The Conformist

I can't remember who reccommended this to me, or where I first heard of The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci's seventh film. It truly surprised me since I felt that The Dreamers was a movie left unfinished (even though I love Louis Garrell). The Conformist is a visual explosion set in 30s Italy and France. At times I thought I was watching a long lost Felini film, (but not La Strada, more Juliet of the Spirits) although this might have been the fact that its also a dubbed movie in which no ones lines match their lips. Overall, I think I'd tell almost everyone to see it.


I was a little nervous that I liked this movie too much, that perhaps it won me over by cheating somehow. Here is a clip from Pauline Kael's review to back me up.

"Bernardo Bertolucci wrote and directed this extraordinarily rich adaptation of the Alberto Moravia novel about an upper-class follower of Mussolini. It's set principally in 1938. Bertolucci's view isn't so much a reconstruction of the past as an infusion from it; the film cost only $750,000-Bertolucci brought together the decor and architecture surviving from that modernistic period and gave it all unity. Jean-Louis Trintignant, who conveys the mechanisms of thought through tension, the way Bogart did, is the aristocratic Fascist-an intelligent coward who sacrifices everything he cares about because he wants the safety of normality. Stefania Sandrelli is his deliciously corrupt, empty-headed wife, and Dominique Sanda, with her swollen lips and tiger eyes, is the lesbian he would like to run away with. The film succeeds least with its psychosexual approach to the Fascist protagonist, but if the ideas don't touch the imagination, the film's sensuous texture does. It's a triumph of feeling and of style-lyrical, flowing, velvety style, so operatic that you come away with sequences in your head like arias. With Pierre Clémenti as the chauffeur, Gastone Moschin as Manganiello, and Enzo Tarascio as the anti-Fascist professor (who resembles Godard). Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro. In Italian." —Pauline Kael

O Amor Natural

Lordy, this was cute. After the well known Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade passed away, they (I think his wife or lover and his publishers) found piles and piles of erotic poetry, which he had never shown to anyone. O Amor Natural is a collection of touching interviews. The filmmakers asked a variety of Brazilians to read aloud from an erotic collection of Carlos Drummond de Andrade poems, and all of them are over the age of sixty-five. They follow up with their own beliefs about sexuality along with some saucy personal histories. Plus, O Amor Natural is short—a quick seventy minutes. And there's a butt montage. Perfect for after dinner on a Monday night.

The Hairdresser's Husband

This was a movie that a friend recommended to me ages ago. It only recently became available on DVD, so thank you Netflix for being on the ball. There isn't anyone terribly famous in The Hairdresser's Husband, it's only 82 minutes, and you'll never figure out exactly what is going on, but it was fun to watch and very poetic. Frenchies make the best romances. If you like Jean-Pierre Jeunet (it's hard to image that he didn't see this movie and instantly love it - in fact, The Hairdresser's Husband, Amelie and The Double Life of Veronique prove that there was some sort of movement happening in French cinema in the early nineties), Bergman, Bunuel, even David Lynch, give The Hairdresser's Husband a shot. In short, if you love movies and watch them all the time, all the time, you'll really enjoy it.

The first three minutes of this movie are fantastically sweet.

Director Fatih Akin

No, his name is not Faith, it's Faa-tee. He's a German director with Turkish blood and his films usually take place in multiple countries, with multiple languages. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I had to ask someone exactly what was going on between these two groups, and this is more or less what I found out. In the 1960s Germany created a visa for "Guest Workers," allowing people from foreign countries to enter and earn money legally, but only for a certain amount of time. Most immigrants planned on moving back to their home country, except they started having children and planting roots. Now there is a huge Turkish community in Germany, but they are looked upon as secondary citizens. This happens all over the world, but I like seeing little pockets of cultural layering, especially when it takes place generationally within families. It makes for great drama, and Akin uses this to his advantage, while also being truly gifted at guiding performances. I could just sit and watch the faces of his actors for hours.

Head-On won the Golden Bear in 2004, along with a slew of other awards. Probably my favorite movie about marriage ever made. I really enjoyed watching it, but found myself to be seriously depressed and effected days later.

Edge of Heaven really captures the existential connections that Kieslowski and Fellini gravitated towards in their work. It's not like Inarritu (Babel, 21 Grams), who thinks that we just bump into one another without reason and create chaos, it's very nuanced and has a sense of purpose.

UP

I feel silly even recommending it, since I'm pretty sure everyone has already seen the new Pixar film UP. I liked it a lot (better than WALL-E), loved it even, and wouldn't mind seeing it again. Tomasz saw it twice, once in 3-D and once in regular fashion, and he recommends seeing it with the forty dollar red and blue lenses. At the same time, some reviewers reported 3-D to be distracting. My guess is that most people will see it two or three times, so for the first time spring for some depth perception. Then see it at the two dollar theater when the temps reach ninety and above. Free air conditioning!

What's with Pixar movies and the crying? I was strong willed enough to make it through WALL-E without shedding a tear, I found the sympathy for him to be a little forced, but I'll be damned if I made it six minutes into UP without balling. Bring a hankie with you or something.

A Fun New Game to Play

The next time you see a movie, try and guess if it was shot digitally or on film. You'll be surprised by the answers if you look them up.

Exhibit A: Superbad

Sceen Unseen

Scene Unseen is the best radio program about movies right now. Chris sees a movie, Jimmy doesn't. Then they make fun of each other. It's actually a podcast, which means you can listen to them for free when you're doing things like working or ordering hovercrafts online.

Scene Unseen Website