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.