centaursbos Reviews

Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)

a not dated funny Asterix movie

[18 July 2010]

I know this movie form a long time, certainly for the past 18 years, and still I watch it occasionally. There are quite a lot differences in the language you watch this movie, and I have seen German, English & in Dutch.As has been mentioned the movie looks very fresh, and it is 40 years old. It's quite weird that France had to give up his colonies in for instance Africa in the last decade and a half before this film was made.

I like a lot of the dialogs especially of Asterix and Obelix, Asterix is much smarter than Obelix, but some of Obelix's decisions tend to have a good effect in things that happen. The use that Asterix and Obelix make of the Panoramix magic potion works quite well for me, partly I think because they do not use it for every issue or problem. The magic potion cant help for instance when they can't find the way out of the pyramid. But in this movie the only problem is a limited amount of time. And even that is not a real a problem. I think that because of this, although it has shifted from time to time for me, the lack of real conflicts / problems/ confrontations etc I like a bit more the film le douze travaux d'Asterix. In this film there is a major problem with bureaucracy, and the way Asterix and Obelix solve it is very funny. Bureaucracy is also a theme I hardly see in movies.

Because of the architecture and art, I think that some sort of Egyptological advice went into this movie. Otherwise the makers did do their homework and were much inspired bij for instance at that time quite recent discoveries ( Lake Nasser, from Montet & Carter f.i. ). Although a lot of art is not really accurate, because cartouches don't appear in the homes of citizens and not even in rich peoples houses. But I like to see the attention there is paid to it. Some animations have some puzzling objects. When Cleopatra takes a bath, there is a boat visible quite similar to an object that has been found in Tutankhamens grave, and the meaning of this particular boat is not clear.

But I have some things that should have been done much better, even though a lot was not known about this in 1968. .I'm not optimistic (from experience) about this, but I hope that every viewer realizes that we are given a stereotyped view on the appearance of the Egyptians for instance. I could only find some truth in the portrayal of the Egyptians in regard to the to their ages. They are often young, consistent with the fact that most ancient Egyptians died between their thirties and forties, and the (early) childhood mortality rate was very high. But despite the relative low life expectancy and the relatively isolated geographical situation, the (ancient) Egyptians have a wide range of physical characteristics. There was even a king from the New Kingdom who had red hair. I had hoped that these aspects would have been included.

Mulan (1998)

a more complicated Disney animation

[6 July 2004]

This is a nice Disney movie, but in comparison to other movies of Disney not for the eyes or ears. For instance, Pocahontas 1 was a feast for the eyes as well as ears, but the story is in comparison to Mulan uncomplicated. The music in Mulan is by no means bad, I think partly because the music and songs were in Mulan more driven by the emotions, and I liked that very much. Especially the music in the transformation scene, in which Mulan disguises herself as a boy, I thought, was very well.

I like it also that the story was set in ancient China, I don't know very much movies that are set in China. I saw once the Red Lantern and it really made me sick and depressed. I could have of course put the television off, but that time, I was forced to follow a school course about China, and I wanted not only through books and writing papers to learn more about China. This seems not to have helped me: I managed to get from all the students who were following the course too, to get the lowest grade as possible. Some interesting things I have learned from my course was that due to superstition about number 4 (in Western culture it is 13) many buildings do not have 4th floors. The most interesting thing for me was however: China is eternal, but the lives of the Chinese are often hard and short. This kind of feeling is very evident in Mulan, but at the same times this movie, of course in most animated movies, has humour. A tiny dragon takes care of that.

The movie did leave me 2 times in almost opposite emotions. I was laughing about the song, which was dealing about women, and the next moment the soldiers stepped in a solitary battlefield. Also when Mulan saved the live of her leader Cheng, and the other moment only a matter of a few minutes later I really thought that (although it is Disney) Cheng would kill her.

The ending did not satisfy me. I think it would have been better, if the movie stopped when Mushu hugged Mulan after he has promised that things will be alright, after the army has left Mulan, or when Mulan gets on her horse to ride to home. But then this kind of ending is maybe only suitable for people who value 'joining' more important as 'winning'. But then again, although they were loyal, I did not care about Mulans parents and her great grandmother and especially not the ancestors.

De overval (1962)

A good movie about the resistance in the 2nd World War

[17 December 2003]

I think this is really a good movie, especially for dutch understandings. You have to know, that when a dutch movie is called bad, it is really bad. My father saw the last time this movie about 30 years this film ago, and it is very interesting to see how well he remembers some of the conversations.

It is even based on a true story of the second world war. In `the silent raid' the activities of the KP (knokploegen), roughly translated ` strong-arm squads', are the main theme. The movie begins when inspector Bakker is caught by the occupiers. The KP tries to get him back by attacking the car in which the Germans bring him to prison. The attack fails and as a result the Germans take revenge by shooting 6 persons in the prison `house of confinement'. Inspector Bakker is being questioned by Grundmann but he does not say anything. The Germans torture him for that. Some time later Bakker tells to Doctor Wartena that he knows 30 names and addresses of people who work in the resistance, and where the KP's hides the weapons. With much help from Eppie, Wim and Mies the leader, Piet Kramer tries to work out a plan, of helping Bakker out of prison. Eppie knows very much of Leeuwarden and its people tries to get some support from Jellema, a friendly man, who blames himself for working in the prison, but who is in fact in the right place at the right time. In the meantime, inspector Bakker tries to protect his friends with the help of doctor of the prison, a person who until that moment was not involved with the fight against the germans. Eventually the KP works out a plan in which they try not to shoot with their guns, because in a building straight ahead the prison day and night german soldiers are located, and they will hear even 1 shot from there. Kramer and his men succeed in to take about 50 people from the prison. A tabloid in the high wall of the prison commemorates this event.

An interesting consequence of the film is that we can get a nice picture of the city of Leeuwarden, a city of about 75000 people, and also the main city of the . I don't live far from Leeuwarden and I'm also very interested in geography, and I therefore took the opportunity to visit the vicinity of the prison. Indeed the prison is straight ahead a building with a distance of only about 30 metres (across water), and where 24 hours a day armed Germans were located.

What I also liked was the diversity of the characters. I liked for instance Piet for his energy and wisdom, inspector Bakker for his somber intelligence, Wim for his impetuousness. Many characters are not difficult to relate to, they have fears, are hard-working and have integrity. The actors did a wonderful job I can't even think of one actor who does not act well, but I am no judge of that.

Strong aspects of this movie are: solidarity, thrust, friendship. And there is even a sarcastic sense of humour. Indeed, I know very little movies where the emphasis laid on solidarity is so strong, and that's great, because solidarity is not as good nowadays as it had been before. Matter-of-factness is also a strong aspect, that's also a strong characteristic of the Netherlands, maybe the north of it especially.

There are much nice scenes in this movie. Some of my favourite are when Piet talks to his men in the bakery, when Bakker is in the office of Grundmann, and when Wim and Piet stand in front of the prison door, and when Jelle is putting his gun on the head of Koopman and seems to enjoy this. Koopman is a Dutch man supporting the Germans.

I had several questions after seeing this film, but it does not matter anymore, because when I took some books from the library, I learned much out of them and had a nice time. Many events actually took place during the movie, and the characterization of the persons were very much like real life. This was partly possible because many members of the KP were still alive during the making of the movie, and have helped the producers. The greatest thing I learned was that the germans did not punish Friesland in any way for the silent raid. The germans admired Piet and his group of 24 men, and were pleased by their correct conduct.

I hope everyone will get the chance of seeing this movie.