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Reviews
Seppuku (1962)
Watch this Fascinating and Moving Story Unfold
It is fascinating to watch the narrative unfold in this Japanese period drama set during a time of relative peace when Samurai were not actively employed as warriors and so many were disenfranchised "ronin" seeking to eke out a living and a meaningful existence.
Beautifully shot in black and white and masterfully showing Japanese restraint in its pacing, the film examines the Samurai Bushido (honor) code. But, as a proud ronin named Hanshiro recounts (often through flashbacks) his moving personal story to the Samurai of the House of Iyi, the story unfolds in unexpected ways and we get an opportunity to stare into the souls of those proud Samurai. We also get the opportunity to asses where true honor lies. Is it honorable to adhere to the expected rules and rituals, or is it more honorable to reassess the rules as times of change and to let go of rigidity to show compassion to fellow humans in need?
La otra conquista (1998)
Breathes new live into historical events
Films like The Other Conquest should be considered historically significant in their own right, not because they dramatize (or bring to life) historical events, but because they breathe new live into chapters of history that are otherwise in danger of either being relegated to legends — anecdotes that society can conveniently revisit without really considering the human substance of the stories — or worse still, becoming corrupted and misrepresented over time. In fact many of history's chapters have been purposefully misrepresented or hidden from the onset to serve various interest groups. (And if one reads of the battles that the Director, Salvador Carrasco, went though to get this film released in Mexico, you will certainly gain a sense of some of those forces being at play!)
Through The Other Conquest, Writer and Director Salvador Carrasco breathes new life into a significant period in Mexico's history (the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1520's). The film is visually stunning, rich in historical detail, and effectively shows sensitivity to the characters on each size of the story. Focusing on the character's of Spanish Friar Diego and Aztec scribe Topiltzin (the New Order versus the Old Order) and their relationship to their Mother God icons, Carrasco examines the lengths the colonizing party will go to to impose its will and a new identity on the indigenous Aztecs, and the lengths the Aztecs will go to to retain their identity. The ultimate result is thought provoking.
I would also recommend re-watching this movie with the Director's Commentary. It will help you gain a much deeper understanding of the subject matter and the Director's vision.
Le fantôme de la liberté (1974)
Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Luis Buñuel!
Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Luis Buñuel! In the video introduction to The Phantom of Liberty, screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière noted that he and Director Luis Buñuel set out with the premise of presenting the audience with a series of stories (tableaux) and then, just as each story gets interesting, ending the story, and moving on to another story. Such a premise for a movie could be a disaster but under the masterful direction and writing of Buñuel and Carrière, the end result is brilliant.
More than just turning traditional story telling on its head and making us examine our expectations of storytelling, the filmmaker turns social mores, customs and taboos on their head and make us examine our expectations of such societal constructs.
The tableaux flows easily from one to another and never appear disjointed, leaving us free to become immersed in Bunuel's whimsical, farcical, touching, and provocative topsy-turvy world.