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Reviews
Some Call It Loving (1973)
a weird film worth seeing because of its strangeness
It happened that i have seen this film just tonight at the "Etrange Festival" in Paris, an annual festival of strange, odd and weird films. It is its thirteen edition and Some call it Loving (or Sleeping Beauty as it is called in France) fits perfectly in the usual tone of the festival. Its weirdness stems from its incoherent and incomprehensible plot, fantastic tone and incredible casting: Zalman King as the lover, acting worse than even the producer Robert Evans when actor, Richard Pryor an alcoholic/drug addict/mad man, the sister of Mia Farrow (Tisa Farrow). The film is supposed to be a distorted story of sleeping beauty. And it is true: it is not a good film but its quality resides in its ability to dare nearly every thing with absolute seriousness: A pair of (tap) dancing nuns for example, and also a nearly gratuitous strip tease scene The film is filled with wooden dialog which resonates strangely in the often rich in-house set with a mawkish romantic music in the background. A film to be seen and appreciated with a second degree state of mind .
Donnie Darko (2001)
extraordinary film, supported by a great cast, mixing fantastic elements with familiar ones of everyday life
Minor spoilers herein.
Donnie Darko became an instant cult classic when it went out on 2001. Not only because of the fantastic or science-fiction elements in it. The mysterious and strangeness that pervades the whole film, stems from the insertion of fantastic elements troubling suddenly the daily life of a typical American suburbs and especially (only ?) the hero, Donnnie Darko.
Donnie Darko is a high school student in a private institution, plagued by somnambulism, and visions of a giant fearsome, devilish, rabbit who dictates him to commit violent and seemly destructive actions. Even before seeing the rabbit, he must attend sessions with a psychotherapist because of violent past acts. Thanks to the rabbit, he escapes being crushed during its sleep by a huge reactor falling from nowhere. From this start, doom is looming, threatening the world. In effect, the film is set in the end of the eighties, at the end of the Reagan Era, before the election of Georges Bush. So the world we know as a spectator has not ended. The mystery is installed we feel of the impending doom must be thwarted in some ways or else. Like great fantastic films we never know if all is real or a great part the product of the mind of the main character, Donnie Darko. Is all not a dream of a sleeping young boy before the crash of the reactor. Nearly all are not hallucinations from the pills he is obliged to take? We'll know at the end.
The real force of the film is in the successful mixing of different disparate elements:
- Psychology suspense. Donnie Darko is real a troubled teenager, trying to find a place in an adult and largely inept world to his eyes. But the family and its parents are not ridiculous, only mildly Republican. They are not portrayed as bigot or stupid or insensitive. His sister (played by the beautiful and talented Maggie Gyllenhaal, the real life sister of Jake playing Donnie Darko) is not necessarily his enemy, though they are fighting verbally at times.
- Social satire. Swayse plays skillfully a positive action guru which has the support of the school hierarchy. The simplistic solutions he wants to impose are cleverly denounced publicly by a rebel Donnie Darko.
- Science-fiction through a possible tale of time traveling and parallel universes. The film plays with time paradoxes which are central to the structure of the film. This element succeeds in being exposed in a not ridiculous fashion is the source of the success of the film. In fact it helps creating an atmosphere of unreality and danger throughout the film.
- An '80 evocation and near nostalgia (mainly through the soundtracks: for example the Killing Moon of the Echo and Bunny Men at the start the film, the party)
- Teen and college coming of age movies through the love affair wit the newcomer girl.
A special mention for the excellent supporting cast, especially Drew Barry More and Noah Wyle, as high school teachers out place in the ridiculous narrow minded private high school.
I, Robot (2004)
a good enjoyable action movie but nothing more, less witty than the adapted books of Asimov
Inspired by the science fiction Robot short stories and novels of Isaac Asimov, the film I Robot is not an adaptation of a particular one. Instead, as shown by the credits at the end, the baseline story was 'suggested' by Isaac Asimov's works. Hence the illustration of the Three Laws of Robotic, mainly the first (a robot can't harm a human) and how it could be bypassed, are a pretext for another summer Hollywood blockbuster. Not a bad one in fact, but not a particular inspired one altogether. As in Asimov works, the film is a detective story but turned here into action packed thriller movie. So we get the standard auto chases, cliff hangers and fights.
The special effects are good, especially the computer-generated robots but the vision of the future, in 2035, is just an extrapolation of our own. Neither it has the power displayed in the eighties 'Blade Runner', nor the originality of Alex Proyas previous work 'Dark City'. Moreover Asimov was generally more confident with ideas of intelligent robots working in our daily surroundings. Contrary to the movie, (SPOILERS) no hostile swarms of robots could be seen in his books.
As often, in science fiction films the best elements stem from the adapted books and stories, written in a more witty way than the script.
I would not like to seem to despise the film, a quite enjoyable one with very acceptable storyline for an action movie, good performance by Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan though the other main character 'Sonny' the robot feels more touching. I notice that it is common in science fiction movie or TV shows, that the alien or robot characters feels more moving than the real people. Take android Data or Klingon Worf in 'Star Trek Next generation', torn between conflicted aspirations, were livelier than the rest of Enterprise crew, robotic and military. And, as a standard bow to some Hollywood habit, the robotic expert Susan Calvin of the books is turned from a spinster to an attractive, yet stern-looking young woman, played by Bridget Moynahan.
L'ami de mon amie (1987)
a charming, refreshing, very enjoyable film more complex than it seems at first
A young woman, Blanche (Emmanuelle Chaulet), is working in the City Hall of the New Town of Cergy Pontoise, in the north west of Paris, on the banks of the river Oise. Alone, recently arrived in the Parisian Region, she befriended another young woman, a computer science student finishing its school, Lea (Sophie Renoir) with which she met her boyfriend Fabien (Eric Viellard), and an acquaintance of the couple, Alexandre (François-Eric Gendron).
The French title (l'ami de mon amie, the friend of her friend) is more explicit than the American or English one. (Boyfriends and Girlfriends): A reference to the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' but distorted to 'the friend of my friend is my friend'. This title, an example of the irony of Eric Rohmer, the boyfriend of my friend could become my (boy)friend
This film belongs to the cycle Comedies and Proverbs, the former term being as important as the latter one in order to understand the meaning of the film. This cycle, filmed in the eighties followed the precedent older cycle, six Moral Tales. Where as the latter concentrated on middle aged married man tempted by another woman but who finally, in relief, returned to his wife, Rohmer in the series of Comedies and Proverbs, turns his attention towards younger female characters. But because it is comedy, the tone is also much lighter and ironic. Here he examines the sexual freedom, (which in fact he disapproves but never condemns overtly in his films), its consequences and how the younger generation is trying to live with a new set of rules.
One of these rules, never sleeps with the friend of her or his friend, as often, in earlier time with the traditional moral, is finally broken. But there is more than a tale of love and seduction. It is a study of characters and how love creates a web of relationship among this small group of young urban professionals. As the relationships between them evolve the spectator finally feels some sympathy for the protagonists, at first not very likable. Especially Blanche who is the center of the entire plot, if one can tell of real plot in Rohmer film. Alone self-pitying, infatuated with the irritating, pretentious, serial seducer Alexandre, she blossoms when stricken by real love. She is opposed to her friend yet rival, Lea, physically as well mentally. With dark hair and tall, Lea is freer sexually than the small light-haired Blanche awaiting the great love for two years. The quest of Blanche is the perfect true love, not just an adventure. Ironically, at first she blindly falls in love with the great local seducer Alexandre.
With discreet symbolism, Rohmer gives clues about the different players. Blanche (white in french), around whom the whole film revolves demands only a pure love. As Delphine in Summer (Le Rayon Vert), the precedent film of the same cycle, the very absence of love, this void, fills here with anguish. Its flat at Cergy Saint Christophe is decorated in minimalist white fashion, thus emphasizing the loneliness of its life. Blanche and Léa sport alternatively the same colors, green and blue, this swap of colors underlining the possible swap of boyfriends.
Rohmer, because of its interest in urbanization (the DVD version contains a documentary he made earlier on industrial aesthetics), sets the action of the film in the New Town of Cergy-Pontoise, described as a quiet, modern, ultra clean Utopia. In fact the spectator sees the town only through Blanche eyes, mainly the pedestrian streets around the center, the banks of the river Oise, the Ricardo Bofil buildings where she lives. But I don't think the Cergy depicted could be viewed, as often said, as a reflection of a superficiality of its young 'yuppies' characters. The purpose of Rohmer was to see the impact of modern architecture on love life. But the answer is in the film: It changes nothing. On the contrary it amplifies or underlines the love relationship between the different characters.
'L'ami de mon amie 'is an extremely enjoyable film, full of charm, thanks to the direction of Eric Rohmer and the talent of its young actresses, then in theirs early twenties, like the young women they play. The frozen moment of happiness at the end of the film, just before the credits contributes to its charm. But it is problematic: Have the protagonist found enduring love? Will their love relationship and in the same time, their friendship endure the strain of time? Nothing in fact is sure as irony is always present. But if ironic, Rohmer doesn't despise his characters. On contrary he shows a real tenderness and comprehension towards them, especially Blanche.
One of the lighter films of Rohmer, of course very talkative, it is characteristic of all its work, with good mannered young people in search of love while searching themselves. Because of the minimalist direction, it has not aged much since its shot in middle of the eighties. Yet, you can glimpse of the fashion of its period in the clothes of the players if you pay attention on certain details Nowadays, Cergy has aged and worn out a little. Never the modern utopia ironically depicted by Rohmer, it is still a well maintained active town.
Matchstick Men (2003)
good entertaining film with excellent acting
This Ridley Scott feature is different from the other ones such as Gladiator Alien or the still impressive Blade Runner. It is a smaller film and also certainly a far better film than the disastrous efforts such as GI Jane and 1492. Matchstick Men is thriller with its main protagonist (Nicolas Cage), afflicted by obsessive complex disorders of all sorts, earning its living by being a con man. This routine activity is put in disarray, when he met his daughter whom he has never seen. Now a 14 year old smart teenager (Alison Lohman), she obliged him to behave like a dad, a role he obviously does not know how to play. The deft direction of Ridley Scott, good story line and good acting of the entire cast made this film very entertaining. I don't think it can be compared to such classic as the The Sting and it hasn't the darkness of The Grifters of Stephen Frears or the machiavelism of the House of David Mamet. It has the usually twists of such story though the false endings somehow diminishes the plot. It is still a movie I will recommend strongly with a special note for the gifted Alison Lohman, 24, which plays very convincingly a 14 year old girl. As a charming, full of life young girl, she reminds me a little of Kirsten Dunst. This promising role in a big Hollywood film bodes well, I hope for the future of her career. Sam Rockwell, playing the associate of Nicolas Cage is equally good, as good he was earlier this year, in Confession of a Dangerous Mind. And finally Nicolas Cage, perhaps a bit over the top sometimes, is well at ease depicting a con 'artist' man lost between his daughter, who suddenly appeared in his life and his panic attacks caused by his mental disorder. He helps greatly to make original and credible the entire film.
Outland (1981)
Very well crafted and entertaining film with a good Sean Connery
In the near-future, in a space mine set on the Jupiter satellite Io, the new Marshall O'Niel (Sean Connery) discovered a mortal drug trafic. This amphetamine-like drug drives the addicted miners mad and makes them committed suicide. O'Niel encovers the conspiracy, involving the director of the mine, but becomes the target of hitmen, with almost no body helping him. The film is a Science Fiction remake of "High Noon"("le train sifflera trois fois" in French). The train is here replaced by a shuttle from a space station and the Far West by the set on a deep space mining outpost (Not Deep Space Nine).
This a well paced film with a solid acting from Sean Connery. The pursuits, especialy the first in the corridors of the space habitat, are gripping. The film was made in 1981, when the CGI effects were not as prevalent as today. For exemple scenes where humans are dwarfed by huge metalic structures, were executed thanks to a then traditional play of mirrors. I have seen this film at the cinema when it played for the first time in 1981. I have recently watched it again on cable TV and I think it has not aged much. Because it is set on a makeshift sleazy outpost and not a shiny white place as too often in science fiction film, it remains realistic enough, twenty two years later. The themes,a bit overlooked, dangerous mind drugs, greedy multinational (or multi-planet, here) companies, the will and courage of one man against the cowardice of all the others, resonate still in our mind, nowadays. But make no mistake, it not a heavy political film but a good suspense and action film with a science fiction flavour.
Despite some scientific oddities like heads exploding and weightlessness in a zero pressure atmosphere, where as inside the habitat the gravity is normal (by Earth standards), the script remains coherent enough. The strong performance of Sean Connery is helped by those of a serious Peter Boyle and a pre-ER Frances Sternhagen. Rent this film on your local video store or watch it on TV, it is worth seeing it.