Le Chinois
– Godards 1967 examination of a group of idealistic young Marxists. Godard is
usually a mixed bag for me. I admire the way he just goes ball-to-the-wall, and
how he is unafraid to bend the rules of narrative form until they scream. In
his best films, which for me are Week-end and Pierrot Le Fou, he is able to
marry his maverick story-telling to a more or less conventional plot, and it
works. Other times, his cleverness gets in the way, and that is the case too
often here. The first half of the film takes place primarily in an apartment
shared by the Marxists, and it is formless and pretty impenetrable, as the
characters spout socio-political mush at each other. There are some better
spots, primarily an extended dialogue aboard a moving train, but overall, this
is a miss for me.
Le Bandanas
– This 1935 offering from Julian Duvuvier was a nice surprise. Jean Gabin plays
a man who kills another man, and is forced to go on the lam. He joins the
Spanish Foreign Legion, but finds himself pursued by another soldier, who
happens to be an undercover cop. Gabin is terrific as a man who struggles with
personal demons. Recommended.
The Makioka Sisters – Kon Ichikawa is probably
my favorite of the great Japanese directors, and this 1983 offering is worlds
away from his best known offerings like Fires on the Plain or The Burmese Harp.
This centers on four sisters of a wealthy Osaka family, and the issues they
face as Japan teeters on the brink of societal changes just prior to WWII. Two
of the sisters are older and more traditional. The fourth one is a free spirit
who sees no need to confirm to the status quo. The third one is causing
headaches for the rest of the family because she is not interested in any of the
potential husbands the family is lining up for her. Sisters is brilliant in the
way that it uses this family as a microcosm of Japan – How the established,
older ways are now being challenged, and that the country is going through
something that will change it forever. The period sets and costumes are
stunning, and I highly recommend this.
Zero Focus – A brilliant little Japanese film
that I knew nothing about. A young bride has her new husband go off on a
business trip and disappear off the face of the earth. The film follows her quest
to find out what happened, and in the process she discovers that the husband
had a second, secret life. Focus is quietly relentless, and it slowly peels
back the layers of this story. Mush of the film is set against a wintry, harsh
mountainside, and this adds to the feeling of frustration and melancholy. The
conclusion, set on a windy precipice, is first rate. Recommended.
Vertigo – I try to never let too much time go
by without a Hitchcock, so I had to
check this one out again. This time around, I concentrated more on Kim Novaks’
Madelaine/Judy, and the tragic secret she is keeping from James Stewart. Novak
was not a great actress, but I found myself feeling a great empathy for this
character. This is such a complex role – Certainly the most complex female character
Hitch ever put on screen, and she does a pretty good job with it. There is one scene
that struck me this time. After Stewarts Johnny has forced her to make herself
over, they dance together, and it’s striking how cold and unaffectionate he is
with her. For Johnny, the idea of Madelaine is more powerful than the actual
woman.
