Wow, that last scene captures what is so interesting about this film to me - the context of a pre-ww2 America being called upon in 1940. The plane in the water scene was very impressive! It has a snappy plot that is pretty engaging throughout, and even seems to poke a bit of fun at its own cheesy romance subplot which fits into the genre.
An intense slice of consciousness.
The way it's told makes for an interesting exploration of storytelling and the illusion of security in narrative and in a world curated by artists outside of it. Very real and out of our control.
Initial thoughts: I can't believe not a single commentor has yet mentioned the disgusting depiction of women's bodies in the (many!) rape scenes. The camera lingers on their agony and on their nakedness.
Of all of the things challenged in this film, the representation of female torture and murder is not at all. The torture itself, sure, is seen as morally objectionable, but the film doesn't do anything to challenge how it portrays - sexualizes - female bodies and female death/torture/pain. This goes beyond the gruesome and satirically-represented footage of the mini-movie within the film and encompasses the way in which the director shoots female bodies and torture scenes the rest of the time too.
This is, to me, an unexamined failure, and revealing of the fact that we still have a long way to go for women to be considered equal subjects to men. Women do not deserve to be sexualized for their pain; they are more than toys or objects to control.
While critically and clearly reflexive in many ways, the film seems to have fallen too to its subconscious moral depravity in at least this one. It was also just coming out of the 1970s, so I will consider it within the context of that time and don't think it necessarily represents where we are at today, but... I'm not really sure. Oof
Otherwise...yeah, shock and awe/horror...won't be watching again, but it was "fine"
Perhaps the first "found footage" film and quite well known in the cult film world, so that's interesting. I'm glad to have experienced and checked it off.
On another, disembodied hand: There's enough true brutality that's not sensationalized to avoid spending the time on this. And much of it is ignored, sensationalized or not. Go witness. I see this film has other purposes than that, though. I hope we all sleep well tonight.
I have a lot of thoughts about this film. Firstly, wow, that was sad. Moreover, it is a sensitive film that does well at balancing the protagonist's subjectivity, wherein his ideals are paramount and righteous, with the world of clashing values and ways of life around him, ultimately critiquing his actions whilst allowing room for his thoughts to breathe and have a space of their own. This allows the audience to understand him without a cult-like gaze that he is the 'folk hero' that does no wrong. He has both right and wrong ideas of how the world works, and I think that the story structure does a good job of sharing his growth with the audience, making him sympathetic overall, even though he is highly privileged in a way that can be alienating at times. It is at once a road movie, a coming-of-age story, a tale of survival, a family drama, and a personal and philosophical exploration. It is a story of man vs nature, man vs himself, man vs man, and so on until one begins to understand that these conflicts are ultimately all the same.
Comments 1 - 10 of 10
Movie comment on Beolsae
sdreich
This is an excellent and beautiful film[Mod edit: video taken down; link removed]
Movie comment on Foreign Correspondent
sdreich
Wow, that last scene captures what is so interesting about this film to me - the context of a pre-ww2 America being called upon in 1940. The plane in the water scene was very impressive! It has a snappy plot that is pretty engaging throughout, and even seems to poke a bit of fun at its own cheesy romance subplot which fits into the genre.Movie comment on Ce que je vois de mon sixième
sdreich
Is it: "Ce que l'on voit de mon sixième" ? It was displayed as such at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris November 2021.Movie comment on The Best Years of Our Lives
sdreich
Each line a soft punch in the gutMovie comment on The Father
sdreich
An intense slice of consciousness.The way it's told makes for an interesting exploration of storytelling and the illusion of security in narrative and in a world curated by artists outside of it. Very real and out of our control.
Movie comment on Cannibal Holocaust
sdreich
Initial thoughts: I can't believe not a single commentor has yet mentioned the disgusting depiction of women's bodies in the (many!) rape scenes. The camera lingers on their agony and on their nakedness.Of all of the things challenged in this film, the representation of female torture and murder is not at all. The torture itself, sure, is seen as morally objectionable, but the film doesn't do anything to challenge how it portrays - sexualizes - female bodies and female death/torture/pain. This goes beyond the gruesome and satirically-represented footage of the mini-movie within the film and encompasses the way in which the director shoots female bodies and torture scenes the rest of the time too.
This is, to me, an unexamined failure, and revealing of the fact that we still have a long way to go for women to be considered equal subjects to men. Women do not deserve to be sexualized for their pain; they are more than toys or objects to control.
While critically and clearly reflexive in many ways, the film seems to have fallen too to its subconscious moral depravity in at least this one. It was also just coming out of the 1970s, so I will consider it within the context of that time and don't think it necessarily represents where we are at today, but... I'm not really sure. Oof
Otherwise...yeah, shock and awe/horror...won't be watching again, but it was "fine"
Perhaps the first "found footage" film and quite well known in the cult film world, so that's interesting. I'm glad to have experienced and checked it off.
On another, disembodied hand: There's enough true brutality that's not sensationalized to avoid spending the time on this. And much of it is ignored, sensationalized or not. Go witness. I see this film has other purposes than that, though. I hope we all sleep well tonight.
Movie comment on Into the Wild
sdreich
I have a lot of thoughts about this film. Firstly, wow, that was sad. Moreover, it is a sensitive film that does well at balancing the protagonist's subjectivity, wherein his ideals are paramount and righteous, with the world of clashing values and ways of life around him, ultimately critiquing his actions whilst allowing room for his thoughts to breathe and have a space of their own. This allows the audience to understand him without a cult-like gaze that he is the 'folk hero' that does no wrong. He has both right and wrong ideas of how the world works, and I think that the story structure does a good job of sharing his growth with the audience, making him sympathetic overall, even though he is highly privileged in a way that can be alienating at times. It is at once a road movie, a coming-of-age story, a tale of survival, a family drama, and a personal and philosophical exploration. It is a story of man vs nature, man vs himself, man vs man, and so on until one begins to understand that these conflicts are ultimately all the same.Movie comment on Dawn of the Dead
sdreich
best of the trilogy :PLoved the obvious commentary on consumer capitalism; ironic humour
Movie comment on Thelma
sdreich
Wow, this film was epic!!It will stay with me for a long time.
Movie comment on La vita è bella
sdreich
Absolutely, my favourite film. This is a brilliant piece of film history everyone should see at least once. Life really is a beautiful thing...