I'll begin with the most recent screening. everything is from the Criterion Channel unless otherwise stated. Because of clear nights last weekend, and Samhain on Monday, my film festival choices did not begin until today. I have chosen to watch Chamisso's Shadow, a 13 hour documentary by Elrike Ottinger from 2016. My festival allotment allows me to watch half of it, anyway. It is a record of the Aleutian Islands and their inhabitants, as well as historical voyages of discovery there that were made in the 19th C. So far we have only watched 30 minutes, but it seems quite fascinating and worthwhile. More on that at a later date.
Before that we watched yet another oddball but highly worthwhile vampire film called Vampire's Kiss, from 1988. Starring Nicholas Cage and Jennifer Beals, it chronicles the decline and fall of a New York publisher who is bitten by a vampire. Beals is sexy and very scary as the vampire, and Cage is unbelievable as the man driven crazy by it all. Highly recommended, we had never heard of this film before.
Before that came Madame X: An Absolute Ruler, from 1977 and directed by Ulrike Ottinger. This Dadaist film started out quite promising, as women around the world answer a summons to join with the Chinese junk the Chinese Orlando, captained by a ruthless woman who is after gold, love, and adventure. It's all highly stylized, and soon wears out its welcome once the women are aboard. At 2 1/2 hrs running time, the film could be greatly improved by hacking off about 45 minutes. It was a chore to get through, but we made it. Tabea Blumenschein plays the animated ship's figurehead, as well as Madame X.
Turning now to two of Deb's recent choices, we watched Christopher Gans's 2014 Beauty and the Beast. It is an extravagant retelling of the story, and it does pay hommage to the much preferred version by Cocteau. The special effects are the best part of this film, which had its tedious moments. There are some lovely scenes, however, and overall it is a pretty good effort. The beast make-up was fine, and the story remains somewhat true to its origins, at least the pared down Beaumont version. The addition of the thieves was not needed, however.
Wood and Water is from 2021, and has received positive reviews. I found it empty, bland, and banal. A widow gets together at the seashore with her three children every summer, but for the 3rd year in a row her son does not make the journey from Hong Kong. She goes to see him instead, and finds herself adrift in the urban environment. It is a gentle film, but I find that the woman, who is the centre of it, might as well be a piece of cardboard. There is no expression to her face, her voice is a near monotone, and her character has no interests except for her children, especially her son. The one original and effective film technique shows her driving from her home in the Black Forest of Germany, presumable on her way to the airport to travel to Hong Kong. She enters a long tunnel with her car. The shot goes on for a very long time, but by the end the tunnel has transitioned to tall buildings in Hong Kong, and we are suddenly there. Certainly a nice way to travel, if it worked that way.
Finishing up, we watched Pierre Etaix's first feature film, called The Suitor, from 1963. A combination of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati, and his own spin on things, Etaix is a comic genius ready for rediscovery. We have enjoyed virtually everything we have seen by him, and there are still a few treasures awaiting our viewing. In this film, our hero (always played by Etaix) seeks matrimony, and goes after various women with hopes of landing one of them. Very funny, very creative, and with a great sense of timing. Recommended.
Mapman Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment