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ksarant1
Reviews
Babettes gæstebud (1987)
One for the Ages
This is the kind of movie that no one makes any more. It is totally "irrelevant" - and that's precisely what makes it of lasting excellence. See it and enter a world of genuine humanity such as you will never see in all the R-rated and Unrated "masterpieces" of the fleeting moment. This is one for the ages. A perfect comedic masterpiece.
La règle du jeu (1939)
Closest to Mozartean perfection
This is the film I usually think of as my favorite of all time. It is perhaps the closest that cinema has come to the perfection of a Mozart opera. I'm thinking of "Marriage of Figaro" and "Cosi fan Tutte" in particular as the Mozart operas most closely related to Renoir's cinema masterpiece. Like those operas, there is a masterfully proportioned blend of outrageous humor and deep pathos. It is a comedy, but it is a particularly civilized form of comedy that you will not encounter in another film, except maybe in some films of Charlie Chaplin. Above every human situation in the convoluted plot there is the all-pervading sadness for a fading civilization about to be extinguished. The ambiguities of that civilization are perfectly captured in two hours of cinematic heaven. Everything about this film is extraordinary, and I long to see it issued on DVD, and only Criterion will be able to do it justice. I hope they will turn to it soon!
What Dreams May Come (1998)
Total Disappointment
I knew before seeing this movie that it would be a mish-mash of various "new age" beliefs, so that didn't surprise me. What surprised me was the terrible "acting" and poor writing. The dialogue in this movie has to be among the worst I have seen in a major motion picture - lots of cliches and catch-phrases thrown around with no purpose, except to sound 90's. And no one, not even Robin Williams, betrays for one moment that they really believe what they are portraying or that any of it means anything. Finally, to the visual element in this movie. That was the primary reason why I went to see it, having read many glowing reviews that praised the visual aspects. That was the most surprising disappointment of all. Very few of the visuals struck me as remarkable or original. Even the scenes in "hell" were flat and uninvolving.
If anything positive can be said about this movie, it would be that it might deter someone from committing suicide. Although even there I wonder how strong a deterrent it would be, since it seems that suicides can wish themselves out of "hell"! The whole aspect of the wife's rescue from "hell" is poorly written and very unconvincing - unless it was "all in the mind", as one of the most oft-repeated catch-phrases in this movie might lead us to believe.
I can't give this movie more than a 3.