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Enemy (2013)
If you enjoyed Lost Highway then watch it again instead of this
When I read the plot I was excited to watch the movie and the poster seemed intriguing I though I set myself for a lunchean surrealist thriller. Boy was I wrong.
The movie wastes one hour just going through the main characters paranoia in the face of the discovery of his duplicate. The scenes are slow and most of them could be cut out without the movie losing any informational value. Considering this is a one and a half hour movie this shouldn't be happening.
The director tries to imitate an art house style of filmmaking but doesn't go further from imitating. Usually in slow films the pace is used to lure you in to the films atmosphere so you can submerge into the characters psyche. None of this happened here. The movie managed to be terribly slow and at the same time maintain the cliche aesthetic of a Hollywood thriller. Quite an achievement!
Anyway heard the book is better might check it out. If you haven't seen or have a long time to see Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway go for them instead.
Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)
A cinematic novel about the evil side of human nature
Michael Haneke's White Ribbon is surely not a film that anyone can sit through and maintain a steady focus throughout but that is not neccesarily a disadvantage. The slow pace of the movie serves to pull you in it's suffocating reality of moral degradation and degeneracy.
The way the movie unfolds feel like a novel with the narrator guiding us through the dramatic space and time and offering us his information on the townspeople. The action is not really the centerpiece rather revolving around the development of the characters and the deeper understanding of their relations and dynamics.
The story has from the start a certain ambiguity in the way that it's presenting leaving the judgement as to what is true or not up to the audience and using gossip and rumour as a literary artifice for not providing solid information. Even the ending of the movie is shrouded in a veil of mystery which seems to further stress out the fact that the plot is not really the point here.
Haneke rather adopt a historical facade through which he can raise questions about our time. The underlying problem with which we are faced is the interaction between morality and justice and the decadence which is brought by their abscense. When the whole structure of a society is built upon the concealment of abuse and injustice people in their desperation find atonment and redemption violent revenge.
But Haneke's search for knowledge doesn't seem to end with a structuralist explanation of injustice he rather seeks to find the root of it the elusive essence behind the phenomena. Simply put he want to understand evil itself. That is why he narrowes his point of focus down to the small rural community. The director's observation seem to link evil and violent behavior to strict discipline and repression. The hypocritical moral superiority of the figures of authority, pretentious virtue signaling and religious fundamentalism are all typical qualities of conservative community if you've ever seen one.
The choice to set the action just before the start of WWI cannot be coincidental. Haneke seems to claim that you can apply the small scale psychological structure of a small community to explain grand historical phenomena like ultranationalism and fascism. This is cinematically demonstrated through the juxtaposition of the events of the community to the event of the world war.
The visual storytelling bis reminiscent of Bergman which in itself is a huge feet in itself. The still shots offer a brief moment of serenity amidst the horror and are quiet frankly divinely beautiful. Also the shots where the villagers are gathered in church cluster information with profound efficiency.
A masterpiece of german cinema but definitely not for lovers of fast paced movies .
The Wicker Man (1973)
A landmark for cult films
Wicker man excibits qualities that are rare to find in a Hollywood cult movie or in any cult movie for the matter. There is something truly unique and individual about the aesthetic feel of this movie that makes it stand out as folklorist and outwordly.
The movie runs at one and a half hour long and it is really staight to the point from start to finish. (In contrast with the american remake). The opening scene lays out splendidly the psychological structure of an ultra religious catholic cop without even saying a word. It then proceeds directly to our point of interest - the island. Although you could argue that the long music cuts are a bit off putting and make the movie feel a bit over the top and querky I believe that they beautyfully set the pace and the overall atmosphere of the eerie pagan community. The end scene in just a candy for the eyes and doesn't exaggerate the tragic finale but rather leaves us with the a feeling of awe and mystery.
The music is another strong aspect of the movie, a psych cult folk masterpiece great for lovers of this post-60s era. Sometimes it's greatest advantage can also turn into a big disadvantage. Considering the level of craftsmanship in these songs it's wierd that Giovani never released anything other than this OST.
Christopher Lee delivers the baritone awesomeness that you would have come to expect from him with witty comebacks and remarkable philosophical insights. His monologue in the scene with the slugs is where the films peak for me in terms development of the cult's philosophical background.
Having seen the other reruns of this theme (american one, and loosely midsommar) i believe that the lore and the concepts of this movie strike as more folklorish, dark and medieval. The trinity of the fool, the woman and the dragon gives me deep pagan symbolic quality that none of the reruns have. Also the inkeepers daughter.....
Definitely worth seeing for the cult film lovers and not only.
Leoforos Patision (2018)
I am getting tired of this kind of movies
I am Greek and I am so tired of all these "social-sensitive" directors who think that they can throw a refugee here a homeless person there and top it all off with clashes with riot police and have a movie. As a person who has felt the consequences of the greek crisis I feel cheated when our collective struggle is being used as an excuse to make a name for your self as a politically conscious artist. FYI most of these directors are not even involved in any short of political activity and are privileged to able to do this kind of movies. (I wouldn't really mind about that last one if those movies were honest). Anyway the film excibits some good technic with the building of tension and the innovative camera angle but overall I find its use of social issues shallow and vulgar.