Am I one of the only people in the world to say this is one of the greatest and most important of all films? I believe I am. Shocked? Yes. Horrified? Yes. Confused? Yes. But challenged and stimulated and moved? Oh, most certainly.
Even without the sets, without the costumes, without the cinematography (which are all superb), we are still left with a dynamic and blessed film. Sure the ending is "Titus Andronicus," but for Greenaway to borrow from Shakespeare is to do exactly what Shakespeare did. But the moments here are visually profound, as opposed to linguistically. The single greatest moment is the transition between the ride in the butcher truck, filled with guts and heads and many other unmentionables, to the shower outside the book depository. We go from odious blood reds to heavenly golds, irritating sopranos to peaceful woodwinds, darkness to rain. And the whole while, two great thespians stand naked. They are Adam and Eve, and they have re-entered paradise via the wisdoms of the books. I cannot think of a film filled with as much compelling suggestion and intellectual storytelling as this insulted and abashed prostitute. "He who is without sin . .."
Even without the sets, without the costumes, without the cinematography (which are all superb), we are still left with a dynamic and blessed film. Sure the ending is "Titus Andronicus," but for Greenaway to borrow from Shakespeare is to do exactly what Shakespeare did. But the moments here are visually profound, as opposed to linguistically. The single greatest moment is the transition between the ride in the butcher truck, filled with guts and heads and many other unmentionables, to the shower outside the book depository. We go from odious blood reds to heavenly golds, irritating sopranos to peaceful woodwinds, darkness to rain. And the whole while, two great thespians stand naked. They are Adam and Eve, and they have re-entered paradise via the wisdoms of the books. I cannot think of a film filled with as much compelling suggestion and intellectual storytelling as this insulted and abashed prostitute. "He who is without sin . .."