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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Lack of subtlety...
I don't really know why there is so much fascination in adapting famous books to the cinema language, for both filmmakers and film-viewers, specially if the book is a famous best seller one. Comparisons will take place, no doubt. 'Das Parfürm' is almost a collective part of a lot of people's memory and wakes curiosity the film itself. So, the common 'comment' after watching the film goes like "in the book it was..." or "it's not as good as the book...". Will the common film-viewer ever understand that cinema language is absolutely different than literature language (in all genres)? Anyhow, expectations are served. Jean-Baptiste is someone special since he is born, in the middle of a fish market, where the smelling was everywhere except in him. As he grows, the scents and smelling become his path for pleasure, for recognizing, for commitments. In his memories he keeps all kind of scents, even without knowing where they come from, and he tries to bring them back to reality, as perfumes. When he achieves it, he attempts to create his best perfume, moral apart, regardless of the way he does it. 'Das Parfurm', is a great manufactured film, no doubt, great scenarios, great cinematography, create custom design. The film, although basically a German production, was filmed in English, not being the first time (perhaps for an international appeal?), and not so important for the German audience (as it's common to see dubbed versions). I didn't actually mention 'good editing' among the virtues of 'Das Parfüm'. Some of the most exciting moments of the film, are when some scents call the attention of some characters (the plum girl, Baldini, Dominique, the orgy, etc), and the way the film 'tries' to show us the effect on them is with fast and short cuts, 'a-la-Hollywood', which I am not saying is bad, but it is just too rapid in the visual way, and not as subtle as a scent actually would work. A resource which is over-used lately in a lot of films is the close-up. And I guess that happens when a director finds kind of non-easy to portray a character, so, let us see at least a close-up of the actor. Again, lack of subtlety. So, I wouldn't even praise the achievement in make up in this film, only for showing us closely the noses and faces of some actors. I am not the greatest fan of Tom Tykwer, yet I think he's a good director (I liked 'Der Krieger Und Die Kaiserin' and 'Tödliche Maria'), but as a stage-director, he may lose some control on his actors, that lead us to see Alan Rickman as a flat character and Dustin Hoffman as mis-casted, Ben Whishaw is fantastic for creating and developing his own Jean-Baptiste (watch his tics) and it's hard to avoid to see him a bit overacted in some scenes. Jessica Schwartz in her short role is great, she has what is called presence, one keeps an eye on her. And the orgy's scene made me laugh for moments, I would rather have felt embarrassed. Another resource which is sometimes unnecessarily used is the voice-off. Again, lack of subtlety in 'Das Parfürm'. A couple of gags would have been enough for stating some facts (in the book a woman says that the child "doesn't smell", for instance), but trying to explain or just to state a feeling, it's just as annoying as it was in the 'Blade Runner' first version. I like voice-off in films like Wong Kar-Wai's, where the facts are stated, but the rest, is a work of the viewer... one again, lack of subtlety (perhaps Hollywood influence? in Hollywood films basically everything has to be clarified!) I am not disappointed with 'Das Parfürm', I was entertained, I enjoyed the experience, but I have to be honest by saying the typical phrase "it could've been better...". And more expectations are served, I heard someone will adapt 'El Amor En Los Tiempos De Cólera (Love In Times Of Cholera)' by García Márquez. Those are books quite different than those by Chrichton (while reading them the reader can only imagine "for this character Chrichton wants Tom Cruise, for this one he wants Nicholson...").
Días de boda (2002)
I guess that I still have a future
I was in the Lesbian/Gay Hamburg Film Festival watching this movie, for I love Dogma films and for other reasons as well. I need to say that I'm a sort of dreamer film-maker and I always say that I will do some cinema for my own pleasure. And after seeing this film I only consider: I STILL HAVE A FUTURE. Making a Dogma film is easy? Seems to be. For this director is just giving freedom to the actors: if they were bad actors, this film would have been wors than it is already. Let us take the first Dogma: Festen. Plot: in one party a lot of truth is coming out for making the celebration unforgettable and a bit uncomfortable. But Vittenberg is a good director (or he uses a good method?), and Pinzas... a good director, but... but... "Dias De Boda" is the same: in one party a lot of truth is coming out for making the celebration unforgetable and a lot uncomfortable, somehow even for the viewer. Not even the dialogs are strong enough! But that woman, Pilar Saavedra, rescues the film with her gestures, her body, her bitchy behaviour and her dancing scene, perhaps the most entertaining of the complete film. The rest: one gallega copy of Festen, with less pain, with less humour and silly arguments for making it... diferent: the party is a wedding in wich the groom hides his homo-attraction for his father in low, and one of his ex-lovers who attends the party, with the best girl-friend of the groom... some cocaine, some galleguish jokes, a lesbian auntie and a lusty old couple are part of the spices...
I enjoyed it, as I said, makes me think that I still have a future. I'll lend a dv-cam and I'll go to Northern Germany to film people having a barbecue speaking in a german dialect and then I'll ommit my name in the credits....