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mistarichard0
In love with film and cinematography.
Law student at the University Of Lisbon.
Jazz drummer, guitarist and passionate music fan.
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Ohayô (1959)
"— Complicated things are difficult to say. — Yes. Whereas meaningless things are easy to say."
«— Complicated things are difficult to say. — Yes. Whereas meaningless things are easy to say.»
This is my first viewing of any of Ozu's filmography. It was undoubtedly a marvelous experience, and one that I'll never forget.
I think the essential beauty of it lies precisely in its simplicity; unlike some directors, like Bergman or Tarkovsky, masters of visual and intellectual complexity on screen, making the canvas burst with extraordinary imagery, Ozu, on the other hand, finds that beauty and complexity in the utmost ordinary things: wanting a television (at a time when it was gaining mainstream popularity in Japan), eating rice with your brother, watching sumo wrestling, doing some English assignments and even... farting.
It is in those mostly innocent and innocuous things that Ozu sees the inherent wonder of being a child, and it is that feeling of astonishment that he conveys through gentle, placid camera angles and creamy colour tones.
The complicated doesn't need to be difficult to say, and sometimes the most meaningful of things are the ones who are the simplest to express.
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
An expertly controlled and very stylish film in Tom Ford's sophomore release
In a quite unexpected second motion picture, Ford offers a very controlled film, mimicking the very characters it is portraying. From the Lynchian opening, to the suspenseful, incredibly crafted, almost Hitcockian, action scenes and the evocative colour palette, my eyes were glued to the screen. Shannon and Gyllenhaal are amazing, but Adams manages to instill in the audience a sense of restlessness which few could've pulled off. It's amazing how absolutely nothing feels out of place, as if Ford was looming behind every shot, every word and every gesture.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
Not just a heist gone wrong!
What starts out as just another movie about "heist-gone-wrong" develops into an intricate plot about familial dysfunction and everyday people trying to make ends meet (although some ends are bigger than others).
Only Lumet could've directed this: you can see his extremely confident camera style (albeit in the hands of expert- cinematographer Ron Fortunato) throughout the entire film. The movie constantly toys with oversaturated and overexposed shots, while filling the canvas with a pale, but distinct, blue tone.
Everyone matters in this film. You never quite get the sensation that you're watching subplots or secondary characters. Every actor, and hence every character, plays a very singular role that uniquely determines the actions of the others. This is wonderfully achieved as the actors are very often placed "on-the-spot" with the camera firmly glued to them until they deliver whatever emotion is needed at that particular time. No example is more notorious of this than Phillip Seymour Hoffman's performance: the intensity of the actor is paired perfectly with the acuteness of Fortunato's camera work.
Each shot is carefully blocked and assembled, never allowing the actors to "take a breather", ramping up the intensity or slowly building it up at the director's whim.
The movie hops back and forth between the characters timelines to further convey and deepen their connection both to the main story and to each other.
Despite this non-linear structure, the subtle allusion to certain objects or events always lets the viewer know when in time the action is taking place, which could only be achieved through solid and well-thought-out editing.
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is a gem and definitely worth the time. It is a criminally underrated and underwatched film that should be seen as soon as possible.