bob-bubsky Reviews

Anxiety (1998)

Interesting exercise on ageing, daydreaming and isolation

[9/10 · 22 February 2014]

Manoel de Oliveira brings us a movie which is really a sequence of three stories loosely connected. The feature that binds these stories together is the fact that there is a dark tone in all of them and anxiety for different reasons. Be it the scientist afraid of getting old or the man fearful for the lover's welfare, there is a great portrait of suffering in many forms throughout the movie. In the end, I found several memorable moments all through the movie, but especially in the third story. The first story was also pretty interesting and the dialogues incredibly rich (as in most of Oliveira's movies). You can see the hand of the director in the movements of the camera, in the disposition of the actors and in the haunting mood of the narrative. 9/10

Vai~E~Vem (2003)

Great movie-legacy

[10/10 · 14 February 2014]

Amazing movie. It flows in a peculiar way. There are, from the very start of the movie, shots of him going about his daily life and you have the opportunity to see glimpses of Lisbon through these commonplace trips. The movie is sprinkled with bits of humor here and there but what really makes the movie is the sheer atmosphere of it. Even more than in other movies of his, there is a very enthralling meditative aspect to it. It is more of an inner voyage that only Monteiro would have been able to depict. You will certainly love it. Just don't expect mainstream Hollywood nonsense; this is a different universe altogether.

Recollections of the Yellow House (1989)

Masterpiece

[10/10 · 14 February 2014]

I can't believe that I watched this movie only this recently. What a masterpiece. It is one of the greatest comedies I have ever seen. But it is not an obvious one and there are no cues for when to laugh as in so many distasteful sitcom-style-movies. This one will demand some effort from you but it is worth it. The story seems trivial, it revolves around the life of a man living in a house with other people and how he spends his existence, how he deals with his landlady, his job, etc... But that is only the scenery. As in most of his movies, there is a deep symbolism both in the dialogues and in the sets which is the real crux of the story. There are also genuinely funny moments throughout the film, which I won't mention so I won't spoil it. I give it a 10/10.