivid memory 20 years after I saw it.

Dogma (1999)

One more way of annoying the Vatican

[7/10 · 20 December 1999]

The apocalyptic comedy "Dogma" is not a consistent film. Like Álex de la Iglesia's "Day of the Beast", it starts off strong, but fades. While it maintains full speed very far into the film, the apocalyptic ending plays like (dare I say it) something out of "Clerks". But it is still worth watching.

Unlike intellectual ex-Protestants, who typically become simply secular, most intellectual ex-Catholics still feel the need to grapple with a rich maze of doctrine and dogma. (Besides "Day of the Beast", the same phenomenon can be observed in Godard's "Hail Mary"). Although a few random non-Catholic elements find their way into "Dogma" (a muse, the name "Loki"), it is a very Catholic film, little though the church will like it. Whereas Samuel Jackson's Vengeful God in "Pulp Fiction" is doubtless a Protestant God or perhaps an Old Testament God, part of the fun of "Dogma" is that is supposes an unquestionably Catholic God, then sneaks in Alanis Morisette at the end to portray a God totally unrecognizable to the Catholic tradition.

I like the idea of there being multiple factions in the fight between Heaven and Hell, an Azrael rebelling against even Lucifer, amoral angels walking the earth mired in the technicalities of dogma, seeking loopholes in doctrine, messing with the natives for lack of any other way to pass the time.

The film is visually well conceived (if never riveting - perfectly good to catch this on video), the acting is generally good (although Salma Hayek's acting falls rather short of her beauty), there are enough twists and turns to keep any but the most hyperactive mind paying attention, and (rather unusually for an American movie) it actually expects its audience to know something and to be paying attention.

Earth (1996)

Not for the lazy brained

[9/10 · 20 December 1999]

I liked this film a great deal. Medem is a wonderful director, who can take you for more of a ride with plot alone than most other directors can do with special effects: keep your brain in high gear to follow this story.

Among other twists, we are left to wonder just how much is Angel's hallucination and how much is really occurring. The only fault I can find with the film is that this is not left even more open: I'd rather not know that there is any particular reason to doubt Angel's sanity.

I loved the notion of an exterminator (named Angel, no less) sent to kill off an epidemic of burrowing insects that change the flavor of the local wine, even though he rather likes the altered taste, as do at least some of the locals. I also felt that the theme of a man being drawn carnally to one woman and equally strongly (but less physically) to another, while it has been explored often -- too often -- has seldom been explored better or in a manner more appropriate to the cinema.

Settle back with a glass of Rioja and watch it. Maybe twice.

Cows (1992)

Medem's brilliant debut

[9/10 · 20 December 1999]

With this brilliant debut film, Julio Medem placed himself almost instantly into the ranks of Spain's leading directors, along with Carlos Saura and Pedro Almodovar.

From the suspenseful footage of barefoot woodchoppers to the sprawling family rivalries to the chaos of war, Medem brings a unique vision and a sharp edge to this Basque historical saga. His later films are equally masterful, but this is the one time he chooses to grapple with the history of his Basque homeland instead of telling a contemporary and character-centered story.

The plot can be a bit tricky to follow for those unfamiliar with Spanish history, and the lush beauty of the film definitely calls more for a big screen than for video. I can't make your screen bigger, but as for the history, I may be able to help with what most confuses the typical American viewer:

The Carlists were supporters of a series of 19th century pretenders to the Spanish throne and constituted an alliance of Basque nationalists with right-wing Spaniards, allied on the basis of Catholic faith. The Carlists advocated absolute monarchy (against the ruling liberal constitutional monarchy), but were willing to grant the Basque region considerable autonomy. Later, in the Spanish Civil War, the Basque nationalists allied to the left, siding with the secular Republic (which also offered them autonomy) against Franco's centralizing fascist forces. Thus to be a Basque nationalist family over the span of this history led to some paradoxical alliances over time.