Nights of Cabiria (1957 - Italian)

This morning I watched Fellini's Nights of Cabiria (1957). It's now one of my favorite Fellinis. His wife Giulietta Masina(always good) is wonderful as Cabiria, a Prostitute who Dreams of a Better Life but always seems to fall short, but who still has a smile for the final shot. When it looks like she's found Happiness, somehow you know Something Heartbreaking is going to happen. Has some of the usual Fellini Touches, such as Nino Rota's great music. If you've never seen Fellini, you might start with this one. A Wonderful Experience.

The Films of Ozu : Late Spring(1949)

I've finally seen Late Spring. It's the lovely tale of a relationship between father and daughter. She is independent and 27, getting pressure from everywhere to Get Married Already, but she's content with her life as is. Any film that brings me to tears has to be good A lovely experience. I'll look forward to seeing more of his. Simple but powerful.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly(2007)

I've seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly(2007), the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The condition paralyzed him from the neck down and also can't speak. This is engrossing from the first frame, as we see everything from Jean Do's point of view, right when he wakes up from the coma. It's claustrophobic for a while, as the viewer is in his POV and sees how he must feel. Jean Do has many sarcastic remarks which apparently were ad-libbed by actor Mathieu Amalric. Max von Sydow is heartbreaking as his papa. It's ultimately inspiring as Jean Do learns to communicate through blinks and composes his memoir. Wonderful film.

High and Low(1963- Japan)

I finally watched Kurosawa's High and Low(1963). It was a spellbinding experience. A kidnapper intends to kidnap the son of a wealthy executive but winds up getting the chauffeur's son instead. The kidnapper clearly has an axe to grind with him and wants him to pay anyway. The first part plays as a morality play : will he do The Right Thing and pay for his servant's son even though it will ruin him, as he has mortgaged everything in order to get controlling interest in his company? The second part is police procedural, almost documentary style, as the police track down the criminal. Kurosawa uses excellent use of wide screen, showing the executive, his family, the servant and the police in the same shot and their reactions to his decisions. The meeting in the final scene is memorable. Intriguing commentary on the differences in class in Japan and excellent character study.

The Best of Youth(Italian-2003)

I watched The Best of Youth(2003), directed by Marco Tullio Giordana a while ago but just now got around to writing about it. This is wonderful, a 6 hour saga of two brothers and their families from 1966-2003. Originally an Italian miniseries, apparently it was shown in the US in 2 3-hour parts, as it is on DVD. There's not that much lull for 6 hours ; there are enough stories and plot twists to move it along, including the brothers' relationship with an abused girl in a sanitarium. Very moving ending, if a little too optimistic to be believed, but this is a time to let that go. Surprisingly a lot of American 60's music in the beginning. Well worth the investment of your time, though you don't have to watch all 6 hours at once as I did!

Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (1962-French)

I watched my first Jean-Luc Godard film, Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux(1962)otherwise known as My Life to Live, Another story of a young woman's descent into prostitution I seem to be watching a few of these lately! Anyway, he definitely has a distinctive style, but I'm not sure it's my cup of tea. I did like a couple of scenes, where our heroine Nana is in a theater watching The Passion of Joan of Arc, crying and another where she is discussing philosophy, I'm a sucker for scenes like that. I did really like what he did with the music. It's beginning to sound like I did like it, I really need to watch it again Maybe I'm just getting burned out on the prostitution theme

Diabolique(1955)

Last night I watched Diabolique(1955), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot and Paul Meurisse. It is a horror film with a great premise : The wife and mistress of the abusive head of a boarding school plot to murder him. They dump his body in the school pool, later when it's emptied, the body is gone! All sorts of eerie things happen until the shocker of an ending. This is the way horror films should be done, there's no haunting score as it's not needed. Suspense is maintained little by little throughout. The acting by Ms Clouzot(Mrs. Director) as the timid wife and Ms Signoret as the dominant mistress is very good. The last shot is funny. Even a message at the end asking the viewer not to reveal the ending to friends, which I thought was humorous. Watch this one at night with the lights off


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Pan's Labyrinth(2006 - Spanish)

I have revisited Pan's Labyrinth(2006). I think it's mostly great, but some of the violence is a little much for me. It's set in Spain in 1944. It's a combination fantasy story, which is great, with the real life story. The little girl Ofelia is in a horrible situation with her mother and evil stepfather Captain Vidal who hunts the Spanish Maquis who fight against the Fascist reign in the region. Ofelia is drawn into a fantasy world by a mysterious faun creature and is given three tasks to complete. All the creatures in the movie are a wonder, you really feel you're in a fantasy world. The ending is wonderful after some tragedy along the way. I recommend unless you're squeamish about violence.


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One Deadly Summer(1983 - French)

I watched One Deadly Summer(1983), directed by Jean Becker. This is engrossing. Isabelle Adjani is Elle, a young woman obsessed with avenging her mother's rape by Italian immigrants before she was born. She resulted from this rape and the father she grew up with generally disdains her. The Elle character is hard to take at times, as she is generally bitchy to everybody. The film uses an unusual device of characters taking turns narrating, which works. The acting is good throughout. Elle's husband's aunt is an endearing character, she knows more than anyone thinks and becomes sort of an allie for Elle. The scream that Elle's mother lets out after being raped in a flashback is chilling. This is worth your time if you can take a tragic ending. I think I read Ms Adjani won best actress at Cannes.

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Solaris(1972 - Russia)

I saw Solaris by Andriei Tarkovsky last night. It is a one-of-a-kind experience. It's hard for me to describe : psychologist Kris Kelvin is sent to a space station and let's say, starts having hallucinations of "guests", basically. It's long(165 minutes) but didn't feel long to me, very slow and thought provoking. Oh if you have a chance to watch it during a thunderstorm and in the dark as I did, take it! This helped in my enjoyment. I can't wait to see it again to see what else I can get out of it. This time I'll watch it with commentaries on. Totally engrossing.






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Rashomon(1950 - Japanese)

I revisited Rashomon the other day, I'm still intrigued with the acting, atmosphere and the message. How the three people involved in a rape/murder have totally different accounts(even the murdered man in a surrealistic sequence through a medium!) that implicate the respective person. Fascinating and engrossing, with an optimistic ending.

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