Z_cm Reviews

The Bridge (I) (2006)

Superficial take on suicide.

[4/10 · 18 June 2007]

The premise of this movie is simple: cameras recorded people walking on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, for a whole year. Some of those people committed suicide by jumping off the bridge and their last moments were recorded on film. Relatives and friends of some of the jumpers were interviewed. One survivor also gives his testimony. That's "The Bridge" in a nutshell.

Aside from the morbid fascination of watching people plummet to their deaths and the dramatic jump at the end, this movie really doesn't add much to the discussion about suicide. The testimonials don't say anything that common sense wouldn't already let you know. There is no analysis whatsoever of the phenomenon and they tackle the names of the jumpers and a few (rushed) statistics at the end of the movie because the movie itself doesn't elucidate you about anything. It basically says that a) these people had personal demons of their own and b) they committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. I think I didn't need to watch this movie to be aware of this.

If not for the lack of discussion of the subject and the MTV-styled ending, this could've been a very interesting movie (the premise sure is). I felt disappointed after watching it, because it wasn't even that shocking (considering that we all witnessed unfortunate people tumbling down on live television during the WTC attacks) and it didn't seem to have a message that would reveal something new, a new angle on the topic of suicide, something that would make me think about it in a different light. If the point was to give faces to the anonymous people who died there, it even did poorly in that respect, I didn't feel like I knew that much about these people afterwards. The one thing that I did like is that, for the most part, the interviews were very dignified, they didn't resort to turning it into a melodramatic sob fest. The suspense of the footage following different people, walking back and forth and making you think "will this person jump or move along?", was also effective.

About the controversy of the filming process, I'd think that by now we would all be used to having other people's privacy exploited for profit and voyeuristic demands. It makes me wonder if the people who committed suicide would be bothered by it or if they'd approve of having their final message to the world made public, for all to see.

I'll See You in My Dreams (2003)

Disappointing

[5/10 · 29 May 2005]

There was quite a buzz around this movie because it's the first zombie film to be produced in Portugal, so naturally, I was a little curious about it too. When I finally got a chance to see it I was really disappointed. It's only 18~20 minutes long, the special effects aren't as great as they seemed from the promos (the zombies mostly look like they're wearing crude rubber masks) and apart from two small plot twists the movie itself is a bit boring.

The movie is backed up by a mock documentary about a certain Eurico Catatau, supposedly the first Portuguese director to attempt filming a zombie movie in Portugal and author of the script that inspired "I'll see you in my dreams". We follow his life from birth to present time, his strange tragedies that sway him away from greatness and force him into a meager existence as a highway toll worker. (Eg: his childhood phobia to frogs causes his longtime partner to suffocate on the set while filming his zombie movie, which causes the production to stop!) The documentary's film-makers do a really good job at making it sound credible -- despite the incredible circumstances of Eurico's biography; many Portuguese celebrities speak about Catatau, when and how they got to know him. It really sounds like this man existed, but it's pure fiction! At least that's what the documentary's director stated in the making-of. This documentary is actually the most enjoyable part of the film's viewing experience. It's amusing and almost heart-breaking, especially if you don't know that this Eurico Catatau never existed, because then he takes a very real human form (the power of cinema, I suppose!) The film proper has, as mentioned above, two interesting twists. First, the zombie-killing hero, who looks like an unlikely roughed-up farmer, keeps his "zombiefied" adulterous wife locked-up in his house. The possibilities of the "love triangle" later formed could've been explored, but they're not. Second, when things get difficult, our hero says "screw the girl!" and tosses her into a mob hungry of zombies to try to save his own life! This scene was so unexpected that it made me laugh really hard! The ending is nice too, but the movie is so short and, if not for those two points, it would be almost worthless. If you're a big zombie film fan, you've seen better and this won't satisfy you.

But we can only applaud the director and everyone who participated in this movie (unpaid actors and all...) for trying to release such a film in a market that has no place for it. I doubt this will create a horror industry in Portugal, but the effort is commendable!

Stanley and Us (1999)

very entertaining!

[6/10 · 28 March 2005]

This indie-style documentary follows the journey of three Italian guys with an obsession for director Stanley Kubrick, who, in the narrator's words, they consider to be our century's Goethe. Without a defined plan, they crash in London and start making calls to interview people connected to Kubrick and his films. Their on-going struggle with budget limitations doesn't keep them from getting closer and closer to the figure of the director and slowly they make their way into the Fort itself, Stanley Kubrick's home.

Watch them as they hear the news of Stanley's death, as they try to get a place at an exclusive preview of "Eyes Wide Shut" and as they find themselves talking to studio big-shots with over-the-top personalities. Apart from the human interest angle (of the troubles of these friendly obsessive fans trying to make their documentary), the interviews of this hour long documentary present a serious portrait of the director and his films, through the words of those who worked with and were closest to him. Note that not all the interviews are part of this film. The authors collected a total of over forty interviews of which only segments made it to the final cut. The whole bulk of the interviews, seven hours and a half long, was cut up into 30 episodes aired on RAI (the Italian television network). I haven't seen these episodes myself (although I've seen the film more than once), but I'm sure they must be as interesting and entertaining as the film, if not more. Even though I enjoyed "Stanley and us", I couldn't help feeling that the material was cut short and could've gone a bit further in shedding some light over Kubrick's life and legacy, so I'd like to see the episodes. Finding them is another story... In any case, this is an interesting and, again, very entertaining film, especially for other Kubrick fans, no doubt.

Branca de Neve (2000)

one of the most interesting movies of the past couple of years, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

[6/10 · 1 October 2004]

João César Monteiro was known for his excruciatingly lengthy movies and awkward humour, but nothing could prepare both the audiences and the critics for his outrageous 'Branca de Neve'! A huge debate followed its debut, it has been labeled everything, from a masterpiece to a fraud and four years later it still angers and baffles a great deal of people. The first shocker is the movie itself. All of us have heard of and may recall with fondness the silent movie era, but 'Branca de Neve' introduces us to the 'radiophonic movie' concept, that is, a movie that has no image at all! Most of the movie leaves the viewer staring at a monotonous black canvas, interrupted only by a few occasional and might I add, very brief still shots. The story itself is an adaptation of Robert Walser's 'Schneewittchen' and the dialog between the characters happens in complete darkness, like a radio play. But a very strangely acted one, like some weird cross between the melodramatic characters of 'Frei Luís de Sousa' and some cheap soap opera.

The outcome is bizarre and in my opinion truly unbearable. I have sat through César Monteiro's 'Comédia de Deus' and laughed at his 'Bodas de Deus' but I couldn't bear to watch the whole movie. Believe me, I tried! I have no problem with slow paced movies, Andrei Tarkovksy and István Szabó are two of my favorite directors, but 'Branca de Neve' is the ONE movie that crushed my will, and in accordance with a famous Hitchcock quote, the endurance of my bladder! This movie is practically unwatchable. But does it really matter?

Which brings us to the second part of the controversy raised by this movie: the art versus entertainment debate. I remember reading an article reviewing this movie that referred to it as 'a mindf***'. And indeed it is! It's like the director wanted to tease us, play with our conceptions and prejudices, defy our notion of what a movie is or should be. I'll give it credit for that, it's a very provocative movie, but again, it's unwatchable, maybe it's a piece of 'higher art', but, as movies go, it's a terrible movie in all respects.

The first question that popped into my mind when I realized the movie had no image was the budget issue, because this movie was sponsored by ICAM, that is, with the tax-payers' money. Where did the money actually go to? There's practically no camera work, unless you discount the lonesome two or three images here and there. The cast is small and all they needed was a recording studio to act out their lines. What happened to the funds? It just adds to the outrage!

So I have mixed feelings about 'Branca de Neve'. I like the concept and the thought that César Monteiro, in the true spirit that always made his movies so provocative, is trying to mess with our brains, gloves off, in a very unsanitary way. But this movie may be pushing the 'trying to be too artsy for its own sake' edge. I also think it was a terrible waste of resources, ICAM's sponsorship could've been spent in other ways, especially since money seems to be an issue as of late.

Final word: do watch this movie if you can and even if you can't endure the whole thing. If you are amused by it or if you feel insulted, I'm sure João César Monteiro will be pleased, wherever he may be. And should this fail to satisfy you, well, there's always Walt Disney's.