Nekojiru-so (Cat Soup)

Stream-of-consciousness surrealism in the vein of early Buñuel.  Absurd, amusing and disturbing.  Rating: 8

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The Birth of a Nation

Of course I knew this was going to be racist, but whoa.  This is the most racist and vile thing I’ve ever seen.  It’s simply jaw-dropping.  At first I thought, “Well, this isn’t so bad” but from one scene to the next it just gets worse and worse.  This makes Gone With the Wind look like an NAACP-sponsored production.  I can appreciate what the movie means to film history (and I have to admit it was even entertaining to a degree), but holy shit.  There’s no way I’m giving this a good rating.  A monument to hate, ignorance, lies, and bigotry.  Rating: 1

IMDb

Blackboard Jungle

Well, this is the last of the Warner Brothers “Controversial Classics” set.  I don’t really know why I decided to watch them all, but none of them were horrible and I even discovered one movie that I like very much (Americanization of Emily).

I was warned that Jungle would seem dated, and it is, but only in the details.  I think a lot of this stuff is still relevant… teenagers are always little delinquent assholes, and always will be.  Even though it was the same kind of hackneyed “bold teacher makes connection with difficult kids” nonsense that gets done way too often, there were a few nice surprises.  I didn’t expect such candid treatment of racial issues, for instance.  I also appreciated that the teacher wasn’t so amazing that everyone ends up on his side.  None of the performances were noteworthy, but Poitier was pretty good (better than a lot of his later work, actually).  Rating: 6

IMDb

Errol Morris double-header

Gates of Heaven

Big disappointment.  The film seems to be mocking and condescending towards its subjects, but I don’t find it amusing.  I think it’s sweet that these folks want to remember their pets.  It’s also filmed in a very tedious manner, almost entirely talking heads.  Rating: 4

Errol Morris is 2 for 4 with me.  Let’s see how he does with Thin Blue Line….

 

The Thin Blue Line

Much better!  A really horrifying story of the failure of our justice system.  The story does have a happy ending, but it occurred after (and probably because of) the film’s release.  The re-enactments and Philip Glass score make this a much more engaging film.  Rating: 8

Land of Silence and Darkness

One of the most horrifying things to me is the thought of being deaf and blind.  Herzog shows several people dealing with this isolation, with varying degrees of success.  The central figure, Fini, copes quite easily, communicating with the help of a translator who taps out a remarkably simple series of movements on her hand to indicate certain consonants and vowels.  Others fare not so well, especially the unfortunate Vladimir who never received proper training.  He’s a haunting character, and slightly reminiscent of another Herzog subject, Kaspar Hauser.

All of the scenes are interesting, but most of them are carried out too long, well beyond the point where they have anything further to offer.  This gives the movie an overlong feel, despite its rather short running time.  Rating: 7

IMDb

Mind Game

Holy crap.  This movie is completely insane, and yet manages to stay grounded in a logical narrative.  This is mind-melting animation that captures the wild kaleidoscope of life with wit and style and boundless imagination.  A really original and rewarding experience.  I’d like to read the comic this was based on.  Rating: 9

IMDb

Ashes and Diamonds

This is supposed to be one of the great Wajda films, but it’s my least favorite of the three I’ve seen.  Too political for my tastes, and most of it is dull as dirt.  Nice lighting and framing, though.  Rating: 6

IMDb

Sherlock Holmes in The Spider Woman

Just can’t get enough of Holmes lately.  This one is a hodge-podge of original material and elements from several classic Doyle stories.  Short on mystery, it’s more of a cat-and-mouse game, playing out much like a 007 story, or an episode of the campy “Batman” show.  The wartime flavor to the climax is an interesting touch.  This time around Watson isn’t as much of a buffoon as in other installments in the series, though the scene with the entomologist is painful.  Rating: 7

IMDb

All About Lily Chou-Chou

A stunning, thoughtful exploration of the confusion and cruelty of budding adolescence.  The soundtrack is superb, a mix of ethereal J-pop and languid Debussy pieces.  And the cinematography is quite nice too, though the handheld section in the middle goes on a bit too long and threatens to unhinge the film.  The “making-of” documentary reveals that the story behind the film is almost as interesting as the story within the film.  Definitely want to see more by Iwai.  Rating: 9

IMDb

The Twilight Samurai

Haven’t been in a movie mood lately, but they’re starting to stack up around here.  This film garnered a lot of accolades, including all the top honors at the Japanese Film Academy Awards.  I thought it was well-done but it didn’t really grab me.  It has the feel of a Zhang Yimou picture: quiet and sensitive, and a little bit too sappy at times.  Also the narration doesn’t work very well.  The ending is an interesting take on Heart of Darkness (or perhaps more likely, Apocalypse Now).  Rating: 7

IMDb