Movie log 2009
Submitted by Vallinder on Wed, 01/21/2009 - 05:19
Tags:
- [Liked] Gaspar Noé: Irreversible (2002) Noé miraculously blurs the line between ultraviolence and metaphysics as this tale of tragic coincidences unfolds backwards. Centered around four painfully long scenes (a dizzying tour de force of violence in a gay sex club, a disgusting rape scene, a scene of drunken confusion at a party and an embarassing public discussion of the main characters' sex lives) and shot with a spinning hand-held camera, Irreversible may very well be one of the best films of the early 2000s. Telling the story backwards is not a mere gimmick, but rather a way to continually change the viewer's feelings for the main characters, as our understanding for their actions is informed by earlier events. The irreversibility of Noé's film makes us tragically committed to fatalism.
- [Liked] Tsai Ming-Liang: The River (1997) Using his characteristic minimalism and his subtle, idiosyncratic humour, Ming-Liang tells the story of a strange relationship between an old man and a younger man with a mysterious neck injury, all of it set in a rainy, rainy, Taipei.
- [Meh] Nicholas Ray: On dangerous grounds (1952) A film noir-ish tale of a rough cop sent to the countryside to deal with the murder of a girl, and where he falls in love with a blind woman. A few powerful scenes, but all in all a bit too confused.
- [Meh] Bruce Robinson: Withnail and I (1987) Two drunken, failed actors decide to leave London for the countryside during the fall of 1969. They are visited by an excentric relative, who tries to get one of them in bed. They return to London, after having found out that they are not too suited for life in the country, and one of them gets a part. Some funny scenes, many great lines, but perhaps a bit repetitive and pointless.
