pieter-52462 Reviews

The Blind Goddess (1948)

Corrupt British Establishment in courtroom drama

[7/10 · 2 December 2021]

This is a slow plot and probably sucks in people who believe sections of the British establishment are corrupt. Obviously this was a stage drama written by a practising QC who clearly had come across some real life examples of the British aristocracy more keen on profit and self rewarding than charity or humanity.

If you want a story that seems to suggest that there are immoral figures in the UK government historically and therefore it is perfectly reasonable that they exist currently, then this is definitely the film for you!

It really isn't that complicated, but was clearly based on legal process.

American Crime Story (2016– )

FBI are Mr. Smiths

[24 November 2021]

I don't think the similarity between the FBI and Hugo Wearing's characters in the Matrix was entirely unintentional.

America you should be ashamed.... And you've exported your behaviour to the UK and other countries.

The Burden (2017)

Minimum wage dystopia

[10/10 · 9 November 2021]

I went to an animation conference and Niki was the first speaker, and the only one that interested me, although I was unaware of her work at the time.... I've now watched The Burden 5 times in 3 days and am very enchanted. I marked it 10 stars although that was a bit generous.

A friend whose opinions I trust absolutely hated it.

However as a piece of animation to tell the story of how disassociated those of us who have worked in minimum wage dystopia can feel, I don't think there is any equivalent...we are just endlessly floating around on the third rock from the sun and occasionally enjoying life, I instances such as this little film.

Niki claimed that the budget for this film should have been 150,000 euros but she only had 75,000...

If you have ever been paid minimum wage in a soulless job, you may not want to see it writ large on a screen by stop frame animated animals, however I can fully understand why the various film festivals around the world were so entranced....well worth your time.

Wild Oats (2016)

It would have been so easy to put right

[2/10 · 5 August 2021]

1) Ditch Demi Moore 2) Ditch the US insurance agent 3) Do something better with the stupid Don 4) Keep the audience and the characters guessing about what the insurance company were doing

See fixed it.

Woman in Chains (1968)

Who is really in chains?

[9/10 · 18 April 2020]

Clouzot is frequently described as a misanthrope. Woman in chains is a very brilliant exploration of relationships that foreshadows some of the themes in 50 Shades of Gray but is far more erotic without descending. At the centre of the film are three people, Stan a wealthy gallery owner whose relationship with women is very controlling but not very physical. It is therefore perceived by Jose the female lead as being uniquely erotic compared to her relationship with Gilbert. Their relationship is very mature almost "open"..but it is prosaic and therefore the heightened sexuality of her relationship with Stan is extra-ordinarily appealing. However, after Gilbert leaves for Germany in a flunk, Stan and Jose go to the coast and enjoy a night on the rocks with the waves crashing around them and then take a hotel room...after some difficulties, they consummate their relationship, much to the satisfaction of Jose, but when she retrieves a photo of them as a happy couple from a photographer, Stan is incensed and leaves her...she returns to Gilbert but their relationship appears to be finished...and then the whole thing goes haywire.

Roma (2018)

It's not all black and white!

[8/10 · 25 February 2020]

I watched the firstv20 minutes of this film in Netflix twice....saying to myself I can see why it got an oscar.. I know what it's all about... I can chalk this one off.. but it was on at our local art cinema and I went out of curiosity to see what It looked like on the big screen.. funnily enough i preferred the cinematography of the first 20 minutes on the TV . But then i got it. And i am a convert... someone re viewed this and said his grandmas story would have been better.. and of course he inadvertently sums up this picture.. this is real person's story not a faux tragedy but a true tragedy... we see the tragedy of the domestic' s life and the tragedy of the self obsessed middle class wife's lives converge... while other narratives cross cross... the idiot lothario martial artist the selfish husband.. the riots, the violence and if you didn't get that from this film then what you want from cinema is the reason the US film industry make shallow dramas.. thank God for whatever political manoeuvres that the oscar academy realised this was a human story and that the director told it in a thoughtful way...

Odd Man Out (1947)

Proper film noir...lights camera, psychology

[9/10 · 4 January 2020]

I had seen the beginning and the end, but not the whole film until it was broadcast by the wonderful Talking Pictures channel here in the UK Christmas 2019. I had first thought the film seemed interesting from the two clips and had set a reminder to watch it again.

However when you watch the whole thing you realise that this is one of the great film noirs of all time. No it hasn't got the sharp lines of a Raymond Chandler script nor the obvious abstract expressionist shots of some of the other great films of the genre (in Odd Man Out those things are far more subtle). The asides of Robert Newton as the mad painter trying to capture the soul of a man about to die in terms of dialogue or the double chat when Shell has a bird and the Priest and the escapee's girl friend discuss how you save a bird. In term of the camera work there's plenty of beautiful scenes but the police shadow shooting two of the gang after being turned in by the stuck up societty madam, and the scenes in the snow which reminfed me of a beautiful James Joyce story all contribute.....but those scenes are but a fragment of the narrative. The real genius of this film is to take us on James Mason's journey without him really doing anything aprt from the set up when the gang first discuss the job, recognising that he wants the actions of the IRA to be more positive and more constructive (when this job turns into a very negative action all round). You might ask why this film hasn't been more heralded, well the answer is probably in the fact thhat although the Director tries to distance himself from commentarty on the IRA there is no doubting that the audience are made to feel in tune with a resistance to UK heavy handedness....and if you know anything about the troubles and the difficulties faced by the Catholics or the appalling treatment by the English, which if course then led to appalling acts of terrorism by the IRA. There, those few lines alone means that no-one wants to shout about it....it might not be China or Russia but the UK has its own form of state censorship going on all the time.

I don't want to give away the end but another beautiful element in the fillm is the sense that various characters are aware of their destinys...and when those destinys are fulfilled emotions are ubdoubtably released.

Photograph (I) (2019)

Quiet and rivetting Movie

[7/10 · 29 October 2019]

There is a lot wrong with this movie, but a great deal right about it too. It is slow....but often this is not a bad thing, one thing for certain althoguh I ahve no understanding of India, of their culture of the differences in religions or castes, I sat watching as tthe story unfolded wanting to find out more. I can't tell what is wrong with the movie as Im not sure whether they are culturual quirks or just budget film making... whatever, this is worth seeing for its quiet story telling. Also like all good stories it shows us what unites us more than what separates us as human beings.

Taxi (III) (2015)

Wow...unique film about a unique country by a unique film maker

[9/10 · 21 October 2019]

I just caught and recorded this film on BBC this weekend....it was brilliant. I wish more fimm makers thought about making films in different ways. The effect is watchable and extremely revealing. In 2010 the Director was imprisoned and forbidden from making any future films by the Iranian government,

This film is his response, allegedly working as a taxi driver, a series fo passenger pick up discuss whatever is otheir mind. Including those whoi think the religious repression in Iran does not help justice, and his own neice who explains what the Iranian code for film making is.... namely films must be real but not too sordid.

So first what a fantastic way to show in sequence life in Tehran. not much different to life in UK or US but a knowing amount of censorship and prohibition evident on all their lives, from the supsrstition of two old ladies which is quite poetic until you realise they actually believe ti to the agreswsion of at least one passenger who thinks everyone should be hung...

I have never beent o Tehran or iran but I want to got here now to talk to Iranians rather than let the demonisation of their people by Western media which is clearly intetn on bombing Iran ...not for human right abuses but for nuclear transgression which the US is driving.... anything to do with oil I wonder? Please watch this film if you are geo-politically intersted or if you want to see new ways of story telling.

Final point: As a leftie I know that many will think opinions of what the US does in its foreign policy are irrelevant...they're not...likewise the actions of the Iranian regime are also barbaric... the problem with modern life is we do not want to live under a tolatarian regime as we think our individualism is sacrosanct (its not), neither do we want to live under the materialistim of the capitalist west which enslaves us.... so make a choice leftie (they say), enjoy your freedom and your apple iphone and beware of China and Russia and Iran.....but we don't really want any of them eat or west....we aren't free so we can never take back control...cause we never had it anyway.

The Agitator (1945)

Crowbar an anti socialist message into a 1940's film

[6/10 · 23 June 2018]

The message of this film is blatant for all to see...you cannot have socialists running businesses.... Well I've got to find the original novel...but I suspect that it is equally biased and one sided.

The "hero" is blighted with his own anger... but as the film progresses the story clears a little bit....

However, the idea that the owner of Overends believes that the secret of happiness and success is to love one's fellow men...is actually laughable....perhaps at on time, owners occasionally did see that there is a role for some people in management and a role for those who are "workers"...but the majority of those today, who are senior management are actually just mini Donald Trumps, narcissitic bigots and greedy self centred profitteers....

So I can't be charitable to this film...but it is interesting how the forces of 1940's UK capitalism had to commission this film to tell the workers that they cannot run companies...

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Curate's Egg - Good in parts

[8/10 · 1 November 2017]

I didn't read reviews of this film before seeing it. I note that the critics loved it but the users think its a bit of an emperor's new clothes thing.

So let's start by stating that I, like a lot of 50 somethings, thought that the original was something really special.

I was surprised to read that on it's original release it was not a commercial success... but clearly with hindsight the original's reputation has grown.

But to the new film.

I think it has a lot of flaws and like a lot of sequels it has to chart a difficult course between comparisons with its predecessor and making its own mark.

It's too long and its too slow. There are many examples whereby it is referring to the original in its drama, its structure and its plot development and it feels like that reference is not useful.

I also think the reason users do not like it is that they probably expect the kind of visceral excitement that other films in this genre provide...but the original was always cerebral rather than visceral....

The sound design was very loud and made an attempt at experimenting with the 5:1 surround sound, I guess to add excitement to what was fairly turgid plot development. However, the central vision that corporations are gradually destroying human life, that 'man' is downgraded and the Nexus robots, although starting out as slaves, now perceive that they have rights, which the corporations are frightened to acknowledge is extremely percipient.

So on that level the plot develops themes from the original, which I think is a good thing.

I've given it a 8/10 because we should reward film makers who are ambitious and go against the trend but I think as a stand alone film it would probably score lower. I enjoyed the 2+ hours in the cinema and I'm glad someone found the finance to make this, I wished they'd made it shorter and that would have strengthened it as an cinematic experience.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Thoughtful, possible allegory of man versus government

[8/10 · 3 January 2016]

I am not a Spielberg fan. I don't dislike his films but they are not essential viewing. However Bridge of Spies is different. I am sure others will comment that he has made similar films. I may not have seen them.

Here's a few thoughts. Interesting to note that Spielberg's father had been involved in US - Soviet negotiations at the the same time as the film is set.

Although the character points out that the US government is a sham and a fraud in their trial of Abel, no search warrant etc Tom Hanks does not appear too outraged.

Did the financial backers of this movie also insist that an American out negotiates the Soviet and East German governments? Or did that actually happen?

Are there any parallels int his film with the moral vacuum we see in the US's attitude to the Middle East and Islam? Was that an intention? I feel certain that the Cohen Brothers and Spielberg definitely do not believe that everything is shiny under the bonnet of the US.

To the film itself. As I left the cinema I heard several people say "best film I've seen all year. I wanted to find out why they thought that. Because aside from a few scenes of graphic threat and danger I was struggling to work out how you'd sell this film as one of the best films all year.

Personally I loved it. Occasionally the story telling was a little trite but it was a grown up film for grown ups...telling us a story of man v governments in a cynical way. It's just a shame that so many Americans still think the US is honourable. Let's hope Bernie Sanders leads them from late next year for 4- 8 years. Thankfully in this film, man seems to win but it a closer thing. Of course the East Germans are trying to outdo the Soviets. Of course the soviets don't believe anything they are told. Of course the American CIA are small minded and ridiculous and cannot see that their imperialism is as authoritarian as the Soviets....but the audience get to side with a human being not an ideology.

Great film.

Mr. Turner (2014)

Post Modern Storytelling

[8/10 · 26 December 2015]

Another reviewer of this title claims that the problem with this film is that there is no plot. I don't agree. Do our lives have plots? Do the lives of famous people and artists have plots? Did Glen Miller really spend the majority of his life seeking a sound? I may be wrong but it seems to me that what Mike Leigh has done here is exactly what the complainer says he has, namely assembled a series of realistic scenes from Turner's life and let the audience decide what is the plot, if there is indeed one.

My thoughts were immediately what is this film saying about the motivation of an uncouth man to create paintings constantly? Did he sense in the late 18th century and early 19th century that art wasn't just a case of seeking the approbation of his contemporaries? He clearly had an eye on his contemporaries, with the story of the red spot on his painting that referred to Constable's work hung next to his. His charity towards Hayden. He clearly enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow academicians but what did he really think about their work? Then there was his attitude to women. His ex partner, who bore him two sons, his housekeeper who he used without any care, the attitude to the young prostitute and finally his obvious affection for Mrs Booth.

All told as a film it was never going to be a modern thriller, but was it as cerebral as it would like to be? Yes I think it was. I'd be interested to see if others saw different narratives in this wonderfully shot and marvellously researched film?