gkallen7 Reviews

Ophelia (I) (2017)

A beautiful attempt

[5/10 · 3 February 2020]

Although very well acted, shot and edited, I felt somewhat let-down by this precis of the Hamlet-Ophelia relationship. The contemporary setting, seen mostly in B&W flashbacks, flattens the characters of the pair into unimportant nobodies. The feminist viewpoint (created by the Hamlet actor/scenarist) is all that comes through: that Ophelia, in the presence of Hamlet, is "tongue-tied by authority". It is beautiful to watch, but titling it "Ophelia" led me to hope for more.

Rebus Film Nr. 1 (1925)

While waiting for the feature to start ...

[6/10 · 29 July 2007]

Although created for German cinema audiences, the version which appears on the Kino Video 'Avant Garde 2: Experimental Cinema 1928-1954' DVD set has been adapted for English-speaking audiences. This 'rebus' film is a visual crossword puzzle which was shown in two parts. In the first 10-minute segment, the half-dozen clues are presented through both vivid animation bits as well as film clips derived from current newsreels. There is even a pause to allow the audience to bring out their pencils and paper which the average moviegoer was assumed to be carrying on his/her person. Then a separate short film was shown before the Rebus Film returned for a 5-minute wrap-up, in which the solutions are shown one by one and the viewers can congratulate themselves on their cleverness.

Small Time (1990)

Guidebook to the life of a street mugger

[3/10 · 23 January 2007]

This is a rather stylized representation of a day in the life of a New York street mugger which blends the dialog and timing of a stage play with monochrome art film cuts to give an overview in several chapters of how a Small Time thug's routine escalates to the almost inevitable conclusion of murder. Early scenes of his home life show him almost relating to his mother and two half-siblings, all of whom rely on his street skills to keep them fed. Later he meets up with his work friends who pass the time between muggings by practicing their rap routines. Most of the film's running time is devoted to his pattern of stalking likely victims--usually older women--on the sidewalks and in the subways of New York. When the opportunity arises, he allows himself to be taken home for gay sex, but his anger always suggests a violent conclusion. By the time the hand gun appears, the conclusion is obvious, but the reasoning remains unclear. Vince is not an antihero, nor even a tragic victim, and why such a character rates his own movie is a question without an answer.

This Is Not a Test (1962)

Atomic-age film noir.

[6/10 · 22 October 2006]

People who are expecting a science-fiction plot will be much disappointed by this B&W suspense film, set entirely at a highway roadblock at night. The plot elements of a hard-boiled detective story (escaped murderer, faithless alcoholic wife trolling for danger) are fitted into the nuclear holocaust environment typical of the late 1950s and early 1960s America. The success of the Soviet Union's Sputnik in 1957 and the perceived threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 form the framework of a story of little people whose lives are overtaken by events they cannot control. "Thirteen Days" (2000) would be a suitable "A" film to this low-budget "B" film in order to supply the background of tension missing to the contemporary viewer who comes upon this film with no forewarning.

Trocadero (1944)

String of wartime nightclub routines strung together

[5/10 · 29 May 2006]

Judy and Johnny are orphaned siblings being raised by Tony Rocadero, a Hollywood restaurateur who knows no limit in supporting his adopted children, even sending them both off to college. When Tony dies suddenly, one of them has to return home to keep the establishment open. The film opens with a present-day (present-day 1944) sequence of cameo appearances by 1940s Hollywood celebrities, then becomes a series of flashbacks explaining the history of the Hollywood Trocadero, usually in the form of musical numbers by the various types of big band, singing-dancing and stand-up acts which had kept the club going. Along the way, both Judy and Johnny find love and learn the difference between pretentious upper-class fronting and real-people sincerity. There's nothing that stands out about the film, but in 1944 watching it in a heated theater certainly beat sitting at home in the dark.