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Reviews
Mr. Jones (2019)
An underwritten chapter.
Some atrocities are nearly buried. My wife had never heard of the Ukrainian Famine until we watched this splendid film. The perspective of the narrative is exactly right, as the title character is nearly victimized by his story. The somber colors, pallid faces, stark snowscapes, rough farmhouses, make us wonder if ever there was a time of sunlight and plenty in this unhappy land. But even worse were Stalin's lies and censorship that infected the west to this day.
The Vintner's Luck (2009)
Tantalizing
A lovely film that unfolds like a fairy tale and reminded me of Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" and Passolini's "Gospel of St. Matthew." The viticulture and winemaking is lovingly depicted, honoring the craftsmanship and sensibilities required to make a great vintage. But we lose track of a major character, (spoilers), Celeste, who may or may not go mad, who mayor may not cause Aurora's illness, and who absolutely does not age. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the rest of the characters when they show benevolence, vulnerability, depth, and courage.
Matilda (2017)
Von Sternberg lives!
There was a time when MGM overshadowed its competitors with sumptuous productions of romantic scripts. Profundity and historical accuracy were put on the back burner; beautiful actors fighting and loving in gorgeous costumes against astonishing sets were preeminent. Mathilde, a Russian film, evokes that era and I loved every frame of it. If there is anything poignant about this film, it is the audience's knowledge that (spoiler) our hero, Nicholas II, and his entire family will be brutally murdered within two decades. And so this brief love story, like all living beauty, will wither. So feast your senses because tomorrow...?
The Florida Project (2017)
Angels with Dirty Faces
My wife walked out of the room and asked me to turn down the volume on the kids' voices. But I sat there transfixed and wondering how they captured such natural and yet fully focussed performances from six year old children as well as the adult cast. Part of the extreme naturalism is the bizarre sets: gaily painted slums, buildings in the shape of an orange, an ice cream scoop, or a pirate's head; ersatz Disney that could only end at the real Disney World, which of course, isn't real at all. The behavior and language of the children imitates that of their parents, while the self destructiveness and chaotic emotions of the adults shows that they're not grown up at all. How can anyone grow up in such an unnurturing world? Only Willem Dafoe is in control of himself and he, unfortunately, is subject to the motel owner's dictates. And yet, all is not bleak. The fact that a film like this exists, the fact that children can discover a source of delight just about anywhere, and the fact that the maternal instinct can thrive in the most imperfect of women, all give me hope.
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
What might have been...
Discovering this film just last night, I regret that Michael Cimino's career has been so unproductive. T&L is first rate. Special mention should be made of George Kennedy's performance as a perverse bully with the sexual sensibility of a fourteen year old. Also, Geoff Lewis is allowed to steal scene after scene as the shlamazel thug trying to be one of the guys. But the real star of the film is Cimino who moves effortlessly from panoramic nature shots to chases to farce to violence. As one who admired "Deerhunter" more than he liked it, and found "Heaven's Gate" insufferable, it was nice to find a Cimino film that does not alienate its audience. Indeed, whenever I wondered if a shot was being held too long or a sequence was starting too far back, I found instead that Cimino had a reason for pacing his film the way he did and his method of story telling was perfect.
Simon och ekarna (2011)
Absorbing
World War II experienced from an oblique angle. The characters are just far enough from the vortex that their lives are spared, but not so far as to avoid its terror or the antisemitism that changes the course of their lives, Jew and gentile alike, by pervasive fear. Special mention should be made of the character Isa played by Katharina Schüttler. She's a young woman who emerged from Auschwitz traumatized and reckless. From the actress's first moment on screen, we see that this is someone we have never encountered before. Perhaps in another generation she might have become Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, et al) but in this film, she's a well of anger and fatalism. She's the wild card that makes Simon realize there are limits to his rebelliousness. Indeed, all the characters test their limits: Karin to have an affair, Erik to maintain his anger and jealousy, Inga to keep either the love of her life or her son, Isak to enter the world, Reuben to satisfy his desires. The film is unfailingly absorbing and, despite a few fanciful scenes with the tree and the clouds, utterly genuine.
The Commute (2011)
A Likable Bad Guy
The Commute, like Darren Aronofsky's 2008 film The Wrestler, contrasts a wrestler's public and private persona. However, this combatant is not tragic or self destructive. Most affecting for me is his voice when he growls and threatens during his news conferences as opposed to when he speaks softly to his wife and little daughter. I came away liking Matthew Bloom very much and hoping he finds a different career before long. The film has some shots of Bloom walking through the desert, apparently to give his Commute a symbolic dimension, but I think the scenes of him and his family sitting on the sofa say it all. The film was entered in the Lake Arrowhead Film Festival in 2011 and I think it's fair to say it was very well received.