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Reviews
The Pigeon Egg Strategy (1998)
An philosophical cult classic
Complexity theory finally finds a voice in the movie industry.
Each time I saw this movie, I discovered something new. Questions about time, space, synchronicity, and culinary innovations weave through stories held together by a group of existential gangsters.
The question of time: The movie is in black and white, setting a sense of timelessness. The story develops in a non-chronological fashion, but not through flash-backs. Cleverly done, the movie challenges the linearity of time.
The question of space: Like the writer, the movie's characters have moved through different countries: Brazil, Hong Kong, Germany. Somehow, they have always been connected - even if as simply as by a piece of German ham.
It is an intellectual and philosophical treat!
Taboo (2002)
A producer's failure
The producers love to take the credit for things well done, and slip behind the guise of lack of accountability when movies fail.
This movie falls into the latter category. It is an example of what can happen when the producers limit all artistic control of anyone who reports to them. Heck, as stated at Sundance, the director did not even have an opportunity to see the movie after shooting until Sundance!
I think this movie should be a lesson to all producers about what not to do:
if you hire a director with a history of success, trust them, let them direct. For people aspiring to become directors: learn what can happen if you foresee no artistic freedom under a producer. For movie-goers who love movies, stay away from this one.