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Author Topic: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame  (Read 70220 times)

1SO

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1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Anh Hung Tran – The Vertical Ray of the Sun
« Reply #400 on: December 16, 2011, 11:50:39 PM »
Marathon Update



The Vertical Ray of the Sun

After a little prodding I did decide to go ahead with another film by Anh Hung Tran. While he's still not a director I'm interested in exploring much further, I did get a bit intoxicated by his mood and imagery this time out. I've decided that he creates very pretty and crisp images, but he also holds on them for much too long. Often when someone tells a story it's either matching head frames or worse, a really long and still two-shot. He works best when there's some kind of movement within the frame.

Maybe that's why my favorite story was the playful brother and sister. There's an undeniable sensuality to the way the workout and dance around that apartment in their pajamas. It's never presented as awkward or creepy or immoral. There's a sexual innocence and restraint to all the stories. I felt comfortable that Tran was never going to cross a line so I enjoyed their relationship. The most striking image is a quick moment of the three sisters all wearing black dresses and washing their hair. This polite sexuality is something I wish he'd explore with a bit more gusto, because he seems really suited to this kind of mood.

The story felt like Ozu (of which I've only seen two, so I could be way off base), yet Ozu is a much better writer and can bring out a lot of drama in the stillness. Vertical Ray is more about basking in the mood, so the story feels secondary (while much more present than in Green Papaya.) So while I still can't endorse a film by Anh Hung Tran, at least I better understand why some people love these films so much.
RATING: * * 1/2

verbALs

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame
« Reply #401 on: December 17, 2011, 09:31:39 AM »
Quote
like watching Before Sunrise acted out by a couple of kitchen appliances.
This was your description of the Seberg/Belmondo central scene in Breathless it is a beautiful line, a garrotte dripping with cyanide (see you are bringing out the poet). I also completely agree. The danger was that the Godard Belmondo put me off the Melville Belmondo, but both Le doulos & Leon Morin pretre are favourites now. In fact the Truffaut Belmondo of Mississippi Mermaid ain't too hot either.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

Sandy

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Anh Hung Tran – The Vertical Ray of the Sun
« Reply #402 on: December 18, 2011, 01:12:41 AM »
The Vertical Ray of the Sun

That was very accommodating 1SO--Thanks for the review. I haven't seen it yet and wondered if I should prioritize it. Sounds like it can wait a little while longer.

MartinTeller

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Anh Hung Tran – The Vertical Ray of the Sun
« Reply #403 on: December 18, 2011, 01:35:01 AM »
The Vertical Ray of the Sun

That was very accommodating 1SO--Thanks for the review. I haven't seen it yet and wondered if I should prioritize it. Sounds like it can wait a little while longer.

Perhaps I might convince you to re-prioritize it?  Some quotes from my own reviews of it:

"A beautiful, intensely satisfying look at love and family."

"Breathtaking work of tranquility and harmony, even while the lives of the characters are thrown out of balance.  Tran seeks out beauty wherever he can find it -- in faces, in food, in nature, in walls and ponds and rainstorms.  Beauty in mood and music and emotion, and in family.  Watching The Vertical Ray of the Sun is like taking a warm bath, or like... well, like being in a ray of sunlight."

"An achingly beautiful film about keeping up appearances, among other things.... a poignant and captivating work"

Verite

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Anh Hung Tran – The Vertical Ray of the Sun
« Reply #404 on: December 18, 2011, 02:33:32 AM »
The Vertical Ray of the Sun

That was very accommodating 1SO--Thanks for the review. I haven't seen it yet and wondered if I should prioritize it. Sounds like it can wait a little while longer.

Sandy, in my experience of Vertical, there's quite a bit of drama albeit the tone is mostly understated despite rather high stakes.  The film follows four siblings - 3 sisters and a brother.  The 2 oldest sisters are married and we also follow their respective husband's dealing with their moral predicaments (i.e. straying outside the marriage), respectively.  The youngest sister, who 1SO mentions in the non-sexual intimate bro-sis dynamic, also has her own romantic situation.  All this is bookended in the context of the deceased parents and a symmetrical time span. 

The film seeks to texturally portray the support system that can be the nuclear family, and how special it is when your family can play that role.  It's a lovely film, and I hope you watch it soon.  Check out these screenshots: Vertical
« Last Edit: December 18, 2011, 02:39:10 AM by Verite »
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MartinTeller

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame
« Reply #405 on: December 18, 2011, 02:43:03 AM »
Love the new avatar, Ver!  Those crackers are so friggin' addictive.  I might have to get me some tomorrow :)

1SO

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Anh Hung Tran – The Vertical Ray of the Sun
« Reply #406 on: December 18, 2011, 10:18:01 AM »
Let's see if we can maybe turn our two only slightly opposing reviews into a discussion.



Perhaps I might convince you to re-prioritize it?  Some quotes from my own reviews of it:

"A beautiful, intensely satisfying look at love and family."

Beautiful, I agree. I thought Green Papaya's beauty really came through in the close-ups, but Vertical Ray captured it throughout. The images were't going for Malick pretty, but more like the feeling of silk running across your face.  Like a shower set at the perfect temperature when you're in no rush.

I thought the look at love and family was satisfying enough, but I would not say "intensely" satisfying. I'm probably just arguing over word choice, but the way the film glides into and out of their lives doesn't make for an intense or even thorough experience. Mike Leigh creates much more intense looks at love and family. Another year is a perfect example since it also spends a finite amount of time with it's people. I liked the way Vertical Ray gets into its more dramatic material. It slowly reveals them, like finding cracks when you stare close enough at a beautiful vase.


"Breathtaking work of tranquility and harmony, even while the lives of the characters are thrown out of balance.  Tran seeks out beauty wherever he can find it -- in faces, in food, in nature, in walls and ponds and rainstorms.  Beauty in mood and music and emotion, and in family.  Watching The Vertical Ray of the Sun is like taking a warm bath, or like... well, like being in a ray of sunlight."

I like what you're saying, but it makes the film sound like a lot of pretty style over substance. The one part I don't agree with is Tran seeking "out beauty wherever he can find it." It sounds like he places the story secondary to his pursuit of pretty images. I think he finds a harmony between the beauty and the story. Ultimately that beauty forms a contrast as the stories become not so pretty. His eye doesn't go out of its way to find a pretty image, but creates harmony in all kinds of settings. He also dwells on these shots for far too long. I found that interesting, but I didn't think the stories were touching on interesting ideas (except for the brother and sister.)

All of our talk makes Trans films sound like Wong Kar Wai stuff, but steeped more in family issues, but WKW imagery is out of this world and it's unfair to compare a solid director to a master. Also WKW for all his slow lushness is much better paced. His stuff aches and pulses. After seeing Vertical Ray, I believe Tran is capable of great things. He's got the basics down solid, but there's a hesitation to him, as if anything more daring would be selling out.

MartinTeller

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame
« Reply #407 on: December 18, 2011, 12:42:49 PM »
I think that hesitation is actually key to understanding it.  There is a tentativeness to this film and Green Papaya, a sense of quiet restraint.  Like I said, a lot of it is about "keeping up appearances".  You get the faintest impressions of emotions.  As you said yourself: "like finding cracks when you stare close enough at a beautiful vase."  The cinematic style reflects that.

1SO

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1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Andrzej Wajda - Kanal
« Reply #408 on: December 18, 2011, 03:44:07 PM »
Marathon Update



Kanal

Quote from: MartinTeller
One of the characters quotes Dante, but it's not necessary -- this is obviously hell, no literary references are required to point that out.  Incredibly depressing and bleak tale of a group of Warsaw Uprising resistance fighters, doomed from the start but doggedly trudging ahead.  Much of the film takes place in the sewers, but aboveground isn't much better, as Wajda gives new meaning to the term "war-torn" in his recreation of Warsaw, 1944.  There is some truly masterful camerawork here, especially the opening 4-minute tracking shot.  I didn't care for the composer character (the one who quotes Dante) and his fate: John Simon's essay rightfully pegs him as "the one wrong note running through the film."  Other than that, an astonishing and powerful movie.  Rating: 9

Filmmaker Andrzej Wajda has been on my hit list well before this marathon. I saw a clip from Ashes and Diamonds when Wajda received an Honorary Oscar in 1990. It looked like nothing I had seen at the time and had been looking for the film since. (I know it eventually came out on Criterion, but I just haven't been up to watching it before.) So Kanal serves as a primer to Wajda and a warmup to finally watching Ashes and Diamonds.

It's an absorbing mix of character, docudrama and cinema, reminding me of the Kon Ichikawa WWII double feature I watched back in July. After a wishy-washy start, things hit high gear once the resistance fighters enter the sewers. From there the pacing speeds up considerably as every decision becomes a matter of life and death. Sometimes it's more like instant death or prolonged anguish. By the time they question their decision to go underground in the first place, it's already too late.

Everyone becomes hopelessly lost in the dark, as they wade through waist-deep filth.They lose all track of time. Intoxicating fumes make them delirious. The Germans drop grenades and gas bombs to smoke them out, but it could be their own mental state. Anyone who sticks their head out to get their bearings or for a quick breath of air ends up captured or shot. The brave leaders become helpless, more so than the women and children. The strongest character is a young woman who knows her way around the sewers. She remains brave and dignified while helping her wounded boyfriend , who becomes increasingly incapable of the journey.

A lot of Kanal reminded me of a submarine film, where the crew has no weapons and are trapped in a watery grave, waiting for the enemy to destroy them. The direction is pitched somewhere between punishing and exciting, and after a slow start I liked the film quite a bit.
RATING: * * *

Sandy

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Re: 1SO vs. The Directors of Shame: Anh Hung Tran – The Vertical Ray of the Sun
« Reply #409 on: December 19, 2011, 12:33:54 AM »
The images were't going for Malick pretty, but more like the feeling of silk running across your face.  Like a shower set at the perfect temperature when you're in no rush.

I came back too late. I'll interject to say that the above statement is so great. Also Martin and Verite... Very persuasive! I will seek it out. My translator in Vietnam talked to me at length about the poetic heart of the Vietnamese. These two movies appear to corroborate his sentiments.

Okay, now back to Kanal.