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Reviews
Shi (2010)
Looking for the poetry in life
What a wonderful film! To give my personal answer to one interviewer's question "Do you regard cinema, too, to be a dying form?" to the director Lee Chang-Dong. I believe (and deeply hope) that as long as films like Poetry are being made cinema will continue to flourish because it is important. It will continue to exist as long as humans exist because they are about being human. I was struck by how masterfully two sides of our humanness were presented in the film. On the one hand, it is about our search for beauty, as beauty can only be experienced if something of our own potential beauty responds to the beauty around us. There is something spiritual in this as Beauty and Truth are essentially one. On the other hand, there is the human predicament. That includes the pro and cons of the fact that we always have the choice to decide if we act ethically or not. That means if we actually say Yes to what is intrinsically our positive potential, or we say No and harm others, our environment and as a kind of end result, ourselves. What for me links the two is impermanence. Old age, illness and suicide as it is shown in the film. "Everything that is born will have to die" goes a very old Buddhist saying, and that happens no matter if we like it or not. At the same time, would we experience beauty if everything was to exist forever? Is it not because a beautiful flower grows out of a very simple looking seed in spring and then withers away after some weeks that it can become so precious to us? Without impermanence there is, one could say, by definition no beauty. Both are somehow the two sides of the same metaphorical coin. The same is true about this film. It still lingers on in my heart and mind weeks after I saw it. Very much like a true and wonderful poem, for example Rainer Maria Rilke's First Duino Elegy. It is is just about that, the wonder and horror of beauty.
Don't Look Now (1973)
Watch it! The new released copy will be soon at the cinemas.
I was lucky enough to be at the Curzon Soho for the world premier (what a big word) of the new copy of this British masterpiece. I don't want to say much about the story. The ones in the know haven't forgotten it since its first release, and the others will find enough information on the net.
I saw the film for the first time in the late 70's, I think. Some of the pictures from the scenes in Venice are still in my mind today. That says a lot for me about the great cinematography, the locations, the brilliant directing, the excellent screenplay, and, last but not least, the wonderful acting of all the actors involved. One can't imagine anymore that somebody else than Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland could have played the couple who had lost their daughter. Both made one of the very best films of their career. This is also thanks to Roeg, of course, who has, as he told us, his own way to include the spur of the moment and whatever will happen on and off the set in a creative way. Thus the movie, a piece of art in this case, can take on its own life. This reminds me a lot of musical improvisers, certain painters and other artists, especially the really good ones, I have to add.
When I found out that Nicolas Roeg and his writer Allan Scott would attend the new release screening I had immediately to get a ticket. When does one have the chance to see Nic Roeg in public and even to ask him questions? In the early days of his career he worked, for example, with David Lean. Since then he has become one of the great masters himself, with a number of masterpieces under his belt. The film critic who shared the discussion mentioned six masterpieces Roeg has done in a row. Don't Look Now being one of them. According to the critic this is unparalleled in film history, and they are all very much worth seeing.
Apart from the hairstyles, as Allan Scott said, the film still looks surprisingly fresh. And I have to agree with him. I can only highly recommend seeing Don't Look Now yourself, if you haven't seen it already or, like me, if you want to see an unforgettable film once more.
L'enfer (2005)
My top favourite in recent years
After seeing this great film on the big screen I had to think of the composer Salieri as shown in the film "Amadeus" (based on Peter Shaffer's play). There he says about the perfection of Mozart's music that it would neither be possible to take one note away nor to add one. The same applies for me to "L'enfer"/"Hell". From start to finish every detail is absolutely spot on. There was no question for me if I should buy the DVD when it came out or not. It has a special place in my collection and I show/see it only with friends who really can appreciate a good and meaningful film with depth to it.
When looking at the information on this website about the writers of the film I can see why often giving credits to the writing can be problematic. As the DVD has as an extra background information and clips about the making of L'enfer I seem to remember from it that the fantastic director had a lot of input into it. At least one of the main actresses commented that he actually recreated the script and made it his own. Though he might not have done this in written form his handwriting is all over the end-product. This, and also in many other ways as you can find out when you watch the DVD extras yourself, makes it such a beautiful "round" piece of art.
Art is done by artists, and therefore great art is created by great artists. This director belongs definitely to the latter. He didn't even attempt to make it a "Kieszlowski film". Much better, he made it absolutely his own. Kieszlowski would have been proud of it (what, on the other hand, I unfortunately can't say at all about the "prequel" Heaven by my fellow country-man Tom Tykwer). For me it is therefore also the best memorial for that great and important Polish director who died so prematurely.
Two Lovers (2008)
A really well made film
Before I decided to go to the cinema tonight in order to see this movie I read Jonathan Romney's review on The Independent's website. That really good piece of journalist writing convinced me that it would be worth spending the money and sitting for two hours in a dark room with the occasional rustling of candy paper behind me. I had to laugh when I read the sub-headline of his article: "Chased by both Gwynnie and Vinessa, and he thinks he's got problems ..." That actually also characterises the only little weakness I can see in the film, the Hollywood leaning that two such beautiful and, each in their own way, rare women are at the same time, again each in her own way, interested in the man Joaquin Phoenix plays.
I can highly recommend reading the article. Apart from what I just said I don't have anything to add to it. The whole cast, the writing, and anything else are just right. Only one thing at the end, and also in this I agree with Jonathan Romney: Mr Phoenix, don't give up acting!