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Reviews
Blue Valentine (2010)
amazing that most critics seem to have misread this film
Most external reviews I have read (including my most admired critics) see, quite astonishingly, to have misread this film. Here are the most significant aspects not addressed. 1. she is pregnant when she marries him (deciding to have the child, not knowing exactly who the father is but unable to go through with an abortion). Would she have married him otherwise? probably not. 2. The difference in education and even social class is not conducive to lifelong compatibility. He is a laborer (painter, mover) even if he can play the guitar. She is a nurse, who had aspired to medical school. Even so, she has possibilities of advancement to a higher position (despite the fact that the doctor is sort of making the moves on her). He is going nowhere, and what's more, has no interest in doing so. 3. Emotionally, he remains where he was when they started: fun, sex, and total devotion to her. but that devotion has a price: insecure in his own masculinity, he is quick to anger, possessive and demanding to 'own' her. He is soft, sentimental, a weeper, and does best with his 5 year old child. She lives in a more complex environment: her father, her job, her attractiveness to others. 4. If the film has a major flaw, it is the fact that the relationship from the start is that of the imbalance between lover (he) and beloved (she). It was never idyllic to begin with. This said, I found it a subtle, absorbing, and complex look at human relationships. And both the cinematography (many close ups, interesting angles, use of blurred figures in the background) and the music were original and compelling. No critic I read even mentioned the cinematic values; they were just concerned with the PLOT.
Luftslottet som sprängdes (2009)
why only attempted murder instead of two real murders in addition
The synopsis tells us that Lisbeth is wanted for two murders (these took place in the last book/film), but the actual film, Hornet's Nest, has her only being prosecuted for the attempted murder of her father. I am mystified as to why this last installment left out the important reasons for the danger she is in, when all signs of homicide point to her, and I was also disappointed that the brilliant technological details of the book never get the play they deserve (hooking up the elaborate secret computer apparatus in L's hospital bedroom, or the extensive techniques for burglar proofing Michael's apartment (and Erika's in turn). A pity: could have had scenes like those in the Assassin. And finally, Lisbeth in the book begins to develop into a more trustful and social human being, now that the authorities are forced to listen to her. But on its own terms, the film is well made
Fugitive Pieces (2007)
The film tries but can't come close to the book
It is clear that neither the professional critics nor the posters of comments here have read the actual book on which the film is based. But then no film could capture the complexity and beauty of Anne Michaels' stunning novel, in its mixture of scientific, poetic, and historical elements. The main outlines are there, except for the figure of Ben, who takes up the last third of the novel, as a tormented heir to the trauma of the Holocaust through his parents (here set up as next door neighbors). It may not have been possible to give Ben (and his wife, Naomi, almost more important in the plot) the space they deserved in the service of memory haunting not only the first but also the second generation,, but for one, like me, who loved the book, have taught it at university level numerous times, have had brilliant papers by students on it (and have written on it myself) the film was a real letdown. So I urge you to read the book for yourselves. Otherwise, the actors were fine (except for Naomi, who is miscast), thelandscapes are well done, although the dreamy schmaltz of the love affair with Michaela was overdone.
...a pátý jezdec je Strach (1965)
alas
The Fifth Horseman is Fear is one of those remarkable classics of the Czech so-called New Wave film making, until it was suppressed by the Communist government (and this film, incidentally was banned there). This is one of my most favorite films and I have been waiting and waiting for it to become available (it used to be distributed by Orion Films). Finally, the DVD was issued, and I discovered that one of the key scenes is omitted. This scene, the protagonist's visit to a Nazi brothel (in the course of his search for morphine for the wounded resistance fighter) was one of the original highlights of an already wonderful film. So what happened? Was it censored in the copy that the DVD people used? If anyone has any information about this or as to how I can find the "real" thing, I'd be grateful.
Hong ying tao (1995)
searing film, beautifully photography. Why did this film not receive wide distribution in the US?
I would have given this film a 10, but what is disturbing is that the claims that it was based on a true story are only partly true. The film was based on the true story of Zhu De's ??? daughter Zhu Min ????, who went to the Soviet International Children's School at the age of 14. The film crew had contacted her and obtained her consent when making the film, although the most horrific and most unforgettable part was fictional (and there's the rub). Moreover, her father, Zhu De was not executed in China as a communist before the war. He became an important military figure and later leader in the government. (1954-59) as deputy chairman of the People's Republic of China. He was chairman of the National People's Congress (1959 -67), Communist China's major legislative body, until denounced during the Cultural Revolution . He was restored to his posts in 1971 and died in 1976. From what I understand, it is not unusual in China to call a story "true," despite the facts.