the LAST FILM YOU'VE SEEN thread

Together is a charming and enjoyable movie.

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Well I probably will get a repeat viewing of Blow Up done, believe me it's on my list of films to re-watch, but the list of films to see for a first time is still too large.....I'm not an opera fan either, per-se but any film highly rated I'll see.

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Granted you don't have to be a fan of a genre to want to see a highly rated film. As for re-watching, I'd rather re-watch a movie I previously loved, than one that left me cold. It's usually more worthwhile. Unless you're locked in a debate with somebody or reexamining something systematically, better to move forward. Life's short, and the lists are long.

Well some of my favorite films didn't do much on a first viewing, I think La Dolce Vita is the biggest example of a second viewing turnaround. All too often though I get a similar reaction on a repeat viewing.

I watched some Kenneth Anger films today, three to be exact.

Innauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
This one was an early color film, and he uses it well, quite strange and bizarre, but so are all of his films

Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969?)

This featured music by Mick Jagger, which was actually just obnoxious synthesizers, quite easy to see that he was high, and so was Anger when this film was made.

Lucifer Rising (1970?)

See above

In all pretty good tripped out crap.

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Well some of my favorite films didn't do much on a first viewing

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If you're talking about watching them on DVD or tape at home that's understandable, but doesn't count. If you're talking about in theaters, that's an impractical, costly, and time consuming approach. I'd say, just pay more attention, but at home, that may be hard since it's easier to drift away from the monitor screen.

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quite easy to see that he was high, and so was Anger when this film was made.

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You can't really say that unless you actually know. Appearances can be deceptive. What you can say is that it's stoner stuff. And I'd probably agree with you on that. Jagger's "just obnoxious synthesizers" has a powerful hypnotic effect, though that may no longer work for you.

Intriguing and well described.

What you say sounds like it could be a B+ instead, but I too like Maggie, and so I guess I must see this, which you do make sound interesting.

Last films I've seen: Singleton's Four Brothers

Greg Marcks's 11:14 .

I can't say whether you'll like Happy Endings or not. Usually I've a pretty good idea where you'll stand on a film but that's tough to judge here. There have been a few too many of these "multiple" character films lately but this one seemed fresh to me, partly due to the performances. It's not the kind most will like, though. Reaction has been mixed.

I guess you liked Singleton's latest. But what about 11:14, I mean what made you go see it?

Well, I went to see 11:14 because my friend picked it over Junebug. I think I like comedies more than he does but we both like crime movies. It's worthwhile to see a new young director's work, and the person I went with is young. Yes I did like Four Brothers, but I would rate it and 11:14 about the same overall. I can't say Four Brothers is a great movie, or that 11:14 is a bad one. It shows talent and has a clever, airtight screenplay, even if it's missing something, which maybe Greg Marcks will find as time goes on.

Last film I"ve seen: Cédric Klapisch's 1996 Un air de famille, US title Family Resemblances [DVD>Netflix]. From a play by Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui. Excellent cast including:

Jean-Pierre Bacri .... Henri (grumpy brother, bar owner)
Jean-Pierre Darroussin .... Denis (his meek employee)
Catherine Frot .... Yolande (ditsy wife of Philippe)
Agnès Jaoui .... Betty (slightly macho sister, in leather jacket)
Claire Maurier .... La Mère (mother, an accident waiting to happen)
Wladimir Yordanoff ... Philippe (the "successful" brother, the insecure cyber exec)

IMDb summary by Eileen Berdon: "An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce."

Well, that's right but "upper-class" could be misleading. Upper middle-class, maybe. One brother is an executive, number 4 in a Silicon Valley type firm, but the other runs the bar -- it's more a bar than a restaurant, from what we see -- and it's no great success, more a sign of Henri's lack of ambition (that's Jean-Pierre Bacri) and the sister (Agnès Jaoui) works as an underling at the firm, and her boyfriend is the barman and she seems totally without ambition even to marry, at 30. The exec's wife is a rather ditsy (but at moments sweet) blonde lady. One gets the impression that the family is somewhat going to seed. Henri's wife has just left him, Betty can't commit to anything, Philippe's totally insecure, their mom is a pain... This was a play written by Jaoui and Bacri and is full of their delicious dry humor, pettiness and grumpiness and keen social and psychological observation. I found it very funny but at the same time a bit depressing and somewhat static, since it's a play. To underline the static quality, one of the "charicters" is Caruso, a paralyzed dog. It doesn't "open up" as the 2000 Le goût des autres/The Taste of Others and the 2004 Comme une image/Look at Me do; on the other hand, the focus on personalities is even more precise. The "air" is bad air (or a sad tune or an undesrable resemblance), but things don't end on a too unhappy note in this gentle, ironic comedy. Now that I'm following French dialogue more carefully, I enjoyed this a lot, including the social nuances I could catch about who gets called "tu" and who gets called "vous" and when. Klapisch keeps the camera moving but unobtrusive, adding a childhood flashback perhaps once too often, framing the story with a street panorama and a warm musical theme. To call Bacri "grumpy" may be redundant. I'm not sure what led Klapisch (who from L'Auberge espagnole seems to have a more lighthearted outlook himself) to direct this, and for Jaoui to start directing her writing with Bacri afterwards with Taste of Others and Look at Me.

The window between theatrical and DVD releases is certainly shrinking. 11:14 came out in theaters on Aug 12th, and it will be on home video on Oct 11th. I'll keep it in mind. Although, your review of Four Brothers seems more positive.

Un air de famille sounds very familiar. I'm sure I saw it on French tv when I was a youngster (I feel old now, you know). Don't remember much about it so that's not a good sign, but I don't think Klapisch has made a film yet which is worth remembering. Chacun cherche son chat (When the Cat's Away/1996) was nice though.

Ha! I saw Chacun cherche son chat and I can't rememver it either. But I've re-watched Auberge Espagnole recently to compare Duris' role there with Tom in The Beat That My Heart Skipped so I certainly remember that. Klapisch seems to be a pretty bland but competent director.

Maybe 11:14 isn't a case of the window between theater and DVD release narrowing but the fact that they gave up on theatrical release and went for DVD, but somehow theatrical distribution has come through. That's what I thought.

But I've re-watched Auberge Espagnole recently to compare Duris' role there with Tom in The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Yeah, I wonder which one you found more compelling?!

Anyway, DO NOT miss the new print of Bertolucci's The Conformist if it makes it to SF. Absolutely ravishing! That was an unbelievable experience. I'm glad I caught it in its last week at Film Forum.

Yeah, I wonder which one you found more compelling?!

I find L'auberge entertaining -- and not the piece of empty tomfoolery you may consider it. It's not realistic, not meant to be, but it has plenty of charm and it moves with a brisk pace. And Duris manages to provide a range of lively emotions, which vary from depressed to aroused to intense to riotous to silly.

But The Beat That My Heart Skipped is, needless to say, a chance for him to do something much edgier and more intense. He's a whole different person in that. I hardly recognized him at first. This is the role that can make people take notice that the guy can act. But his performance in Tony Gatlif's Gadjo Dilo got him a nomination for the César du Meilleur [jeune] espoir [masculin], I find, so I figure that's worth a look (I saw it once, but it made little impression).

CLAUDE SAUTET: CÉSAR ET ROSALIE (1972)

Flawed perfection

A quiet and flawed little early Seventies "classic" by Sautet about a love triangle. Why quiet, despite the violence and threat of destruction emanating from Yves Montand's character (César), the very successful and impulsive scrap metal dealer? Because David, his cartoonist/illustrator rival (Sami Frey), is so calm, and because Rosalie (a too-perfect Romy Schneider) is so reserved. And flawed -- because the story and the characters ultimately go nowhere. Why "classic" (in quotation marks, however)? Because of the excellent casting, the sure touch, and the polished look. This should be seen in conjunction with Sautet's more complex 1974 Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres, also featuring Yves Montand in the central male role.

As the film begins, César and Rosalie are living together. David reappears after a stay in America. It turns out David has always loved Rosalie, but he let her marry somebody else (an artist from whom she's for some time been divorced). When David reappears at a wedding, Rosalie quietly goes off and spends time with him. César meets David at a café and politely but very firmly tells him to back off. David ignores this, and César wrecks his studio. Rosalie takes David to César's offices, gives him the combination to the safe so he can steal a million francs in compensation for the studio damage -- and runs away to live with him and work in a café in another town. People are able to act with gross impulsivity in this movie -- and still remain pals with the victims of their acts. César tracks the pair down and plays his trump card: he's bought the big seaside house where Rosalie was so happy as a child. She now goes off to live there with him. But later César goes to David again, with a polite proposal. . .

In actual screen time, the male-to-male relationship is more fully represented -- and hence develops more -- than the rapports between Rosalie and either of the two men. It goes from confrontation, to truce, to friendship, to intense camaraderie. The ménage è trois doesn't work for Rosalie, and she goes off by herself. As philosophical voiceovers (by Michel Piccoli) come and go, you expect something desperate and violent to happen. Perhaps César will off David; or both men will die violently at sea or on the road? But instead, in the complete absence of Rosalie, César and David remain bachelors and become each other's best friends and most constant companions. Maybe they should get married to each other? But the trouble is, they aren't gay, and this was before gay marriage anyway.

Frey is perfectly handsome and charming in the hirsute style of the Seventies; Schneider is perfectly elegant and beautiful in the cold style of Yves Saint Laurent; Montand is as great a combination of charming and macho and emotional and "cool" as anybody in the movies has ever been. You understand why the other two both love him. He's a little older, but thank God for that. He's tall and slim and he has all his hair and he's got that grin and that twinkle in the eyes, and when he brandishes a big cigar, it looks dashing and you forget that it stinks.

But there's a flaw in the piece, which is Rosalie. She has been tremendously admired by viewers and the director himself, who spoke of Romy Schneider as representing "all women" (though he was originally going to cast Deneuve). But Schneider really hasn't much to do other than be pleasant and look lovely and move around from scene to scene. (In view of the way her part is written, the icy Deneuve might have been more convincing -- and more haunting.) Rosalie expresses herself by running off; or by being absent when she's with César and can't get David out of her mind. David is appealing in an enigmatic kind of way. Like Rosalie, he bends cooperatively at times, but holds back a part of himself always. All the passion is César's. This is like Jules et Jim with a lovely mannequin where Jeanne Moreau's character was (unfortunately "all women" apparently is not a single, real, live woman). A positive addition, typical of Sautet's work, is that the two men's professional work is a strong element in the story.

The writer-director team is to be congratulated on not opting for a violent resolution. But they have found no resolution, and their surprise finale is only a repetition. Despite the charisma of the three principals, a movie that repeats and goes nowhere, no matter how appealing, can't be called a masterpiece. César et Rosalie is an idea that is toyed with as a kitten toys with a ball of wool, and then abandoned, left in a harmless tangle. If these people weren't so attractive, they'd seem aimless and desperate.

[DVD>Netflix.]

Posted on Chris Knipp website.

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Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I find L'auberge entertaining -- and not the piece of empty tomfoolery you may consider it. It's not realistic, not meant to be, but it has plenty of charm and it moves with a brisk pace. And Duris manages to provide a range of lively emotions, which vary from depressed to aroused to intense to riotous to silly.

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Yeah, I actually do consider it an "piece of empty tomfoolery." I think it tries to be "realistic," but it's clichéd and a bit too eager to please. You liked it that's why it moved with a brisk pace for you; for me, it was 2 hrs too long.

I agree that pace is, often, a subjective thing.