Federico Fellini has a lot to answer for the cult of the director. He successfully brought the troubled artist image from other mediums to cinema, and its debatable how productive this is in an art form that is dependent on collaboration. Guido, the fictional director in 8 1/2 is just to stylish. The bars and hotels are to beautiful. No wonder this inspired many directors. The life is great! But then this reminds me of what Jean-Pierre Jeunet asked at the Glasgow Film Festival: Do you want to be a film director or a film maker?
Effortlessly cool, still, but a little hard work to watch. The camerawork is always smooth and the lighting beautiful. No idea what its about, and I wonder how much of this is an elaborate exercise in style, as well as commentary on the debate of 'what is cinema?' A question Bernando Bertolucci said should be re-addressed when talking about The Dreamers in 2004.
Thursday 22 April 2010
Tuesday 6 April 2010
I Love you Phillip Morris
I am guilty of an inconsistent theory that any film with a voiceover is cheating. Its to easy to get into a character's head if you simply say what they're thinking. I've never written a film with a voiceover. The inconsistency is that some of my favourite films have voiceovers, such as Fight Club, American Beauty and Goodfellas.
This film starts in the clouds with Jim Carrey's voice describing the emotional ups and downs and revelations of Steven Russell, the real life character he plays. I thought the film was hilarious, the voiceover worked, and that some scenes were a lot more graphic than I imagined A list hollywood stars would agree to. Its a very brave film, in that it resists becoming issue led and simply exists as a gay movie, with no excuses or qualifications. Even 5 years ago (pre Brokeback Mountain) I can't imagine this film existing. You would think this is a testament to a modern American society, before the film reveals at the end that Steven Russell has been sentenced to life (for fraud) in solitary confinement.
This film starts in the clouds with Jim Carrey's voice describing the emotional ups and downs and revelations of Steven Russell, the real life character he plays. I thought the film was hilarious, the voiceover worked, and that some scenes were a lot more graphic than I imagined A list hollywood stars would agree to. Its a very brave film, in that it resists becoming issue led and simply exists as a gay movie, with no excuses or qualifications. Even 5 years ago (pre Brokeback Mountain) I can't imagine this film existing. You would think this is a testament to a modern American society, before the film reveals at the end that Steven Russell has been sentenced to life (for fraud) in solitary confinement.
Thursday 1 April 2010
Watchmen
From this adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen, I can only guess that the writer is a very, very, bitter hippy. The story is a paen to pre-70's America, the death of the 60's and, as one character points out, the American dream.
Zack Snyder's clever use of 60's music are the sounds that you imagine these aged heroes listening to as they break the bones of infinite bad guys. Its interesting to hear the most familiar songs from Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen played in the most unfamiliar of territories: the comic book movie.
It is a paradox of a film, at once cynical and idealistic, and this is best illustrated in having one of the hero's themselves assassinate JFK. The film can come across as contrived, yet earnestly enthusiastic. With all the references to parody and humanity being a practical joke, Watchmen is a strange mix of being tongue in cheek and unapologetically American. Sometimes it comes over ironic, and then the next scene is set in Mars, testing the limits of my suspended disbelief. In all the confusion though its never more than greatly entertaining, and is one of the most creative and interesting comic book movie's i've seen.
Zack Snyder's clever use of 60's music are the sounds that you imagine these aged heroes listening to as they break the bones of infinite bad guys. Its interesting to hear the most familiar songs from Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen played in the most unfamiliar of territories: the comic book movie.
It is a paradox of a film, at once cynical and idealistic, and this is best illustrated in having one of the hero's themselves assassinate JFK. The film can come across as contrived, yet earnestly enthusiastic. With all the references to parody and humanity being a practical joke, Watchmen is a strange mix of being tongue in cheek and unapologetically American. Sometimes it comes over ironic, and then the next scene is set in Mars, testing the limits of my suspended disbelief. In all the confusion though its never more than greatly entertaining, and is one of the most creative and interesting comic book movie's i've seen.
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