elliesaavedra Reviews

Allegro non troppo (1976)

My favorite animated movie

[9/10 · 3 July 2014]

In Italian, the words "allegro non troppo" either indicate music jargon that means "brisk but not-too-fast tempo" or everyday language that translates to "funny, but not too much." The clever pun in the title (unfortunately impossible to render in any other language) very much reflects what you see in the movie, which ranges from slapstick comedy (most of the skits between musical numbers are rather silly, albeit mostly in a good way...) to some of the most sublime and elegiac animation art I've ever seen.

The rather tongue-in-cheek premise of the movie has a shady production company that wants to make some money by copying Disney's Fantasia on the cheap, using slave labor, consisting of a cartoon-like animator with thick mustaches who's kept prisoner in a dungeon and an orchestra entirely made of octogenarian ladies who play in exchange for some food. The conductor appears to be the brain of the operation and looks very much like the stereotypical thug you see in Hollywood movies: heavy set, thick bushy eyebrows, husky and growling voice (oddly, with a Spanish accent...), alway chomping on his cigar. The show's "presenter" also looks pretty stereotypical, like your average infomercial slimy kind of guy who does everything to try and make you buy yet another useless kitchen gadget.

While the interlude skits do provide some chuckles, the real stars of the movie are the six musical numbers. The first is Debussy's Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune. In a very un-Disney fashion (after all, this is a spoof, right?), Bozzetto turns the music into the bittersweet erotic fantasy of an old man who realizes that he can no longer chase young women (one has to assume that in the world of fauns money hasn't been invented yet... ;) )

Dvorak's Slavonic Dance #7 comes next, and this is very much a satirical "funny" piece. Bozzetto here pokes fun at society's trends and fads which people copy and embrace en masse, without even realizing why. The ending is truly hysterical.

Third in line is Ravel's ubiquitous Bolero, which Bozzetto turns into a surreal ecological allegory, with the history of life on planet Earth as generated by some aliens landing their spaceship here and throwing away a Coke bottle before departure (wow, they still make those on Tralfamadore?), whose leftovers provide the primordial soup. Although of a more "serious" nature (are you starting to get the pun in the title now?), this episode is also interspersed with subtle humor, although the ending looks quite ominous (OK, this is definitely not a movie you want to show to your five-year-old...) What follows is, in my opinion, a true gem of animation art and one of the highest achievements of this medium ever. I'm talking about Sibelius' Valse Triste, which Bozzetto sets in a decrepit abandoned building, surrounded by modern and updated construction and about to be wrecked. The star of the episode is a cat who reminisces of his life in that house, when it was inhabited. This is such a marvelous and utterly moving piece, it will definitely have you in tears by the time it ends, unless your heart is made of stone.

After the tearjerker, Bozzetto brings back some hearty laughs with Vivaldi's Concerto in C Major, with a bee as the episode's protagonist. This is by far the most lighthearted of the musical numbers.

The final piece is Stravinsky's Firebird, which again walks in socio-political satire territory, this time with religious overtones. This is another one that can easily scare small children, and actually reminded me of Fantasia's Night on the Bald Mountain episode, with added allegoric and satirical elements.

To discard this masterpiece (now almost 40 years old...) as simply a Fantasia spoof would be almost criminal. Allegro Non Troppo is funny, clever, sweet, and even sublime. This is in fact one of the highest achievements of the animation art. The only drawback in my opinion is the fact that the live action segments (all in glorious B&W) are uneven and sometimes too long. Otherwise, it would be perfect. 9/10

4Some (2012)

Swinging with love

[8/10 · 3 July 2014]

OK, the title already gives away the entire story: two couples are swinging. Yeah, but it's...complicated. These are not just thrill-seeking strangers, they are best friends. The guys work together, the families live on the same street, next to each other, two of their teenage children are dating. We're talking about people who are extremely comfortable with each other and who have probably thought about doing that for many years. One day, the guys go on a work trip on a semi-deserted island in the Caribbean and decide to bring their wives along. Once they settle in a cottage together, the guys start talking about swinging and decide to go ahead and do it. One of the wives (the more "liberal" one) is easily convinced, but the other is a church-going type, and it takes some time before she accepts it. But eventually she does and we're then left to assume that they keep doing that for the entire "vacation." Before they come back, however, they swear that it was just a "holiday" and they will never do it again. But once they get back in the Czech Republic, they simply can't help it and keep doing it. Until the entire families discover the truth. And their reaction is probably one of the best thing about this movie, because the writing and the acting are very sincere. We've seen this situation in other movies, but here's the twist in this one: it doesn't end bad. No one gets "punished" for violating the religion-inspired society rules and eventually pretty much everyone accepts it, although some of the family members are still disturbed. There's no judgment and no blame here. It just happened because it was bound to, and there's nothing really wrong with it.

The ending is a surprise and I'm not going to spoil it for you, it's just the final touch of humor that will have you chuckle while the final credits roll.

While this is no masterpiece and looks a lot like your typical no-budget indie movie (especially to us Americans), it's a genuinely sweet and honest comedy that shies away from Hollywood conventions. The religious right will no doubt hate it, and yet I'm pretty sure that situations like this are very common among them. Just not openly and sincerely like it happens in this movie, because keeping the appearance of a healthy marriage among the square religious types is more important than anything. And when something like that comes to the light, it's always some atheist liberal's fault...

Yes, there is nudity (not more than your average European movie...) but the sex is definitely "PG", as in more hinted than actually shown. So I would have no problem letting teenagers watch this movie.

Romanzo Criminale (2005)

OK movie, but the series is way way better!

[6/10 · 2 July 2014]

This is a fictional crime story based on the exploits of the infamous "Banda Della Magliana", which terrorized the city of Rome for two entire decades. The movie is OK and it features an all-star cast and a famous director, but if you really want to see the same story brought to a much much higher level (not to mention going way deeper into the details), I strongly recommend you watch Romanzo Criminale The Series (two seasons of 12 episodes each), which is now available on Netflix, from other online sources and on DVD's.

The "condensed" story line of the movie is at times confusing and fails to successfully put the story into its historical context. Really, two hours aren't nearly enough to explain the back story and the historical references, especially to someone who didn't grow up in Italy --and particularly in Rome-- in the 1970's and 80's. So, I watched the movie years ago when it was released, and I was left with so many open questions that were only answered to my complete satisfaction once I watched the series (and yes, there are some continuity issues between the two productions, so don't think of the series as complimentary to the movie but rather as a complete retell.) I know that I'm actually ending up reviewing the series here more than the movie, but really if you watch the series, then you will find that the movie is just a brief summary of the story without much character development, despite the more famous cast and director (incidentally, Mr.Placido is credited as a creative consultant in the series.) The series, on the other hand, is one of the best small-screen productions I've ever seen, really quite up to the level of outstanding crime dramas like the Sopranos or Breaking Bad.

I would rate the movie 6/10 and the series 10/10.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Are we really a country of stupid people?

[1/10 · 2 July 2014]

This is not the kind of movie I usually watch, but my husband and I couldn't say no the couple who invited us to see this film. So, off we went, without really expecting much. But really, I didn't expect it would be SO BAD! For the record, I saw the first Transformer movie on TV years ago, and even if it wasn't a masterpiece, at least it was watchable (but I agree that Wahlberg is better than LaBeouf, as several reviewers have said. But then again, so many other actors are... :) ) OK, let me sum it up: the script sucks, the story sucks (as in: plot holes an airliner could fly through), the photography is as clichéd as it can get and so is the direction. Mark Wahlberg manages to find a decent performance --albeit barely--, but most of the lines are so hokey, you can truly feel his embarrassment while acting... So, how about the special effects? Well, I'm not arguing the technical aspect because I don't work in the film industry, but really there's nothing you haven't seen before. Maybe just more explosions than usual. As if we needed more of those...

Which brings me back to my original question: are we really such a stupid country? Judging from the reviews here, I would say no, and that people do get that these productions are sheer trash. But then again, when you see how much money this kind of movies make in a week-end, then the answer must definitely be yes.

The Unbelievers (2013)

Intellectually stimulating and even funny at times

[10/10 · 2 July 2014]

It's very funny to read "reviews" of religious zealots who --I'm pretty sure-- haven't even seen this movie. But the most hilarious part is them claiming that being an atheist is a "belief system." Yeah, as much as being bald is a hair style, as Bill Maher aptly said. And it's interesting that you will hear that very same argument (or lack thereof...) from the science-haters throughout the entire movie, as the base to criticize rationality is, obviously, sheer irrationality. And it's so rewarding and intellectually stimulating to watch two great scientific minds mercilessly destroy the childish make-believe world of religious people with arguments that can only be attacked from a very irrational and nonsensical perspective.

Despite being an ardent admirer of these two gentlemen --not to mention a scientist myself-- I was hesitant to watch this movie, because I assumed it was going to be a tad on the boring side. We all know the argument and we all know what the irrational minds (and I'm generous about that last word...) keep saying in their endless battle against reason, so I wasn't really in the mood for another round. Surprisingly, this movie is more of a "behind the scene" look at these men and only occasionally shows a debate with the anti-science crowd, though I must say that the scene with the Archbishop of Sydney was hilarious.

In other words, it's no so much about the reason vs. religion debate as much as it is about these two extraordinary men, their subtle sense of humor and a slice of their daily lives. All in all, a very enjoyable documentary which only the religious zealots can hate.