Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago (1965) a film by David Lean

Doctor Zhivago is a film which honors the old tradition of Hollywood superproductions.It brings to life a story of passion and destiny in which a man is trapped between the love for two women and the tortuous flow of history in the days of the Russian revolution. And it does not save in resources to do it: great photography, amazing landscapes, talented casting and a fervid story, this is one of the movies that awakes nostalgia for the times before computer-generated imagery.

This is my first contact with the work of David Lean and I found impressive and exorbitant the level of his work. Whether producing a complete reconstruction of Moscow or mobilizing thousands of extras to reproduce a column of Partisans, this movie reveals itself as a great movie but also as a great creative human enterprise. This is the kind of monumental movies that can not be done anymore but that reminds of the great resources that cinema can use to deliver a story.

This is a huge story, but ultimately the keys to enter it are given by the great performances of the talented cast. Omar Sharif is superb, Alec Guiness is great and Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin perform greatly and are two of the most beautiful women captured in a film. The army of secondary actors do a great job and I really like the short performances of the Revolution Committee members that take over the house in Moscow and the Party representative in the Partisan Column, they are really scary.

Not to forget when watching this movie is the Hollywood world view that is embedded on it. This movie was released on the darkest days of the cold war and this film doesn't save the critics to the situation in the Soviet Union, and this is evident in the rough face of the Soviet incarnated in cold characters who fight the free spirit of Zhivago. It is a vindication to Boris Pasternak's work that this movie spreads the voice his work after all the difficulties he suffered to publish it.

Political statement, titanic film, carefully elaborated photography, astonishing landscapes, talented actors, memorable scenes. The only thing I don't like about this movie is that the soundtrack has been over played and mangled to attract kids to ice cream cars and I won't ever will be as fresh again. This is a great and memorable epic film from other times and when you reach the time of the intermission you will find out why.

Bus Stop

Bus Stop (1956)
a film by Joshua Logan

I experienced a series mixed emotions while watching this film which was completely new to me. On one side I enjoyed the light entertainment provided by the cartoonish depictions of all the characters in this movie, particularly the cowboys. On the other hand I felt moved and desolated by the expression and the suffering of Marilyn Monroe, she is amazing playing this capricious, naive and unstable dreamer, and I just wonder how much of this emotional uneasiness is actually brought from her life outside of the screen because it looks very real.

This movie is full of images that well could be the perfect American postcard. The beautiful technicolor ads a lot to the appeal of the impressive mountains of Montana, the rodeo crows and stuns and the classic costumes of the characters. I loved the traveling in the scene that shows Bo and Virgil walking on Phoenix, the framing and the camera movement is so great that one feels as overwhelmed as the cowboys in the city.

There are two defined levels in this movie and the story seems to find a comfortable path through them. On one side there is the comedic layer were the characters act in a cartoonish manner and were the naive character of Marilyn Monroe drives the story into droll situations. On the other side there are dramatic moments and bitter lessons. The fight and the talk between Cherie and Elma in the bus are heart breaking moments. It was the transition between this two layers, each one so good in its own way what did not work so well for me. Nevertheless, this was very entertaining movie with images that you would see in vintage Marlboro and Coca Cola posters and a great Marilyn Monroe both comic and pathetic.


, the dramatic struggle of Marilyn's

Taste of Cherry

Taste of Cherry (1997)
a film by Abbas Kiarostami

It has taken me a while to digest Taste of Cherry. It is hard to form an objective opinion when words as exquisite, extraordinary and masterpiece surround this movie and it almost feels like The Emperor's New Clothes when I'm not highly stricken by this film, which nevertheless I found really beautiful and original.

The key in this movie are the photography and the silences. Both of those elements create the minimalist environment in which this story develops and which leads to a spiritual connection with the events happening on the screen.

The camera is almost steady in most of the scenes and although sometimes provides a bird's view of the winding road, it maintains the realistic point of view of a non-priviledged observer. This movie features beautiful mustard shades that turn into blue and always have the day light as a protagonist. It has really nice shots of the characters and sometimes it is completely detached from them creating reflection over the ideas that their dialogues are introducing.

This seems like a fill in the blank movie. The idea of spirituality that was induced on me was provided by the elements I found in the dialogues, but I'm pretty sure that the focus can easily change into more dramatic or simply stylistic as the movie provides free ground for the spectator to develop its own reflection.

Taste of Cherry is one of those movies that asks for a lot of attention and patience but that manages to develop a feeling of contemplation that is really powerful. I'm not surprise that this film divides the critic and the spectators as it gives enough of ground for an spiritual experience or endless boredom depending on your take. The last scene for me was a mix of a nice surprise with a slap in the face, but I guess there is some space for discussion too.

You can count on me

You Can Count On Me (2000)
a film by Kenneth Lonergan

This is an entertaining and moving story of family and brotherhood. It enters my pantheon of great movies about everyday people in everyday situations right next to Yi Yi. And it is so great at describing this personal story thanks to the great work and Marc Ruffalo and Laura Linney that make such a great couple of brothers in the screen and give a touch of greatness to this story that could happen next door.

Sammy and Terry loose their parent when still really young. Sammy stays in their small town up-state New York while Terry leaves to become a drifter around the country. Sammy becomes a single mother and one day Terry drops a letter announcing his visit. That is the starting point of this memorable story that is moving but at the same time soothing and amusing.

It is amazing how regular life is also immortalized in film and the way in which this story lingers is through the great moments that the characters put together in the screen. This are not perfect heroes and they are distant from being heroes as all, it is that great touch humanity that makes this story accessible and beautiful.

Another great aspect of this movie is the smart and witty script. I was surprised to see Martin Scorsese in the opening credits and I think I understand him getting involved in a movie that although is distant from his favourite topics is full of fluent dialogues and great character development.

Both Sammy and Terry are charming characters, they are provided with so many details and natural reactions that the seem more articulated than just the image of them in the screen. A key moment showing was the scene in which they are smoking and a moth shows up and far from disturbing the scene the characters react to its presence naturally and fluently. This is great story about brothers and what it means to have sibling. So soothingly powerful, this story is going to make you long to hug your sister (or brother).

The Piano

The Piano (1993)

a film by Jane Campion

I don't know why I haven't seen this film before. Maybe it was because it is so acclaimed by critics and general public that I was fearing a major deception out of inflated expectations. Luckily that wasn't the case and this film blew my mind in a way I wasn't expecting despite of all the anticipation. This is great story with epic landscapes, amazing music and photography and most of all, a really memorable female heroin comes to life with Holly Hunter's brilliant performance.

There are many memorable things about this movie. There are marvelous sequences that are among the most beautiful I have seen in a movie screen. A piano abandoned in a beach with the furious Pacific Ocean in the background. A troupe of Maori's attired with Victorian clothes crossing the muddy forests. Anna Paquin running under the rain with angel wings.

If that wasn't enough this movie also features powerful and memorable characters. All the actors are at their best and is no surprise that this movie has been so celebrated and remembered. I personally like and celebrate the strong the depiction of this female character that beyond the conventions and limitations of her epoch finds will and strength to change her destiny. It is the force and beauty of this kind of female characters what sometimes is missing in modern movies.

The Piano is a must see, so I should stop inflating expectations that I could continue feeding talking about the great music, the marvelous photography and the awesome costumes. This movie is worth finding a big screen with good sound and surrender your senses.

Alice's Restaurant

Alice's Restaurant (1969)
a film by Arthur Penn

This movie is document of the counterculture movement and the young people in the end of the sixties. It keeps record of many aspects of the life of this generation and is greatly narrated by Arlo Guthrie in an entertaining tone of voice full of wit and irony.

This film features nice images and great music and I wouldn't doubt it is a milestone if you want to get a grasp of American culture seen through films. Some sequences such as the wedding or the old van in the road with the army trucks are really memorable because of its aesthetics and its satirical content. It is a story of the generation that lived the counterculture and broke the structure of society as it was thought until then and this is shown smoothly throughout the film in the clash of the citizens with the characters that integrate Alice's Restaurant.

I think it is a matter of empathy what made this story feel a bit distant from me. Maybe a deeper knowledge of American culture would make an instant classic. It is that sort of insight what separates this enjoyable story from the universal and memorable story I hoped it to become and leaves it in the limbo between light and vigorously critic entertainment.

I enjoyed the dynamic narration introduced by the music and the voice of Arlo Guthrie, who I did not know before finding this film but whose voice I can't get out of my head with his sticky tune: "you can eat everything you want at Alice's Restaurant".

La Genou de Claire

La Genou de Claire (1970)
a film by Eric Rohmer

Thu. Aug. 5/10 - 7:00pm

Jackman Hall - AGO

Thanks to the Cinematheque I had the great opportunity of watching three of the Rohmer's moral tales included on The List in a large screen with a restored film and in the company of a great audience and this really makes the difference when it comes to admire the beauty and the complexity of Rohmer's film.

Rohmer's work is not easily accessible, it demands lots of attention and patience but it is really worth for the payback, and when I talk about them I try to emphasize in the thoughts and experiences that his films have produce on me more than the actual set of actions that occur in the screen because in the end his movies are more about what is happening in the minds of his characters rather than his actions.

I found La Genou de Claire to be the most approachable of the moral stories I have watched. I found it to be provocative and delightful, full of really beautiful visual details and rich characters.

Starting with the landscape of the lake, all the images of this film are really appealing and they provide the environment of lavish beauty that sets the moral dilemma on the main character.
The great sense of style of Rohmer's movies is also present here with the careful choice of the clothes of the characters, the rooms and the landscape. The general composition of the images is brilliant and provoking, sometimes I reminding me of the paintings of Balthus.

The characters are really interesting, each one really elaborated throughout their dialogues which reveal so much about them and the mask that words put over the real thoughts. The moral dilemma and the temptation are evident in all the relations between the characters and Claire's knee becomes the vehicle in which all the tensions that are created find an objective and an apparent resolution.

This is a movie about temptation and desire. It provokes and it entertains with a great sense of aesthetics and intellectual richness which is provides ground for discussion and generates ideas that linger after the film. Rohmer's work is brilliant and beautiful, it is worth discovering and discussing. If you are willing to take the trip I would recommend to start with this film.

Green For Danger

Green For Danger (1945)
a film by Sydney Gilliat

Set in the last days of the World War II, Green For Danger is an entertaining thriller and a successful cocktail made with the intrigue of the relationships between the doctors and nurses in a hospital, the life in the English Home Front, a mysterious crime story and considerable amounts of dark humour.

Green For Danger has been another one of the great discoveries brought by The List. This short and refreshing films brings a Hitchcockian crime story with a little bit of romantic intrigue nicely set by the great cast and sparkled with the dose of dark humour provided by a clumsy but very proud detective that is both an omniscient narrator and a character in the story.

This is a movie made in the last year of WWII but touches topics that might have been very sensitive for the audiences of the time and that are greatly preserved thank to the success of this story. The English Home Front, the campaign hospitals and the terrible menace of the terrible V1 rockets frame this thriller. On the other hand it also features interesting characters greatly interpreted that set the tempestuous background for the story, I particularly enjoyed Dr. Adan and the elegant and independent nurse Linley.

A movie like Green For Danger is a document of their time. It preserves the elements of the life and its problems in its time but it is the great success in the mixture of cast, story and context what makes it accessible and entertaining more than sixty years later and will make it linger in time.

Mon Oncle

Mon Oncle (1958)
a film by Jacques Tatis

Watching Tati's movies is always a refreshing and cheerful experience and those lighthearted feelings are what I remember now when I'm writing about it. I'm also happy because I was looking forward to post the beautiful poster of this movie at EleKino.

This is the story of the clash between two worlds, the almost sterilized world of the Arpel family and world of M. Hulot. It is the clash between a world of conventions and the informality, between the world of modern bourgeoisie and rural life, a collision between a technology that seems to overwhelm life and simple life. All this is present from the opening credits and follows through all the movie with a great visual contrast between both worlds and in the middle the beautiful relationship of the kid with his uncle.

This movie has the great ability of disguising as naive and simple hiding the great meticulous and whimsical genius of Tatis. Each gag in this movie is carefully constructed and happens with great fluidity on the screen, and no detail is left behind as the images are beautifully composed with the nice touch of Technicolor that goes so well with the story. My favourites are the fish fountain scenes and the sequences on the plastic factory, but the visual construction and the soundtrack are amazing throughout all the film.

It is really difficult to see how tall is Jacques Tatis when you see him dressed as M. Hulot. And it is also difficult to see how great he is as a director and comedian when his movies are so accessible and enjoyable but his influence extends from Mr. Bean's Holiday to Apocalypse Now.

Anastasia

Anastasia (1956)
a film by Anatole Lytvak

Still recovering from the shock of The Butcher Boy I found Anastasia in search of some sanity and this greatly staged and solid movie was a nice shelter.

A story told a thousand times, the family of the Czar Nikolai II has been killed by the Bolshevik revolutionaries but the rumour that Princess Anastasia has survived has spread over Europe. Yul Brynner plays the strict and cold General Bounine who is determined to show that Anna, a recovering amnesic played by the ravishing Ingrid Bergman is the missing princess.

This movie has the great appeal of the classics featuring great costumes and the magnificence of the many European cities. It also sets the great contrast of the monolithic and impressive acting of Brynnerwith the freshness and the flexibility that Bergman gives to her character.
What really made this story worth seeing were those scenes in which they interact.

A nice story that makes justice to the myth of the loss heir of the Czar. A story that feels so strange now in the times of DNA tests but that will stand time with the great Ingrid Bergman in the role of Anastasia.

The Butcher Boy

The Butcher Boy (1997)
a film by Neil Jordan

This movie is a great finding. I didn't know it and when I found it I didn't have any idea of what to expect. It is a great story full of the darkest sense of humour and a vertiginous narrative.

I think it is accurate to say that I haven't seen a movie like this before. It features the vibrant narrative and stream of conscious of Francie Brady, the memorable character of a boy whose world continuously falls apart and retreats in to a violent fantasy world which provide the movie with a great mixture of vitality and dark humour. The performance of Eamonn Owens as Francie Brady is amazing.

Many times during this movie I found myself expecting it to drift into an endless drama, but it never cease to turn ludicrous. The main character and the great soundtrack kept the story fresh and even when there are moments in which the misfortune and the desolation seem endless it manages to keep the mixture of seriousness and absurdity that make it so original, driving you on the edge of laughter and shock.

This is the darkest comedy, at moments I didn't know if what I was watching was drifting in to insanity and often I found myself shocked by the unexpected situations in which this movie put me. It is a hard cocktail of sweetness, sadness and schizophrenia.

Novecento

Novecento (1976)
a film by Bernardo Bertolucci

There are many reasons for sitting down and watching a movie that is five hours long. First it could be because it is a master piece, the result of a great work and effort that has transcended time. Or maybe because it is because it is a piece of art in which the great use of the visual language provides a great emotional trip. Or maybe it is because the actors are great, or the topic is interesting and or it provides ground for discussion. All of this reasons and more are valid in the case of Novecento, and once it gets started is difficult to stop.

Novecento is the epic story of two friends that live in rural Italy through the first half of the twentieth century. One a landowner and the other one a worked, their stories are a document and a personal voyage through the events that defined those years and a beautiful tribute to Italy. This is not the kind of story in which you see the two armies facing each other, or the great artists in exhibition rooms, or the change in the cities and the country side. This is the history through the life of two friends that grow up together, and through the doors enter fascism and communism, enter the vanguards, enter the rural life and the class struggle.

The key to this story are definitely the characters and they are great and memorable. Donald Sutterland plays one of the most despicable bad-guys I have seen on a screen and Gerard Depardieu and Robert de Niro are enormous in their interpretations. However my favourite is the character of Ada, the free spirit crushed in the knot of history. I had to stop in the false-blind dancing scene and gasp seeing the great work of Bertolucci.

The images in this movie are amazing. The use of the seasons to follow the story starting with carefree summer and ending with promising spring is simply amazing, and the images in the film reminded me of the depictions of workers by Sorolla or Singer-Sargent, but also of Goya and Delacroix. Bertolucci features the sence of epic but also his skill to deal with personal relations and set the spirit of free love in the brutality of the events of history.

This movie is great, and it has passed to history of cinema as one of the great documents of the century, but it is also a great personal and emotional story. For all what happens on the screen, it is amazing it only lasts five hours.