Weeks of disappointment
Went to the movies three times weekend before last - saw Borat, which was no more or less than I expected. Visually uninteresting, but a(n offensive) snapshot of America right now, and especially the way many Americans view people who "look Muslim". Not as funny as I was hoping, but I was definitely laughing a few times.
(As a side note, I'm a liberal, too, but crap, some of the people on my side need to get their senses of humor fixed. I realize Borat isn't going to be for everyone, or even many, but at some point you have to register that it is satire.)
Next on the list was Shortbus, a film I had high hopes for but which ended up falling flat for me. Visually boring, though I did find it, in the end, to be far more straightforward and truthful about sexuality than a film like Closer, with all its literary pretentions (and Colin Clive, who never seems to make a misstep even when he ends up in less-than-stellar films). Where Closer attempted to be cynically hip, Shortbus attempts to wrap everything up with a pretty bow, gives all the characters what they want, and that became the most disappointing thing about it. It started to go in some interesting directions, but all of those directions ended in cliche.
The third movie that weekend was Marie Antoinette, which I was actually impressed with on a couple of different levels. I think Sofia Coppola is one of the most interesting directors working today. Sure, she's not perfect, but she has an interesting vision and her films always give me something to chew on. Marie Antoinette was gaudy and gilded, which worked perfectly. I think it is a very feminist film on one level, showing how this woman used what she had available to her in order to gain a form of autonomy in this world that she was tossed into without her consent. This could be problematic, especially with the class element, and the backdrop of the French Revolution (I heard French audiences were offended and angered by the film -- why, because it portrays a historical figure they like to deride and scapegoat as more of a victim than a victimizer? Or because it pays short shrift to the plight of the working poor? I think both reasons are kind of silly).
This weekend it was Fast Food Nation. I think the New York Times reviewer must be a Richard Linklater fan, because I thought the film ended up proselytizing to me. I think some things worked - the immigrants' story was affecting, but several of the scenes involving the Marketing VP and the teenage girl were extremely preachy and propagandistic. There are better ways to get a point across, Mr. Linklater.
Last week one of my teachers screened 13 (Tzameti) in class. I found it very affecting, and effective. There is something I love about directors who are willing to forego music and use pared-down editing techniques to create tension. I have nothing against music as a tool in filmmaking - on the contrary, I love a good film score, and I think it can add a lot to a movie. But it's so refreshing to just hear...silence. And then a gunshot, or the click of an empty barrel, the two sounds that reverberate through the entirety of 13, giving it a wonderful, gritty, yet stylized sort of neo-noir feel. The film provides a scathing social critique, and it's chilling.
(As a side note, I'm a liberal, too, but crap, some of the people on my side need to get their senses of humor fixed. I realize Borat isn't going to be for everyone, or even many, but at some point you have to register that it is satire.)
Next on the list was Shortbus, a film I had high hopes for but which ended up falling flat for me. Visually boring, though I did find it, in the end, to be far more straightforward and truthful about sexuality than a film like Closer, with all its literary pretentions (and Colin Clive, who never seems to make a misstep even when he ends up in less-than-stellar films). Where Closer attempted to be cynically hip, Shortbus attempts to wrap everything up with a pretty bow, gives all the characters what they want, and that became the most disappointing thing about it. It started to go in some interesting directions, but all of those directions ended in cliche.
The third movie that weekend was Marie Antoinette, which I was actually impressed with on a couple of different levels. I think Sofia Coppola is one of the most interesting directors working today. Sure, she's not perfect, but she has an interesting vision and her films always give me something to chew on. Marie Antoinette was gaudy and gilded, which worked perfectly. I think it is a very feminist film on one level, showing how this woman used what she had available to her in order to gain a form of autonomy in this world that she was tossed into without her consent. This could be problematic, especially with the class element, and the backdrop of the French Revolution (I heard French audiences were offended and angered by the film -- why, because it portrays a historical figure they like to deride and scapegoat as more of a victim than a victimizer? Or because it pays short shrift to the plight of the working poor? I think both reasons are kind of silly).
This weekend it was Fast Food Nation. I think the New York Times reviewer must be a Richard Linklater fan, because I thought the film ended up proselytizing to me. I think some things worked - the immigrants' story was affecting, but several of the scenes involving the Marketing VP and the teenage girl were extremely preachy and propagandistic. There are better ways to get a point across, Mr. Linklater.
Last week one of my teachers screened 13 (Tzameti) in class. I found it very affecting, and effective. There is something I love about directors who are willing to forego music and use pared-down editing techniques to create tension. I have nothing against music as a tool in filmmaking - on the contrary, I love a good film score, and I think it can add a lot to a movie. But it's so refreshing to just hear...silence. And then a gunshot, or the click of an empty barrel, the two sounds that reverberate through the entirety of 13, giving it a wonderful, gritty, yet stylized sort of neo-noir feel. The film provides a scathing social critique, and it's chilling.
posted by Chantal at
4:18 PM
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