Time of the Gypsies (rewatch)

Finally got a chance to see the television version of this, one of my all-time favorites.  Divided into 5 episodes of about an hour each, it’s roughly twice as long as the theatrical edition.  There are a few really wonderful scenes added, but most of them are rather unnecessary.  The bulk of the added material seems to be further criminal exploits by Ahmed and Perhan, which kind of makes the whole thing feel even more like The Godfather (but much, much better).  It’s been 3 1/2 years since I last watched this film, so it’s hard to say which I prefer more, but I think the theatrical cut has a slight edge due to its conciseness (and it’s already a fairly long movie).  Perhaps if this ever comes out on DVD in this country, Kusturica will put together a director’s cut that includes the best excised scenes.  And I’d also love a soundtrack CD, Goran Bregovic’s score is magnificent.  Rating: 10

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Antikörper (Antibodies)

My other “mystery movie” was terrible.  “Were you expecting Hannibal Lector?” the killer asks.  Yeah, maybe, but instead I got a lame ripoff.  It’s a painfully derivative work without a fresh idea to be seen, stealing most of the ideas from Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, “Wire in the Blood”, et cetera. The “twist” is obvious from the beginning, although the OMG TWIST REVERSE I admit was a little surprising… but that didn’t make it any more satisfying.  Something shocking and disturbing happens about every 3 minutes.  But worst of all was the sledgehammer bluntness of the religious aspects.  I guess I was fairly invested in the story (as predictable as it was), and the style was well copied from just about every serial killer thing ever, but it was generally a dud.  Rating: 4

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Pretty Poison

One of a pair of “mystery movies” from my library queue tonight.  Can’t remember where I heard of it or why I wanted to see it, but I’m glad I did.  Anthony Perkins is Dennis Pitt: a slightly disturbed dreamer, just out of the institution for an arson he committed in his youth.  He seduces high school majorette Sue Ann (Tuesday Weld) by pretending to be a CIA agent, but things go haywire with a quickness.  I don’t want to give anything away, but the turn of events is quite well plotted out and develops in interesting directions.  The film also has a French New Wave aura to it at times, with the quick flashbacks and characters pretending to be something else… I definitely felt a Band of Outsiders meets Shoot the Piano Player vibe.  Weld and Perkins are playing much younger than their actual ages, and it shows, but otherwise their performances are solid.  Very intriguing little cult film.  Rating: 8

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Jean de Florette / Manon des sources

A very satisfying small-scale epic in two parts.  As in The Two of Us, Berri seems particularly interested in exposing the closed mind and nastiness of a certain breed of rural hick (a man after my own heart!) while giving them a small amount of redemption.  Things get a little goofy in the third hour (i.e., the first half of Manon) and Berri makes it far too easy to root for the heroes, but it’s generally made up for by other aspects, particularly the plot construction, Depardieu’s earnest but naive performance and the beautiful pastoral atmosphere.  After watching these on letterboxed versions from the library, I was annoyed to discover that there’s an anamorphic DVD with both films available on Netflix.  D’oh.  Rating: 8

Jean de Florette / Manon des sources

High and Low (rewatch)

In the DVD era, it’s become fashionable among self-proclaimed “cineastes” to dismiss Kurosawa.  He’s the most well-known Japanese filmmaker, his films are widely available, and he’s the first Japanese film experience for most Westerners (including myself).  It’s too EASY for him to be your favorite, it would imply that you just haven’t been looking hard enough.  It’s much cooler now to declare your love for Mizoguchi, Ozu, Suzuki or Naruse (although even those are being shunned by the hipsters lately, who are retreating to ever more obscure pastures).  I like all four of those, especially Mizoguchi, and I’ve explored a lot more Japanese cinema besides that… and one definitely should do so, there’s a whole amazing world beyond Seven Samurai.  And yet it’s still Kurosawa who tops them all, by the consistently high quality of his work.  It’s a career with remarkably few duds, and even his lows are excellent films by most standards.  High and Low is yet another in his impressive pile of Really Fucking Good Movies.  Masterfully constructed, perfectly performed, and gripping from start to finish.  Rating: 9

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Ashik Kerib

Paradjanov constructs images like no one else.  His exquisitely designed frames are like nothing else I’ve seen, the closest I can think of is Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain.  In this film, he once again provides stunning visuals rich with symbolism and tableaus unlike any other in cinema.  And the music is fantastic, too.  On a purely aesthetic level, it’s a dynamite movie.  But alas, there’s more to it than that.  The story starts out fine, a kind of “Arabian nights” fairy tale, but it loses traction in the middle and seems to go nowhere.  This draggy section makes the film feel awfully long (when it’s only 75 minutes).  Also, the actors employ a style of highly exaggerated miming with voice-over.  In a story like this, some degree of “over-acting” is expected and even appropriate, but this was frequently annoying.  Fascinating in some ways, most notably the captivating images, but hard to recommend.  Rating: 6

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Mei li de xi yi ji (The Beautiful Washing Machine)

Every now and then I’ll find a movie on the library shelf that I’ve never heard of, but looks promising.  This has led to a few major duds, but also quite a few of my favorite discoveries.  Like this one, which caught my eye with its intriguing title, and because it was released by Facets… they make shitty DVDs (this one is non-anamorphic) but they’ve got some great films in their stable.  I’m amazed at the criminally low score this has on iMDB, I guess it just hasn’t found the right audience.  It’s a funny, disturbing, unique and fascinating story about a laundry machine that suddenly produces a silent, subservient woman.  James Lee combines the patience and isolationism of Tsai (who Lee admits was a major influence), the maverick narrative sensibilities of Weerasethakul, and the gender politics of Bunuel.  The camera style (shot on digital video) is simple, but services the storytelling well.  I’m very anxious to check out more by Lee, as well as more from the “Malaysian New Wave”.  Unfortunately, that’s not going to be easy to do.  Rating: 9

IMDb

Chikamatsu Monogatari (The Crucified Lovers)

Another excellent work by Mizoguchi, much in the same vein in his other work – women oppressed by cruel masters, minor conflicts leading to cruel injustices – but it’s still distinct enough to stand out.  The story is engaging and moves swiftly, with compelling performances by Kazuo Hasegawa (of the sublime An Actor’s Revenge) and Kyôko Kagawa (who had a memorable role in Red Beard).  Really great use of traditional music as well.  Just one thing bugs me: the deck is stacked against the protagonists by the outdated laws and mores of their period.  This story is sad, but it’s not as powerful to a modern audience because it simply couldn’t happen that way anymore.  A minor quibble, I suppose, but one that was in the back of my mind.  Rating: 8

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Lost Highway

I have an odd relationship with David Lynch.  I’ve been a fan for 20 years, and he’s done no less than 5 movies that I consider to be of superior quality, including one of my all-time favorites, Eraserhead.  And yet, I’ve 1) never seen any of “Twin Peaks” besides the first episode, 2) never seen any of his work in a theater, and 3) until now, I’d never seen Lost Highway.  I intend to take care of #1 and #2 eventually, but #3 wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for.  The film is undeniably Lynchian, spinning a fascinating and enthralling web that almost, but never completely, makes sense within its own nightmare logic.  Boiling the film down to its essence, I REALLY dug it.  But I had a few problems with the execution.  First, the casting.  Bill Pullman is good, except for the fact that I can’t watch him anymore without waiting for him to launch into the “In less than an hour…” speech.  But Patricia Arquette just does nothing for me, and Balthazar Getty just seems wrong, like he doesn’t quite understand the material (yeah yeah it’s David Lynch material, but hopefully you know what I mean).  Secondly, I don’t want to sound prudish, but do we need that many sex scenes?  I think Lynch might have a little crush on Arquette’s breasts.  And the soundtrack is half wonderful and half horrible.  Marilyn Manson (who even gets a cameo) can only make things worse.  I guess it’s mainly just the casting that bugged me, the others are relatively minor complaints.  I’m on the fence, it feels like there’s another Lynch classic here, and maybe it just didn’t latch on to me the first time.  I might buy it anyway and let it grow on me more.  Rating: 7

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The Man Without a Past (rewatch)

The first Kaurismaki I’ve seen twice, mainly because it’s only one easily available in this country on DVD (at least, for the next couple of months).  Whatever else this movie is — a statement about the Finnish economic situation, a comic farce, a study of identity — it’s primarily a romance, and a very sweet one at that.  Kaurismaki has such a simple, no frills approach to filmmaking that I really enjoy.  I’ve got to check out more of Kati Outinen’s filmography besides her work with Kaurismaki, she’s always wonderful every time I see her.  Rating: 8

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