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Les parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
magical
What can I say, this is one of the most magical and beautiful films I've ever seen. It does sound a bit silly at the beginning, with all that singing in the garage, but then it just takes over you entirely. A word of warning though: don't watch it with your girlfriend. Because, sorry, but it is not about her, it is about the past. About things that were happening once, that were so great while they lasted, but that did not last long. That you want to forget, and yet don't want to forget. If you were ever young and full of love, and then the world collapsed, and yet you now feel masochistic enough to actually want to re-live every single moment of it, then this film is for you.
What amazes me most is that this film is actually so incredibly simple. Despite all the singing, there is no high poetry, dying of love, pompous gestures, and all that stuff. But that's precisely what gets you, what makes it so true and so how it actually happens. You just come, and she is gone, and then nothing makes sense any more. End of the world is actually amazingly simple, the world just ends.
And about what happened to the Guy next. One might say that he moved on too soon. But I can tell you that the most unbearable thing at this stage is _not_ having someone next to you. When it used to fill all your life and now there is just void, it is simply beyond what you can comprehend or live with.
And the finale! Wow. And again, there are hardly a few words there, "How are you" - "fine". Yet that's exactly how it happens. You want to say so much, you want to bring it back all over again. And yet you don't want it, you know that it won't do anybody any good, and it won't really happen. You cannot walk into the same river twice. The river is not the same, and you are not the same.
And I haven't even mentioned the music. Which is absolutely magical. And again (did I mention it), it is so simple, yet it completely blows you away. It pours with rain, with snow, with sunshine. It promises, it worries, it straggles, it swipes with all the rain and sadness, it brings the past back. Every time you hear those accords, it just brings the tears to your eyes.
It is so sad and yet so beautiful.
Sparkle (2007)
beautiful
Just seen this film on Dublin Film Festival and it's beautiful. OK, I would not call it a masterpiece, there aren't really any deep feelings or thoughts in there, it is just a comedy. But it is so beautifully shot.
I happened to see quite a few films recently that aim high but fall flat with their shallow performance, jerky camera movements, etc. This film is a nice break from that. It flows from scene to scene smoothly and naturally. It's like a good music by wind instruments. If everything plays in unison, you can almost physically feel the beauty of the music flow. Same here. Everything fits together so perfectly: camera work, montage, acting.
Acting is excellent. Entirely believable and funny. Especially from Amanda Ryan and Shaun Evans. (Uncle Tony was very funny as well.)
So, don't expect any incredible depth, but if you want to have a bit of fun (possibly on a date, as there is lots of romance in there as well) then this film is well recommended.