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andreviane
Reviews
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Soundtracks in American movies...
I am a longtime fan of Nic's movies but only saw this one last night. For the first time. Great actor's direction, as usual. An interesting story as well, but it lost quite a bit of impact or, shall I say interest, by the almost constant background music. I have seen and heard much worse though! What I fail to understand is why American producers seem to feel the need to cloud almost every single scene with violins and/or orchestras? What is wrong with hearing the "music" in just the actors voices? The plain and familiar sounds on the streets, alleys, crossroads or country side, without any fill-ups? I am sure this was not Nic Ray's choice. I may be wrong, of course...
The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)
Money makes the world go 'round, gold apparently also does...
I loved every bit of this story about the beauty and sincerity of being naïve, sincere and to believe in dreams, to dedicate our life to them instead of spending it by collecting gold. Which will not feed you, nor quench your thirst when your well runs dry. The last minute kills the story's intention, American style, probably imposed by the producer or the company. One of the major (human?) problems on our planet: one is rewarded with gold (in color!) for anything positive we accomplished. Why gold and not just a bone to chew on, like our dogs? The final sequence was filmed in color, to better show off the supposedly "solid gold Cadillac", what the f...? I know this word is not meant to be written or spoken, come on... Brilliant writing and actor's direction, but the ending tries to convince us like any C. E. O., teacher or pastor would: "give in, gold is awaiting you"!
Le tout nouveau testament (2015)
A wink to José Saramago's writing?
Just now I saw the film once again, after quite a number of years. I loved it, but this evening I saw it with different eyes. I had subtitled it in Portuguese and English - I realise now that I need to review my subtitles - and screened it in 2016 in Tavira, a small town at the Southern Portuguese coast. Only this time I realised that Jaco's film actually could have been (was?) a kind of hommage to at least three of José Saramago's books: DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS; THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST; THE YEAR OF THE DEATH OF RICARDO REIS (one of Fernando Pessoa's pseudonims), and probably also (only slightly?) to ALL THE NAMES. It also reminded me of a possible wink to Walerian Borowczyk's LA BÊTE, THE BEAST (1975). This was a very interesting realisation. At the time I subtitled Jaco's film (I am Belgian, living in Portugal for the past 39 years) I hadn't read one single line written by Saramago. A dreadful shame, I realise that now. I am catching up though, in Portugese and English, and I love every single bit of his lines, just as I loved to see this film, once again.
The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century (1996)
Probably the worst documentary I have ever seen...
If you're going through your decaying collection of VHS tapes or DVD's, this is worth a final decay! I have seen thousands of documentaries and am a huge fan of the genre. Recently a friend offered me a pile of DVD's from her collection and as I can only remember my Belgian (Ghent) grand-mother's stories of this war I was hoping for some more information. I guess I feel a bit more informed but at a cost. This is precisely how a documentary should not be made! Focussed on sensation and drama, with plenty of full moon shots, candle lights and flames throughout the series, not to forget explosions. The worst is the soundtrack, never ceasing dramatic music every single second. It only stops briefly during some interviews with unidentified people. Judi Dench's voice is completely drained in it. Furthermore I am wondering how she felt about what she was reading out loud... Bad, a waste and a totally missed opportunity!
The Eagle Huntress (2016)
A sadly missed chance
I am and have been a huge fan of art house movies and documentaries throughout my life, I have seen several thousands of them. Slow or fast, whatever. When it makes sense. This is my first review on imdb, tonight I watched this film and I am trying to recover from the shock. Already a bit worried during the intitial credits, even more when the narrator's voice surfaced... Was this REALLY meant to be a "documentary"? My goodness. Every single bit of it seems acted, some of it "even" rehearsed. It all looks like a promotional film ordered by the Mongolian tourist office! American style. The hardest nut to chew most certainly was the soundtrack, which made me curse quite a number of times. I have heard many misplaced ones but this one beats most. If you enjoyed watching this, please try "The Story of the Weeping Camel" (2003), you will understand why I feel this way now.