ulyssestone Reviews

Alexander the Great (1980)

It is an honour to see this film

[10/10 · 19 January 2005]

Oh man! I hope I am NOT the 41st person in IMDb who get to this film. This was the Winner of Golden Lion and FIPRESCI Prize in Venice! This film is not about Alexander the Great(356-323 BC), but a mysterious rebellion in the beginning of the 20th century in Greek. It is full of extremely graphic beauty, wonderful scene attempting, imaginative symbols, and, of course, convincing long takes. Even better than the heavenly Ulysses's Gaze. It is said to be the successor of the trilogy Days of 36, The Travelling Players and The Hunters, but to enjoy this film one does not have to take a Greek History lesson first, seeing this film would at least be one of your most unforgettable visual experience, and its metaphysical power would stick inside your mind for a long long time. Highly recommended. Get hold of this when you could find it,open your DVD-Rom and your mind, and that would be a revealing journey.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Thrilling but not Jazz

[7/10 · 17 January 2005]

I saw five Ozu's films in the past week and I feel kind of exhausted, so I paid a visit to The Talented Mr. Ripley. You know, it's like after spending four nights for Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, one might be very like to go to a jazz bar to freshen up. The first half hour of this film really made me felt that I am going to enjoy some jazz, but suddenly that shy guy became a killer! I thought, oh what's going on? What's wrong with him and the whole thing? And as time went by I was more and more into his dangerous game. I really didn't want this film to end because I wonder how long he could hold on. The end is dark because he actually killed a man who really loved him, and had no distance left to run. An exciting film, and what left for one to rethink is the complex of humanity. Maybe I didn't quite catch up with the opening, so I am not sure why this talented guy is so sly and false, it seems that he drops those jazz albums advisedly, but his love towards Greenleaf seems is true. So when I see him playing Bach in Greenleaf's house after he killed Greenleaf, I couldn't help but want to search out something behind his big glasses. Maybe the answer is hiding in our deepest minds

Hannibal (2001)

See my first line

[6/10 · 17 January 2005]

This film really made me headache. I am totally against violence. But which made me really don't like the script is that it wants to fashion H into a Dante expert. I understand that even killer has complex human emotions, but Dante has nothing to do with killing a man like that. If a man who masters literature and history could judge other people's life as his wish, then how should we estimate Hitler? I know it's just a film but since Anthony Hopkins' performing is too great, I couldn't help but feel upset for quite a while. We all admit Godfather is great, because whatever he did he insist his principle that family profit is most important, he also had his love and hate but if he showed up with Dante that would be totally unreasonable. I don't like those script writers who add metaphysical meanings onto slaughter just for making a film looks more mystic and attractive. And that female FBI upset me too, why she saved H while she knew she couldn't control the situation by herself? The director did a good job, as well as composer Hans Zimmer. But for me the problem is they are too moderate, I mean, the way the camera rolls, the scenes switch, and the actors perform, just too Hollywood. Everything goes so smooth that I even could hear a voice that says: Look, what a good film am I making! I would answer, yes, congratulations! But why do you make it again?

A Short Film About Killing (1988)

Awesome masterpiece

[10/10 · 5 January 2005]

"Never since Cain has any punishment Improved or deterred the world from crimes"

That is the lawyer's final answer in his final exam. While he was celebrating his success, the killer, whose counsel he would later become, was on the way. There were many chances for him and his victim to change the fate, but they denied singly. From the beginning when the taxi-driver open the glass door, on which mapped the city's brown imperturbable face, all the things happened afterwards seemed lead to the inevasible end confirmedly. Just like all the things we entitle accident in our lives.

The sky above the city reveals a disconcerting light, the camera perfectly captured the distance that blocked off the young man and the crowd. Sometimes when he was wondering where to go, the screen was eerie half bright and half dark. Of course he could only choose the destined one. The killing itself took a long long time and was really horrible, although narrated in Kieslowski's self-possessed voice. During the long time when Yazec tried, even struggled to achieve the driver's death, he was horrified by any words the dying driver moaned and struggled to be crueler to end it, and I was horrified by the dark side of humanity and tried to escape from the glum face of fate.

The fifth commandment is "You shall not kill". In the real world it becomes "You shall not kill without proper reason". But, who has the right to judge it? The lawyer lost his faith in his job, finally he found out the problem was not "how to be justice", but "to whom justice could be possible". And the last one is about ethic, the reverse of laws.

Yazec's killing was unreasonable, even Kieslowski himself said that he didn't know why Yazec wanted to kill the driver. But is the killing of Yazec reasonable? Kieslowski recorded every detail in the last killing, including the long preparing. The calmer the law officer was, the more doubtful I am. It became more and more obvious that this rite itself is a bigger crime. During this long course, every audience was put into the puzzledom of ethic. Kieslowski gave us a compassionate last shoot, that the lawyer stopped at a rural lawn, perhaps where the seed of Yazec's crime was sowed (where his sister died in an accident), and cried. But the question is still unanswered. When the audiences walk out of the cinema they are more sensitivity to the predicament of ethic of our time. I think that was what this great ideologist and filmmaker aiming for.

Sweet Sixteen (I) (2002)

Sorrowful gem

[10/10 · 4 January 2005]

I love its mood, which represented well by the camera. The impression is always pea green or baby blue, from the boys' wearing to the surroundings, maybe it suggests that sixteen is the age when people begin to mellow their mind, but the sky was always grey that gave a heavy oppression on that nature desire. In some scenes I did felt the raw power through the lens, like the quarrelling between Liam and his sister when he found his mother was gone again. Much better than Trainspotting, in which, the actors seemed to enjoy the acting sometimes. And here those unprofessional actors really gave the film a documentary-like feeling. "My batteries are running low", what a sad sigh! It recalls my memories of my teenage times.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Funny and pleasing to both the eye and the mind

[9/10 · 4 January 2005]

when those first lines of Odysseys appeared, I thought, woo, these guys are really humorous. Then after a funny western ballad the rodomontade line came out that read Based on Homer's Odysseys. It really made some sense on that. The Sirens, they are, er, they are beautiful. And the Cyclops, er, he is really strong. It is funny that in Homer's epic Ulysses was cursed by Poseidon, but in this film those guys was finally saved by a flood. As well as Ulysses was smote hip and thigh while Homer's Odysseus killed all those suitors heroically. Yes, a highly enjoyable film with a couple of lovely ballad and brilliant images that pleasing to both the eye and the mind. But I am not sure what does that black man who sold his soul to the evil stands for.

Donnie Darko (2001)

See my last line

[8/10 · 4 January 2005]

I spent much time on Donnie Darko for almost 3 times read-through. The group's commentary track is kind of boring so I skipped some. Just like for Shining I couldn't stop seeing it time after time. Because I have a desire to search out what exactly horrified me. I think fear is one of the most precious human feelings. When people fear that's because he sees the truth that he never saw. Only those shallow-headed would try to smile all day and shout "I don't fear any more!" It also has a wonderful and pure British soundtrack that features some cool New Wave/Post Punk bands. Maybe the best entertainment film one could ever make when he has only four million dollars to spend in current times.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Great lowlife film

[9/10 · 4 January 2005]

The most interesting thing I found in it is the tender scene of Sport and Iris. I still couldn't figure out what exactly does it mean. It came from nowhere and took a long time and Sport looked so full of true love and compassionate to Iris and even the entire human race! I think that's the most unusual element. And Martin Scorsese's madness is also interesting, maybe that's what persuaded the killer finally made up his mind. When Travis pointed his gun to the mirror and talked ironically to himself: "You talking to me?!" I couldn't laugh, on the contrary I feel sympathy for him, maybe myself too. Good movies sometimes are like a mirror that reflects our own weakness. And the camera-work is brilliant, as hypnotic as the jazz score, and those slow motions which show us what Travis see with his tired eyes recall the beautiful opening of the Last Waltz. This film also reminds me a lot of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart. A young man who suffered from the material world, tried many solutions but all failed (When routine bites hard, and ambitions are low, and resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow), then he decided to do something really usually (And we're changing our ways, taking different roads). But is he saved? The streets were still dirty and Betsy's smile couldn't move him anymore. (Just that something so good just can't function no more) Even Iris's fate is doubtful, she just disappeared and left only those papers on the wall. (Then love, love will tear us apart again.)

Unknown Pleasures (2002)

Good film for industrializing China

[9/10 · 4 January 2005]

Since I have seen the other two films by Jia, I was more or less prepared for his way of narrative. But there were still many things attracted me. The industrializing city itself, with all the dirty scars on its face, established a sorrowful mood for the whole film. The most promising character (Bin Bin's girlfriend) was always sitting like a puppet, dreaming of a world that she did not exactly know. The young people's mind were fulfilled with information from pop music and American movies, the Chinese tradition was totally cut off, I could even hardly find any morality in them, a nowhere generation. When one of the most interesting scene (Bin Bin's girlfriend riding bike in that hall, waiting for him for a while and finally departed from him slowly) ended, it seems that it's all over, but then came an absurd bank robbing that made the helplessness of their lives more obvious, when Xiao Ji tried to restart his motorcycle repeatedly, it seem his only hope, but he failed, and jumped into a bus which took him away alone the new highway that leads to the unknown big city. I hope next film of Jia would focus on big cities, because I think the problems showed in Jia's past works are not just caused by poorness. It is lucky that at this transforming time of China we have an artist like Jia to speak in his own voice when everyone else seems happy with those "great" changes.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Good original film

[9/10 · 4 January 2005]

Ghost Dog is the first Jim Jarmusch film for me. After seeing it I went to IMDb to search for some details about him. I am glad to see that he is a good friend of Neil Young (Neil made the soundtrack for Dead Man, and Jarmusch directed Neil's concert film Year of the Horse). From this point, and the film itself, I think maybe he is also a die-hard hippy like Neil Young. It was the beats first found the Eastern philosophy as a lifesaving, isn't it? The most interesting artwork I have seen on that topic is a novel called Buddha's Bums by that beat guy who also wrote the beat classic On the Road. It is the same guy that also said: "We here talk about Buddha and Tao everyday but those unadulterated Orientals are studying surrealism." Yes, the 20th century is really a messed up time, when people found that something was corrupt from inner, some of them would self-reflects inside out, and some of them would look out for a specific medicine. I think that's why the east suddenly became paradise for those people. I can understand that instant desire and I admire those who always hold the belief that it's more to the picture than meet the eye and it's better to burn out than to fade away. Although I don't think eastern philosophy is a magic sermon. You know, it always tells you the conclusion without illation, that's why it looks so mystic. And I think the magic also largely depends on the language. Like the Book of Changes (Yi Jing), it is totally untranslatable. Maybe that's why Japanese art is more accepted, because it is mainly from China and has already been digested once. I don't know Japan much but I don't like its over-systematized thoughts. Everything normal could be meaningful at their hands. Like making tea is called tea ceremony there. But have they ever contributed great art just like the Germans (who also famous for their seriousness, I think)? I don't think so. The film itself is a great original film maybe especially for the westerns. The opening reminds me Tom Tykwer's Heaven. Although he transformed Kieslowski's script into a common film but what he added to the opening is great: a helicopter pilot drived higher and higher and asked "how high should I be?"