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Progishness_
Also a lover of prog rock.
Reviews
Luminous Procuress (1971)
Stunning
A very pleasant recent find in my ongoing quest to find offbeat films of an artistic nature. This is a stunning piece of psychedelia from the dawn of the 1970's that should appeal to fans of arthouse or the artier side of European cinema.
There is no discernible story here but a kaleidoscopic sequence of erotic imagery along the themes of pan-sexuality and gender fluidity, so in some ways half a century ahead of its time! There is also a a suitably psychedelic soundtrack at times reminiscent of late 60's Pink Floyd.
In some ways this has the look and feel of an art college or film school project, tho the gestation of this work is well documented by the other two extant reviews here.
The Shape of Water (2017)
Fish Out of Water
I must say from the outset that I found this film very disappointing indeed. The premise is ludicrous: cleaning lady at a top secret government research centre (at some time/place in the Cold War) discovers (and falls in love with) a creature that is half-man and half sea creature (in a very unconvincing costume), with little explanation of where it came from or what was the purpose of the research.
For a film that clocks in at just over 2 hours there is little to keep you engaged for that length of time (as any film worth its salt over the 100-minute mark should).
Having said that the story/plot just seems to go nowhere, and none of the main characters are interesting enough to hook you in and care about them. Also as has been mentioned in other reviews, the diversity of characters seems to be little more than a box ticking exercise.
How this fish out of water won the Oscar for best picture & director (amongst others) will remain an eternal mystery. (One can only assume that the Academy has finally lost the plot as to what a top notch film actually is.)
Delicatessen (1991)
A Nasty little film.
I am a massive fan of quirky European cinema, arthouse films and the like, but this really is a nasty little film. The storyline makes no sense whatsoever, the mix of oddball characters (none of whom you can warm to or care about) do not gel at all, and quite frankly the dialogue is very badly written (and delivered). I thought the sets were dreadful and grimy, and the acting very amateurish.
What the heck was going on here I do not have a clue, and at the end I wasn't left wondering about the 'what ifs' as good arthouse of European films are meant to do.
The only saving grace for me was the quirky soundtrack.
To be filed under: Pretentious Rubbish.