The Shining
This was my Hallowe’en movie of the year along with Freaks, but I’m not sure I’ve completely digested that one yet. Anyway, this is probably the film that scares me more than any other I’ve seen. I remember the first couple of times I saw it the lights were out and I could barely look when Danny encounters the two girls on his trike. Now that I know what’s coming the scare scenes don’t get to me as much, but it’s the constant tension and Jack’s breakdown that still freak me out. I was still getting the chills when I was just expecting the two girls to make a sudden appearance, or when Danny was outside room 237. And then of course there’s Big Jack’s performance. Get past that devilish grin and unhinged act he usually turns out and there’s a real sense of menace and terror in what this man is going through and what he might do.
The use of steadicam is also well known and as I’ve mentioned before I’m a huge fan of long takes. Here though, rather than let the viewer feel as though they are there in the scene, it gives a sense that we’re looking through someone’s POV, stalking the actors. I think it’s because the camera feels like it’s gliding and can be very stop-start, it just doesn’t feel right.
Talk To Her
A film by Pedro Almodovar, and out of the three of his I’ve seen now I’d rank it above All About My Mother but below the magnificent Volver (how that never got a Best Foreign Oscar nod I’ll never know). This one focuses on male protagonists but like the other two mentioned it starts off as fairly intimate and reflective between a small group of people before leaping off into an unexpected direction.
Told through a good deal of flashbacks, this is at heart two love stories but neither of which are particularly happy. Indeed, while one is broken by adultery the other is… I think unrequited is the best description. There is a lot of love in the film, a great deal of lust, passion and longing, but given that it’s a surprisingly cold and unromantic one. But before I make this sound too depressing I should mention that visually it’s absolutely stunning. Almodovar has struck me as a director with flair and who likes to show it off whenever he feels he can get away with it. Locations and scenery are lush and beautiful and the Spanish buildings add an air of the exotic. But the main talking point, visually, is the five minute silent film he slips into the middle, just when the plot tilts. You’ll have to see it to appreciate it, but amazingly it works. Just like the rest of the film.
Rendition
Saw this before Eastern Promises (review in that thread) and like that film I was a bit torn in my reaction. On the one hand it raises many issues and for the most part they are brought up by a capable, starry cast. But it never really seems to deliver any convincing answers and winds up almost exactly where we expect it to. I saw almost because there’s a completely unnecessary narrative twist that only succeeded in making me lose concentration for a few moments as I tried to piece together what had just happened. Smart for the sake of being smart if you ask me.
Structurally it’s similar to Syriana, Traffic and all those other multi-strand dramas with a social conscience. As a result no one is given the opportunity to hog the limelight and unfortunately only one character ever earned my interest and sympathies (the Egyptian-American placed under rendition leaving wife Reese Witherspoon frantic at home). In fact, some didn’t even seem to be trying to gain my interest (Jake ‘sleep walking’ Gyllenhaal I’m looking at you). But overall it’s a decent enough thriller that means well and worth a look. There’s far worse on at the moment.
Wings of Desire
I’m guessing I’m not the only one familiar with Wim Wenders video for U2’s Stay (Faraway, So Close!). That video was essentially a condensed version of this classic German film about two angels watching over a divided Berlin, but never able to interfere. They can hear people’s thoughts and comfort those in need, but sometimes that isn’t enough for either party. One of our two angels, Damiel (Bruno Ganz, absolutely electrifying in The Downfall by the way) decides after a chance encounter with Columbo that he wants to become human. Sure he’s sentencing himself to a mortal life full of pain and difficulties, but he is also finally able to experience the simple pleasures that have so far been unattainable for him, like warming his hands around a hot cup of coffee on a cold day. And of course, acknowledgement and reciprocated love.
The plot is actually quite thin, but that’s not the point. Watching these two angels move between the citizens of Berlin, flicking between thoughts like radio stations and watching everything from far above the city is oddly soothing. I’ll admit it took me a while to adapt to the unhurried pace but hey, I was pretty tired at the time. But the gorgeous cinematography and sheer joy of the second half is enough to keep anyone transfixed.
At the very least it’s worth checking out just to spot the parts reused in the Stay video.
