chitownclark Reviews

O diaheiristis (2009)

A sweet story about a man, buildings..and getting old.

[6/10 · 20 October 2010]

We saw this film at the Chicago International Film Festival. We found it a somewhat self-indulgent piece where Periklis Hoursoglou, the writer, director and star, must contend with a character (Pavlos) who enjoys two devoted women, one only 23, and a lying, sabotaging mother who resists his efforts to cease being her child, and to assume his deceased father's role as head of the family and building manager.

I enjoyed the film; my Finnish wife disliked the women's characters for their undying affection for Pavlos; she called the film an old man's dream world. I enjoyed learning about maintaining those old Greek buildings,and how plumbers are the same everywhere. But in the end, it was a sweet story about a man's life, and the universal problems we all encounter getting older.

I'm Not There (2007)

Do yourself a favor: read Dylan biography first

[7/10 · 4 January 2008]

Sari and I walked cold into "I'm Not There" and spent a very difficult 2+ hours trying to figure out what was happening. After only 20 minutes we both wanted separately to walk out, but didn't voice that wish, believing the other must be "into" it. So thankfully we stayed. It was only afterward, reading all these IMDb reviews that we began to appreciate what we had just seen.

If you're going to the film, do yourself a favor and read Bob Dylan's 2004 autobiography "Chronicles" first...or at least Wikipedia's biographical sketch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan) of his life.

There are too many interesting references in the film not to be able to enjoy as you watch. And perhaps you'll even avoid becoming confused and frustrated by the end of the film...

Snowland (2005)

Very powerful Nordic film touts taboo subjects

[9/10 · 8 March 2005]

Hans Geissendorfer's "Schneeland" or Snowland provided one of the most gripping, emotional evenings of theater I've experienced.

The film was premiered in the U.S. at the '05 Sundance Film Festival in January. Geissendorfer was there and answered questions from the audience after the film.

Altho most reviews of the film seem to focus on the modern-day story of the German woman who is desperately depressed, the real story is of Inna and her abusive father on a subsistence farm in Depression-era Lapland. The manner that Geissendorfer makes us aware of the linkage between the two women over the years generates unexpected emotional results.

Here is a real story, told beautifully, with a surprising ending that leaves us with a sense of satisfaction and hope.

I think most reviewers who've rated the film so low were reacting to the taboo topic of parental molestation, and the grim politically-incorrect circumstances of the film. But these are issues that humans have had to deal with for their entire history, right up to today. To see such a story told honestly, grippingly, and so beautifully, makes "Schneeland" my nomination for my best film experience in the past year.

Forty Shades of Blue (2005)

Dina and Rip knock 'em out in wandering plot line...

[8/10 · 8 March 2005]

I was one of the few to get up at 7am, and walk over a mile in the snow to see this film in its initial early-morning screening at the Sundance Film Festival at Park City in January '05. The film went on to win "Best of the Fest" against formidable competition.

I loved Dina Korzun's performance: nuanced, minimalist, perfect.

For all of us older guys who've thought of having a fling with a slim Russian "ice princess" it was good to become familiar with Dina's character, and realize there might be a downside to such a liaison.

But with such acting potential from the two leads, I felt that the story wandered, and the movie ended achingly unresolved.