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Reviews
Immortel (ad vitam) (2004)
Weak plot drags movie down
***May contain spoilers *** I confess to not having read the comic version of this. I would hope that it helps. The film is superb in setting that "graphic novel" tone (similar to Sin City). However, the plot is so weak that it spoils the outstanding technical aspects (like the Final Fantasy movie).
It's 2095 and the Egyptian gods have sentenced Horus to death. Why? We don't know; is it just Anubis or the pantheon of gods? We don't know. In any case, they occupy a pyramid that hovers over NYC. Why NYC and not some other city? We don't know. NYC also has an interesting anomaly in Central Park - why? we don't know.
Jill, a rare female capable of mating with a god (what gives her this ability - we don't know) is love with John. Who is John and what powers does he have; we don't know. Horus mates with her so his bloodline can continue. Why the other gods didn't think he'd try this and then try to stop him...we don't know.
A guy running for election as a Senator? or mayor? is being pushed around by his Asian assistant - why? we don't know. What are her goals and what does she have over him? We don't know. I don't think we really care either. The film could have dropped this entire aspect and it wouldn't have mattered.
It's all these unknowns that are never explained that sink this picture. I don't mind films that make you think but a cogent storyline definitely helps. Having elements unexplained (like a David Lynch film) is intriguing; I can't tell if Balik is trying to do that or if he's just sloppy.
Cremaster 3 (2002)
What is Art? - Not this
I watched C3 in attempts to push my boundaries on answering the question "what is art?". Why make movies? IMHO, it's an attempt at telling a story or communicating an idea or feeling. If the communication, however, is so obtuse that the idea, feeling or story isn't told, then the attempt has been a failure.
That's my take on C3. Visually and musically I can appreciate the effort but this is another case of "the emperor has no clothes." Even after listening to Matthew's (the director) commentary I only get an understanding of what things are - the "why" is still missing. He never clearly communicates either through film or even through commentary why he felt compelled to make this.
Because of that, I rate this one as another artsy, pretentious flick that really has no purpose or meaning. Looks good visually but, like cheetos, full of empty calories.