titobacciarini Reviews

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

An astonishing portrait of Romanian outdated anti-abortion policies before 1990 that involve deep confrontation with moral issues: 4, 3, 2, one true masterpiece

[10/10 · 8 November 2018]

Synopsis without Spoiler:

In Bucharest, Otilia lives with her friend Gabita, in a room at a university dorm. Otilia goes to meet her boyfriend, Adi, it is the birthday of his mother and the girl, initially reluctant because she has things to do, agrees to go and wish her. She then goes at a hotel to reserve a room, meeting the rudeness of the receptionist (as well as many of the other people she interacts with throughout history): there is a convention in the city and many of the hotels are already fully booked. After some attempt she manages to find a double room and after meeting a man, Bebe, the two friends go there where they have to face, with the help of man, a problem inherent Gabita, who is pregnant and doesn't want the baby. End of spoiler.

Comment:

A film in which everything is hostile and obstacle to the protagonist, Otilia, in an attempt to make a gesture of help towards her friend who tends, instead of Otilia, to behave in a victimised way and without really realising what her friend accomplishes and is willing to endure for her (a burden that goes far beyond the duty of friendship). A shocking drama that questions us about very delicate issues: falsehood, lies, prostitution, abortion, friendship, difference between social classes: the spectator is deeply confronted with each of these issues and the constitution of a personal opinion is almost a requirement and a duty. Mungiu follows the characters in a cold and extremely elegant manner, often with hand-held shots (reminiscent of "Elephant" (2003) by Van Sant especially in the long shots, but the camera of Mungiu is almost invisible and finds a deep bond with the european style, in particular to the ancient german New Objectivity then later italian Neorealism), but there is a wide variety of techniques and shots, with a filmic approach that can be compared to the utopian journalistic and realistic goal (i.e. the illusion of objectivity). It appears as the movie wants to tell the facts in a detached way, bringing them back as they are without affectations or temptations to superficiality: Mungiu is able to involve the spectator without the aid of clichés or easy-emotions expedients, which make the vision a deeply intimate experience; a dialogue first of all with oneself and with one's own ideologies. The close-ups, practically absent, are deliberately omitted to hide psychology of the characters and what they feel, then, without directly exposing the director's opinion on the subject, the viewer is forced to reflect strongly and build a independently thought. Absolutely to be watched at least once in a lifetime, the movie has won a lot of major awards including Palme d'or, FIPRESCI Award for directing, double European Award (Best director and best filmmaker) and best film at the Goya spanish festival.

The Last Picture Show (1971)

Bogdanovich's nostalgic drama, a portrait of post-war United States, characterised by amazing performances and exposure of cultural decay

[10/10 · 8 November 2018]

Short synopsis without spoilers:

Years ' 50, Anarene, ghost town in Texas. The high-school senior Sonny lives the monotony and boredom of a desolate city, seemingly unimportant and without a future. The young man seeks sexual adventure, but his girlfriend is christian and observes the outdated doctrine, so she's not willing to premarital sex. The boy then shows attraction towards the girl of his best friend Duane (role that has consecrated the beginning of the career of Jeff Bridges), Jacy. At school, Sonny's coach asks him to go to his house to pick up his wife from a commission. The woman, named Ruth, is extremely sad, unsatisfied by the married life with her husband and suffers visibly, weeping and alluding to a betrayal by her husband. So, after some time, she finds a good lover in Sonny and the two start a relationship. End of spoilers.

Comment:

Bogdanovich's first and perhaps greatest masterpiece, a movie that reflects an american period, conditioned by many hopes and dreams, difficult to reach by staying in a restricted reality like the one of Anarene. It's a place where everyone seems to yearn without succeeding or satisfying themselves: everyone wants to be at the center of attention and no one is happy with what he or she has (especially the lovers dimension) but, in parallel, no one behaves or does something with the requested commitment to achieve one's goals. In particular, it seems that no one really has ambitions: they all seek the mere social recognition by fulfilling their standards, depending on the situation, then transgressing them, even just to avoid monotony. Sonny seems to be the only one who suffers, or still who feels emotions, for someone other than himself, contrary to the rest of the characters. The exception, in addition to the young man, is made by the owner of half the city, Sam "the Lion" (Ben Johnson), and his son, Billy, with obvious psychological and therefore social deficits. The movie revolves around betrayal, opportunism and the desire for sexual adventure but it does it vehemently, using as means the transition from youth to adulthood. In addition the title (referred to the last projection at the movie house of Anarene, which is Red River by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne), reflects a pessimistic view of contemporary cinema and has the will of affirming the cultural decay idea. The whole matter is accompanied by the hits of the time, played by tools such as jukeboxes or radios. Countless awards and nominations, the most important ones are awards to the actors (Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA).

Fear and Desire (1952)

A unique and poetic war movie, strongly underestimated by Kubrick himself

[8/10 · 8 November 2018]

The first film of one of the greatest masters in the history of cinema: "Fear And Desire" (1953) by Stanley Kubrick.

Synopsis:

In a period of war with unstated antagonistic factions, four stateless soldiers crash over enemy lines and have to return to the base camp: Lieutenant Corby, an authoritarian man of valor and sound principles, the grumpy Sergeant Mac and the two privates Fletcher and Sidney. The group decides to build a raft and sail along the river, trying to evade enemy's defences, then stumble across a delta where they notice an outpost, in where there is an aircraft. During the patrol to secure the area in which they are located, the group first kills an enemy platoon with a surprise effect, stealing the food, then runs into a civilian girl in the bushes. So they decide to spare her life but at the same time they agree that letting her go is too risky and they divide: Sidney, the youngest of the group, will guard the girl, while the others go to the raft. The private, increasingly incapable of managing the heavy stress to which he is subjected, falls progressively into the madness that feeds his paranoid delirium. In the culmination of his raving, Sidney unties the helpless girl, misunderstanding her intentions and he's forced to shoot her when she tries to flee. Soon after comes the sergeant, who witnessed the hallucinatory and almost catatonic state of Sidney and, after obtaining a weird explanation of the events that had just happened, he observe the comrade fleeing into the bush, laughing hysterically. On the way back, Mac reveals what is accorded to the recruit, victim of the traumas arising from the actions committed and suffered. Driven by a patriotic thought and willing to assert himself in the field, he convinces Corby and Fletcher to act as bait on a suicidal mission to allow them to flee with the aircraft. After a poetic reflection of the sergeant, in which he convinces himself of his intention and prepares to embrace the almost certain death, he shoots and attracts enemy's fire to himself, while his two comrades flee by plane. In addition, Mac miraculously manages to save himself, escapes on the raft and rescues Sidney, accidentally crossed as he was wandering into the water. Corby and Fletcher then return to the rescue of Mac and, after agreeing that men are not made for the war, they hear the voice of Sidney and the survivors are found, still ranting and raving, next to the corpse of Mac.

Comment:

The first work of a known maniacal perfectionist, does not surprise its concealment by Kubrick himself, embarrassed by a too young self-judged work, without the thorough precision of the subsequent works, despite having turned a very good debut movie and immediately obtaining the consensus of the critics. It is also the director's first approach to war and a prototype of the following "Paths Of Glory" but above all of "Full Metal Jacket" (a strong analogy in the psychology between the characters of Corby and Joker and respectively between Sidney and private Gomer Pyle), although it differs from both in the use of deeper and perhaps forced dialogues. Kubrick focuses on psychology of the soldiers through the use of a poetic narrative, brutal when necessary and culminating in the most authentic delirium, as if he wanted to show soldier's condition then metaphorically analyse it. The dialogues and thoughts expressed by the characters are therefore separated aphorisms and seek to decipher the oppression and fear that leads the privates to psychological torment and loss of their health and moral identity, putting issues on a social-philosophical dimension. The desire, in contrast, is probably interpreted as hope, that is what preserves the individual to fall victim to fear and prevents him from losing his reason. An overwhelming hallucinated and unaccountably interpretation, but inexplicably invisible, of Paul Mazursky, that allows the spectator to linger as much as possible on the delirium that distorts the personality and infests the mental health of the character of Sidney, supported by a photograph style characterised by a marked use of illumination on his face and equally strong contrasts during the darkest and suspence phases, such as the aggression against the enemy soldiers in the farmhouse (facts that strongly remind us of german Expressionism interpretations and illumination techniques). Turned skillfully, at a very low budget and with ingenious means of fortune, it consists in an extremely solid starting step both in its poetic philosophy and in its didactic intention as well as in its technical young, fresh and attractive components. The reflexive dialogues are made to achieve a bold goal, that is to explain the deepest and most primordial links between man and violence through the thoughts and psychological consequences arising from their relationship. Despite the lack of a sort of morality tending to an idea of catholic-american justice, it is one of the very few war movies where it is totally absent a component of propaganda, even minimal. This is supported by the lack of countries involved and therefore of precise factions that bind the soldiers to a certain political and philosophical thought, which makes the film extremely complete and gives it an objective and always current approach (even if, as somebody has marked, the enemy's uniforms could remind of nazis's ones).

Cat People (1942)

Tourneur's psychological horror-drama masterpiece

[9/10 · 7 November 2018]

The first of the remunerative and promoter series of horror movies produced by RKO of Val Lewton, in addition to "I Walked With a Zombie" (1943) and "The Leopard Man" (1943): "Cat People" (1942), directed by Jacques Tourneur.

Synopsis:

Irena Dubrovna, a fashion designer of serbian origin, portrays a panther impaled by a dagger, at the zoo. Throwing the same crumpled draw, she is approached by the architect Oliver Reed and the two take a tea together, at the woman's house. Irena is, given to her beauty, inexplicably alone, devoid of friends and therefore, at the request of Oliver asking her about a particular statuette, she tells of an ancient legend: under the imaginary reign of "John the Serbian", the Mameluks were expelled from a tribe, in which they had corrupted some inhabitants to the devil's worship and then oblige the king to order their shooting. Apparently, only the strongest and meanest of the ancient tribe would survive and Irena is believed to be their descendant. Later, Oliver goes to her to give her a cat but, given the repulsion that she feels in regard of the animal (while the cat affectionate with Oliver's colleague, Alice Moore), he is forced to change it with a canary. At a party, Irena receives strange looks from Oliver's acquaintances and, at a certain point, arrives a crazy woman who calls her "sister" and walks away, terrifying Irena. After some time, Irena and Oliver get married, despite the fear of the woman who prevents the two to consume a relationship, even just affectionate. One day the woman, trying to grasp the canary from the cage, she mistakenly kills it and then goes to the zoo, where she throws it in the cage of the panther. When she returns home, she tells about her loss of control to her husband. Under his counsel, Irena goes to a psychiatrist, Dr. Louis Judd, and reveals to him about the curse that would turn her into a panther to feed on her spouse. Back home, the woman discovers that Alice is aware of her psychological illness and begins to nourish her jealousy. Then, Oliver reveals his own unhappiness to Alice, who confesses her love, while Irena delivers the key of the panther's cage to the zoo, forgotten by the man, found inserted in the lock. Dr. Judd who deciphers the will of the woman to make the metamorphosis into the panther (afraid of it as well as she is attracted by it, its hidden mortal impulse to kill and be killed), then the relationship between the spouses becomes more and more distant , just as Irena's jealousy grows towards Alice. While Irena frightens her by following her in a dark street and then vanishing into thin air, the zookeeper finds dead animals torn apart by a feline beast. Persecuted in the swimming pool of her hotel by a panther, Alice goes to the psychiatrist to ask if the transformation of Irena is actually real, but the doctor denies it and tells her that she is only afraid. After a session, convinced that she was healed, Irena goes with the good news to her husband, but he is now fed up and loves Alice, so she hunts him. At work, the two lovers are attacked by a panther, sure that it is Irena, but they manage to drive away. Then Irena returns home and when is courted by Dr. Judd, she transforms herself and kills him, before going to the zoo to free the panther and being killed by the escaping animal. Eventually, coming after her, Oliver and Alice find the remains and, suffering, accept the truth.

Comment:

A great film that pushes on the emotional and amazingness component, a perfect mix of suspense and anxiety, provided both by the great skill of Simone Simon (Irena Dubrovna) as well as the oniric plot. It is a meticulous analysis that delves into the psychological surrounding the destructive and self-destructive process of the woman, who tries to drag all the characters in her insane vortex and manages to grasp one, Dr. Judd. Irena's metamorphosis is gradual and influenced by the stages of the affair, beginning with her love of Oliver, to pass from jealousy towards Alice and culminate in the kiss of Louis: the woman is constantly linked by a bond of attraction/repulsion to the panther, but she gradually ends up full accepting its primordial nature, victim of both its absurd belief and the consequent deprivation of affection that she self-imposes, factors that make her extremely vulnerable and impressionable. The references to its becoming predatorism are widely underlined by her visits to the zoo and the recurrent parallels: her adversity towards all the animals and in particular towards cats (symbols of the corruption of the ancient tribe), her pursue of Alice (where she emits sounds typical of the animal and behaves as such, for example when she rips off her towel in the pool), the theft of the key from the lock of the cage (which binds her to her search for death) and not at least her feline behaviour (when she kills mistakenly the canary or when she scratches the leather couch after Oliver leaves her). Her emotional turmoil is highlighted by the psychiatrist, who does not believe her despite the supernatural component of her story and is, in fact, a victim that the woman hadn't really among the goals, symptom of her total and irreparable madness, the same one that leads her to perform the final suicide act (perhaps out of fear, remorse or will to permanently arrest her metamorphosis). With a poor financial disposition, Tourneur brilliantly enjoys the use of shadows and sounds to build its climate of tension, particularly during the entrance to the pet shop where everything emits verses of terror, or the famous pursuit of Alice by Irena (alternating with the footsteps and the roaring of the panther and concluded by the dry noise of the bus) and the aggression of the couple in the pool (with the help of shadows that resemble the animal on the wall), then in the office (where she is hurt by the cross that keeps Oliver, a christian reminder of the power of God, strong against evil spirits) .

Titicut Follies (1967)

Unbelievable reportage of a staggering visual and conceptual power

[10/10 · 6 November 2018]

Titicut Follies is a documentary of social denunciation characterised by an unheard-of conceptual power, documenting the condition suffered by the patients of the criminal asylum "Massachusetts Correctional intitution", complex of buildings located in Titicut Street, in Bridgewater. Here the patients are treated and kept in inhuman conditions: they live in small cells with insufficient hygienic conditions in the cramped common rooms, in the grip of their delusions originated from their "mental pathologies". As if that were not enough, their sad condition contrasts the behaviour of the nurses: they abuse their authority by forcing the detainees to undergo physical beatings and extremely degrading psychological violence They are punished and yanked with force, forced to nudity in the presence of anyone in the vicinity, repressed and insulted with abusive words or mockery and forced to commit actions against their will (for example, they are taken by force or regulated in their physiological needs without the possibility of modification according to the actual needs). Remarkable sequence of dialogue in the central part, in which a patient argues with the director of the penitentiary regarding that unrequested aid that is literally being forced on him, although he seems to be perfectly able to understand (he admits his paranoid delusions and his pathology, linked to schizophrenia, but denounces unjust and oppressive treatment), exposing the controversy itself of the definition of insanity, obtained with a mere medical-psychological test that may not represent a unilaterally approved diagnosis. In addition, sequences of medical tests in pitiful conditions are shown: mere intuations made by the nurses with the cigarette in the hand or mouth, questionable controls that have dubious clinical usefulness as well as interviews made to degrade the integrity of the prisoner. Many events, such as the episode of a man forced into bare isolation, have such a visual power that shocks us his lack of concealment: the mistreat of the deents happens without concern and some moments are so tragic to seem directed ad hoc (while reports of the subsequent investigation reveal acts even worse than those shown).

A mirror that exposes the authorized deprivation of dignity revealing its tremendous essence: Wiseman seeks, as it may, to restore to the condemned their humanity, stolen by the institution that has reduced them to serial numbers. A reality that describes a condition that seems immutable if not by dying, with extreme impact and enormous journalistic consequences. Its direct and disturbing language amplifies the will of divulgation and the incessant attempt to censore it, fortunately, was not enough to conceal this cry of rebellion against the corrupt institution. An exposure to the light of the condition of "human slaughter" men rendered useless by social labels and degraded to survive as mere livestock.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Kazan's unforgettable psychological drama

[9/10 · 6 November 2018]

Synopsis:

The psychological tormented Blanche Debois (Vivien Leigh), a literary teacher, is forced to go for unspecified reasons from Auriol, where she was staying, to New Orleans, where her sister, Stella Kowalski, lives. The girl arrives there and takes the streetcar/tram named "Desire", then tells to her sister about her condition of misery: Blanche has lost everything, including the family home, sold to pay the illness that afflicted their parents. She has problems related to stress and alcohol that cause a strong depression. In addition, she is psychologically proven and fragile. Stella's husband, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), a crude man from his ways of doing and manners tending to violence, doesn't give in to his victimhood and plays with her psychological condition, taking advantage to further rage in her uneasiness. Stella, who is pregnant, assists completely dominated by Stanley at his relationship with her sister, being accustomed to submission and bewitsed by the way of being a brute of her husband, even when she's physically beaten. Blanche is worried about her sister while Stanley, not trusting her, begins to ask about Blanche's past in Auriol, coming to discover an inappropriate behaviour in a luxury hotel, named Flamingo. Here the woman has sexual intercourse and participate in sconce parties, which is worth a horrible reputation in the city and being banned from the same hotel, even if her attitude is due to the suffering felt for the loss of her husband. Meanwhile, Mitch, Stanley's friend and teammate, falls in love with Blanche to the point of wanting to marry her. she lies then to him and to itself: in fact, she only needs security that allows her to continue with her pseudo-high-rise lifestyle and her façade of naïve woman (as evidenced by the kiss given to a young stranger, before meeting Mitch). Her turbulent past in Auriol, however, reaches her, causing the loss of her relationship with her lover as well as her mental sanity. On the day of the birth of Stella's child, Stanley returns home and engages a psychological and physical struggle with Blanche, until he rapes her (the rape is not showed directly). The event enshrines Blanche's complete madness, which is then taken to a mental health centre, although her story of abuse leads Stella to the breaking of the marriage with Stanley.

Comment:

A strong psychological drama with a high precision in telling the internal torments that Blanche feels, in remorse to her past and her future: the luxury that feeds her vanity is her mask and disguises her fragility and her dependence others behind the façade of fragile woman, in some naïve way. An attitude that recognizes herself to be in a certain parasitic way and that helps to push her more and more into the oblivion, feeding her depression, especially because of Stanley who seeks, as with Stella, to impose his own authority and submit her through sharp words and insults. The man imposes a personal crusade to prove Blanche's falsehood and unmask her in a cruel, in front of Stella and Mitch, raging on his mental state aggressively and culminating in sexual assault, but only after demolishing her relationship with Mitch. This cruelty doesn't allow her to relate normally with him or the others, visibly traumatized by the man and the wake of his past prostitution, making Stella realize her error. A mirror of reflection focused on suffering, in particular the one generated by the lack of financial stability that results in the devaluation of one's own person, combined with the cruelty of those who, strong in their own security, rage on the poorest and the weakest. That happens in Blanche's internal discomfort, related to Stanley's disparaging attitude; basically "bullying brought to the extreme" that flows into real psychological then physical violence. A simple story centered in the emotions of the characters, masterfully expressed thanks to the actors and reminiscent of the descriptive approach of remorse that provoke the delirium of Raskol'nikov in "Crime and punishment"; lovely interpretations, especially Vivien Leigh, the backbone of the film, as demonstrated by the 3 Academy awards won. Moreover, the photograph is more than noteworthy and gives the close-ups a reflexive air, accentuating the lights on the face of the actors that are therefore more incisive in transmitting their emotions and thoughts, just like german Expressionism.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Immortal masterpiece, a fascinating fairy tale musical

[10/10 · 6 November 2018]

Synopsis without Spoiler:

Set in Kansas and based on the famous novel by Frank Baum (the first one of the 14), the story tells of a country girl with an innocent and carefree air, Dorothy (Judy Garland). During a violent tornado, the girl can't hide in time in the cellar with her family and ends catapulted into a magical parallel world, the Kingdom of Oz. To go back home, she must then consult the mysterious Wizard of Oz, who agrees to help her in exchange for the magic broom possessed by the main antagonist, the Witch of the West. Dorothy then faces this journey in company and thanks to the help of three famous characters: the talking scarecrow, who seeks a brain and then the possibility to demonstrate his intelligence, the tin woodman, who would like a heart to be able to love , and the cowardly lion, in pursuit of his own bravery. End of spoilers

Comment:

I know the story is pretty well known in the United States but, unfortunately, I don't hear much about it, in Europe. A fantastic story with strongly fairytale tones and one of the greatest musicals of all time. The most incredible thing, in addition to the music/songs, already in american cinema's history, is certainly the special effects utilisation, which is extremely innovative: the settings are visibly painted by hand and seem real paintings. They integrate in the movie in a fantastic way, giving it a coloured and enchanted tone. Moreover, some technical aspects (for example the tornado and the "eradication" of the house, the magic of the Witch and so on) are formidable, especially if contextualized for the time, and are rendered in an extraordinary way, also thanks to the colour, which also marks the transition from Kansas to Oz thus emphasizing the magic of the fantastic place. Also noteworthy are the magnificent interpretations and the dialogues, many of which can be extremely deep, despite the simplicity of who and how they are expressed. These, as well as the songs, above all Over The Rainbow, have then been enormously used, cited and credited in later films, for example "The Philadelphia story" by Cukor, "Meet Joe Black" (cover) by Brest and many TV series. Similar to the known story of Alice in Wonderland in many aspects, this together with "Gone with the wind" by the same Fleming, have the peculiarity of having had a troubled production, especially from the point of view of the director (Fleming replaced Cukor to directed in both films, which constitute the "great missed occasions of Cukor") and concerning the cast (many actors interpret more than one part and exchanged the roles between them, all accepted by Fleming). Two highly deserved Oscars, best song and soundtrack, as well as 5 other nominations, one of them for the Palme d'Or (competing with "Gone with the wind", so Fleming has practically monopolized the Oscar edition of 1940, winning the majority of prizes).

Paris Belongs to Us (1961)

One of the Nouvelle Vague revolutionary portraits, decoding and renovating the crime genre

[9/10 · 6 November 2018]

The story takes place in Paris from June 1957, it is a very gloomy period of the history of France: there is a deep political and economic instability as well as a climate of general tension for the Cold War (France was losing the french colonies in Africa, claimed by the natives).

Synopsis:

Anne is a young, curious and innocent student. A neighbour of the room is in a frenzy, stating that his brother Juan (refugee from the regime of Franco) was killed and now they are all doomed. Later, through her brother Pierre, the girl makes the acquaintance of a group of his friends. Juan's suicide is a hot topic and considered controversial by the members of the group, whose peculiarity is being politically skeptical, having revolutionary ideologies. Among them, there's the responsible for a theatrical mise en scéne of the Shakespearean drama Pericles, as well as Philip, an American refugee from McCarthyism with paranoid conspiracy theories. He slaps Terry, femme fatale and former lover of Juan, currently in a relationship with Gerard and blaming him for causing or induced Juan's death. Anne begins to establish confidence with Philip and coincidentally takes part in Gerard's recital by replacing the previously designated actress. So Anne, because of her own curiosity and thrust by Philip's speeches inherent suspected conspiracies, begins to investigate to resolve the problem, which changes during the course of history and is never exactly identified. In addition, even the clues and the same investigations of Anne prove unnecessary because they do not lead, in the end, to the solution of the mystery (s). Looking for a recording, the girl comes across a doctor named De Georges, connected, according to Philip, to a secret organization struggling for power. Worried about Gerard's safety, the girl is more and more involved in the business around him and the suicide of Juan by focusing his suspicions on Terry. Later, Gerard, given up by Terry and after having been refused by Anne, commits suicide. Eventually, after the death of Pierre (probably killed by Terry), Anne comes out more confused than before, while Terry and Philip go away together.

Comment:

The film opens with a sentence written by Peguy: "Paris n'appartient à personne", witnessing the reception of the city and its cosmopolitan being. The opposite word game of the title mirrors the revolutionary circle that is created around the characters, even if their actions do not often lead to a continuation of the plot or a clarification of the events, deliberately concealed behind a network of small details, basically unnecessary. It is therefore a plot similar to the mystery or detective genre (although at times romantic, thriller and drama) but differs considerably from the canons that characterize the genre, also because it is only deluded to the spectator the possibility of interacting as a detective, like the illusion chased by Anne. Rivette exhibits the elusiveness of reality through these McGuffin, making the film volatile and playing with the spectator; actions often take a short time while unnecessary dialogues and acts are dilated at length (varying the speed of the detach between sequences). A film that can irritate in its subversion: as a revolutionary rebellion, it imposes a careful vision, but not an analysis regulated by specific narrative parameters. At times cryptically dreamlike, an aura of mystery, a sort of anarchist esotericism, constitutes a veritable manifesto of the Nouvelle Vague. Less romantic but similar in concept to "L'Amour fou", it is a very thoughtful film, especially at political and existential level: Probably Rivette's masterpiece, it exhibits in a refined way its idea of elusiveness, really hard to decipher. A conceptually violent and subversive work from the title; ironic that being invisible to the "main public" at the same time supports and, in a certain way, confirms, the deepest cinematographic essence.

Le Plaisir (1952)

Probably Ophüls's masterpiece, anticipating fellinian "La Dolce Vita" with elegance

[9/10 · 3 November 2018]

Synopsis:

The film is divided into three episodes in which the central one occupies most of the film's minutage. In the first episode, La Masque, is told the short story of a certain Mr. Grandval who, drunk at a party altolocata, has a sudden illness and falls to the ground. Later he is taken to a secluded room where he is taken off the mask he was wearing and was suffocating him, then finally is accompanied home. Then opens the second episode with Mme Tellier, widow owner of a brothel, Maison Tellier (hence the title), where she and her girls can pretend to be aristocratic in a seemingly mundane environment, but that essentially remains a mere house of pleasure. Mme Tellier is authoritarian, as evidenced by her reactions towards people she does not know, especially men. Then she goes to her brother's request at the campaign where she must attend the first communion of her granddaughter. In that pleasant, calm and silent place, Mme Tellier and the girls remember their past and their lost innocence, before returning to daily life in the city, where they escaped from the restrictions and nostalgic melancholy through the satisfaction of their pleasure needs. Finally, the last episode, Le Modèle, a young artist becomes infatuating with a woman who becomes his muse, sweetening her with kind words that, however, wither under the mantle of monotony that covers their relationship, now marked as habit. For this reason the artist becomes more and more grumpy and distant towards the woman, to the point that she wants to marry with another. Delegated the task to a friend to report the woman his intentions, she distraught finds him and threatens suicide. To the aggressive and uncaring response of man, she then throws himself out of the window, remaining paraplegic but eventually obtaining his love, aware of his misteake and willing to remedy it.

Comment:

The pleasure is presented here through the stories intertwined by this thread, as a difficult achievement, something that, to be obtained, needs the loss of something else: M. Grandval renounce to his own self, his identity (disguising himself behind the mask which is also a character, only apparent), using alcohol and feasts as means. Mme Tellier, on the other hand, renounce the past and her lost innocence, obtaining pleasure with sexual fulfillment and the wrong dignified status she creates (similarly Mme Rosa, with the difference that she satisfies herself by making men falling in love, in some way marking and illudating them, as happens with the brother of Mme Tellier). Finally, the artist renounces his own freedom and, yielding to his own morality, satisfies his own pleasure by doing what is right to him, even renouncing his own dreams (in parallel, his girlfriend renounces her own health to satisfy herself with the achievement of pure love), which converts in love for the girl and will of redemption. These are three stories with a happy ending that conceal a profound drama, also because the narrator, breaking the 4th wall and communicating with the viewer literally, introduces the various episodes linking pleasure to love, purity and death (moral). The theme is expressed almost as an alchemic principle of equivalent exchange, the fun is to forget its regrets, its own sufferings and nostalgia, which constitute an integral part in obtaining pleasure, a troubled path dismayed of renounce to his own dignity and his own possibilities, as well as dreams. The film anticipates fellinian "La Dolce Vita" without having the intention to exhibit a profound critique, but to focus on the characters and what they feel, also fact that will influence extremely, especially the two episodes La Masque and Maison Tellier, the kubrickian masterpiece "Eyes Wide Shut" in the themes, in the means, in the symbols used to expose them (for example the mask) and also in the direction, characterized by magnificent long shots revolving around the actors (masterfully expressed in both films). A movie that interacts with the person who looks in a friendly, carefree but refined and elegant manner, at times philosophical.

October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1928)

A historical documentary fundamental to the history of cinema and the birth of the Soviet Union

[10/10 · 3 November 2018]

Synopsis:

1917, Petrograd (St. Petersburg), October Revolution: the February Revolution ended the imperial dynasty of the Romanovs and the fall of the Tsar. This creates a situation of extreme tension between the proletariat and the government, respectively with the Bolsheviks representing the labor force on one hand and Menshevik and revolutionary Socialist Party, representing the state, on the other. The popular destruction of the statue of Tsar Alexander III contrasts with the establishment of a provisional government, led by the revolutionary socialist Kerenskij. The latter does not disdain the luxurious privileges of the former Tsarist regime and wants to maintain relations with the Allies and the conflict resumes: war factories resume production, the State is in political and economic crisis, wars and hunger are rampant, feeding popular discontent that more and more welcomes the revolutionary leninian ideologies. Therefore, the days of July sanctioned a Bolshevik manifestation suffocated by the provisional Government and the tension preceding a civil war is hovering. The attempt of governmental repression of the Bolsheviks is shown with various expedients: individuals of the wealthy classes who attack and kill a soldier of the people by stabbing him with umbrellas and even laughing during the act, the newspaper Pravdna, symbol of Bolsheviks, is thrown in the Sennaja and finally a horse, also symbolizing the workers, is pulled up by a drawbridge of the river and from the top falls there. This last sequence symbolizes in particular the division of the party of workers, created between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, and the will to create the same division between the Government and the proletariat. Thus, Kerensky's haughtily conservative pride is mocked, which also reintroduces the death penalty, while the Bolsheviks are repressed and forced into hiding: Lenin himself is confined to the countryside near the finnish border. So, General Kornilov, in the name of God and homeland, seeks to resolve the political crisis by marching on Petersburg in order to overthrow the provisional government and return to the Tsar's regime, but in response the Bolsheviks increase the number of supporters and organize defenses of their revolution, allied with the dissidents of the army, a pact sealed and accompained by the footsteps of the popular dance Lezginka. Then, on October 10th, the Congress decide for the insurrection, in support of the leninian ideologies hampered by the Mensheviks, fixing the date of taking power between the night of 24th and the morning of October 25th. Kerensky prepares for the siege with troops formed by the female Death Battalion and the Cossacks, but the latter defending their neutrality about the conflict. After this period of political clashes and climate of cold tension, the light signal fired by the warship Aurora sanctions the stealth introduction of the Bolsheviks in the Winter Palace and the subsequent insurrection and taking of the same. The occupants are suppressed and arrested, many of whom are also surprised to try to steal valuable objects from the palace as silverware and symbols of the former Tsarist regime. Finally, definitively defeating the provisional Government and repressed the coup d'état of Kornilov, the Bolsheviks are celebrating in laughter and applause for victory and Lenin.

Comment:

A historical documentary that uses the symbology to express the opinion of propaganda in favor of the Bolshevik Revolution. A manifesto that exposes the fight against the conservative regime and reflects the discontent of the working class and the skepticism expressed with regard to outdated conceptions. The protagonists of the events are painted characterically to suggest a juxlacing to their representative faction: Lenin is literally the voice of discontent, forced to silence and wait for the auspicious moment, while it is parallel denigrated the solitary chess game of Kerensky (his attempted takeover of power) and seen as an arrogant act that approaches him to the presumption of Napoleon and the peacock, thereby exposing himself to the same attempted counter-coup of Kornilov, Determined to reinstate the Tsarist regime (the statue of Alexander III is reintroduced in rewind after its destruction in the initial scenes). Symbols, these, which demonstrate the propaganda will of Ejzenstejn and explain the ideology behind his cinema, used as a means to divulge socialism and denigrate its opponents, painting them as evil forces that hinder the wishes of the people. In support of his own position, the director alternates with the history metaphors associated with events or characters, the use of intellectual editing imposes on the viewer the conceptual link of images, which differentiates Ejzenstejn's documentary style and dissociates it from a willingness to exhibit objective and detached in bringing the facts back. Innovative technical and editing techniques, used as an expressive medium and not purely as a style exercise, make this historical film a significant didactic medium reflecting a chaotic period of crisis in the history of the formation of the Soviet Union.

The Eel (1997)

A dostoevskijan history of acceptance of guilt and reintegration

[9/10 · 3 November 2018]

The Invisible Eel (1997) by Shohei Imamura.

Short synopsis:

Japan, 1988. A married man, named Yamashita, comes home where his wife awaits him, with whom he seems to have an excellent relationship. So he goes out alone to fish, reading during the journey what seems to be a poem, with a melancholic air. Unexpectedly returned from fishing with his friends, Yamashita arrives home and, with enormous surprise, caughts his wife betraying him with a lover. After a transition from amazement to rage, the husband takes a cutlass and enters the room, stabbing the lover first and his wife after, repeatedly. After completing the gesture, totally calm and relaxed, he still walks dirty of blood at a police station, self-denounding himself and handing over the murder weapon. After 8 years, he gets released on parole and brings home an eel. End spoilers.

Comment:

A movie that investigates the psychology of a man living the trauma of an assassination, with a strong drama, thanks also to an extraordinary directing as suspended, reminiscent of the style of Kitano and characterized by a few close-ups, if not with regard to the main character Yamashita. In fact, he has to deal with social reintegration and all that he entails, something that with ups and downs he lands morally. So it is an eel his only refuge from his past, sometimes even from his present, and with the animal he develops a particular bond. The film has an extreme technical and stylistic level: there is not an element that is not minutely studied, from the narrative structure, to the engaging environments, to the interpretations of each actor, up to the magnificent photograph. In particular the latter is creepy, especially in the exterior (where most of the film is filmed), thanks to the light games that use the natural irradiation of the day and the artificial one during night shootings. Palme d'Or (Imamura is one of the 8 directors to have won 2 times this prestigious prize), definitely a must for every cinephile that defines itself by this word, but the movie has low availability. An unmissable revisitation of the themes characterizing the works of Dostoevskij, in particular to the crime and punishment with which the film shares some elements, especially concerning the psychology of the assassin in which a parallelism is created between russian Raskol'nikow and japanese Yamashita.

The Age of Swordfish (1955)

Giving respect to the fisher's courage

[8/10 · 3 November 2018]

Lu Tempu of Li Pisci spata (1954), directed by Vittorio De Seta.

Synopsis:

The short documentary opens at the Strait of Messina, in 1954, accompanied by popular songs. The captured story exposes the ancient fishing of swordfish, speard in the open sea during the deposition of eggs in warm waters, between Calabria and Sicily. A practice that requires a lot of patience: the waiting pervades the sailors, they do not hear but the noise of the waves and the whistling of the wind, while on the shore women wash and chat, waiting for their return and the festive atmosphere that awaits them. Then suddenly the silence is broken by the lookout of the lookout-man by his high rise, screaming and inciting the rowers. He gives them the guidance needed to hunt. With extreme strength and coordination they rehand, allowing the torch to approach and hit the prey, but still it is not finished because the fish tries to sink to save his own life. However, the experience of the sailor is enough to make vain the fish's attempt and, tired, it is dragged into the boat. At the end of the day, when it gets dark, they return to the shore accompanied by the laughter and the songs of the community that warmly welcomes the sailors, respecting the tradition. A process that is also a source of wonder for the children of the country, fascinated by the ancestral rite and attracted by the call of the sea. At night, some of the eldest of them, they come out with a boat, willing to hold onto this hunting ceremony, training and dwelling on the horizon, which encloses their future.

Comment:

It shows to the spectators the fishing activity, keeping the respect it deserves, without the second propaganda purposes that the documentary can have or want to convey. De Seta limits his thoughts to bring back an ancient process and to give a popular poetic, also to express its fascination. An exposition of the ambush that man implements to the damage of the animal, strong of its ingenuity and the cooperation of specialized hunters. During the hunt, the frantic montage contrasts the chaos of the movements and the interferences (noises, movement of the boat, indications shouted by the lookout, direction of the fish,...) with the patience, the calm and the attention that the ones must keep to succeed. In the evening, on the way back, natural photography exploits the dim flare of twilight to give the images a unique contrast, which portrays the silhouettes in the foreground leaving behind the sunset: an identity of the individual that only light reveals, because it is during the day that harpoon fishing is done, so the time when fishermen can fulfill their task by revealing themselves, while in the evening finds space the fire, which illuminates celebrating people. A folkloristic passage brought back with care, insisting on the realistic component that permeates all the documentary and that succeeds in giving you a look of loving honor, bringing the spectator to experience a sort of mystical-religious respect towards the fishing activity. A tradition that happens without spoken dialogue, because it binds the human being to its primordial origin.

Night and Fog (1956)

A documentary of a puzzling visual power

[10/10 · 13 October 2018]

A historical documentary with a staggering power: "Night and fog" (1956), directed by Alain Resnais. The title refers to the nickname "Nacht und nebel", the name of the operation of annihilation of the opponents of the Nazi regime, whose initial appeared on the back of the uniforms of the deportees. Mostly of the shots consist of real archival material of the second world war, provided on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Shoah.

Comment:

It accompanies us during the vision a narrative text, at times philosophical, suitable to increase and emphasize the suffering, the violence and the oppression. Resnais contrasts its long and moving shots with the more static black and white of the historical archive, but jumping from genocide to 1956 does not dample the concepts, because its is a cry of despair that wants to remind us not to forget. Impressive in content and images, extremely critical in our dislike, in our pretending that this does not happen (or even did not happen). A forward-looking manifesto on the maximum abuse of man, sadly reduced to livestock and destined for slaughter after a cycle of slavery and torture both physical and psychological. Every dignity falls, stripping the individual and forcing him to surrender his human garments, his freedom and, only at the end, his own life. A memento of great historical and cultural value, which forces the spectators to witness an uncomfortable spectacle, necessary to justice. It conceals in his pessimism a slightest hope towards a better future, that can remind us and avoid the errors of past, breaking the cyclic motion that afflicts our species by now, too.

The Meaning of Life (1983)

The meaning of life (1983), by Monty Phyton

[10/10 · 13 October 2018]

A very ambitious title prefixed Monthy Phyton with this "The meaning of life" (1983). Directed by Terry Jones, except for the first introductory short signed by Terry Gilliam (who distorts his initial animated idea without the knowledge of the other members). Troubled production, convinces Jones's Screenplay. An interesting parallelism with the evolution of the careers of Jones and Gilliam: the first one surrenders despite his own ideas, if rejected by the other members of the group, while Gilliam "fights" to impose his thoughts (and his cinema), by any means available. It seems that, as evidenced by their different filmography, Gilliam's approach works maybe better, since he has been capable of directing movies by imposing his concept idea.

Comment:

This immense masterpiece of screenplay searches the answer to the question perhaps more important that the human being has ever posed, without being pretentious, despite sometimes manifesting his opinion in a veatedly blatant. A path dismayed by powerful criticisms of modern society and profound metaphorical messages, expressed with a demential and black comedy, never resulting offensive. "The meaning of life" is a chaotic struggle and it is understood that only those who are committed can get it: the final reference in the studio, in fact, is a real motivational that alludes to a positive vision, willing but not maniacal, of its approach to the question. The metacinema component is extremely represented, it is a continuous dialogue with the spectator in a playful way, as on a jousting, ironic and self-ironic on the society, on the cinema, on the public and on the movie itself. Irreverent and ingenious, a black comedy that plays, without escaping from the limits of satire, with sexism, homophobia, racism and other themes, in some respects almost untouchable, such as religion, pregnancy, social differences, death and much more (of which the film itself is impregnated, as for example demonstrates the absence of women in the cast, interpreted by male actors. A film of incredible completeness, although chaotic, on the other hand it reflects the abyss that surrounds the title itself, which does not have a determinable solution. The whole is expressed with the rebellion to the authorities, probably influenced, also for the similarity of the directors, from the final hymn to the Freedom in "Zero de conduite" of Vigo, including the cinema itself, questioned and analyzed in a critical way remembering Keaton's "Sherlock Jr" and "The cameraman", but focusing on the other side of the camera, that is our part of spectators.

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Sherlock Jr. (1924), by Buster Keaton

[10/10 · 6 October 2018]

It is with my great pleasure that today I am talking about one of the greatest films of all Time: Sherlock Jr (1924), directed and played by visionary genius Buster Keaton.

Synopsis without Spoiler:

Keaton is a poor orderly who deals with the management of a cinema, with the hidden dream of becoming a detective following the rules illustrated in the book "How to be a detective". After a series of gags related to money, Buster, despite his bad financial condition, buys a cheap ring for the woman he is infatuated with, Kathryn McGuire (who plays herself), lying on the actual price of the article to pretend to be rich. However, the woman presents a rival in love that hinders Buster, even being accused for the theft of a watch, that the antagonist has actually committed. Then Keaton gets kicked out and returns to his work, where he dows and dreams of being a great and infallible detective: Sherlock Jr. End of spoilers.

Comment:

It is very difficult to find the right words that can describe in a comprehensive way this unattainable masterpiece. The technical level of the film is extraordinary and becomes unimaginable if it is contextualized in the release period: many scenes have an incredible impact on the spectator, Keaton can literally make possible the impossible and play to flip everything . The harmless becomes the danger, the adversities become supports that help him, what is not possible to think is physically expressed by breaking the limits of reality. The dreamlike dimension that succeeds in staging is really ingenious and supported by gags and situations that do not feel the slightest weight of the nearly 100 years that they carry, still proving hilarious even today. This film embodies the concept of "immortal film" like no other and is the ancestor not only with regard to the onirism (and therefore surrealism) but it is also one of the first movies (if not the first one) to approach the metacinema in a very deep way (which Keaton will face again a few years later as an actor, in "The cameraman" of E. Sedwick). In addition, it faces a immense variety of themes (such as love, ambition not fulfilled by fortune, poverty and many, many others) and enjoys a narrative structure very complex and hectic: in fact, you are dragged more and more by events in an increasing visual pleasure. It is entertainment in the true sense of the term, the one that rips the eyeballs and presses them strongly against the screen, bringing you to the end of the film in tears of sadness mixed with joy for the displeasure of the fact that, unfortunately, it has an end, demonstrating that no one has to dress up superhero's costumes, shoot laser beams or explode to entertain effectively and, why not, be also a bit original and refined. In addition, although it belongs to the comic genre, it also manages to have a rather serious vision and pessimistic of reality, this mainly due to the fact that the character of Keaton (like all his other movies) embodies the unfortunate man par excellence, although not everything in his misfortune ends up harming, and it is therefore clear the enormous influence that helped create donald duck, appeared for the first time only 10 years later. This is also a fact that consists of one of the main differences between the characters played by Keaton and the Charlot of Chaplin (often wrongly approached) and therefore also of their own way of making cinema, although both are perfectionists up to maniacal levels. Several times during the movie you will find yourself saying sentences like "here the stuntman has really risked his life" and know that it is always Keaton to do them, without a stunt. In conclusion it is a necessary film, every cinephile must forcibly see it at least once in life (lasts 44 minutes and you can also find it on Youtube, so finding excuses for not doing it is impossible). It is the apex of the metacinema directed by his own father and most likely it is thanks to him (and Lumière brothers, too) if today we can taste directors like Lynch and films like "The player" of Robert altman, in addition to the similarities about the approach to the metacinema of Monty Phyton (especially In "the meaning of life"). You will crave for more.

Intolerance (1916)

"Intolerance"(1916), by David Wark Griffith

[10/10 · 2 October 2018]

"Intolerance"(1916), by David Wark Griffith

Comment:

The narrative, contrary to the Director's previous feature film, is extremely fragmented and does not constitute the cornerstone of film, which is a generic "poetic" discourse, perhaps a little elusive, on the condemnation of all forms of intolerance (theme dear to the director, who will resume it in the future, in part, as for example in "The Broken Lily" (1919)). For this reason, Griffith sacrifices narrative linearity instead a more poetic means of emotion, as confirmed, above all, by episodes 1 and 4 (this last episode conceals a huge tribute to Giovanni Pastrone's Cabiria (1914)). In addition, Griffith determines the concepts through the choices linked to the framing (a glaring example is when the high priest watches from afar the kingdom, which he will betray, emphasizing the distance between them and therefore the intolerance that places them on the two opposite sides of the chessboard). Episodes 2, 3 and 4 differ from the first one as none of them has a happy ending, because they exist to witness intolerance as the architect of ruin, derived from non-acceptance (primarily religious, as evidenced by the various references: Jesus, the massacre of the Huguenots by the Catholics and the supplanting of the worship of Baal-Marduk by Ishtar, the goddess of sexual love). Also in all these three episodes there is an initial condition of intolerant climate. The first episode, however, encloses the very essence of the message of the American director: the love that the Dear Girl feels against The Boy is the only hope that separates him from his death by execution, due to both the intolerant misunderstanding of Uplifters and the governor's indifference. The happy ending underlines this basic dichotomy, bringing to light Griffith's thought, also misunderstood by accusations against the previous "The birth of a nation". Moreover, the omission of real protagonists with proper names is apt to demonstrate the concept in a broad sense and to identify the spectator in each of the characters of the various events (perhaps except for the second episode, Judeo, evidently framed compared to the work in its entirety). Inspired as told by Pastrone, there are a large variety of narrative techniques such as the use of the masks, filming that exploit the depth of field and use it, albeit significantly less than the previous film, close-ups that highlight the psychology of a character (a technique still absent in movies outside the United States and one of the first emblems of Griffith's innovative style). An immortal ancestor that reflects an extremely prolific historical period, from the point of view of the innovative ideas in the cinema's world, a real watershed between the narrative cinema and the poetic one, capable of expressing a concept or givig a message, in this case a hymn to non-violence.