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minkvill
Reviews
Kirschblüten - Hanami (2008)
the blossoms are beautiful because they only last a few days
this was a very unexpected surprise tonight on Sunday night TV here on SBS Australia. I started watching it knowing nothing about it, but liking the quiet observational style. At the first ad-break I checked the IMDb rating, and decided it must be worth watching. Well it certainly was. Beautifully gentle and sad as well. This movie had it all - the beautiful Bavarian countryside, then a bit of Berlin with the somewhat uncomfortable children having to put up with the sudden visit of their parents, for why (only the mother knew). Then to the Baltic Sea, where against all expectations mother leaves the film and father must continue on. Then against all his normal routine Dad goes off to visit 'favourite son' who works in Tokyo. As Tokyo is one of my favourite cities to visit this was wonderful to see the daily routine of the city on film. And yes homeless people do live under canvas in Ueno Park because I have seen them - I was quite shocked when I realised what all those blue tarpaulins/tents were for. The film ends in Hakone/Mt Fuji. And there was the only disappointing note in this beautifully observed film. Yes Mr Fuji-san is shy - (spoiler alert) but surely if he was dancing for/with his wife as her last wish he would be FACING Mt Fuji not away from it? (sad truth that the camera could not be in 2 places at once though). That minor point aside, I loved this. Not having been influenced by what others have written, I will now read some of them!
(2nd time around - Aug.11) Happened to see (most of) this on TV again last without initially realising what it was, namely that I had already seen it. It was just as pleasing the second time around. It has such a gentle touch this movie and it is simply and emotionally charming in a distinctive way. Rudi does not have to say much at all for us to sympathise with his situation and the actor does this so well. The butoh girl is such an interesting and charming ingenue sort of contrast - the relationship with Rudi could have been somewhat creepy but it seems quite natural the way it develops. My own intersections with places in Tokyo/Hakone also give this film a personal resonance which heighten the experience of watching it.
El espinazo del diablo (2001)
a ghost and a civil war
I saw Pan's Labyrinth at the movies - then again on TV - a couple of years ago. When I began watching this on SBS TV in Australia at midnight I had not checked the guide for the actual title of the movie - quickly did this on IMDb while the titles rolled (very impressive they were too) and realised that as a del Toro film I had better watch it as the ratings sounded good. Everyone else has told you the story - but as there are no recent reviews they do not mention Pan's Labyrinth, which is del Toro's most recent film shown in Australia any way (I don't count the Hellboys in this as they are not in Spanish and I have not seen them). OK "ghost story" is a convenient tag but it sounds a bit cheap for this sort of quality film - and so far removed from the hack American films of that type which the genre suggests. Having already seen Pan, which is also set in the Civil War and has some vicious moments which reflect the period, but is overall more of a "fantasy" (those tags again) it was interesting to see this. They are more than similar in mood and atmosphere - with Pan I went along with the atmosphere and feel more than the story. The photography here is also great and the music/sound is wonderfully atmospheric and makes you really jump at a couple of points (someone already mentioned the hiding in the cupboard scene). The way it is set from the children's' point of view is interesting - although not really a film for children! All in all a very good effort - not perhaps entirely a masterpiece for me as for some other 10's - but I liked it a lot and can recommend it to followers of del Toro's work (now that I have seen two!).
Dans la ville de Sylvia (2007)
flawed artistic genius?
I saw this at the Sydney Fim Fest today and it was the third film in a row I saw, so that's maybe why I struggled to keep my eyes open :-) This film had such good ratings, especially all the 9's and 10's, that I decided to see it. Perhaps 3 out of 10 is a little harsh - I can see how Guerin's vision is unique in terms of creating the voyeuristic experience. There is virtually no dialogue so we are only left with the visual, which is relatively repetitive - and the sound, or often the lack thereof - once again repetitive and almost trance inducing, all those foot steps and the same extras. I'm going to go with the shallow end of the gene pool and call it "boring" - which is pretty trite considering that Guerin obviously thought a lot about how this film was going to be made and it is somewhat unique in that sense, I will give him that.... Most directors don't make such alienatory films.