Author Topic: Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995  (Read 2538 times)

SamPeckinpurr

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Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995
« on: July 08, 2013, 03:04:32 PM »
Firstly, I wonder if anybody else has even seen this movie. I caught it last night, and it's quite a difficult film to really give an opinion on. It somehow manages to permeate several genres, as well as styles of film and though it's a completely unfocused film, it's pretty admirable how it manages to present a grimly chaotic depiction of Vietnamese street-life. There's moments of Cocteau in there along with Hitchcock, Wong Kar Wai and some instances of Coppola. I thought it was a pretty interesting movie and that it's strange how I'd never heard of it before. It has Tony Leung in it too.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2013, 03:08:50 PM by SamPeckinpurr »

MartinTeller

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Re: Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2013, 03:22:56 PM »
I've seen it, twice.  While two other films by Tran (The Vertical Ray of the Sun, The Scent of Green Papaya) are in my top 100, Cyclo doesn't quite work for me.  Visually it's very impressive but I think the content is a bit too familiar.  I still like it, but it doesn't speak to me that much.

pixote

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Re: Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2013, 03:55:25 PM »
Sam the Cinema Snob, Sandy, and Jared all reviewed Cyclo as past of the 1990s Far East Bracket.

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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2013, 04:01:31 PM »
It's an interesting film that doesn't do much for me. Much prefer Papaya.

Jared

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Re: Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2013, 05:51:08 PM »
I hate delivering the death blow to a film that has already been resurrected once. Cyclo will be seen less because of me.

SamPeckinpurr

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Re: Cyclo (Xich Lo) 1995
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2013, 05:44:20 AM »
Wow there seems to be a lot of hate for it. I'm surprised. I don't think Cyclo can be described as an enjoyable film but I'm always interested in films that go beyond the conventional.

I read some of those reviews and I must say that there is definitely truth in the lack of, well, any character development or ability to care for them on an individual level. I thought the lack of named character meant this was a kind of intentional decision made to distance the viewer from empathises. This style usually makes sense when a film wants to show you something rather than hook you in, and that's the feeling I took away from it. I didn't really feel as if any character was particularly important.

Beyond that, the film is quite scatter-shot. I had wondered if it was intentionally this way or there had been some kind of strange editing problems along the way. Perhaps I was in a good mood but I found that represented the chaos of the story and reflected what the film was probably trying to say above everything: that life is cruel, hard and not kind for the poor in Vietnam. It does make for difficult viewing and the infatuation with blood is disturbing (although it probably should be). I admit that I tended to drift in the last half. The scene with the fire seemed kind of absurd, as did the failed suicide/paint, but then again nothing really seems to make much sense. It's so distant.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2013, 08:35:29 AM by SamPeckinpurr »