Change Your Image
jdamico5
Reviews
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."
My summary comment is a direct quote of Edward R. Murrow. This is a film for those too young to know the story, and those old enough to be appalled by the contrast of brave newsmen like Edward R. Murrow and the current state of TV news. We are a nation maintained in a state of terror by corporate and government interests in order to justify unquestioning allegiance to government policy, ironically sold to us to protect us from terrorism. Do we dare to believe the truth? To tell the truth? What would it mean about us as a people to know that we have, once again, allowed ourselves to be duped because we are so fearful and looking for protection where none exists? Can the truth bring us to a decency that will earn us back our self-respect, and the respect of nations around the world? By the way, don't miss this film...it's a winner!
North Country (2005)
The power of a class action suit
Though this film was "Hollywoodized" in that it veered from the facts as presented in the case that it was based upon, it's a powerful must-see movie. You could hear a pin drop in the theater...it makes an impact. One might view this story as an artifact of history, but I think the fact of social aggression towards women is still valid and applicable today. Thirty years post women's movement, the pendulum has swung back. Once more in history, too many women are allowing themselves to be objectified and demeaned in the hopes of making themselves attractive to men...not all men, but yet a wide audience of men. If you have doubts about that, check out most of what sells in pornography on the internet. Sexy, it's not. In my opinion, the resonance one can feel watching this film has the ability to raise our consciousness as a reminder that animosity towards women is alive and well. As long as women are not seen as authentic humans, relationships between the genders will be ungratifying for males and females alike.
La guerre est finie (1966)
The war ends when life ends....
I was less interested in the political drama, than in the subtlety of the acting and the psychological realities of the film. I saw the main character, Diego, in a quest for identity, attempting to make an impact in this world, and constructing much of his life in his imagination as a part of his strategy to stay alive. When asked if he was tired of lying (about his work as a revolutionary and his identity) he responds that he is not lying but constructing "barricades" (to insure his safety).
His quest to conceal his identity and stay alive can be seen as a parallel to the multiplicity of personae that we assume in this life, thinking that this is the only way that we might survive our life's experiences and prevent loss. It is a universal illusion that we can control our destiny and avoid the loss of love, admiration, meaning and purpose.
As counterpoint, what the other characters thought so important and so real...the overthrow of Franco, the police preventing the revolutionaries from accomplishing that task, having a child with Marianne, making love (personal and impersonal)...becomes meaningless to him.
Diego (if even that is his "real" name) cannot live a "normal" life in Spain, but he cannot live anywhere else. He is a Spaniard and can be only that. He "solves" his dilemma: he becomes tired enough to move towards his capture and death. A poignant, painful, resonant narrative of a life.
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)
Elevator to the Gallows (English title)
This Louis Malle film, released in 1958, was a masterpiece of cinematography. I saw a new print of this film noir, and was captivated by the incredible lush sensuousness of the depth of the black and white film, as well as the music---Miles Davis on his trumpet, like no one else.
Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet were larger than life on the screen--faces and camera close-ups, rare and wonderful to see. The setting captured Paris in it's most darkly Romantic and lonely mood. The twists and turns of the plot will have you on the edge of your seat...unexpected, ironic, improbable yet somehow believable, as the romantically driven impulsive characters weave the web that leads to their undoing. Two German characters counterpoint the still ongoing antagonistic and contemptuous relationship between the French and the Germans, as only the Europeans know it.
Don't miss it, if you can find a screening of it. You will long for the brilliance of Malle, who died long before his time.
Report to the Commissioner (1975)
Report to the Commissioner
I just got back from a film club screening of Report to the Commissioner, followed by a Q & A with Jonathan Demme...I loved it!
I thought that Michael Moriarity's performance was amazing; he was able to capture the ambivalence of wanting to do "the right thing", according to his value system, and carrying out the legacy that his father had wanted for his older brother, who'd been killed in Vietnam.
His internal torture was brilliantly played in the elevator scene, in which he was wordless, but communicated his conflict and terror chillingly nonetheless.
The most touching scene for me was when he was giving his statement to the police officials. When he was questioned about his "subversive" college activities he poignantly stated that he had protested the (Vietnam) war. It was resonant for me, having been one of those protesters, and relevant to these times--- our war in Iraq, and the current political environment which implies that anyone protesting it is "un-American".
Looking at the demographics on this site in terms of voting on this film, I find it very interesting that my age cohort gave this film the highest ratings. Perhaps it's because we lived through times that make this film cinema verite'. I'd love to hear other's opinions on this interesting phenomenon.