Expanding Horizons (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

Whity (1970)
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Whity is one strange film. It's a stagy psychological drama that at times seems to be a riff on Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. Indeed, the film was shot on Leone's sets in Spain and the score reminds one of Ennio Morricone's work.
The titular character is the black slave of the rich and decadent Nicholson family. Though enslaved, Whity seems content with his position. He willingly submits to regular physical and mental abuse at the hands of his demented owners. Patriarch Ben claims to be terminally ill. His wife Katherine is cheating on him. Daughter Hanna is a scheming harpy. Ben also has two sons: Davy, who is seriously retarded and finds comfort in Whity's presence, and Frank, who makes homosexual advances towards the taciturn slave.
So why does Whity put up with it all? And what will he do when members of the family begin asking him to murder each other?
I'd like to make special mention of the striking photography by Michael Ballhaus. Whity marked the first of fourteen collaborations between he and Fassbinder.
I suppose Fassbinder is an acquired taste. Having seen only this and The Marriage of Maria Braun, I haven't yet acquired that taste. I'll reserve full judgment until I've got a few more of his films under my belt.
:star: :star: 1/2
Tuvalu (2000)
Directed by Veit Helmer.
Tuvalu is a charming little fastasy set in a crumbling bathhouse, somewhere, somewhen. Anton loves working there and never ventures into the blasted landscape outside. Then, one day, pretty Eva comes for a swim. Immediately smitten, Anton dreams of sailing away with her to the far-off land of Tuvalu. Unfortunately, his hopes are dashed when evil brother Gregor begins plotting to destroy the bathhouse in order to make room for his real estate project. Tragedy then strikes and Anton is heart-broken when Eva flees into Gregor's arms. Can he win her back and save the bathhouse?
Tuvalu works as an homage to the films of Chaplin and Keaton, though it owes more than a bit to the styles of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Lars Von Trier. There is very little dialogue in Tuvalu - it's essentially a silent movie with sound effects. Much of the film was shot in sepia tones to better convey the insular world inside the bathhouse, while scenes of the outside world were shot with a blue-tinted filter. If you like the work of Trier, but especially Jeunet, you'll probably dig Tuvalu.
:star: :star: :star: 1/2

 

[Elizabeth S]

Dome, just have a comment about "The Deer Hunter". This is one of my favorite films of all time (I picked it as my first pick in the first edition of the draft.) Saw it theatrically 3 times because it just had such an emotional impact for me.

You seem a bit disappointed because it was less about the horrors of the war than it was about the impact it had on their friendships and relationships. For me, that's exactly why I love the film. The final scene with Michael and Nicky has to be the most touching, extreme example of the lengths someone would go for love and friendship.

And personally, the first third of my film is probably my favorite. Too many films throw us into the "meat" of the film before establishing any sense of character development and interaction, and I love that Cimino lovingly took time for us to absorb the nature of the small community and observe the characters' relationships.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Elizabeth S said:

Quote:

I stick by my guns. There's only so much dancing I can handle.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

stick by my guns. There's only so much dancing I can handle.

I agree. The first third of the movie is somewhat painful to sit through. Whether the power of the remainder of the movie overcomes the weakness of the first third is open for debate. For me, the answer is "not quite", although I think De Niro and Walken's performances are some of the best that either one have ever given.

BTW Dome, thanks for the great explanation regarding Movie Score and Film Score.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Thanks for the clarification, Dome! Yes, it was this part that kind of threw me:

However, I think that of all the good Vietnam films, this one is the least because the film is less a film about the horrors of Vietnam than it is about friendship.

 

[JohnRice]

I think you folks have missed a major factor of The Deer Hunter. Other war movies end when the war ends, or even during the war. This one shows that the effects of the war are brought home. I actually think it is about the best war movie I have seen for exactly that reason.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Yes, and that's another reason the establishing 1st hour is so crucial to the film. The "after" wouldn't mean so much without the in-depth "before".

 

[Andrew_Sch]

The Philadelphia Story
:star: /:star: :star: :star: :star:
Okay, here's the deal: I love Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant (who doesn't), Katharine Hepburn was great in her role and the script and whatnot were all strong. That being said, I had trouble staying awake. I can't tell you how many times my mind wandered completely away from the screen for minutes at a time, and I came back and nothing significant had happened. The cinematic equivalent of NyQuil in my opinion.

 

[SteveGon]

Andrew, I wouldn't rate The Philadelphia Story as low as you did, but I have to admit that there is something about the movie that just doesn't draw me in.
Since we're on the subject of old movies:
Dodsworth (1936)
Directed by William Wyler.
I've seen Dodsworth before, but it was so long ago that my recent viewing of it was obstensibly a first one.
Walter Huston is Sam Dodsworth, a self-made millionaire. As the movie opens, Sam has retired after a long and successful career in the automotive industry. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife Fran sail off to Europe for a "second honeymoon." But Fran isn't content to just see the sights; she wants to mingle with the upperclass in Paris. Though rich, the couple have lived in a small town all their lives and she feels socially shortchanged. Trouble starts as soon as the ship leaves dock. Fran has a brief fling with another man, played by a youthful David Niven. Meanwhile, Sam meets Edith (the lovely Mary Astor), an expatriate living in Rome. Nothing happens between them and yet something is there. Once in Paris, Sam and Fran go their separate ways: he plays tourist and she begins climbing the social ladder. She is soon smitten with the distinguished Count Obersdorf and talks Sam into returning home where he'll be out of the way. So home he goes only to become increasingly frustrated by Fran's infrequent communication. Fed up, Sam returns to Paris and discovers the affair. Though Obersdorf makes a quick exit, Fran and Sam decide to part ways for good. This scene, set in a train station, is one of the most poignant I've ever seen. Lonely and footloose, Sam begins traveling all of Europe. It is in Italy that he once again encounters Edith. A spark ignites and he decides to stay with her, memories of home and Fran washed away by his newfound lease on happiness. Then, one day, he receives a phone call from Fran. Yet another affair has turned sour and she wants him back. Sam feels obligated to her and yet he is reluctant to leave Edith...
If Dodsworth sounds like a soap opera, it essentially is. However, it is exceedingly well done. Walter Huston gives a terrific performance as a man set in his ways who must nonetheless contend with a changing personal life. Ruth Chatterton is equally superb in her tricky role as a woman who wants to escape her insular world, no matter if it destroys her marriage. Mary Astor is very appealing in her role. As Edith, she manages to be both forceful and hesitant in her dealings with Sam - just what you'd expect from someone looking for love but not quite willing to admit it for fear of being hurt. Comic relief is ably provided by Harlan Briggs as the befuddled and henpecked Tubby Pearson, a long-time friend of Sam's.
Dodsworth is one of the finest movies of the thirties and well worth a look.
:star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Brook K]

I love The Philadelphia Story a funny, funny film with great romantic chemistry between Grant and Hepburn. I definitely prefer it to all 3 of the Tracy Hepburn movies I've seen (though those are good too).
RE: Whity Sorry you didn't enjoy this as much as I do Steve. Why does Whity stay? Why do any of us stay in bad relationships? We're in love, or we don't know any better, or maybe we just don't feel like we have anywhere else to go. I think all 3 of those things are true for Whity. But eventually, as both the family he is loyal to implodes around him, he sees the outside world is no crueler than the life he has been living. Hanna Schygulla's lover/prostitute character offers him an escape.
Fassbinder doesn't make it easy for us to like his films. They are usually about bitterness and pain, dreamers ground down by the realities of life. Fassbinder's guiding philosophy was that to love, particularly to show love to another person, was to admit weakness, to submit and lose your power in that relationship. He didn't particularly follow it in his life, love is a pretty hard emotion to resist, but this philosophy is certainly reflected in many of his films.
He is one of my favorite directors though I've only seen 5 of his films (I own 4 more I haven't watched yet). Fassbinder's writing is so sharp, and cynically honest. He was lucky to work with great cinematographers and his own skill at camera direction grew throughout his career. And by working with the same actors over and over he was able to create projects that would challenge them and use actors to the best of their abilities. If you want to explore more of his work, my favorites so far are The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, Fox And His Friends, & The Merchant Of Four Seasons
As for Tsai Ming Liang I would suggest The Hole a fantastic, exciting, and uplifting film, though again, the pace is "slow". For me this allows contemplation and a heightening of emotional involvement. Tsai's The Hole, as well as Vive L'Amour are about alienation in modern society and by creating a pace which somewhat alienates a viewing audience, Tsai is helping to put us in a similar state of mind to his characters. These are people who can look at each other, pass one another on the street, at times even touch each other, and yet, they have nothing to say. If the person I see each day on the street is Steve, or Steeve, or Vickie, does it really matter if I don't interact with them in a meaningful way? Are people as interchangeable as objects? Is there something about modern life, our currrent culture, that causes people to lose all empathy for others; locked in a selfish struggle for survival?
I'm very impressed with Tsai's filmmaking and find him much more accessible than Hou Hsia Hsien who often sets his movies in the past and requires some understanding of Taiwanese history and culture to fully appreciate.

 

[SteveGon]

RE: Whity Sorry you didn't enjoy this as much as I do Steve. Why does Whity stay? Why do any of us stay in bad relationships? We're in love, or we don't know any better, or maybe we just don't feel like we have anywhere else to go. I think all 3 of those things are true for Whity. But eventually, as both the family he is loyal to implodes around him, he sees the outside world is no crueler than the life he has been living. Hanna Schygulla's lover/prostitute character offers him an escape.

Actually I understood why Whity stayed with the Nicholsons - I phrased that remark as a question to pique interest in other members. As for the film, why I can't say that I enjoyed it, I do think it's an interesting film that sticks with you. For me, Fassbinder seems to be in the same league as Goddard - I appreciate their films more than I enjoy them, if that makes any sense. However, I'm still interested in seeing more Fassbinder. My local Hollywood Video received several of his films recently (though none of the titles you mentioned) so I'll probably check them out. Rentals are only .99 so even if I don't like the movies, I'm not out much.

 

[SteveGon]

Germany Year Zero (1947)
Directed by Roberto Rossellini.
It is 1947 and the once-proud city of Berlin has yet to recover from the Allied bombings of World War II. So many buildings were destroyed and the streets are still strewn with piles of rubble. Worse yet are the specters of guilt and despair that haunt the defeated citizens. With their economy in ruins, they are forced to eke out a miserable existence performing menial tasks doled out by the occupying forces. Young Edmund is one of them. Though only twelve, he is determined to help his family in their daily struggle to survive. His father is deathly ill and in need of medical care. His sister degrades herself by flirting with Allied soldiers in the hope of receiving cigarettes which she can trade for potatoes. His brother, once a proud German soldier, hides in their apartment and refuses to apply for a work permit using the excuse that he'll be arrested if that fact is discovered. But Edmund is resilient and though his youth bars him from many jobs, he does what he can. He has all the earmarks of someone who will make it through such trying times. The one thing that really bothers him is the constant fighting at home - his family is forced to share a small apartment with many others and no one is happy. No wonder that he is delighted to come upon Mr. Enning, his much-admired former schoolteacher. However, something is not right. Despite his educated airs, Mr. Enning is a despicable creature who preys on young boys and clings to the Nazi ideology. It is he who sets Edmund on the path to tragedy.
Recently released on DVD, Germany Year Zero is one of the great Italian neorealist dramas. Running a brief 71 minutes, it nonetheless packs a powerful punch with its unflinching look at the effects of war on ordinary people. Though Rossellini utilizes an ultra-realistic approach, there are several unforgettable scenes that betray his underlying artistry. In one, Edmund plays a recording of a speech by Adolf Hitler and the Fuhrer's mad ramblings wash over the blasted city, unsettling the weary populace. And near the end of the film, in a scene of utmost poignancy and subtlety, a disconsolate Edmund regains a bit of his lost childhood when he uses a fallen I-beam as a slide. But some things can never be regained...
Germany Year Zero is a depressing film with several extremely disturbing sequences. It is also a very powerful film that should be seen by everyone. May we never have to face such trials.
:star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Brook K]

Very well said Steve. Germany Year Zero is my favorite Rosselini film of the 4 I've seen and probably my favorite of the Italian neo-realist films as well. The power, heartbreak, and depiction of the aftermath of war on Germany in this film, surpasses that of the better known films of this period like The Bicycle Thief and La Terra Trema.
If you want to explore his work further I heartily recommend Paisan, 5 stories of American soldiers and their interactions with the Italian people as WWII proceeds through Italy. And the even better Stromboli, which stars Ingrid Bergman as a former person of privilege stuck in a post-war refugee camp. To escape the camp she marries an Italian soldier she barely knows, and finds herself facing hardships just as great when he takes her to his home on the barren, isolated island of Stromboli.

 

[SteveGon]

Thanks, Brook. The only other Rossellini film I've seen is Open City; and that was a long time ago. I'll check out Paisan and Stromboli.

 

[SteveGon]

Baran (2001)
Directed by Majid Majidi.
Tehran is a city overrun with Afghan refugees. Young Lateef, an Iranian, works with many of them on a construction site. He gets along with them until a weak new arrival is given his easy job of making and delivering tea to the workers. The usurper is named Rahmat, and he is mysterious, demure, silent. Lateef torments him and is determined to find out why he is so secretive. When Lateef discovers the truth about Rahmat, his life is turned upside down!
Baran is directed with a sure hand by Majid Majidi (Children of Heaven). He has made a subtle and affecting film about the tragedies of displacement and restrained passion. Baran may be too understated for some, but I found it very entertaining. And I will never forget that final shot...
:star: :star: :star:

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I totally missed this thread. Maybe I should snoop around the Polls section a little more thoroughly.
The Naked Kiss-1964, directed by Samuel Fuller.
Right from the start, you knew this was going to be an off-center film. Seeing the graceful and enthralling Constance Towers bald will do that. The story of a prostitute who relocates to a new city and tries to clean up her life, the many different well hidden plot points creep out and really carry the film along. I love this kind of filmmaking. Little details get revealed and by their revelation, the actions the characters demonstrated before make sense. The film just gets stronger and stronger as it goes along. Though the acting is at times a bit stiff and stilted, the film never fails to be interesting. The "wrap up" at the end is predictable but not without moments. There is a scene at the jail where Kelly (Towers) needs Buff to admit that Candy, the owner of a "candy store", offered Buff money to become a Bon Bon girl. Buff, in trying to save face and innocence, denies it and Kelly, knowing she could call Buff on it and make everyone aware of the "shameful" act Buff had done, instead says she made a mistake and that Buff is innocent. Moments like that are peppered throughout the film and because of that, The Naked Kiss is a heady, intelligent film that is recommended to any cinephile.
The Naked Kiss-:star: :star: :star: :star:
Bruce

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’m also a Sam Fuller fan, Bruce. He churned out a lot of war (and gangster) movies in the 50s that used to show up in double features back then. Very gritty.

If you have not yet seen his Shock Corridor, there is a very nice edition available from Criterion. I find this movie very intriguing indeed. Very off center and it offended a lot of people back in the early 60s.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I watched Shock Corridor a few months ago. I didn't actually realize SC and The Naked Kiss were by the same person, but now that I do, the resemblence and style of film is really jarring. It's funny, because when I was watching TNK, I kept thinking how similar it seemed to Shock Corridor.
Bruce

 

[SteveGon]

Have you guys seen Fuller's last film Street of No Return? It was recently released on DVD and you can find my comments here

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I haven't seen Street of No Return, but now I certainly want to. That I've only seen 2 Fuller films, I would like to see how similar his latest/last efforts are compared to what I've seen.
Anatomy of A Murder
Otto Preminger's wonderful 1959 adaption of the Voelker novel, Anatomy is filled with witty dialogue and humor. For a 50's film, it is quite bold with its straightforward talk and unwavering stance on calling a spade a spade. Maybe I haven't seen enough films from that era, but to hear the words "slut" or "bitch" was kind of eye-opening. That's what makes this film work. Where other films of that era would infer, hint, conceal or allude to such words or actions, Anatomy just came right out and said them. No dancing around it, no tip-toeing...just frank, honest dialogue and it was refreshing. This openess was handled skillfully by Preminger and the cast. James Stewart is James Stewart, i.e. watchable as hell and surefooted. Looking back, it's funny to see George C. Scott in a film that he isn't headlining. Being his 2nd film, it's not suprising in that regard, but what we get is a glimpse of the screen presence Scott was to become. He nearly steals the film as Claude Dancer, the assistant attorney general. On the whole, a very well acted film, with a great, tinkering jazz score by Duke Ellington. A classic in every sense of the word.
Anatomy of a Murder :star: :star: :star: :star:
Bruce