Very difficult to enjoy. So dark (literally), so gritty, so grimey.
However, one of the bits I loved was the juxtaposition of the first scene, Harvey taking his sons to school, and one of the final scenes, Harvey driving off with the two arrested rapists. Abel Ferrara employs the same camera angles, has the boys and rapists sat in the exact same positions, Keitel’s relationship with the characters comes across exactly the same.
Whereby in the first scene Keitel scolds his sons for not sticking up to their aunt and exerting their masculinity (“are you men or mice?!”), in the latter he is irate at the two young men for their crime, for raping a nun, and moreover their utter lack of respect for her femininity.
And the seemingly peculiar conclusion to the film — whereby Keitel lets the two rapists walk free and gives them $30,000 to boot — makes a ton more sense with this juxtaposition in mind. In this moment Keitel’s character realises his hypocrisy, and realises that the two rapists are the men he is raising his sons to be.
I loved the cinematography of it all — the shots of the fascist government, grandiose vacant modernist halls, occupied only by prositute-adorned desks. The variety of shot types in the film was extensive, and gives it a really refreshing feel. Some of the locations for the film really lent themselves to this, for instance the scene in the mental asylum.
I thought it was a fun romp (although that doesn’t feel like an appropriate way to describe a WWII film) that was perhaps 15 or 20 minutes too long. It could have been a more poignant affair if they’d dialled up the injustice or made things a bit trickier for the good guys — I never really felt like these Nazi pansies could stop All-American QB Womanizer Burt Lancaster.
Looking at the previous comments I think I'm going to be going against popular opinion here, but I was a little disappointed.
On the plus side:
- well acted across the board (Keaton's accent starts out brash, but quickly blends in)
- direct and faithful to the story: no unnecessary sub-plots, no for-the-sake-of-it romance, didn't need to be graphic or dwell on the sensitive subject matter
- just the right amount of comic relief moments for the subject matter (count of maybe 4..?)
Conversely:
- Ruffalo's "we need to release the story now" speech looks like it came straight out of "Winning an Oscar Acting Nomination for Dummies". Not from the way he delivers it, but the lines, the background noise hushing to zero and the intense dramatic close-up. It was a real cringe over-dramatization moment for me in an otherwise perfectly naturalistic film.
- After watching the film I felt like I hadn't gained anything I could've gotten from reading a corresponding Wikipedia article. Maybe it's just me as a desensitized cynic of Catholicism, but the film didn't shock or suprise, didn't thrill me or hook me, didn't inspire great empathy or sympathy or horror. I don't think a film needs to do any of these things by any means, but in the absence of them I had very little strong opinion or feeling about the film after watching.
Basically I thought this was a good solid film, about an important story needing to be told, but not a great film, and I would be fairly disappointed if Hollywood selects this as the torchbearer for film in 2015 on Feb 28.
This is one of those films that is going to offend nobody and impress nobody. The subject matter is so light that even in supposed moments of danger (after they slip 10ft or so down to a ledge below) I never once felt worry for the foolhardy protagonists. The story is just too banal to inspire any gasps or sighs from its audience. Believe me, I'm not one to oversell the importance of story and plot development, but the film just simply fails to play up its potential strong points - the beautiful landscape shots, the Appalachian vistas that make the route trekked a point of interest in the first place.
And at the same time it is difficult to feel too disappointed with the film. Robert Redford and Emma Thompson are always a charm to watch, whilst Nick Nolte and Kristen Schaal prove themselves to be masters of comic relief. And when a film frames itself as inherently light, it's difficult to complain about a lack of "drama". All this adds up to a film too vanilla to love or hate. Like an Into The Wild for an older generation or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel made by the Tea Party.
I found this to be one of the most disappointing movies I've seen in years. The plot is basically non-existent, yet the film is somehow stretched out too an excessive 180 minutes. The sex and drugs are reiterated to the point of cliche, and the acting performances (i.e. DiCaprio's) have, in my opinion, been highly overrated by the public/media.
The film has its funny moments, but suffers something of an identity crisis in that respect. Is it meant to be an out and out comedy? I saw an interview with DiCaprio where he was reluctant to answer that question affirmatively. Well, whatever Scorsese meant for it, I don't think he pulled it off successfully. The film is crafted like a Goodfellas for the banking industry - with a narrator protagonist, charting his meteoric rise and fall over 2+ hours. But the content just doesn't transpose well. Shame. I reckon it'd make a pretty good book though...
Apart from the Farewell to Arms joke I thought this was just atrocious. I loved the first one, but this is caught between sequel and remake and just suffers a continual identity crisis. The story varies from just lazy to ridiculously far-fetched, and the acting and dialogue is predictably bad. Some so bad its good moments, but nowhere near enough.
Even bearing in mind the studio cuts, i couldn't really see the semblances of a film "better than Citizen Kane", as Welles supposedly claimed Ambersons could've been. Also the version that survives is very dark and the picture aspect is rather cluttered and awkward. I watched the DVD so I assume this is the best surviving copy, which really is a shame.
This was the third Wenders film I'd seen (after Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas), and I'm increasingly being persuaded that he's one of the great directors. The American Friend is totally different to the aforementioned films but impressive in its own right. The film is generally bleaker and grittier - a tense, eerie soundtrack clashing only with the occasional harsh ring of those rusty sounding Eastern European telephones. Wenders' characters do however carry a familiar pensiveness - dialogue is quiet and often brief and subdued, whilst Ganz's character is a typically stoic Wenders' protagonist - disengaged and generally disheartened with life. Hopper's bubblier character exemplifies this mood equally with his recordings of life musings by tape dictaphone. Whilst I think WoD and PT both have more to offer visually and narratively, The American Friend is still pretty damn stylish and definitely a film I'd recommend.
Comments 1 - 25 of 81
Movie comment on Bad Lieutenant
dchauvin
Very difficult to enjoy. So dark (literally), so gritty, so grimey.However, one of the bits I loved was the juxtaposition of the first scene, Harvey taking his sons to school, and one of the final scenes, Harvey driving off with the two arrested rapists. Abel Ferrara employs the same camera angles, has the boys and rapists sat in the exact same positions, Keitel’s relationship with the characters comes across exactly the same.
Whereby in the first scene Keitel scolds his sons for not sticking up to their aunt and exerting their masculinity (“are you men or mice?!”), in the latter he is irate at the two young men for their crime, for raping a nun, and moreover their utter lack of respect for her femininity.
And the seemingly peculiar conclusion to the film — whereby Keitel lets the two rapists walk free and gives them $30,000 to boot — makes a ton more sense with this juxtaposition in mind. In this moment Keitel’s character realises his hypocrisy, and realises that the two rapists are the men he is raising his sons to be.
Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-7-bad-lieutenant-1992-56f962d781d3#.b7z821kkf
Movie comment on Hoop Dreams
dchauvin
It’s pure documentary, it’s a time capsule for a period of time for two young men that typify the ambitions of a generation.Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-6-hoop-dreams-1994-530b3b452cb8#.eymadiap3
Movie comment on Il conformista
dchauvin
I loved the cinematography of it all — the shots of the fascist government, grandiose vacant modernist halls, occupied only by prositute-adorned desks. The variety of shot types in the film was extensive, and gives it a really refreshing feel. Some of the locations for the film really lent themselves to this, for instance the scene in the mental asylum.Full review: https://medium.com/movie-time/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-1-the-conformist-il-conformista-1970-fd6da9e75322#.41crs8u4a
Movie comment on The Train
dchauvin
I thought it was a fun romp (although that doesn’t feel like an appropriate way to describe a WWII film) that was perhaps 15 or 20 minutes too long. It could have been a more poignant affair if they’d dialled up the injustice or made things a bit trickier for the good guys — I never really felt like these Nazi pansies could stop All-American QB Womanizer Burt Lancaster.Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-2-the-train-1964-c346f4d2b190#.v4gqmcf0b
Movie comment on La nuit américaine
dchauvin
If there's one takeaway from Day For Night it is perhaps that we should respect the director, he’s a beacon of sanity amidst a sea of chaos.Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-3-la-nuit-americaine-1973-fdd001198e03#.ffy8n9m5a
Movie comment on Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto
dchauvin
I’ve never seen a romance like this before, it probably has one of the greatest range of insults ever put to script.Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-4-swept-away-1974-7d4913d93106#.i97zyu856
Movie comment on Paris brûle-t-il?
dchauvin
One of the most under-stated ensemble casts ever assembled, but a film that's not as great as the sum of its parts. 12.5/20Full review: https://medium.com/@davidchauvin/spike-lee-s-essential-films-slef-episode-5-is-paris-burning-1966-413f0461f349#.rl7c3woy3
Movie comment on Spotlight
dchauvin
Looking at the previous comments I think I'm going to be going against popular opinion here, but I was a little disappointed.On the plus side:
- well acted across the board (Keaton's accent starts out brash, but quickly blends in)
- direct and faithful to the story: no unnecessary sub-plots, no for-the-sake-of-it romance, didn't need to be graphic or dwell on the sensitive subject matter
- just the right amount of comic relief moments for the subject matter (count of maybe 4..?)
Conversely:
- Ruffalo's "we need to release the story now" speech looks like it came straight out of "Winning an Oscar Acting Nomination for Dummies". Not from the way he delivers it, but the lines, the background noise hushing to zero and the intense dramatic close-up. It was a real cringe over-dramatization moment for me in an otherwise perfectly naturalistic film.
- After watching the film I felt like I hadn't gained anything I could've gotten from reading a corresponding Wikipedia article. Maybe it's just me as a desensitized cynic of Catholicism, but the film didn't shock or suprise, didn't thrill me or hook me, didn't inspire great empathy or sympathy or horror. I don't think a film needs to do any of these things by any means, but in the absence of them I had very little strong opinion or feeling about the film after watching.
Basically I thought this was a good solid film, about an important story needing to be told, but not a great film, and I would be fairly disappointed if Hollywood selects this as the torchbearer for film in 2015 on Feb 28.
Movie comment on A Walk in the Woods
dchauvin
This is one of those films that is going to offend nobody and impress nobody. The subject matter is so light that even in supposed moments of danger (after they slip 10ft or so down to a ledge below) I never once felt worry for the foolhardy protagonists. The story is just too banal to inspire any gasps or sighs from its audience. Believe me, I'm not one to oversell the importance of story and plot development, but the film just simply fails to play up its potential strong points - the beautiful landscape shots, the Appalachian vistas that make the route trekked a point of interest in the first place.And at the same time it is difficult to feel too disappointed with the film. Robert Redford and Emma Thompson are always a charm to watch, whilst Nick Nolte and Kristen Schaal prove themselves to be masters of comic relief. And when a film frames itself as inherently light, it's difficult to complain about a lack of "drama". All this adds up to a film too vanilla to love or hate. Like an Into The Wild for an older generation or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel made by the Tea Party.
Movie comment on American Graffiti
dchauvin
Bitchin' movieMovie comment on Le passé
dchauvin
Great natural-feeling movie - no frills drama. A film that commands much respect.Movie comment on Inside Llewyn Davis
dchauvin
catMovie comment on Snake Eyes
dchauvin
Nicolas Cage's RashomonMovie comment on The Wolf of Wall Street
dchauvin
I found this to be one of the most disappointing movies I've seen in years. The plot is basically non-existent, yet the film is somehow stretched out too an excessive 180 minutes. The sex and drugs are reiterated to the point of cliche, and the acting performances (i.e. DiCaprio's) have, in my opinion, been highly overrated by the public/media.The film has its funny moments, but suffers something of an identity crisis in that respect. Is it meant to be an out and out comedy? I saw an interview with DiCaprio where he was reluctant to answer that question affirmatively. Well, whatever Scorsese meant for it, I don't think he pulled it off successfully. The film is crafted like a Goodfellas for the banking industry - with a narrator protagonist, charting his meteoric rise and fall over 2+ hours. But the content just doesn't transpose well. Shame. I reckon it'd make a pretty good book though...
Movie comment on Charlotte et son Jules
dchauvin
12 minutes of rambling speech. Doesn't work for me.Movie comment on Kiss Me Deadly
dchauvin
Superb noir. Deserves to be more iconic.Movie comment on A Matter of Life and Death
dchauvin
The court scene was kinda good, but everything before was a cheesy abomination.Movie comment on Evil Dead II
dchauvin
Apart from the Farewell to Arms joke I thought this was just atrocious. I loved the first one, but this is caught between sequel and remake and just suffers a continual identity crisis. The story varies from just lazy to ridiculously far-fetched, and the acting and dialogue is predictably bad. Some so bad its good moments, but nowhere near enough.Movie comment on The Devil Wears Prada
dchauvin
I was disappointed to discover that Meryl Streep's character isn't actually the devil.Movie comment on The Magnificent Ambersons
dchauvin
Even bearing in mind the studio cuts, i couldn't really see the semblances of a film "better than Citizen Kane", as Welles supposedly claimed Ambersons could've been. Also the version that survives is very dark and the picture aspect is rather cluttered and awkward. I watched the DVD so I assume this is the best surviving copy, which really is a shame.Movie comment on The Crimson Permanent Assurance
dchauvin
Reminded me of Time Bandits a little bitMovie comment on Zelig
dchauvin
Interesting movie, shades of Bergman's Persona, surprisingly. Mockumentary produces very convincing acting.Movie comment on Seppuku
dchauvin
Beautiful and intense, I did however think the ineptitude of the bad guys' swordsmanship in the final scene served to discredit the film slightly..Movie comment on Der amerikanische Freund
dchauvin
This was the third Wenders film I'd seen (after Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas), and I'm increasingly being persuaded that he's one of the great directors. The American Friend is totally different to the aforementioned films but impressive in its own right. The film is generally bleaker and grittier - a tense, eerie soundtrack clashing only with the occasional harsh ring of those rusty sounding Eastern European telephones. Wenders' characters do however carry a familiar pensiveness - dialogue is quiet and often brief and subdued, whilst Ganz's character is a typically stoic Wenders' protagonist - disengaged and generally disheartened with life. Hopper's bubblier character exemplifies this mood equally with his recordings of life musings by tape dictaphone. Whilst I think WoD and PT both have more to offer visually and narratively, The American Friend is still pretty damn stylish and definitely a film I'd recommend.Movie comment on Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj
dchauvin
So brainless it hurts.Showing items 1 – 25 of 81