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Reviews
The English Patient (1996)
Not About Love Per Se
The book is better than the film mostly because of the writer Ondatje's prose. Before I saw this film, someone who had seen it, told me the love depicted in this film isn't real. After seeing this film, I can see how her suspension of disbelief in this regard could've been distracting to other movie-goers as well. Frankly, some of the intense displays of love were laughable and seem to be on the edge of parody. But by the end, everyone should realize this is a big message piece of art. It is not specifically about love at all, it uses "love" to dialectically reveal the human divide or the arbitrary borders of countries that help justify wars and hatred. It is about misunderstandings and the blind following of the things that supposedly separate us. The critical scene for the real theme of this movie is when the hero or antihero's pleas for help for his stranded lover in the desert is ignored and disregarded for the reasons shown in that scene. This film is also about hope and forgiveness, the hope epitomized in the interracial relationship between Binoche's recovering character and the Indian minesweeper (echoed in the Sikh's buddy-buddy relationship with his white coworker who ends up dying nonsensically) and the forgiveness epitomized in the Caravaggio character's first hunt and then forcing out of what he thinks will be the hero's confessions for his war "crimes" (betrayal of country). I think the film could've been made even better than it is. I don't know if a more realistic portrayal of the circumstances of love would've made the real themes and points of this film even more obvious or not, but I agree this film is not about realistic romantic love, as the people behind this piece of art or film imply in an early scene when the eventual lovers first meet. The hero talks about how a new car, broken-down car, fast car, etc. (I'm paraphrasing) is still just a car no matter what adjective you put in front of it. She replies but parental love, platonic love, romantic love, etc. are very different kinds of love. This is ironic because this film is really about the one love all humans should want which is the love of (or for) peace (not materialistic things which are usually the real reasons for wars, epitomized in something most of us want such as "cars", let's say). Otherwise, we may be left stranded to die in a cave in a vast desert with ancient wall art/drawings of swimmers, suggesting that the seas and life-supporting waters which were once there have all but disappeared. I believe "The English Patient" won the Oscar because of these big messages not specifically for its depiction of romantic love. Awards tend to go that way. The relationship of the hero and heroine was necessary to draw the audience in, unfortunately this view of love may be antiquated in the age of divorce and so many singles who can't seem to get together on so many levels, so ridiculous versions of mythic love are hard to get into, even in daydreams, which film love has always been, especially in good old Hollywood. The film may fall short of what people expect but a 7 out of 10 movie worth seeing, regardless.
Japón (2002)
Throwback
Wow. Didn't think there was this type of filmmaker still out there in this century. What's even amazing is I find out this director was inspired by most of my favourite directors, most of whom see a bigger picture about humanity than others: I mean Tarkovsky, Kiarostami, Kurosawa, Bresson, etc. This movie is definitely in their tradition. First of all, the woman in the film is unbelievable in the most exalted sense of the word. She is the anchor of it all and so naturally unassuming and modest. I don't want to give anything away but as Reygadas, the director, implies in a surreal beach sequence, beautiful beyond ... I'll leave it at that. Also, the most memorable singing sequence near the end of the film with this peasant labourer after he accepts the gift of a drink from the woman during a work break from smashing up her barn (or maybe from pretend filming). I mean, who says beautiful singing has to be technically beautiful? What he sings and how he sings it beats anything I've ever seen and that says a whole bunch. Anyways, a film definitely worth seeing in view of the overinflated monetary and materialistic attitudes of this new order world of ours. What is it we want? Can we really have everything? That's just one of the many questions posed to us from Reygada's film. Stick with it. The film may seem sluggish at the beginning but it might just blow you right out of the water (or cesspool) in the second half. I'd give it a perfect ten if I were more spiritual but Doestoevsky, most of us are not. Reygadas comes damn close though.
Gas Food Lodging (1992)
Seems Very Personal
I wish there were more films like this. Anders, the director, is a very wise person, especially in how she sees human relationships and treats them in this film. People call this an intelligent film and I'm not saying it's not, but that comment says a bundle about a lot of the other films that have been out there lately, where characters just don't seem human and act more like plot robots, void of any recognizable human feelings or dimensions. Evil and good in absolute black and white strokes. No, most people are more complex than that, even if mass media doesn't seem to want to poke much beyond the surface that they present to us. This movie is intelligent because it's very intuitive in its understanding of how most real people relate to one another. There are two particular scenes that I especially love. One is with the younger daughter bringing home purely by coincidence the ex-lover of her mom for a supposedly blind first date with the mom. She and the ex play it cool and ironically pretend they don't know each other and by the end of it, the lover comes to understand the mom's maternal love for her daughter and why she can't continue with him as her lover, which is all spelled out without anyone saying anything directly. The second scene is slightly less poignant, but also shows the unspoken understanding between good people. It involves the satellite cable installer and the mom and how they communicate indirectly and in a silly smart way the nature of their newfound relationship with one another and what they want from it. Their conversation in bed after the first time doing "it" was a gem. Very strong recommendation!
Kantô mushuku (1963)
The Futility of It All
Seijun Suzuki turns the Yakuza genre inside-out once again. By the end of this film, you will once again see the futility of it all, whether the Yakuza member involved believes and acts sincerely and nobly to the "Yakuza" code or simply uses it as a matter of criminal convenience. The really clever thing about this film is in the sly reversal of a "supposed" victim to the one that figuratively gets "one-up" on all of this stuff. It involves one of the three young girls that open this film and her story is almost a literal jab by Suzuki at male desire and stupidity. It certainly had me going. Does this mean I'm stupid? Probably. But after the "reversal", I had to laugh at my own assumptions and wish I could've congratulated Suzuki with a "Touche". Anyways, a good film. Definitely worth seeing. I liked it more than "Tokyo Drifter" and only slightly less than "Branded to Kill". It's amazing how the theme of "men vs men, men vs themselves, and men vs women" repeats in so many of his films, including his more serious Taisho trilogy which he did many years later (20 or so years after his 60's Yakuza period working for the studio that he got fired from). Oh, if you're scared of Suzuki's more artistic and esoteric Taisho stuff done later in his life, don't worry. "Kanto Wanderer" is Suzuki close to his "Yakuza" best. 8 out of 10 for me.
Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995)
Sautet Does It Again
Exquisite movie. Sautet's a director who builds up his films moment by moment without you realizing the full extent of the feelings involved, usually until the very end. And he doesn't do it with the typical Hollywood flash. He allows you to realize things yourself. This movie of his is no exception. Sautet, through his characters and his directorial realization of the scripted story, is someone who sees above the pettiness of the everyday world.
If you haven't genuine love and understanding in your life, you have something considerably less. Late in his life, Monsieur Arnaud, one of the title characters, finally gets it and through his relationship with Nelly (and others) allow us, the audience, to do so also, definitely by the end of this story. 4 aces, five stars, 10 votes, whatever, this is a must-see, especially for Sautet fans who've seen and like his other works.