Roman de Gare

"Roman de Gare" (2007)
Directed by Claude Lelouch

It is difficult to place a film like this into a category. Would it be classified as a thriller? A character study? A drama? Probably a combination of the three. This French film follows several different threads that eventually converge around the middle of the film. We initially follow a mysterious man named Pierre Laclos (Dominique Pinon), who may or may not be a serial killer who is on the loose, a teacher gone missing, or even a writer's secretary. In the meantime, Huguette (Audrey Dana), a volatile woman whose profession is hairdressing, is driving up to her parent's house in the countryside with her fiancee. After getting in a heated argument, her fiancee drives off in her car, leaving her behind at a gas station. It is there that Laclos befriends her and, after a night of waiting and her fiancee never returning, she accepts the stranger's offer to drive her to her parent's house.

Of course, this entire situation can be, rightfully, interpreted as terribly contrived, and it gets even worse when Huguette asks Laclos to pose as her fiancee so as not to disappoint her parents. While this may look bad on paper, this first hour of the film manages to work quite well. Pinon and Dana's excellent performances and the filmmakers' effective use of camera movement, lighting, and sound create an undercurrent of tension that gives Laclos's interactions with Huguette and her family an enjoyable and exciting atmosphere of suspense. These are both interesting characters that we want to learn more about: We have no idea what Laclos will - or will not - do and while Huguette is, on the surface, merely a jerk, she is a more complicated character who, at her roots, wants to love others in spite of her inherent selfishness.

After spending an hour with this intriguing setup, the film meanders down another path. We learn about a popular writer named Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) and her relationship to Laclos. There is some intrigue and even a murder case that results from this thread, but this section of the film is not as interesting as the first part. Perhaps this is because the plot turns out to be, in the end, predictable, overly-talkative, and rather mundane fare. But most of all, I think this results from Lelouch's decision to shift his film's vision away from the exclusive and almost claustrophobic focus on Huguette and Laclos's entertaining interactions to extraneous and ultimately trivial diversions.

Rating: 7

Employment Videos - Part Four: First Aid for Schools

Part Four: First Aid for Schools

Synopsis
A 20-minute video that tells its viewers what to do for a variety of common injuries that occur at school.

Educational Value – 9/10
This was actually a pretty informative video with different topics that are clearly labeled. I learned quite a bit and the information seemed up-to-date, especially with regards to nose bleeds, where people, until recently, were told to put a student's head back.

Aesthetic – 4/10
It's still a cheap video production, but there were some interesting compositions. Also, the transitions and titles seemed to be of better quality than the last two videos, which are surprisingly made by the same company.

Unintentional Laughs – 5/10

This video seems to be an update from the 80s video I watched a couple years ago. Most of the film was, surprisingly, decently acted and narrated, but it wasn't really funny as a result. However, the company still recycled a couple sequences from the old video, both of which are hilarious.

“Cuts”
In this section, the 80s video showed a kid setting up a circular saw, turning it on, and then slipping on a piece of wood and somehow falling about 10 feet forward into the saw. There was fake blood everywhere and all the while the videomakers played a pulsing 80s synthesizer track. It's one of the most disturbingly hilarious sequences I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. Sadly, the new one is much less theatrical. It's just a student slicing his finger a bit on the saw. Still, the kid's facial expression managed to elicit a few chuckles.



“Eye Wash”
Fortunately, the company left this bit of 80s gold intact. A couple of jocks are playing around with some piss-colored chemicals when one of them, who probably had a grudge against the other, basically tosses the entire vial into his friend's eyes.



This looked really funny and really wrong at the same time.



Closing Thoughts
This was a surprisingly decent video that taught me a lot. But it needed more moments of hilarity to make it more exciting. I've yet to find an employment video that balances this need to be funny and informative at the same time.

Overall Rating: 7

Employment Videos - Part Three: Hazard Communication for Schools

Part Three: Hazard Communication for Schools

Synopsis
Yawn.

Educational Value - 3/10
The video doesn't provide a lot of practical information. It basically says that everything at a school can be dangerous and to check out the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) if you have any questions. Also, the narrator, and the dialogue she is forced to deliver, are very dry and boring.

Aesthetics - 0/10
I think that this is the same company that made the fire video, since I recognized a few of the actors and some of the shots were actually identical. This was simply a very lazy production.

Unintentional Laughs - 6/10
There are many instances of horribly rendered CGI, complete with 80's-sounding synthesizers, even though this video was apparently made in the early 2000's...

There is a slow-motion shot of a school exterior that fades to black and white. Then, the image shimmers like a wave as it transitions to the next shot.

This "explosion."



These people.



This label... "STAY OUT! But have a nice day!"



Closing Comments
This video sucks. I didn't learn all that much and it was boring as hell.

Overall Rating: 0/10

Employment Videos - Part Two: Fire Safety for Schools

Part Two: Fire Safety for Schools

Synopsis
A 15-minute video on the basics of fire safety in an educational facility.

Educational Value - 4/10
This video touches on the roles of teachers and administrators (and cafeteria “chefs” and janitors) during a fire. But the information isn't presented in an easy-to-understand manner. Sections seem to overlap and I'm pretty sure some aspects are out-of-date by now.

Aesthetics - 1/10
This is a terrible looking production. There are many cheesy zooms, many instances of slow-motion and even a case of the camera zooming in on a scary, 80's looking guy while the narrator goes, “Are you ready for a fire?!”



Though I must give the video one star in this category for this moment, which looks convincingly apocalyptic.



Unintentional Laughs - 9/10
The introduction is simply hysterical. The video camera is aimed low at the ground, wandering the school hallways. Meanwhile, there are cuts to children, ignorant of the impending danger, who continue to have fun or whatever, all with ominous music playing. Then, the camera stops at a fire alarm and a hand appears out of nowhere and sets it off. What's the point? That a person who sets off a fire alarm is a lurking monster?

Some students look like they're about to crack up into fits of laughter.

The camera occasionally runs into the actors when it swings around them.

This kid and this teacher


Closing Comments
I didn't really like this video. It didn't teach me a lot and it didn't present the information in an easy-to-understand manner. The production is really lazy with regards to the camerawork and acting. Also, while there were a number of unintentional laughs, most of them weren't incredibly hilarious, just chuckle-inducing.

Overall Rating: 1/10

Employment Videos - Part One: "Sexual Harassment"

Mandatory Employment Videos

So I'm starting work this monday as an educational assistant. My employers kindly gave me five videos that I have to watch before I start work; then I fill out a quiz that I have to turn in. I've had to watch some of these before, but it's been a couple years. I thought it would be kind of entertaining to deconstruct each video on their aesthetic, educational, and humor/unintentional laugh merits, since this process is kind of boring as it is.

Part One: Sexual Harassment

Synopsis
This is a 20-minute short that defines what “sexual harassment” is and describes, in broad details, action that employees can take against their evil employers and customers.

Educational Value - 6/10
There are a number of bullet points to define each section (categories of harassment, action one can take), which is nice, even though some of the categories seem out of place. I also like how the video mentions Title IX. The video briefly mentions that men can be abused, but this is given a negligible treatment. This actually comes across as a feminist video, where almost all of the men are potential predators while all of the women are portrayed as dormant, helpless people who must empower themselves. Also, the narrator refers to the waitress as a waiter; just thought I'd mention that.

Aesthetics - 1/10
This is a videotape production. Needless to say, this looks – and no doubt is – very cheap with poor lighting and compositions and boring sets, though the camera movement is actually somewhat decent. The music also reeks of cheap 80's synthesizers, with a cheesy horror theme... ugh. Also, mullets. 'nuff said.

Unintentional Laughs - 9/10
Where to start... The film starts off with a series of people – with every demographic represented, of course – defining, presumably in their own words, “flirting” vs “sexual harassment.” A nerdy guy says, in a squeaky voice, “Flirting makes me feel in control, sexual harassment makes me feel powerless.” A hilariously over-the-top woman states, “Flirting makes me feel attractive, sexual harassment makes me feel unattractive - ugly.”



Here are some other great snippets of dialogue:
“Wow, that outfit looks great on you... but it would look even better on my bedroom floor!” - A man being “fresh” towards this waitress who has to wear a what-was-then-seen-as sexually attractive uniform.


This teacher tells this guy, in the middle of her crowded classroom, that she's willing to give him an “A” if he visits her apartment. I love the low angle shot and the over-the-top nature of the actress's performance, haha.

The narrator constantly pronounces the word "harassment" like hair-essment, emphasis on the "a." It bothered me for some reason.

“Write the harasser and tell him to stop” - This is a real suggestion for a victim of sexual harassment. What the hell?

“Don't pinch me, make pissing sounds, or ask me to go out with you! Stop it immediately!” - Squeaky-voiced nerd from the beginning typing out a letter to his “abusers.”

And my favorite:

A guy approaches the woman at her workplace and before he even starts speaking, she snaps, “If you touch me like that one more time, I'll report you so fast, you won't know what hit you! Just. Get. Out!” His startled expression is hilarious.

Closing Comments
This is a pretty terrible video. It was made in the 80's and it hasn't aged all that well. The acting and dialogue are so stilted, contrived, and silly that it's painful to watch. It provided many laughs, but it was also just dull in parts.

Overall Rating: 4

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005)
Directed by Shane Black

This is an enjoyable film that combines a typical Hollywood thriller plot with a biting comedic edge, which is provided by the witty, but hapless narrator Harry Lockhart, who himself is played by an excellent Robert Downey, Jr. Lockhart, in a series of hilariously contrived events, becomes an actor and flies to Hollywood, where he unwittingly gets caught up in a strange murder mystery. A detective named "Gay" Perry (Val Kilmer), a tough guy who is, despite being straight, hilariously obsessed with all things gay, helps him figure out the case along with his old love interest, Harmony (Michelle Monaghan). The plot hardly makes any sense and the pacing is all over the place, yet the film is nonetheless an enjoyable watch. Several scenes in particular are incredibly funny thanks to Shane Black's (Lethal Weapon) sharp writing and Kilmer and Downey, Jr.'s perfect performances.

Rating: 7

First Viewed: 5/29/08
IMDB Page

Speed Racer

"Speed Racer" (2008)
Directed by the Wachowski Brothers

Speed Racer follows a family of car racers who live in a strange, futuristic world. There is the naively optimistic Speed Racer (a boring Emile Hirsch), Pops Racer (a serviceable John Goodman, who somewhat resembles Mario), Mom Racer (a serviceable Susan Sarandon), and Speed's son, Young Speed (Nicholas Elia), who is easily the most annoying character I have had to witness in recent memory. We would expect Speed Racer, with its blinding, colorful visuals and numerous digital backdrops, to be a visually brilliant showcase of its characters' passion for an intense form of racing. Instead, the Wachowski Brothers manage to suck the life and joy out of the potentially fascinating world they have created.

On top of the horrendous line delivery and acting - that it would somehow be "appropriate" for this strange world is out of the question - the film is astoundingly mean-spirited. Speed Racer, representing the self-reliant individual, is put up against Royalton (a boring Roger Allam), the CEO of a conglomeration that manages many racers. But the film focuses so much on the negativity of their competition - during a negotiation, Royalton lectures incessantly about how Speed's belief in the "art" of racing is all just a hopeless dream - that it simply grows wearisome and depressing. In a fighting sequence that takes place on the road, a gang member's tank of piranhas is shot up and the leader forces one of his henchmen to put his finger in the hole; we see the man's body convulse and the tank fill with blood as his finger is shredded, all in the middle of what should be an exciting action sequence. The Wachowskis' failure to make any of these characters interesting, or the digital world they inhabit engaging, leaves the overwhelming cynicism that pervades this film feeling all the more unwarranted.

Rating: 1

First Viewed: 5/29/08

Midnight Cowboy

"Midnight Cowboy" (1969)

Directed by John Schlesinger

Midnight Cowboy was the first and only X-rated film to receive an Academy Award for best picture. The sex scenes are tame by today's standards, but the film's exploration of a character who tries – and fails – to overcome New York City's seedy urban environment makes it a difficult, albeit fascinating, watch.

Joe Buck (Jon Voight), who dresses up and acts like a cowboy, is a transient, aspiring hustler who moves from Texas to New York City in search of something different. What exactly he seeks, or tries to escape from, is never clarified; we only see glimpses of his childhood that reveal that his grandmother, who took care of him during his childhood, had many boyfriends in-and-out of the house. Midnight Cowboy succeeds because of, not in spite of, this ambiguity; we want to find out more about this interesting character who naturally and without question feels that his proper “job” is to be a hustler.

Of course, having a passion for this line of work doesn't necessarily mean he is all that good at it. Buck is too nice to be financially successful as he initially fails to press his “customers” for money if they refuse to pay him. In the midst of his struggles, Buck runs into a con-man nick-named “Ratso”, who is played by an outstanding Dustin Hoffman, and the two eventually join together and share a dilapidated apartment. They form a team not because they truly enjoy each other's company – Ratso cons Buck during their first encounter - but out of necessity. Ratso is a sickly cripple who can barely walk on his own while Buck is a clutz who can't cook his own meals. These are friendless, atomized individuals who can only trust themselves and try to survive on a few dollars a day.

Despite this partnership, there is still a sense, particularly by the end of the movie, that the seedy side of New York completely engulfs Buck and Ratso. They inhabit an environment that is filled with impenetrable shadows, which are penetrated only by the glare of neon signs and the flares of other hustlers' lit cigarettes along 42nd Street. In spite of the grittiness of this environment, Midnight Cowboy has some surprisingly artistic qualities. In a move that successfully reveals the interiority of these characters, the film frequently cuts to disturbing montage-like sequences – for instance, Buck gets high at a party and views his environment and the partying New Yorkers as strange and alien-like - that fit in surprisingly well with the realist aesthetics of the rest of the film.

Buck and Ratso are both hurt, emotionally and health-wise, by their experience in New York. They end up having a despondent and disillusioned outlook on their condition that is identical to that of one of Buck's customers, a closeted, gay businessman who cries, out of frustration with his own unfulfilled sex life, “... I loathe life, I loathe it.”

Rating: 9

First Viewed: 5/28/08
IMDB Page

Across the Universe

"Across the Universe" (2007)

Directed by Julie Taymor

Two years ago, a play opened at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego called “The Times They Are A-Changin'” that mixed Bob Dylan tunes with a story about a guy falling in love with a clown at a circus. The result was a disappointing play that did not use Dylan's great songs to creative effect; my main criticism stemmed from the fact that these characters were defined by the songs, rather than vice-versa. Across The Universe reminds me of this play, though to give it credit, the film is much prettier.

Like “The Times They Are A-Changin'”, Across The Universe draws inspiration from a catalogue of a famous band's songs in order to represent the social turmoil of a certain time period. The film's style is exciting and may seem, to some Beatles aficionados, as revolutionary, but this is, at its roots, a conventional and unoriginal story concerning a group of friends who happen to meet, through a series of contrived chance encounters, during the 1960s.

In musicals, the songs usually serve as a reflection of the characters' interior state, an exteriorization of their exuberance or of their sorrow. Instead of reflecting the characters' interior state, the songs, by The Beatles, in Across the Universe serve as a representation of the overarching time period that envelops and affects these people. This may have worked if the film were not so irresolute with its presentation of the characters.

On one level, the film attempts to create characters that are interesting and require emotional investment on our part. Many of the characters are named - occasionally to groan-inducing effect - from the title of Beatles songs. There is Jude (Jim Sturgess), a handsome ship welder from Liverpool who visits the United States in search of his father. This search is taken care of almost instantaneously and the film moves on to other, more important - or at least, in the filmmakers' eyes, more interesting - areas, such as Jude running into Max (Joe Anderson), a soon-to-be dropout at Princeton. Jude is then introduced to Max's friend, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), and they predictably fall in love. There are also a number of side characters, including Prudence, a completely unnecessary and boring character who merely serves as an excuse to use that song, and the musicians Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and JoJo (Martin Luther).

On another level, the film attempts to show how the larger time period, the 1960s, affects these characters. Max is drafted - as seen in a badly over-the-top sequence that is played to the song "I Want You" - and sent into Vietnam, Lucy works for a group of revolutionaries who are protesting the war, while Jude, whose frustrations, which seem to occur spontaneously, cause him much angst, is left working alone in his studio making visually-enticing artwork made of bleeding strawberries (the symbolism can be heavy-handed, to say the least).

From song to song, the film shifts between attempting to show how these characters are a part of larger events that are out of their control, as seen in the spontaneous, forced nature of most of the songs, and using the songs as a way to illustrate who these characters are and what they are feeling at a particular moment. The result is an inconsistent film that fails to satisfactorily explore, beyond the conceit of using Beatles songs, both the time period and the individuals.

The visuals, with the exception of a few poorly-rendered computer-generated shots, are certainly aesthetically pleasing, relying on very saturated colors to provide an almost rose-tinted view of the world, which is surprising considering the social upheaval the film is trying to depict. The songs themselves are mostly catchy, but they are often used as gimmicks, as seen in the “Dear Prudence” sequence, which lessens their effectiveness.

Across the Universe is a visually and aurally pleasing film that does not delve deeply into the characters or the time period. It is an uneven and completely superficial affair that fails to derive true inspiration from the Beatles' extensive catalogue of songs.

Rating: 5

First Viewed: 5/27/08
IMDB Page

The 400 Blows

"The 400 Blows" (1959)

Directed by Francois Truffaut

I was once an assistant at an educational summer camp and I recall one memorable event in which a boy, in the first grade class, had a tantrum against the pedantic teacher. "You make me mad and sad!" He screamed at her. While this memory is actually pretty hilarious in retrospect, the phrase "mad and sad" is a perfect summation of all of the issues concerning the young teenager, Antoine (Jean-Pierre Leaud), though he, unlike the first grade boy, never has a chance to fully exteriorize his frustrations.

Antoine is an outsider, not only because it is his nature to be curious and explore various sites in Paris, but because his parents and school prove to be inept at dealing with his troubles - he probably has a form of ADD - and his inclination to escape from suffocating, institution-like environments. The film is both a growing up story and a tragedy. Antoine subtly rebels by playing hooky from school, running away from home, smoking a cigar while reading literature by Balzac, and even stealing a typewriter from his dad's office so that he doesn't have to ask his parents for money. But the authority figures react in a harsh and detrimental manner: His mom, who wanted to have an abortion with Antoine, hates him and only treats him nicely when he catches her having an affair and he is sent to the juvenile prison system after being caught trying to return the typewriter to his dad's office.

Truffaut does an outstanding job creating the world from Antoine's perspective - he provides a portrayal of student-to-student power dynamics that feels genuine, of children's propensity to simultaneously fear and push the limits of authority figures, and of the way family relationships can change on a day-to-day basis. The film is effective on a number of levels; it is at once funny, poignant, and, by the end, utterly devastating. It is a fascinating character study of a boy who is in the midst of trying to understand his world when the world is not ready to accommodate him.

Rating: 10

First Viewed: 5/25/08
IMDB Page

Iron Man

"Iron Man" (2008)
Directed by Jon Favreau

I find superheroes who are, at their roots, anything but super to be the most fascinating characters in the beginning-to-become overplayed superhero genre. Iron Man is a somewhat successful film that follows the adventures of such a "hero," the woman-chasing, arrogant, yet thoroughly entertaining inventor named Tony Stark, who is played by a wonderfully charismatic Robert Downey, Jr. Stark is the head of a wildly successful weapons manufacturing company and heads to Afghanistan to showcase his new weapons to military officials when he is ambushed by a group of terrorists, who themselves use Stark-manufactured weapons.

Stark's imprisonment sequence, with its stereotypical portrayal of terrorists who are headed by a predictably all-evil person with lots of funding (Faran Tahir), is the weakest part of the film. Stark is not having fun and neither, it is apparent, are the director and the actors. We are required to suspend disbelief when Stark randomly thinks that an iron suit would be the best way to escape, or that the terrorists would never notice that he is not making the missiles they wanted.

The rest of the film fares better in comparison, but the results are mixed. Stark returns home and decides to halt his company's weapon-producing sector, much to the chagrin of his second-in-command, Obadiah, who is played by a gleefully menacing Jeff Bridges. Bridges's excellent performance, however, hides his villain's innate dullness. The reasons his character hates Stark is never fully developed and he is not, behind the facade of Bridges's performance, all that interesting an adversary.

The rest of the film's action sequences, which stem from Obadiah's conflict-of-interest with Stark, are certainly entertaining, but they are not creatively choreographed, nor are they visually exciting. There is one sequence, where Stark is intercepted by two United States fighter jets, that feels completely unnecessary; it is merely an excuse to add another action setpiece. Though Iron Man is sold as an action movie, it is at its best when we watch Stark, a normal guy who we can all relate to, fiddling with his inventions and trying to understand both the capabilities and the limitations of being a new superhero.

Rating: 6.5

First Viewed: 5/24/08
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The Man Who Wasn't There

"The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001)
Directed by Joel Coen

The Coen Brothers' film follows Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton), a stoic, small-town barber who is dissatisfied with the monotony of his job and the passionless marriage with his wife, Doris (Francis McDormand). One day, Ed gives a haircut to a conman named Creighton (Jon Polito) who offers Ed a cut of any profit he makes, but only if he first gives him an “investment.” Ed, going against his normally cautious intuitions, blackmails his acquaintance, Big Dave (James Gandolfini), who he knows has been having an affair with Doris, for ten-thousand dollars. Things, naturally, go wrong: A murder occurs and someone is falsely accused, leading Ed to rethink his approach to life. How, he wonders, can he constructively change aspects of his life so that others are not harmed in the process?

Ed, in the tradition of film noir, provides a voice-over for much of the film's running time, a decision that is both beneficial and harmful for the film. While Thornton has a wonderful, gravelly voice and delivers great lines from the Coens' well-written script, the sheer amount of voiceover is monotonous and incessantly drives home some of the themes - “I became a ghost” he observes after a trial sequence – when allowing the audience breathing space would have been more appropriate.


While the narrative aspect is not without its flaws, The Man Who Wasn't There does feature astounding visuals, courtesy of Roger Deakins's high-contrast, black and white cinematography that brilliantly captures the lonely world that Ed inhabits. He provides an original approach, placing the characters in the center of the image rather than within the traditional rule of thirds. The Coens' use of sound follows a similar route as all of the sounds seem to emit from the single, center channel. These technical aspects, in simultaneously surrounding and confining Ed, subtly suggest the toll of a lifetime of constraints on his aspirations. We realize, almost from the beginning, that it will be impossible for him to overcome his problems. Nevertheless, we keep on watching him with the hope, perhaps out of a a naively optimistic curiosity, that people can always manage to right themselves in the end.

Rating: 8

First Viewed: 5/23/08
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Savage Grace

Savage Grace (2007)

Directed by Tom Kalin

This film follows the lives of a group of very rich and very agitated Americans living abroad over a two-decade period. Barbara (Julianne Moore) is a bored, angry – this is the word of the day, by the way – housewife who is upset about her boring and even angrier husband, Brooks (Stephen Dillane). That the reasons for their great wealth and great anger is never revealed is the least of Savage Grace's problems. The actors give mediocre performances, but to their credit they do their best to make the script, which features shoddy dialogue that is difficult to deliver, at least presentable.

The film's biggest offense is its inability to make these characters interesting. There is no real conflict, no real reason why we need to be following these spoiled characters who lounge about waxing strange philosophy and, when the need arises, engaging in passionless sex amongst Barbara, her shy, bisexual son, Tony (Eddie Redmayne), and his boyfriend. There are a number of creepy moments, but the awkward staging of those scenes renders them ineffective. There is one memorable moment in which Moore, who seems to finally, if briefly, find a connection with her character, lashes out against her husband who has been having an affair – though this is never shown - with Tony's ex-girlfriend. The characters in Savage Grace live in a perpetual state of unhappiness; we, on the other hand, are more than ready to move on.

Rating: 2

First Viewed: 5/21/08
IMDB Page

Fellini Satyricon

Fellini Satyricon (1969)

Directed by Federico Fellini

Fellini Satyricon hardly bears any semblance to the mores of film. What we witness is an experience, rather than a traditional narrative, which leaves its viewers, including this one, exclaiming on more than one occasion, "What the hell?"

The film presents a series of episodes in which we follow the young man, Encolpio (Martin Potter), and his journey through a depraved, fictional world that is dominated by the Roman Empire. Encolopio first rescues his insipid, though prettily androgynous, lover named Gitone (Max Born), a boy who looks like he is fifteen-years-old, from the slave trade only to have the boy run away with his best friend, Ascilto (Hiriam Keller).

The film is purely subjective as we view the world from the disillusioned perspective of Encolopio, which paints the land as a terrifying place that is rotten at its core. We witness many scantily-clad men, many terrifying-looking freaks, and many blood-thirsty Roman aristocrats, all of whom inhabit a visually engrossing world, courtesy of the excellent cinematography, Fellini's wonderful use of colors, and the beautifully grotesque set design. The movie has been described, to my recollection, as a science-fiction film; this argument would not be far-fetched. The film, in addition to its other bizarre elements, is filled with disconcerting, contrapuntal sounds - characters maniacally laugh while a hand is being chopped off and a common musical motif involves strange-sounding synthesizers that are mixed over the tranquil melody of flutes.

Unfortunately, Fellini's episodic approach does not provide much perspective on Encolopio or on the other characters. Fellini merely uses Encolopio as a plot device that allows him to show us, to an obsessive and incessant extent, the widespread depravity of this society. The terrible incidents that we witness fail to lend much more than a cursory insight into this theme of societal depravity, which is especially disappointing given the film's long running time. In the end, the film is, at once, amazing and frustrating; it is a fascinating experience that can best be described as "beautifully grotesque."

Rating: 6

First Viewed: 5/17/08
IMDB Page

Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Directed by Nicholas Ray

We are first introduced to Jim Stark, a high school student who has just moved into a new town, at his weakest moment. He has been dragged into the police station, drunk and bereft of companionship as a result of his fractious parents, who insist on moving to a new location instead of confronting any troubles that Jim (James Dean) may be experiencing. During a heated argument in the police station, Jim interrupts his parents, screaming in frustration, "You're tearing me apart!"

This undercurrent of unrest, of characters desperately trying to escape - and, on occasion, violently reacting to - the high expectations of authority figures, pervades Rebel Without a Cause. Judy (Natalie Wood), who is abused by her rich father, obviously likes Jim, but she hangs out with a tough crowd at high school that requires her to conform and, like them, look down on this newcomer. An outsider, who is nick-named "Plato" (Sal Mineo), gravitates towards this new - and physically tougher - teen who has the potential to change the tide and defeat the bullies.

Rebel Without a Cause represents an interesting dichotomy. Being a film from the 1950's, most of the conversations, especially those between Jim and Judy, are laughably sappy, complete with needlessly swelling, heart-rending strings that emphasize the heightened emotions of the moment. The film, however, much like its characters, also contains an undercurrent of subversiveness. Much of this subversiveness centers around Dean's strong sexual presence - and in his ability to appeal to both women and men. Plato is obviously gay and infatuated with Jim, though this is never explicitly stated. "Why don't you stay over at my place?" He begs Jim at one point. "No one's home tonight... and we can have breakfast together."

Jim does not really rebel against the system; when a competition with the gang goes wrong, his first impulse is to tell his parents and the police. The film's rebel is actually the mentally-disturbed Plato, who has been abandoned by his parents and even, he believes at one point, by Jim. And when the film's climax involving Plato reconciling with society occurs, the film's predictable cinematography and sound editing take a creative - and extremely effective - turn that conveys the impact of this teen's revolt. The film, much like its characters, succeeds best when it is not confined by Hollywood standards, when it takes thematic and technical risks that effectively illustrate the concessions that the powerless must make to those in positions of authority.

Rating: 8

First Viewed: 5/15/08
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The Third Man

The Third Man (1949)
Directed by Carol Reed

Holly Martins, an American pulp fiction writer who does not speak any German, is in over his head - he has flown into Vienna in the hopes of meeting up with his old friend, Harry Lime, who he discovers has been suspiciously run-over by a car hours before his arrival. Martins (Joseph Cotten), curious to find out what has happened to his friend, asks around and learns that the various witnesses' stories do not match. He meets the two people who claim they were the only ones present at the car crash, but he discovers, through Harry's porter, that a mysterious third man was also at the scene.

What follows is a crime story that involves British police officers - Vienna is occupied by an international contingency - who are not trusted by the protagonist and an actress named Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli) who, seemingly against her own wishes, remains in love - and obsessed - with Lime. The Third Man has an intriguing plot from the beginning, but it is not until we are introduced to this mysterious "third man" (Orson Welles) that the film becomes a fascinating thriller that ends with a gripping chase sequence in the sewers of Vienna. Part of the joy of watching the film stems from witnessing Welles's brilliant performance - his "third man" is at once devious and charming, a selfish man who is utterly enthralling.

Another aspect that The Third Man succeeds at is in its ability to project Martins's confusion visually. Robert Krasker's brilliant cinematography combines aesthetically-pleasing compositions with such unusual techniques as dutch angles and beautifully back-lit shots that create a formerly-familiar world that has, in Martins's eyes, gone topsy-turvy.

The Third Man is not a perfect film as some of the characters, particularly the British officers and Martins, are essentially caricatures, a number of the edits feel awkward, and there is a strange subplot involving a kid loudly accusing Martins of murdering a victim that is promptly abandoned. But the film's brilliant aspects more than make up for these shortcomings.

Rating: 9

First Viewed: 5/15/08
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Mon Oncle

Mon Oncle (1958)

Directed by Jacque Tati

I have recently seen many movies that concentrate on the alienating, mechanized life that results from modernization and suburbanization. Tati's film Mon Oncle takes a refreshingly playful look at this issue by following a rather eccentric character named Monsieur Hulot - who is played by Tati himself - and his dealings with his sister's family. While she stays at home perfecting the already perfectly arranged modernist home, her husband - the "master," as she calls him - spends his day at work as the director of a hose-producing company.


Hulot, being a natural clutz, simply doesn't fit into a world that demands absolute perfection and conformity on all levels. His young nephew, however, relates to him and, tired of his high maintenance parents, often wander the fringes - that is, the actual streets and marketplaces outside of the suburbs - of French society with his uncle. The film has a very light and humorous air to it; it is as if the film is told from the easily-distracted perspective of Hulot.

The modernist sets are a joy to look at and they effectively communicate why people would both love and hate living in such a cushioned environment. And even if the film does run on longer than it should, it is still a joy to see Hulot haplessly running about his world like Charlie Chaplain in Modern Times while his sister and brother-in-law, still failing to comprehend the stifling aspects of their lifestyle, look on with contempt.

Rating: 8.5

First Viewed: 5/10/08
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Amores Perros

Amores Perros (2000)

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Amores Perros traces three seemingly disparate narratives that take place in Mexico City. All of these converge, in one way or another, with a brutal, well-executed car crash that is initially shown in the film's opening sequence. But the element that ties them all together is the presence of dogs. This may sound like a strange device, and the narratives unfortunately do not gel together as well as they should, but it is certainly a different approach.

The first part of the film follows Octavio (Gael Bernal), whose family is essentially falling apart. His mother is an insensitive jerk and his brother, Ramiro (Marco Perez), is a violent bully who works as a cashier at a Wal-Mart-like store and whose favorite pastime is robbing banks. He is also married to Octavio's longtime crush, Susana, though I fail to see what he exactly sees in her. Susana gets some sympathy from the audience because she is constantly abused by her husband, but she interacts with Octavio in such a frustratingly aloof manner that it suggests a vacuous intellect which extends far beyond an upbringing that emphasizes utmost loyalty to her husband. This reflects a larger problem with the film as there is a lack of compelling and well-written female characters.

Because without a strong love interest, Octavio's plot to use the deceptively benign family dog, Cofi, to win bets at brutal dog fights in order to run away with Susana loses much of its impact. It also doesn't help that Octavio's main rival is a boring, overplayed villain whose brutal attacks on innocent dogs feels superfluous. Complications arise: Ramiro runs away with Susana and Octavio's fight with his rival doesn't go as planned, leading to a repeated showing, this time not as effective as the first viewing, of the opening car crash.

Octavio's car hits that of a popular model named Valeria (Goya Toledo) who has been having an extramarital affair with a rich man named Daniel. She survives, but a severe injury to her leg leaves her immobile for a couple months - it is bad timing as Daniel has just left his wife and moved into a new loft with the model. Valeria's first immobile day in the loft starts off disastrously. She is passing the time by throwing a ball to her little dog when, upon accidentally tossing the ball into a hole in the floor, the dog jumps in and never emerges.

This is all too much for Valeria; she becomes irritable and gets in fights with Daniel. That the couple almost breaks up because of something so frivolous as a stupid dog disappearing feels extremely forced and provides many moments of unintentional laughter. Of course, that is the point of this narrative - how people place so much value on certain objects so as to render their lives superficial and meaningless. But this doesn't work well because the film doesn't allow the audience to care about the character; it treats her, from the first time she is introduced to us, as someone who does not merit respect. Why, then, should the audience care for her and her dilemma? The end of the sequence, where she takes a sad look at the huge, empty sign where her poster used to be - she had been out of the modeling business for too long - feels like it has been done before; it is not an original or effective approach to relaying her sense of loss.

The final thread follows El Chivo (Emilio Echevarria), a homeless criminal-in-retirement who is occasionally hired by corrupt police officers and civilians to carry out hit jobs. El Chivo, who provides a makeshift sanctuary for injured dogs, finds that he cannot carry out his latest job because his target is going out with his daughter, who has been told by her mother that her father has been dead all these years. He revolts against his clients and instead seeks to re-establish a connection with his daughter. The ending of this narrative is rather poignant, although I find that the dogs, some of whom are killed in a brutal manner, are used by the filmmakers as tools that exploit audience sympathy, rather than as a theme that helps to unite this narrative with the other two.

Despite many narrative weaknesses, the film does manage to convey the grittiness of these characters' lives. The cinematography and editing are presented in a "fast-and-dirty" manner that is both aesthetically pleasing and thematically important considering how these people live in a kinetic environment that requires them to to make decisions on the fly. These narratives, some more effectively than others, convey some sense of the despair that these sad people feel when they regret lost opportunities and outcomes that have failed to turn out in their favor.

Rating: 5.5

First Viewed: 5/9/08

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Easy Rider

Easy Rider (1969)

Directed by Dennis Hopper

Riding motorcycles all day. Sleeping under the stars at night. Smoking pot and snorting coke the entire time. This is the life of two bikers, Wyatt (Peter Fonda), a stoic and handsome man, and Billy (Dennis Hopper), a joker who is always high. The film presents the "free" lifestyle that these two guys live in a subjective manner. Hopper's approach seems spontaneous; it is as if the film has a will of its own. He is not afraid to use the zoom lens, there are numerous lens flares, and the edits are self-consciously abrupt and repetitive. All of these devices try to get us into the minds of these drug-addled characters. As such, the film itself is plotless and relies on various episodes and encounters to liven up the narrative.

After loading up on drugs and money, the bikers meander their way along the highway until they come across a hitchhiker, who leads them to a commune. The film drags - badly - at this point until Wyatt and Billy, arrested for riding into the Mardi Gras parade, meet George, a nerdy alcoholic who is played by a hilarious Jack Nicholson. The introduction of George breathes new life into the sagging narrative and also draws attention to the film's main theme - the ways in which mainstream society destroys individuals through forced conformity. Wyatt's apparel, with American flags painted on the helmet and sewn into his jacket, becomes an ironic joke that attests to his patriotism. After running into various southern rednecks who literally begin to destroy the bikers, Wyatt throws his patriotic clothing aside - he and his companions have been rejected by their very own country.

This theme of Americans attacking the wrong people - their own citizens - is interesting, but it is honestly given a superficial treatment here. Hopper gives equal importance and screen time to the mundane, everyday activities of the bikers. There are numerous shots of the bikers riding on highways with great songs playing over those images. The point is that these characters enjoy themselves most when they are free and on the road, but the sequences grow so repetitive and incessant that I have to wonder if Hopper was simply using these as an excuse to show off his great taste in music. The film's real joy stems from seeing the strange, episodic moments, in particular Nicholson's humorous UFO tale told by a fire pit and a wonderfully bizarre montage depicting Wyatt and Billy, who are on drugs, having sex with - or raping, depending on your interpretation - prostitutes in a New Orleans graveyard.

Rating: 7

First Viewed: 5/8/08

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American Beauty

American Beauty (1999)

Directed by Sam Mendes

Suburban unrest has long been a theme that art forms have explored over the last half-century. Few explore this theme as intensely as the film American Beauty. Lester (Kevin Spacey) is a middle-aged, listless person who works a stagnant, unrewarding job at an advertising agency. His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), is a real estate agent whose superficially cheerful demeanor masks a competitive drive towards material success that destroys any meaningful relationships she may have with others. "My company sells an image. It's part of my job to live that image," she proclaims at one point.

The third member of this family is Jane (Thora Birch), an awkward high schooler who is in an angst-ridden phase that renders her as socially inept as her parents. One night, Lester is dragged to a cheer-leading performance that his daughter participates in. Little does he know how his life will change in an instant; in the middle of the performance he finds himself sexually attracted to Jane's superficial, arrogant friend Angela (Mena Suvari). Considering how Angela herself is a product of an upper-class suburban upbringing, a quality that Lester has grown to despise, it is ironic that he experiences, simultaneously, a sexual and an intellectual reawakening that compels him to rebel against the suffocating constraints placed on him by the suburban standardizations that are embodied by Carolyn.


The film becomes a fascinating, if rather depressing, exploration of a group of "freaks" who try to retain some sort of distinctiveness and dignity in an environment that demands conformity. One aspect of the film that I love is Conrad L. Hall's brilliant cinematography. He paints the suburban world as a place that is at once aesthetically pleasing - the colors seem to pop off the screen - and yet, through the use of wonderful compositions and a number of wide-angle shots, ultimately empty and meaningless.

Underneath this superficial glitz is an undercurrent of restlessness, of untapped passion that has the capacity to be both liberating and dangerous. Lester exhibits both of these aspects: He quits his job, buys his dream car, and lays around the house working out and smoking pot - but he also becomes a selfish jerk. At a dinner that brims with tension, Carolyn remarks "Well, I see you're smoking pot now. I think using psychotropic drugs is a very positive example to set for our daughter." To which Lester fires back, "You're one to talk you bloodless, money-grubbing freak."

The film introduces a creepy teen who has just moved into the neighborhood named Ricky (Wes Bentley). His father (Chris Cooper) is a homophobic colonel who holds an iron fist - he cites the need for "structure" and "discipline" - over the household. But if Ricky has one thing going for him, it is his willingness to be brutally honesty, a quality that Jane, who has grown sick of Carolyn's superficiality and her crazy parents, desperately seeks. As they begin to go out, Ricky becomes Lester's go-to man for pot; their interactions drive Ricky's troubled father into believing that they are actually having sex.

Lester tells us that he will die in a voice-over during the film's opening sequence. All of these various plot threads converge into an ending - and a death scene - that is predictable and ultimately feels like a bit of a cop-out. In spite of the weak ending and a few moments that are too preachy for their own good, American Beauty is a very good film that makes us think about how we present ourselves and interact with others. Most of us may be doomed to a future that consists of facile relationships, but there is the hope, at least in the filmmakers' minds, that we are, at our cores, distinctive individuals in search of meaning and sincerity.

Rating: 9

First Viewed: 5/6/08
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Ivan's Childhood

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

First Viewed: 5/5/08
Starring Nikolai Burlyayev as Ivan
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Andrei Tarkovsky's first film follows a pretty, precocious, and snobbish boy who serves as a spy for the Russian Army during World War II. We first see Ivan in a recurring, surreal sequence in which he inhabits a beautiful area that may as well be the Garden of Eden. This idyllic vision of the world is shattered when the boy wakes up to hell on earth. He is suddenly in the present, gunfire surrounding him, trying to survive after his most recent spying mission has gone wrong. Although Tarkovsky includes a number of other day-dreaming sequences that hearken back to the boy's vision of his life before the war, none are more effective - the rest feel overblown and do not fit in well with the rest of the narrative - as the visceral punch provided by this first one.

Ivan eventually finds his way back to headquarters where Lt. Col. Gryaznov treats him like an adopted son. But after the failure of this recent mission, Gryaznov suddenly acts aloof towards Ivan and decides to send him to military school believing, ironically, that war is no place for children. Ivan, being of the assertive and petulant type, runs away, gets caught, and in a compromise, is sent to the front lines for one final, vague spying mission against the Nazis that involves sneaking across a river with several comrades.

This is a relatively large-scale story to recreate and Tarkovsky struggles to find a balance between making the film a more intimate experience as seen through a boy's perspective of war and an epic film with wonderfully decrepit sets that reflect the scarring effects of war. The reason that Ivan is driven to help defeat the Nazis is because they have killed his family; however, this is only revealed off-hand in a conversation by his comrades, an unfortunate decision that does not allow us to effectively delve into Ivan's perspective. The film also gets side-tracked with a plot-line that involves a shy woman in the army who faces sexual harassment at the hands of Ivan's sex-starved comrades.

Tarkovsky tries to relay, however fitfully, the ways in which war mobilizes seemingly normal people to do the most bizarre, horrible, and courageous things. His cinematography is gorgeous, but the wonderfully inventive visuals gloss over the film's failure to offer deeper insights into war and the motivations of its participants.

Rating: 7/10

The film is so beautifully shot - I have to share more screenshots.