the LAST FILM YOU'VE SEEN thread

[Chris Knipp]

Cote d'Azur/Crustacés et coquillages (2005) French seaside sexual midlife crisis-cum-coming of age story with a gay slant. Fluff. Gay fluff, with a farcical structure this time, so it has straight people and the classic round of secret trysts, only this time some if it is just fucking and some of it is just cruising.

Games of Love and Chance/Les jeux de l'amour et du hazard.The one that won the Cesar for best picture beating out films by more prestigious directors, brilliant conception, though the execution drags at times due to reliance on improv. I was touched, and that isn't happening at the movies much lately. It was a bold gesture on the judges' part to choose this, but not a foolish one.

Green Street Hooligans Directed by a German woman kick boxing champion, a rather dumb movie out of Clarke's The Firm and Fincher's Fight Club. I love Charlie Hunnam and he rules in this. Elijah Wood is sweet and sincere, and the whole thing is aquestionable project but I hope it doesn't hurt either of these young men's careers. Anyway Wood has Everything Is Illuminated, which is some high literary stuff, coming out shortly, so he's perhaps safe. Except for a bad cockney accent, Hunnam does manage to strut through this with undeniable panache. I still love him, but I wish he'd let his hair grow back out.

[wpqx]

The Notebook (2004) - Nick Cassavettes

At the risk of never getting laid again, I'll refrain from saying anything bad about the film. Needless to say, that's about all I can say.

[arsaib4]

I think many men out there share your sentiment. :)

[Chris Knipp]

The French title of Games of Love and Chance isn't Les jeux de l'amour et du hazard--that's the title of the Marivaux play used in the film. The film is called L'Esquive. It means "avoidance" or "evasion," and no doubt refers to the young lady's behavior toward her suitor in the story --Lydia's evasion of Krimo. The director, by the way, was Abdel Kechiche (born in Tunisia Abdel Latif Kechiche in 1960). This was his second film. The first one was called La faute a Voltaire (2000).

The directors of Cote d'Azur were Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau. Their previous films were The Adventures of Felix (Drole de Felix) and My LIfe on Ice (Ma vraie vie a Rouen).

The director of Green Street Hooligans was the German female former kick boxing champion, Lexi Alexander. Her third outing.

[arsaib4]

Jacques Doillon's Raja (2004)

Danis Tanovic's L'Enfer (TIFF)

[Chris Knipp]

Michael Almareyda's William Eggleston in the Real World

Gael Morel's Three Dancing Slaves/Le Clan.

Will post reviews of them later.

[arsaib4]

I think you accidentally reposted in the TIFF thread.

[arsaib4]

Fernando Meirelles's The Constant Gardener (2005)

Jeff Stanzler's Sorry, Haters (TIFF)

[wpqx]

Izo (2004) - Takashi Miike

A very, very, very senseless and boring display of pure violence for 128 minutes. This film was a complete and utter waste, lots of blood thinly trying to immitate art. There was no point to the story, no character development, no plot, just some stupid asshole randomly transported to different times and places killing everyone in sight.

[wpqx]

Elevator to the Gallows (1957) - Louis Malle

Well for some strange reason this film is in re-release, and I was determined not to miss it. Seeing it after a slew of later era Malle films, this is a radical departure. Whereas he steadily began to make his films "wordy" this one is low on dialogue. With it's infectious Miles Davis score, and rain soaked Parisean streets, this has all the "feel" of a classic New Wave film.

The film centers on irony, from the very beginning we get a sense that things aren't going to go the right way, for somewhat strange reasons. That said, the film doesn't have too many surprises, but there is a comedy of irony. Something that we can laugh at not with. Not to say it's "ha-ha" funny, but there is certainly a tension break, and constantly reminded of the sad, sad face of Jeanne Moreau.

We do pick sides here, and both me and the person going with me agreed that we were for the main couple. The younger couple that stole Julien's car was irritating and immature. I wanted them to get caught right from the beginning, and somebody badly needed to smack the skinny car thief. Well I won't say who get's there's and how, because that would defeat a lot of the fun. The film was not a disappointment, and the print is in pretty mint condition, I would recommend seeing it at your earliest convenience.

This was Malle's first feature film and he made it at the age of 24, not bad considering. The film avoids almost all the cliches of adulterous lovers hatching a murder plot. Malle focuses on the crime and aftermath, rather than the affair leading up to it, in many ways a radical departure from the American style. Like any great Hitchcock film, which this was clearly influenced by, we find ourselves wanting to yell at the characters in the film, on how to save themselves, particularly Julien, who's on our side from the get go.

[wpqx]

Summer/The Green Ray (1986) - Eric Rohmer

Well Rohmer #5 for me, and still not sure I really understand him. I got his style somewhat down, I just can't see why he's so great, if he's great at all. His films are boring, not slow, boring. Perhaps they are made more for an intellectual crowd of senior citizens, whose tastes I thought resembled my own. I'm not sure though, point is, I found this film to be somewhat pointless, just like most of his other films. Perhaps somebody can explain the allure of Rohmer to me, and offer some better recommendations.

[arsaib4]

I'm not sure what exactly you've seen of Rohmer so far, but I'd highly recommend films like Claire's Knee (1970), Perceval le Gallois (1978), his latest, Triple Agent (2004), and, of course the Four Seasons Quadrilogy (1990-98).

There's a bit of discussion here (near the bottom of the page). Chris Knipp is perhaps a bigger fan of Rohmer than me so hopefully he'll get a chance to add to this.

[wpqx]

The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985) - Hou Hsaio-Hsien

The breakthrough film of Hsien and the entire Taiwan new wave, the film remains one of his most personal attributes. It is a story of growing up, and it is one of the few Hsien films written by Hsien. His directorial style was emerging but not quite cemented. The shots were becomming more observant, and the takes slightly longer, but he was still a few films away from the distinct style he would be known for in the coming decade.

Like most films of the movement, this has a political undercurrent as well. The story emphasizes the detachment that these Chinese citizens feel living in Taiwan. No one expected to stay long, but in the case of the revolution, and health problems, the family remained. There is that youthful detachment that we see in later Tsai Ming Liang films, present in Ah Ha, the Hou character in the story. It seems there really isn't much else to do in Taiwan but raise a little hell.

This was extremely popular in Taiwan, and internationally helped to break Hou through. It established him as a festival favorite director, and focused a great deal of attention on his future films, most notably City of Sadness.

I personally wanted to get a better prespective of his earlier work, but due to problems in availability, I had to take what I could get. This film is certainly up to his later more readily available films, and it begs the question once again "Why isn't City of Sadness available?"

[arsaib4]

Indeed, "Why isn't City of Sadness available?" Well, technically it is on DVD but without English subtitles.

Good review, by the way. Two films that Hou made between The Time to Live and City of Sadness are also excellent: Dust in the Wind (1986) and Daughter of the Nile (1987). I can't think of another filmmaker who's made as many great films in the past 25 years.

[Chris Knipp]

I've seen a solid block of the NYFF official entries now, though there is another week of press screenings. Peter will set up a special location for it and my capsule reviews will be posted. I'm not much up for talking about Rohmer right now, because I have my hands full seeing two or three films a day -- and you don't have a choice of the times! But they have been good, as I hope you'll see.