Change Your Image
May-11
Reviews
The Camomile Lawn (1992)
A Warning
After reading the rave reviews on this site I bought this DVD. I love British (period) drama, and many favourite actors and actresses were in these mini-series (Jennifer Ehle, Paul Eddington, Toby Stephens...). What can I say? It's absolutely awful. There isn't anything redeeming about it: the plot is ridiculous and boring, the script is embarrassing and all seem to be giving the worst performances of their lives. As mentioned by others, there are lots of delicate issues like adultery etc. and usually I'm fine with it, but in these mini-series all incidents are just uninteresting and ridiculous. For the first time, I gave a 1 out of 10 rating to British mini-series. I'm not even watching the second DVD. P.S.: By the way, I was particularly disappointed with Jennifer Ehle, who I have loved in each and every role (Pride and Prejudice, Possession, Paradise Road).
Brideshead Revisited (1981)
Wonderful!
This is the reason why I love British TV so much. Who else dares to take a complex, demanding book and make a complex, demanding series of it? There is no concession here to change the story in order to make it easier to understand, no letting out some of the characters, no letting out some of the issues (e.g. Catholicism), no letting out Evelyn Waugh's wonderful narrative passages
There is supposed to be a law when making a literary adaptation: do not use voice-overs, unless you want to bore the audience to tears. Brideshead Revisited' made me see that, when done well, voice-overs can be wonderful (especially when Jeremy Irons does the narration). Almost everything in the book was conveyed to the screen, including the most important aspect: the mood. This is how England in the 1920-30-40s must have been. This series was shot in the 1980s but you could never tell, it perfectly captures the costumes, the manners, the hairstyles and even the pace of a world that was less hectic than ours. I confess that it did take me some chapters to start loving it. For all people whose native language is not English, it is not easy to follow the dialogues (maybe the DVDs are better, but the sound in the videos is appalling). Therefore I recommend reading the book before or while watching this, or so much of the narration and the witty dialogue gets lost. All actors were great, but I would like to defend two that don't seem to be very appreciated: Diana Quick as Julia and Simon Jones as Bridey. The first gets better and better as the series go on, and she is perfect as the 30-something, jaded, bored wife. Some people don't seem to like her scene at the fountain. I wonder if they know how a fit of hysteria looks like in real life. It is not pretty to look at. You cannot act like a hysterical woman in a dignified way. Bridey seemed to come straight out of the book, even regarding his `Aztec' features. I think he is one of the most difficult characters to play and Simon Jones was flawless. One last comment: the music by Geoffrey Burgon is mesmerizing. (P.S.: I don't understand the previous review. I don't want to offend, but why re-read a book that you were forced to read at high-school and then watch an 11-hour long series just to confirm your opinion that you hate it?? And regarding `Waugh's WAY overdone "look at how smart I am" vocabulary': it is called literature and some of us happen to like it. I don't understand the adjective `loquacious' either: most trashy best-sellers nowadays are much longer than my 331 page long edition of BR, and compared to the richness of Waugh's prose they are just pathetic, void efforts).
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful
Although I have read Jane Austen´s books and seen the new movie adaptations in the last years, I didn´t know this BBC adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice". After reading so much praise in this page I purchased it. I only can say: It´s as wonderful as the others reviewers have already expressed or even more. I have seen it four times in seven days, and it gets better and better. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth are perfect, and the other actors are great too. I particularly loved Susanna Harker´s (Jane), Julia Sawalha´s (Lydia), Alison Steadman´s (Mrs. Bennet) and Benjamin Whitrow´s (Mr. Bennet) performances. The music, the locations, the costumes, everything is incredibly good. I have seen the Netherfield ball scene so many times, it´s so wonderfully filmed and edited. It´s difficult to see good dance scenes: they should be longer than just 30 seconds, the actors should behave as if the really could dance, the music and the dance should be good and the characters should have an interesting conversation. This scene has it all! And then the famous looks of Mr. Darcy: at the Netherfield ball, when he observes Elizabeth dancing with Mr. Collins, and of course the piano scene at Pemberley. I haven´t seen such subtle romanticism on screen very often and I love it. While reading "Pride and Prejudice" I laughed a lot, what seldom happens with books, but when I see the movie I can´t stop smiling and laughing out loud. There are many movies I love and which I have seen dozens of times, but I am starting to believe this movie will be my favourite of all times.
Lover Come Back (1961)
One of my favourite movies
I love this movie. It's one of the wittiest and funniest comedies I've ever seen, and I can watch it over and over again without getting tired. I like "old" movies, but most comedies of the 50's and 60's contain some scenes where I can't help feeling a bit embarrassed because they are so old fashioned and can't be understood or laughed at 50 years later. But this movie is still perfect, although the mentalities have changed so much. The actors (Day, Hudson and Randall) are wonderful and there are not many pictures that catch the 60's better: the furniture, the clothes... And besides, is there an actor (or man) nowadays who has so much sex-appeal as Rock Hudson without looking as if he was 15 or without having many muscles and no brain? I love the song "Lover Come Back" and the opening credits too. If you like romantic comedies with wit, spirit and great actors, watch this one!
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)
interesting but not flawless
Warning: Spoiler
This is a good movie with a wonderful Jeanne Moreau, Paris in the 50's and an interesting plot. Nevertheless the script's turns are really unbelievable sometimes and there are some errors. How could the police find Tavernier's trench coat and gun in his car in the motel, when the killer escaped with them in the Mercedes-Benz of the Germans and abandoned that car with those objects in Paris? It also seems illogical that there would be so many pictures of Tavernier and his lover in the film. Someone had to do those pictures as they both appear on them, but why take that risk if they wanted it to be secret? Nevertheless the movie is enjoyable and the cool images and the soundtrack go together perfectly.
Breaking the Waves (1996)
A movie about Jesus?
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS I saw Breaking the Waves yesterday for the first time, and after reading the comments, I can't believe so many people think this movie is blasphemous or anti-religious. When they think Bess' attitude is inhuman or undignified, they must think that about Jesus' too! Jesus was sent by God (as Bess by Jan) to the earth to suffer and die for love, and he also doubted and talked to his father. He criticized the Pharisees and was condemned, as Bess criticized her community. Bess takes her bike and the children throw stones to hurt her, as Jesus carried the cross. She is hurt on her back with a knife, and it looks as she had been whipped. Before Jesus was killed he asked "Father, why have you abandoned me?", and God doesn't answer Bess before she goes to the big boat the second time. She also seems to have been wearing a thorn crown when she is brought to the hospital. In the end her body disappears from the grave. Jesus and Bess sacrificed themselves for love, and in the end the miracle happened: Jan got cured. I am no Bible or religion expert, but I don't think von Trier is trying to tell us that we should be like Bess and humiliate ourselves, because the Bible says Jesus has already done it for us. So what is anti-religious about this movie? Emily Watson, Jan and Dodo (and Dr. Roberts) were just wonderful, the photography is amazing and brilliant, and I think you can greatly enjoy this movie even if you don't care about the religious analogies.