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Toppû! Minipato tai - Aikyacchi Jankushon (1991)
Catching an Eyecatch is Quite Difficult
'Eyecatch Junction' is the first movie released by legendary director Takashi Miike. It was straight to video production and it remains obscure today. The film is not too bad, but it is not very memorable. The overall atmosphere is a slapstick action-comedy, but there are a couple of rough scenes that really feel like they belong to some other movie. The film is fast paced and entertaining enough to engage the viewer from the start till the end. Humorous action romp without anything deeper underneath.
It is hard to catch a copy of 'Eyecatch Junction', especially with subtitles, but occasionally it pops up over the breadth of the internet. If you are Takashi Miike fan then you might be interested watching this, but when ou haven't seen it, then, to be honest, you haven't missed much.
Giordano (1988)
Snap That Picture
'Giordano' is a short movie with a big idea, a wonderful concept, but with amateurish realization. I know, this was a student film, but still. A messy screenplay, messy editing, messy cinematography - actors were good though. And that idea behind the story - what a waste. Aadu Kaarjas (Paul Poom) is a photographer whose camera shows the deepest secrets of the people before its lens. Of course, there is a journalist who finds out Aadu's talent, and the photographer's life will be turned upside down. It was meant to be satire, but the film's message comes out as subtle as a hammer hitting an anvil - at that time it was meant to the criticism towards the Soviet Union, but it works today because deep down people are still as greedy and depraved. The brief creative moments soon changed with stale cinematography and unpurposeful slapstick. The film lacked the right tone.
At least it was interesting to see young Juhan Ulfsak in a brief uncredited role as the main character's son.
La règle du jeu (1939)
I Didn't Get the Rules.
'The Rules of the Game' is one of the most important films in the history of the cinema, and it is considered the be one of the greatest achievements in film. Yet, this is one of those masterpieces that flies over my head. I'm not trying to say it was a bad movie, a total waste of time, and completely overrated piece of cinema. No, contrariwise, I found the film to be very entertaining. I enjoyed how the pace kept growing faster and faster, and the love triangles took very unexpected geometrical shapes. The comedy was wonderfully balanced between quite raunchy (considering the time the movie was released) and subtle innuendos. I can understand why this film didn't get that warm reception upon its release. I liked the cast, and chemistry between them. Characters were multidimensional, a feature that lacks in most modern dramas (not to mention comedies, that seems to be dead genre today). And what about the visual style - how the camera was almost like the part of the cast, it seamlessly moved along with the action. I liked the movie, but unlike most of the cinema aficionados, I didn't find 'The Rules of the Game' that exciting. Fun, and memorable, and something that I probably will watch again when I have the chance, but today, I have to admit - I didn't get the hype. It didn't touch me the way to be more than fantastically acted, cleverly written situation comedy.
I'll rate it seven stars at the moment, but I'm sure that I will give another try some times.
Shizukanaru kettô (1949)
The Dripping with Sweat Type.
'The Quiet Duel' is a second collaboration between Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune after 'Drunken Angel'. This time Mifune got to play the doctor. The film occasionally tends to grow overly melodramatic, but somehow that doesn't ruin the movie's immaculate pacing and more subtle themes underneath. Between the melodrama, there are plenty of quiet yet powerful moments (the scene at the beginning of the movie where the nurse tries to wake exhausted surgeon), and subtle humor (father and son trying to offer each other a cigarette and then a light). Mifune excels as Dr. Kyoji Fujisaki, a man who looks calm and determined, but inside there is a rough duel between the conscience and the desire that the man has never felt.
Most of the Western audiences know Kurosawa/Mifune collaborations through their Samurai flicks, but 'The Quiet Duel' truly shows the versatility of these two artists. This is definitely not the best Kurosawa has put out but despite the melodrama the movie is captivating - cinematography, pacing, and of course, the acting is all superb.
Eight-star rating might be a little much (to be honest, the film is worth 7 stars), but I have to give it the 8 because rarely medical dramas can keep me nailed to the screen. Plus, there can be something to be learned from Dr.Fujisaki.
Crna machka, beli machor (1998)
Absurd Dream Land
Emir Kusturica's 'Black Cat, White Cat' can be described as Serbian 'Snatch' with the perfect dosage of nasty and dark slapstick. It is quite hard to find the correct words to describe this absurdist fable about rivalry, doublecross, and love. Yet the grotesque humor doesn't take away any sweetness from the love story arch, and all the characters stay sympathetic till the end together with all their quirks. Mesmerizing piece of surreal cinema.
If there is one Emir Kusturica movie you have to see, then it is 'Black Cat, White Cat'.
La strada (1954)
Where are all the Gelsominas of this world?
Giulietta Masina's portrayal of Gelsomina is probably one of the few performances in movies that it wouldn't be an overstatement to call it the greatest performance of all times. Thus, Gelsomina is the greatest character ever walked on the silver screen - so carefree and joyful, yet so complex. No other actress could have to turn out such a layered character with such subtle nuances. Of course, Giulietta Masina's peculiar beauty helped a lot. Such a character can only be supported by an equally strong and morally complex character and that Anthony Quinn's Zampano is. Not a nasty or a bad man by default, but someone who knows what he is doing wrong, yet he can't get things going straight. He is capable of cruel things, but after he, although trying to find excuses, still feels regret, and blames himself.
'La strada' (The Street) is exactly the kind of movie that only Federico Fellini is capable of making. While his contemporaries were known for (neo)realistic movies, the Fellini created magical realism and that 'La strada' is - a realistic voyage of traveling artists through the magic of creativity. The film is simple story, yet almost every frame hides something else underneath.
Elu tsitadellis (1947)
Pseudohistorical Propaganda Piece
'Life in the Citadel' is the first Estonian language feature after WWII. The movie was directed by Austrian born director Herbert Rappaport (or Gerbert Moritsevich Rappaport), who emigrated into the Soviet Union in 1936 after working in Austria, Germany, and Hollywood. The shooting started in the summer of 1946 in Tallinn and Leningrad in Lenfilm studios. Besides the cast, most of the creative and technical personal were the employees of Lenfilm, except composer Eugen Klapp and assistant to the second assistant director Andres Särev. The screenplay was written by Russian writer Leonid Trauberg and it was based on August Jakobson's stageplay under the same name.
'Life in the Citadel' was the Soviet Union's attempt to (re)build a film industry in occupied Estonia. It was claimed to be the first artistic (Soviet) Estonian movie upon its release. Although it was the first Soviet Estonian movie, but not the first Estonian movie altogether. The film bears a vulgar propagandistic message and its historical accuracy is at least dubious. There are not so subtle hints that all Estonians were despicable Nazi lovers, or 'disgusting intelligents' (intelligent was a person capable of reason and critical thinking and thus the danger to the Soviet Union). Yet, the film ends in a festive mood because even intelligent bourgeois scientist can grow into a new person who is able to see the bright future under the rule of Stalin.
Technically this movie is not a special achievement, but that might be the fault of scarce resources in the post-war Soviet Union, than the fault of incompetent director or personnel. The acting is unnatural and theatrical, even compared to some Hollywood or European movies at that time. Some of that can be blamed that the film was re-dubbed in 1960 as the original soundtrack got lost,
It has been argued about, if 'Life in the Citadel' is a true Estonian movie at all, but it has an important place in the history of Estonian cinema, mainly because of the great ensemble of actors. If you can detach yourself from the nasty propagandistic message, and just take the movie what it is - a time capsule that emanates the mood of the era - you might be able to witness quite interesting piece of cinematic history.
Roma città aperta (1945)
Haunting Piece of Realism
'Rome, Open City' is my first Rossellini experience and for me, introduction to Italian neorealist cinema. After that haunting event, I can barely wait for the next meeting. There was a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie that claimed that although the events and characters were influenced by real life, the film is purely fictional. Yet, doing some reading about the movie, I found out that much of the film was near reenactments of real events. I guess that explains why this movie felt so realistic. Realistic and haunting. I really enjoyed the performance of Aldo Fabrizi as Don Pietro. Anna Magnani gave an equally magnetic performance as Pina, a woman who is about to marry a member of Resistance. Well written out story and magnificent drama are spiced up with nice moments of suspense that can compete with the best moments of Hitchcock. All this makes 'Rome, Open City' obligatory watching for every cinema aficionado who wants to go deeper than Spielberg.