Memories of Murder

Memories of Murder (2003)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0353969/]

The Gist:
Logically, I know there are flaws with this film. At times it becomes unbalanced with its stylized feel, it gives in to a few genre cliches, and the point of view oddly rests more with the stereotypical cop who won't listen to the new cop on transfer, is lazy with his investigation, tries to coerce confessions, and rejects every logical connection the new man makes between the crime details and the serial killer's MO. This last point would be alright if we saw a gradual change in our protagonist's point of view, but instead that comes on swiftly, as if changing gears (at least it does happen). After saying all that, I must say that Memories of Murder is one of the most affecting films I have seen in a long time. There was a point in the film where the killer was stalking a victim and I literally had to turn the movie off, walk around for a couple minutes, and turn it back on...and I still jumped in the scene, saying "Fuck!" out loud to no one. This is Bong Joon-ho's second feature film, and the third film I've watched of his. He's on my directors to watch list, easy. The film is so brilliantly crafted, so fascinatingly stylized (it usually works to its benefit), and so quietly disturbing that I easily forgave its lesser qualities.

The Lost Weekend

The Lost Weekend (1945)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037884/]

The Gist:
This film is oft mentioned as one of the greatest films on alcoholism ever made (at least by Hollywood), and there's good reason for that. The biggest thing you have to get comfortable with is the theatricality of the whole thing, and that once or twice it feels a little overwrought in its depiction. The film's greatest asset, on the other hand, is conflict. It places its character in clear and concise and incredibly forceful conflict. I mean it, this film is instantly compelling, right from the opening frame. I honestly feel this should be requisite viewing for screenwriting classes to see how to give your characters and narrative immediacy. In this case its through the tragic flaw of alcoholism and constantly needing one more drink. Also, the dialogue is often quite beautiful, as the drunken protagonist laments his disease and abandons denial, seeing himself as someone who is without hope, longing for death. Cheery viewing material, right?

The Limits of Control

The Limits of Control (2009)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135092/]

The Gist:
It would be more accurate to describe this film in musical terms rather than filmic terms. There is very little information given about our protagonists mission, just vague and grand statements about the emptiness of the universe and things like that. However, what compels the viewer is the use of repetition and variation within the clandestine meetings the protagonist must go through in order to pinpoint his target. In this way, the film becomes a lyrical experience, where the mystery of the orders and the intricate camera work and the odd details that are continually focused on (coffee, paintings, tai chi, weird naked chick) create a work that moves underlying subtext to the foreground. What you are left with is a brilliant piece of art, which is sadly undone a little toward the end with some oddly stilted dialogue. I can only hope that this won't bother me as much the second time through.

One Hour With You

One Hour With You (1932)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023303/]

The Gist:
A bedroom farce of the early talkie days, billed as Ernst Lubitsch's last pre-Code musical. The most obvious difference from this film, which benefits from the quote "sophistication" of Lubitsch direction, and later subsequent Hollywood films that would explore similar territory is the morality of characters. Most films would foist an unfair situation on their protagonist, a husband who is innocent of infidelity but must act suspiciously and cover his tracks through plot contrivance, thereby heightening the tension. Here, the husband must cover his tracks of an actual affair, and we as an audience must go along with the husband and wife eventually reconciling in a somewhat artificial way. In a sense I find this simultaneously refreshing and disconcerting, mainly because the approach is so comedic that it really neglects the impact of the husband cheating on his wife. However, on the other hand it is nice to see a film challenge the norms and the music is reasonably catchy. It's doesn't challenge views in adultery as strongly as The Awful Truth, but it's an interesting film nonetheless.

Week Thirty-Two

Okay, so today is actually May 4th but it says April 30th because I'm behind with the month. So be it, luckily I only have one film left. New Queue:

One Hour With You (1932) - check
The Limits of Control (2009) - check
The Lost Weekend (1945) - check
Memories of Murder (2003) - check

The Twilight Samurai

The Twilight Samurai (2002)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/]

The Gist:
The Twilight Samurai is essentially two different films at the same time. The first is a somber drama of an impoverished low rank samurai who lives off of 50 koku of rice (which is kind of the equivalent of working minimum wage) and 20 of that goes to the debt accrued from his late wife's funeral. The rest must support himself, his two daughters, and his ailing mother who doesn't remember who he is most days. And watching this film, I had to think to myself "well this is really good, but they kind of tricked me because this isn't a samurai film at all". That, however, is where The Twilight Samurai gets really good, because it proceeds to blend in two significant duels to the story. The first is almost incidental, but draws the attention of the feudal lords who then order him to take down a clan leader. This second duel functions as both the emotional crux of the film and the height of narrative tension.

The Killing

The Killing (1956)
IMDB #182 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049406/]

The Gist:
Early Kubrick flick, a film noir heist narrative drenched in shadows and jazz and shootouts. This film rivals Reservoir Dogs in terms of outright badass scenes, and sets up an intricate plot very well. It has this overriding voice over that's kind of like an old documentary, and it helps drive the action and really lends an air of fatalism to the events. It also has the privilege of being one of the most concise films I've ever seen, clocking in at 85 minutes and feeling as if there wasn't a single frame wasted. I wanted no more of the film and no less, it was incredibly efficient filmmaking (that's not to say I don't like longer films, but they should warrant the length). Honestly I could say more but saying that its an early Kubrick film noir heist semi-masterpiece of the genre should be enough.

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog (2009)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780521/]

The Gist:
It was not my idea to watch this film. In fact, I'm not sure I would have ever seen it, not because I'm above watching kid flicks but because it seemed kind of a boring film/gimmick/potentially racist. On the last note, I ended up watching it in the context of a film lecture based on how Disney appropriates the black race for its own purposes. In that context, I have to say the film becomes watchable (but it's still dull, don't let me fool you). Anyway, what was proposed in the lecture was that the Dad's ethos is Disney's ethos (work hard and you'll succeed, blah blah blah), that New Orleans and the buzz of Katrina and Gumbo and financial disparity are all sanitized in order for Disney to hit that broad appeal, and that the focus is on family and marriage as the most important resolution for the female character. In summation, the film itself is neither great nor terrible, but fairly static storytelling, and if you look at it from a critical point of view it may or may not be ingraining its ideological tenets into the heads of impressionable little earthlings, inculcated them with its evil Disney mantra.

Written on the Wind

Written on the Wind (1956)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049966/]

The Gist:
I have to say up front that this wasn't a movie I particularly cared for, one of those "I can appreciate it" sort of vibes. Essentially it's a fifties melodrama with all these extreme stylistic flourishes that slowly build a subtext throughout the film, and in fact the enjoyment of the film exists largely in digging up this subtext rather than reveling in the histrionic characters and the uninspired plot. Some film people relish in this sort of enjoyment, in seeing all this hidden, "smuggled" artistic merit in some upper class over the top piece of dramatic hyperbole. For me, I love it when a film has fascinating subtext, but I want to be able to engage with the film on all levels. To have one layer of the film rub me the wrong way ends up trumping the fact that I can see that it's all a clever little critique on the "American Dream" et al.

Week Thirty-One

Wow, that took forever to get to the new week. Finals. Oi. Anyway, the new queue, hopefully to be completed soon so I can try to catch up with the month:

Written on the Wind (1956) - check
The Twilight Samurai (2002) - check
The Princess and the Frog (2009) - check
The Killing (1956) - check

Les Diaboliques

Les Diaboliques (1955)
IMDB #177 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046911/]

The Gist:
After the awesomely pretentious "FIN" at the end of the film, there is a brief address to the audience saying, roughly, "Don't be devils! Don't tell your friends about what goes on in this film. Let them enjoy the film for themselves" or something like that. That puts me in a difficult position to sum up the story because so much of what I enjoyed about the film is encapsulated by this weird ambiguous final scene which I guess I can't talk about. Anyway, the film is a sort of suspense film along the lines of a French Hitchcock flick (it was even said that Hitchcock drew inspiration from this film for Psycho), and it loses something because you know whatever metaphysical aspect the film delves into is going to be grounded in the realism of French cinema. So if you're paying attention you can see a big reveal coming from a mile away. However, it's all saved by the final scene, and honestly the film plays out exceedingly well all the way through, largely because of very convincing performances and excellent scenes that dramatize the events perfectly.

My Favorite Wife

My Favorite Wife (1940)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029284/]

The Gist:
A while ago I mentioned watching The Awful Truth, which I ended up using for my film paper. Namely it was because of the unique ambiguity of the morality of adultery and how that functioned with comedy to diffuse the sensitive issue. Here, we have an almost tame remake of that film with the same director and the same principle actors and a somewhat similar remarriage tale. I use the word tame because there is nowhere near the same degree of contentiousness, because adultery is seen as a quibbling issue that should not be given merit, and because the implied sexuality from the first film is nearly nonexistent here (one example: a single bed becomes double beds). By using the word "tame," you would think I prefer the 1937 film instead of this, but that's not the case. Mainly, I love this film because it trusts a genuine pathos with its characters. We are allowed to see Cary Grant mourn his wife, we see how upset his wife is when she learns Grant has moved on. It's all allowed the context of genuine emotion, so much more than its excellent but slightly more "screwball" counterpart.

The Palm Beach Story

The Palm Beach Story (1942)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035169/]

The Gist:
The film is a sort of an anti-romantic comedy, where instead of showing a couple getting together it starts from their marriage and works backwards. This is the third Preston Sturges film I've seen, and it should be noted that every one of his films that I've watched has come out in the same year. Three significant entries into classical cinema all in the same year, it's a truly remarkable achievement. This film, however, turns out to be the weakest of the bunch. It can be quite clever at times, because Sturges is just a clever fucking cat, great at writing this crackling dialogue that carries the film. However, this particular film is not as funny as Lady Eve, not as indispensably relevant as Sullivan's Travels, and has an ending that feels forced and tacked on.

The Man From Laramie

The Man from Laramie (1955)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048342/]

The Gist:
The Man From Laramie is a stark Western from Anthony Mann, featuring a post-war disillusioned Jimmy Stewart. Through the film, we see the archetypes of the lone figure in the West critiqued, emasculated, and literally dragged through the dirt. Honest, Stewart gets a rough deal in this film. He is spurred onward by a revenge plot that is largely impossible to satisfy, he gets drawn into a conflict where his wagons are burned and mules are killed for no real reason, he's forcibly held and shot in the hand just for defending himself against a large posse all opposing just him, just Jimmy, and on top of that he doesn't get the girl (though this last point happens a great deal with Westerns, to maintain the myth of the lone man). Anyway, Mann infuses the character with genuine frustration, symbolizing the disenchantment following the second world war, where films became increasingly dark and cynical.

Week Thirty

Alright, my finals have begun in earnest so don't be surprised if I start slacking on the project until after this month. Anyway, new queue already in progress:

The Man From Laramie (1955) - check
The Palm Beach Story (1942) - check
My Favorite Wife (1940) - check
Les Diaboliques (1954) - check

On Another Note:
Yeah, I know, lots of classical Hollywood stuff (next week too). It's combination of my class viewings and researching for my other paper.

Metropolis

Metropolis (1927)
IMDB #91 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/]

The Gist:
The film's set up reminded me of the Time Machine. You have a separation of class that is so extreme it is divided by the ruling class living above ground and the working class living below. In the Time Machine, this act eventually strips each sect of some vital aspect of their humanity. In Metropolis, this division merely stands for tension, for potential revolt, and for misunderstanding. If I had a qualm with the film, it is that it feels like the first fifty minutes are a set up for the last hour or so. Beyond that, the film is as great a spectacle as you'll see from the pre-sound era. Beautiful and bizarre sets, fascinating theatrical German expressionistic performances (especially the robot girl, love the robot girl), and little visual touches like a scene where a flashlight follows a desperately fleeing woman in otherwise pitch black. You can see why the film has become a continual inspiration in other directors' visual approach.

My Darling Clementine

My Darling Clementine (1946)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038762/]

The Gist:
Is it sad that this is the first John Ford western I've seen? I think I might be able to name all the westerns I've ever seen on both hands (let's see: Unforgiven, High Noon, Good-Bad-Ugly, Fistful of Dollars, Once Upon A Time in the West, The Quick and the Dead, Butch Cassidy...there's probably others). Anyway, I'm seriously lacking on the western front. As far as this one goes, it's quite good but I kept wanting Henry Fonda to shave his stupid mustache. John Ford paints his western with beautiful noir-like shadows (similar to how he shot Grapes of Wrath), and sets a glorious build to the iconic shoot out at O.K. Corral. Henry Fonda is excellent as the soft spoken, vengeance seeking, temporary sheriff and Doc Holiday is the quintessential sorrowful martyr of the west. There's really nothing more you could ask for.

Tyson

Tyson (2009)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032821/]

The Gist:
I don't know much about boxing. I know a decent amount about Ali because I find him fascinating, and by extension I know a bit about Joe Fraiser and George Foreman. Then I know a little about Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta because I watched Raging Bull. And as far as Mike Tyson goes, I know he bit a man's ear and was endlessly parodied for it, and I know I played the NES game Mike Tyson's Punch Out a lot as a kid. That's about all the boxing knowledge I retain. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Mike Tyson was something of a tragic mythic figure. The film is beautiful, a portrayal of a man inherently conflicted. I don't want to ruin anything else about the film because I didn't know anything going in, and I think it impacted me differently than if I had known more about the path of his career.

Holiday

Holiday (1938)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030241/]

The Gist:
This is a lesser known Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant pairing, which is a shame because it's quite good, maybe even their best. Although, now that I think of it, I have strange prejudices of their more famous outings. I found Bringing Up Baby, for instance, too madcap and theatrical for its own good. And as far as The Philidelphia Story...I'm sorry but James Stewart was a fucking badass in that film. No way she ends up with Cary Grant, it's bullshit. Anyway, the girl Grant's initially set up with in this film is appropriately droll, and Hepburn turns in one of her most likable performances. She manages to be crazy (because she's Katherine Hepburn and does crazy well), but also very sweet and vulnerable.

Week Twenty-Nine

No, it's not actually April 1st yet, but I finished early and wanted to post my new queue in the proper month. Here it is:

Metropolis (1927) - check
My Darling Clementine (1946) - check
Tyson (2009) - check
Holiday (1938) - check