Change Your Image
lordahl
Reviews
Parfum (2018)
Absolutely Gorgeous Visuals With Disappointing Story
This series is worth a watch . . . even with my 6 star rating. The visuals and cinematography are top notch. The show takes places in and around Essen, in Germany. Though the producers would have you believe that everyone in Essen lives in $2 Million perfectly preserved midcentury modern houses, the series has a pronounced, though not entirely realistic or relatable, visual flair. The series alternates between vibrant, saturated colors and filtered, unsaturated colors to hi-light the dreariness of many of the scenes, and somber themes throughout. There are some odd visual choices -- such as the "flashback" scenes which have an impossibly thick sepia/noise effect (to make them look like old footage) that is really just distracting.
As for the story, the first couple of episodes are ensnaring. As the first season goes on, however, it starts to become more farce than it is straight fiction. People behave in ways that defy logic, explanation, or coherence to the characters' established personalities.
Aspects of the story are well woven, and aspects are completely inexplicable and only serve to detract from the whole. The bottom line, however, is that the stark, often hauntingly beautiful visuals combined with the initially enthralling storyline are probably worth a watch. Just don't get your hopes too high.
The Gatekeepers (2012)
Fascinating
This documentary has almost nothing to do with the intricate details of the decades-long Israel/Palestine conflict. It makes almost no attempt at summarizing the history of the conflict. Being an American with a passing knowledge of the conflict, I had some idea of the events being talked about, but I lacked any sort of concrete internal time line of the conflict or anything of that nature.
But that's not the point of this documentary. The various events and tragedies of the conflict are used as conversation points to elicit from the former heads of Shin Bet their moral, ethical, and emotional viewpoints on war and anti-terrorism. The viewer gets to see, first hand, the personal struggles that go on inside the minds of men charged with a nearly impossible task: eradicating terrorism while attempting not to become terrorists themselves.
We see that certain interviewees struggled to no end with the morality behind killing captured terrorists, collateral damage, and military operations that may or may not have been legal under military law. One interviewee appears to operate under the assumption that killing terrorists is always justified, whereas another takes a step back and acknowledges that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist.
If these types of thorny issues discussed on a personal, sometimes emotional, level do not interest you, then this film is not for you. If you are looking for a war documentary, this is not for you. If you are looking for politicized documentary, this is not for you.
This is a long series of interviews with Shin Bet decision-makers, punctuated only by brief explanations of the events upon which the interviewees are questioned. The viewer sees elements of compassion, struggle, helplessness and even sociopathy in the responses elicited.
Most of all, these men are all human, discussing their actions and decisions on a human level. Their final conclusions act as a fitting conclusion to the film. Even if you hate these men, or disagree with what they have to say, this film is the essence of well-made documentary.
*As a side note, some will argue that this film displays a pro-Israeli stance. However, any film which interviews the commanders of a certain armed force will inevitably present that side's viewpoint. This documentary is not sold as anything but what is -- interviews with the men in charge of Shin Bet.
Somm (2012)
A Reality TV Show Pretending to Be a Documentary
This is really one of the worst documentaries I have seen in a while. It has the feel of a 30-minute reality TV show about four guys who have to take a test, but stretched out to two hours.
Generally speaking, a documentary should do one of two things (or both): (1) expand a person's knowledge of a subject; and/or (2) create a bond between the viewer and the subject so as to convey some sort of overriding message.
This film does none of that. It's four guys studying a lot, and then interviews with their wives and S/O's.
The film does not even begin to educate viewers about wine, wine provenance, or wine tasting. Despite devoting what seems like endless periods of time showing the four guys studying up on wine geography, for example, the film does not provide the viewer a brief explanation of the major areas in world where wine grapes are grown.
Similarly, we are exposed to dozens of shots of tasting sessions where the somm's use all kinds of technical jargon to describe wine -- and not once does the film attempt to convey to the watcher what any of it means.
Being a bit of a wine enthusiast, I picked up some of the meaning. But as a documentary? This thing is terrible. It's four guys who work in the wine industry and love wine who study for a big test. If they fail the test? They take it again next year.
By the end of the film, the viewer does not care about the guys, the test, or anything else. When I studied for the bar exam, I did not video record myself doing so because it lacked any sort of entertainment value. One wonders why the same restraint was not exhibited by the filmmakers here.