Ditto on Ghostlight; once you get over the familarity of the plot points themselves, the actually staging of Romeo and Juliet is handled very patiently and got my hard heart to shed several tears
Thirded. The first half-hour might have been "change the channel" worthy in olden times, but once it gets on track it's very winning. Although a few elements still felt arbitrary (the wife's reactions seemed very plot-dictated) they might look better on repeat, knowing where everyone is coming from.
Big ups for BETWEEN THE TEMPLES, especially for Carol Kane's permance. She's impish while also recognizing that not all whimsical actions are equally wise. Seems like a great time for a semi-honorary Oscar nomination. I do wonder whether the filmmakers put too much faith in the audience to follow the internal logic of Schwartzman's actions though; they probably seem clear on the page but the audience has a lot to take in all at once. I suppose this and Astro City could be part of a "Schwartzman films that rquire you to think if you want to get the most from them" marathon.
Similar thoughts on Songs of Earth—the sequence comparing the nature to the body’s great, but ultimately I didn’t feel the same rhythm and cadence Alissa Wilkinson did—I didn’t really feel much at all and it felt shapeless (and I was really looking forward to this since the topic’s very resonant with me in a few dimensions: parents getting older, part Norwegian, did geosci research and fieldwork touching on glacial geomorphology in this partnof the world).
I saw it in the theater so I didn’t get the HDTV demonstration impression, though I could see how one could get that. All that landscape on the big screen, though, had the effect a lot of the human connections Olin makes seem insignificant. The lack of rhythm also just meant it was too much—there needed to be a bit more structure to guide us into those environments, make us feel their bigness as opposed to just being presented with it.
That’s also part of why the glacier-body sequence works so well—we’re not there, we don’t have that three-dimensional and physical sense of scale, so the macrocosm-microcosm links are so effective. I just wish more of the film were.
I watched it three weeks ago, isolating with COVID but mentally attuned. I was immersed the entire time and continue to think about just how difficult the main character is — how I kept being led toward looking past a troublesome (or worse) moment here or there only to have another (and another) moment arise. But that effort to keep trying to know and to counsel and to forgive is the whole point—a point captured so effectively by the interactions with Dizdar.
Ditto on Ghostlight; once you get over the familarity of the plot points themselves, the actually staging of Romeo and Juliet is handled very patiently and got my hard heart to shed several tears
Thirded. The first half-hour might have been "change the channel" worthy in olden times, but once it gets on track it's very winning. Although a few elements still felt arbitrary (the wife's reactions seemed very plot-dictated) they might look better on repeat, knowing where everyone is coming from.
It's in my top 10 right now as this year's HOLDOVERS: a movie that's cliche on the surface but so well-done I can't help but enjoy it
The young kid questioning Dolly's Juliet's age and the subsequent kerfuffle still makes me laugh.
And I love that even though he was so undiplomatic with his complaints the director still thinks about them and does the intimacy coordination.
Big ups for BETWEEN THE TEMPLES, especially for Carol Kane's permance. She's impish while also recognizing that not all whimsical actions are equally wise. Seems like a great time for a semi-honorary Oscar nomination. I do wonder whether the filmmakers put too much faith in the audience to follow the internal logic of Schwartzman's actions though; they probably seem clear on the page but the audience has a lot to take in all at once. I suppose this and Astro City could be part of a "Schwartzman films that rquire you to think if you want to get the most from them" marathon.
Similar thoughts on Songs of Earth—the sequence comparing the nature to the body’s great, but ultimately I didn’t feel the same rhythm and cadence Alissa Wilkinson did—I didn’t really feel much at all and it felt shapeless (and I was really looking forward to this since the topic’s very resonant with me in a few dimensions: parents getting older, part Norwegian, did geosci research and fieldwork touching on glacial geomorphology in this partnof the world).
I saw it in the theater so I didn’t get the HDTV demonstration impression, though I could see how one could get that. All that landscape on the big screen, though, had the effect a lot of the human connections Olin makes seem insignificant. The lack of rhythm also just meant it was too much—there needed to be a bit more structure to guide us into those environments, make us feel their bigness as opposed to just being presented with it.
That’s also part of why the glacier-body sequence works so well—we’re not there, we don’t have that three-dimensional and physical sense of scale, so the macrocosm-microcosm links are so effective. I just wish more of the film were.
Anyone else see ABOUT DRY GRASSES? Dizdar deserves an Oscar and I’ll hold the ceremony in the alley behind my place if necessary.
I watched it three weeks ago, isolating with COVID but mentally attuned. I was immersed the entire time and continue to think about just how difficult the main character is — how I kept being led toward looking past a troublesome (or worse) moment here or there only to have another (and another) moment arise. But that effort to keep trying to know and to counsel and to forgive is the whole point—a point captured so effectively by the interactions with Dizdar.
This list is a fun idea - lots of good finds.