Kanchenjungha (rewatch)

Definitely liked this one more the second time around.  Although it doesn’t have the emotional “punch” of Ray’s other films, it doesn’t need it.  The structure makes it interesting, and it’s supported by subtle performances (except maybe Arun Mukherjee, whose portrayal of Ashok is a bit too golly-gee), a very good script, and more of Ray’s terrific scoring.  I like how it explores three relationships in different stages of crisis: Labanya is quietly resigned to her fate, Anima lashes out against hers, and Monisha nervously dreads what she foresees hers to be.  And there’s a running sub-theme about the impact of Westernization, reflected in the characters who embrace it and those who rebel against it.  I do prefer Ray when he’s more lively, so this’ll never be one of my favorites, but I appreciate it for what it is.  Rating: 8

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Teen Kanya (rewatch)

Revisiting Ray’s trio of short Tagore adaptations.  “The Postmaster” is a sublime piece of economical filmmaking that works as both a heartbreaking drama and an incisive socio-political allegory.  Ray should have worked with children more often, he always got such good performances out of them, often emphasizing their tragic inability to influence their own lives.  “Monihara” really drags things down, and I still think the international version (“Two Daughters”) that excises this story is a more satisfying experience, and at two hours is a good length.  Adding a 50-minute ghost story about greed in the middle, especially one with such a ho-hum payoff, just sours everything.  “Samapti” is a little light and simplistic (and does have, as Pauline Kael puts it, “some defects of rhythm”) but it’s one of Ray’s most charming stories.  Using a swing to represent the struggle between freedom and entrapment is a device he would use much more famously in Charulata, but it’s quite poetic here as well.  I also have to add that for Ray’s first attempt at scoring his own film, the music is really wonderful, especially during the final story.  Rating: 8

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The Stooge (rewatch)

This is one of the Dean & Jerry pictures I’d seen before and it’s one of the better ones.  Instead of plopping them in some hackneyed scenario, it’s more a reflection of their actual careers… almost prophetically so.  Martin’s a so-so crooner whose career only flourishes when teamed with the hilarity of Lewis.  And then Dino’s massive ego (and his alcoholism) gets in the way, and he tries to go it alone, making a schmuck out of himself.  This movie is a little lighter on the comedy than the others (although Jerry’s Chevalier impersonation is a hoot) but it’s balanced out by the fine screenplay, a few genuinely good tunes, and a handful of terrific character actors.  Rating: 7

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Jumping Jacks

Getting back into the Jerry Lewis stuff.  Here we see Dean & Jerry in military service for the third time, in this case as paratroopers.  Standard formula, and even though it’s Jerry-centric, the gags just aren’t that great.  Nothing about it is awful though.  Rating: 5

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Adieu Philippine

A young camera assistant at a television studio has two months before he’s going to be called up into military service.  He meets two girls and spends his days with them, while they all try to figure out who’s wooing who.  If I had to pick one film to explain what “French New Wave” is to someone, I think I might pick this one.  Although mostly forgotten now (and Rozier’s name rarely gets uttered among those like Godard and Truffaut, even though they both lavished praise on this film), it fully embodies the nouvelle vague and all its characteristics.  Rejection of old studio methods, location shooting, youth-oriented, pop culture, modern music, minimal plotting with more focus on episodic “moments”, improvisation, experimental techniques (especially jump cuts).  It’s a perfect example.  Which isn’t to say it’s a perfect movie… it seems to run out of gas at times, wallowing in certain dead spots for a little too long.  And the acting isn’t that hot… of the three principal actors, this was the only role for two of them, and the third only did a few other things.  But it’s mostly a lot of fun and very charming.  Rating: 8

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Two for the Road

I tried watching this several years ago, but I shut it off for some reason.  If I recall correctly, I was put off by how mean-spirited it was.  But I can’t imagine why, it really isn’t.  It shows both the ups and downs of marriage, in a very clever multi-threaded flashback structure.  Skipping freely over time from road trip to road trip allows Donen to draw parallels, establish patterns, point out coincidences and set up amusing juxtapositions.  And he’s not afraid to undercut a sweet recapitualtion by immediately following it with another harsh confrontation.  Finney and Hepburn are both terrific in their exchanges (including a particularly witty moment where the audio of their argument is mimicked in the visual of another couple arguing in a shop window).  As a side note, I was giddy to see William Daniels in a minor role… his voice was instantly recognizable as Mr. Braddock from The Graduate.  What I didn’t know was that Daniels was also the voice of K.I.T.T. on “Knight Rider”!  I can’t believe I never made the connection before now.  Rating: 8

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Gigi

Kind of a poor man’s My Fair Lady.  It’s a period film about a girl growing up and becoming sophisticated, it’s got a Lerner & Loewe score, it’s got a guy who can’t really sing that well so he talks through most of his lyrics (Rex Harrison/Louis Jordan).  When it doesn’t have is that magnificent quality, and doesn’t hold up as well as My Fair Lady (or other Minnelli musicals like An American in Paris or Meet Me in St. Louis).  But it does have Maurice Chevalier, delightful once again as a character both charming and pervy (few things are creepier than a 70 year-old Chevalier singing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls”).  Nothing else really stands out, but it’s all done well enough.  Leslie Caron is cute, the sets and costumes are serviceable, and if few of the songs are very memorable, at least none of them are obnoxious.  And another plus: no boring ballet sequence.  Rating: 7

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Secrets of Women (rewatch)

The thing about watching this for a second time is that you’re really just waiting for the third part.  Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Bjornstrand are absolutely magnificent, their delightful sparring is laugh-out-loud hilarious.  The first story is the most Bergmanesque, full of that bitterness he loved to explore… but it just doesn’t add up to much, and it’s territory he covered before and after in more satisfying and enlightening ways.  The second part is a step up… some of Gunnar Fischer’s photography is truly outstanding, not just the can-can scene but throughout Marta and Martin’s courtship, which contains some of Bergman’s sweetest moments.  But again, it doesn’t go anywhere and in the end seems pretty pointless.  But once you get to Dahlbeck and Bjornstrand in that elevator, all is forgiven.  Ingmar isn’t known much for his comedy, but every once in a while he really nailed it.  I’d forgotten that there’s another pregnancy in this movie… he sure was fixated on maternity in his early years.  Rating: 7

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Subarnarekha (rewatch)

My opinion has lowered just a bit on this one, mainly because I can no longer overlook Abhi Bhattacharya’s slightly over-the-top performance.  But there’s still a lot else to love.  Ghatak’s films don’t have quite the emotional impact of Ray’s, but he took a lot more chances with his work, reaching for avant-garde touches (particularly in sound design) that you rarely see in Indian cinema.  Also, there were some interesting trailers on the DVD… it’s really about time I checked out some of Mrinal Sen’s movies.  Rating: 9

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La bouche de Jean-Pierre (Parental Guidance)

A semi-short film by Lucile Hadzihalilovic.  I’ve now covered her entire short career, and neither of her two shorts come close to the brilliance and mystery of Innocence.  But this one is still pretty good.  After her mother attempts suicide, Mimi is sent to stay with her aunt, and her aunt’s creepy boyfriend.  The film is a slow boil of quiet misery and despair, culminating in a harrowing ending that comes full circle.  Gaspar Noe (Hadzihalilovic’s husband) served as cinematographer, and he indulges in one of his more annoying habits: big block letter intertitles overlapped with a thudding sound effect.  But the performances are good and it manages to deal with a sensitive subject in a non-sledgehammer manner.  Rating: 7

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