Spoilers herein.
Greens and ochres. Germans and Russians. The expected disguised as mystery. I am beginning to appreciate the profound power that films have to define life today.
I became interested in this film for two reasons. (It is my initial Rohmer.) The first is that it is about the influence of image on society using modern film but set in a time before film images had any power. So the images are from painting. Rohmer is a film intellectual, perhaps so aggressively so the term has no meaning. At any rate, I knew what he intended this film to be about: ideals, film and consequences.
The second reason this got bumped up on my list is because I admire Greenaway's ideas on vision and soul. And HIS list of the ten best films includes this one! I can definitely see why superficially. This is a very paintery experience: extremely composed. Every action has physical grace which defines the story: one can easily watch it with no sound.
The story is in the manner of a German Austen adapted for the stage -- it is a little too `Bulwer-Lytton'-ish for my taste, and Greenaway's too to judge by `Draughtsman's Contract.' The camera is in the manner recently seen in `Mood for Love.' Languid.
Greens and ochres. Germans and Russians. The expected disguised as mystery. I am beginning to appreciate the profound power that films have to define life today.
I became interested in this film for two reasons. (It is my initial Rohmer.) The first is that it is about the influence of image on society using modern film but set in a time before film images had any power. So the images are from painting. Rohmer is a film intellectual, perhaps so aggressively so the term has no meaning. At any rate, I knew what he intended this film to be about: ideals, film and consequences.
The second reason this got bumped up on my list is because I admire Greenaway's ideas on vision and soul. And HIS list of the ten best films includes this one! I can definitely see why superficially. This is a very paintery experience: extremely composed. Every action has physical grace which defines the story: one can easily watch it with no sound.
The story is in the manner of a German Austen adapted for the stage -- it is a little too `Bulwer-Lytton'-ish for my taste, and Greenaway's too to judge by `Draughtsman's Contract.' The camera is in the manner recently seen in `Mood for Love.' Languid.