ICheckMovies Blind Spots:
Insect Woman (1963)
★ ★ ½
While I love Japanese cinema in general and filmmaker Shôhei Imamura always has good ideas for stories, he executes them in a way that quickly loses my interest. His narratives are often driven by themes and points more than character or plot, without approaching the level of Woman in the Dunes or Onibaba. Closer to Mikio Naruse, who I also struggle with.
Repentance (1984)
★ ★ ½
Social/political satire with a surrealist streak compared to Buñuel, but I found more of the left field surreal touches associated with William Klein. (Mr. Freedom) Talkier than Klein and less crude, but about as clumsy in its execution.
Twenty Years Later (1984)
★ ★ ½
Fascinating start to this documentary, with the filmmaker returning to a project he had to abandon after a military coup. The small amount of footage gives contrast to life then and now, but I didn't find the politics nearly as interesting as the initial way the director uses cinema to win the town over through the nostalgia of the footage. That's an Agnes Varda good time there.
The Son's Room (2001)
★ ★ ★ - Okay
I knew nothing going in, so I initially didn't understand such acclaim for a basic and simply-filmed domestic drama. Then comes the big event and the rest feels like it's playing out in real time. The soul-searching made me reflect and I admire Nanni Moretti's dedication to staying in the sadness so long, including playing the lead himself. Still has a strong TV Movie feel and I wish Moretti's character wasn't a therapist, but it has an effect that can't be denied.
Silent Light (2007)
★ ★ ½
Despite the pace - or actually because of it - I stayed engaged in the quiet, barely explained anguish. It's a film where small gestures and bits of dialogue can have a heap of impact. (It's a pretty film too.) Then it takes an ending from another classic film, and while it does something a little different, I felt like Carlos Reygadas cheated and invited a comparison he can't match up to.