2002 Film List - Page 8

John Thomas · 02-24-2003, 01:09 AM

Finished updating with Volcano High...not as good as I had anticipated. It's strength was the humor thrown in but there wasn't enough of it. Decent action sequences and some nice lookin' Asian ladies. Overall, it's a 6/10.

Brook K · 02-24-2003, 03:32 PM

Monsoon Wedding - A modernist picture of India with moments of pleasure and moving emotion, but too much of it's energy is expended telling 6 ok stories instead of 2 good ones. Especially troubling is the revelation of a molestation subplot with maybe 20m to go in the movie, resolving it, and then everyone's happy again. C+

The Pianist - I would have to agree with Seth and Jason. I understand narrative distance, it is something achieved to stunning effect in Terrence Malick's Days Of Heaven, but here the distancing drains the immediacy from the narrative. Instead of engaging me as a viewer, I only became more detached. As the film moves forward and the isolation increases, I grew only less interested.

There are moments of engagement, of the film rising to something more, as during the performance for the Nazi commander with a shaft of blue light turning the scene into grand melodrama. But these happenings are too few, too often the film is structured as simply moments of personal danger and tension, then make it worse, than release tension, rinse and repeat. This is a tried and true forumala in stories with strong characters, but our protagonist is virtually a blank slate.

Much like a short film I recently saw on Jewish concentration camp police, Shadows, a historical film has to have more than history to engage. I know the events well, I've read about them, seen them in many other films and TV shows. My mind was left to ponder other things, the structure, the distractingly poor digital matte paintings, and worst of all the manipulation of history with regards to the Russians, here shown as liberators and protectors. Is there a single word about the Russian invasion of Poland? The secret agreement with the Nazis to divide Polish territory? The slaughter of the Polish officer corps? The deportation of Poles to Soviet work camps? The establishment of a Jewish sector in Siberian wasteland? Systematic gang rapes of women by Soviet troops? Curious that Polanski would break out the kid gloves here.

This came out as more of a slam than I wanted it to be, but like I said, my mind was wondering

C+

Holadem · 02-24-2003, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Much like a short film I recently saw on Jewish concentration camp police, Shadows, a historical film has to have more than history to engage. I know the events well, I've read about them, seen them in many other films and TV shows. My mind was left to ponder other things, the structure, the distractingly poor digital matte paintings, and worst of all the manipulation of history with regards to the Russians, here shown as liberators and protectors. Is there a single word about the Russian invasion of Poland? The secret agreement with the Nazis to divide Polish territory? The slaughter of the Polish officer corps? The deportation of Poles to Soviet work camps? The establishment of a Jewish sector in Siberian wasteland? Systematic gang rapes of women by Soviet troops? Curious that Polanski would break out the kid gloves here.

Aren't you expecting too much from this movie? It seems you set it's ambitions higher than it did!

This film deals with the german occupation of Poland see through the eyes of Spielman, a Jew. It's a Holocaust movie. When the Russians arrived, it was indeed liberation for Poland, in the eyes of Spielman, at that time. Then the movie stopped, as it had accomplished what it set out to do.

--
Holadem

Brook K · 02-24-2003, 06:40 PM

Holadem, several of the events I mentioned took place in 1939. Spielman and his family are hearing about events related to the war and receiving newspapers and underground information. The division of Poland by the Nazis and Soviets would have been known to everyone in Poland. Things like that are quibbles, sure, but in truly great movies, I don't find myself having the time to think about and ask those questions because I'm immersed in the film.

Sure, it's asking a lot from an everyday movie, but this is a Palme D'Or winner directed by Roman Polanski and one reviewers here and some in the media have called great. A little more moral grey area could have benefited it and would have further illustrated the great tragedy of the Polish people as the Nazi nightmare gave way to a much longer Communist subjugation. Unfortunately geography left Poland with no friends.

Seth Paxton · 02-24-2003, 07:08 PM

Quote:

but here the distancing drains the immediacy from the narrative

I wish I'd said that.

James_Kiang · 02-24-2003, 07:24 PM

Updated my list with Gangs of New York - 8/10, #7 of 2002

Going into the movie, I have to admit I did not expect all that much. I had heard that Daniel Day-Lewis was great and that the rest of the film really wasn't up to that level. After having seen it, I guess I can say that it was better than I expected but not great. DDL definitely was great in this performance. I had worries that he would be over-the-top but he didn't come across that way to me at all. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie was rather...basic. The romance did not have any real spark for me, the betrayal was predictable, and every time Bill wasn't on-screen I was waiting for him to come back.

Do I take issue with the nominations this has received? Not really. I don't think it is an undeserving film, though I don't think it should (or will) win Best Picture. It will win at least a couple awards though.

Arman · 02-25-2003, 12:00 AM

Updated with The Salton Sea (Grade = C).

Edwin Pereyra · 02-25-2003, 11:07 AM

Quote:

I wish I'd said that.

Cannes, BAFTA, The Cesar and Goya Awards and the National Society of Film Critics do not appear to have this "distancing" problem others are experiencing here with The Pianist.

~Edwin

Brook K · 02-25-2003, 12:59 PM

Edwin, it's just our opinion - what we felt while watching the film. I know it's won a truckload of awards, but while it may have impressed voters, I'm not convinced it's a better film than Russian Ark, Talk To Her, Punch-Drunk Love, or Far From Heaven, etc. As we all know, awards rarely go to the most deserving film.

Though he's a bit more positive on the film than I am, read J. Hoberman's review in The Village Voice (accessible through IMDB.com) as he has really captured my feelings on the 2nd part of the film.

Another historical event that could have been related in one or two lines of dialogue was that the Soviets halted their advance outside of Warsaw during the 2nd uprising and waited several weeks for the Jews to be slaughtered and the Ghetto annihilated before continuing their advance and taking the city.

Edwin Pereyra · 02-25-2003, 08:03 PM

Brook, that's fine. I was just making an observation. For what its worth, I did make a comment in the review thread that the main protagonist's passiveness might just be a problem with some audiences.

~Edwin