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Author Topic: May MDC write-ups: Cannes  (Read 19641 times)

pixote

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #20 on: May 24, 2009, 05:23:21 AM »
You two are the best!

pixote
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Emiliana

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #21 on: May 30, 2009, 07:31:42 AM »


Happy Together

(spoilers ahead, but no screenshots because my media player kept doing funny things to the aspect ratio >:()

Set in Buenos Aires, this is the portrait of the rocky relationship between two young men originally from Hong Kong.

A few days ago, I called the central relationship in À bout de souffle (Breathless) "one of the most interesting on-screen couples I have ever seen". The dynamics of the relationship here in Happy Together is even more fascinating and incredibly complex - love, lust, tenderness, cruelty, dependence, jealousy, contempt.... The psychology of these characters is incredibly well written, and the actors' performances can't be praised highly enough.

Another extremely intriguing aspect of the film was the contrast between passionate, emotional Argentina and the more reserved, quiet East Asian mentality of our protagonist. The setting of Buenos Aires serves beautifully to focus the two lovers on each other as the only person each of them has in an alien environment, which in turn gives even more poignancy to their struggle to find a balance that allows them to be with each other. Ultimately, when the relationship breaks apart, the setting adds painfully to the characters' loneliness and sense of being lost.

Wong Kar Wai finds an amazing visual style for this film. The first thing I have to mention is the camera work, which is impressive with its use of black and white vs. colour, the texture and lighting in every single shot, and some extremely effective uses of slow motion. Next on the list is the film's editing, which strikes a balance between delivering poignant scenes in a quick single shot, and dwelling on long takes of the Iguazu waterfalls. But I think what impressed me most was the production design, especially in the main character's apartment - it is so dark, narrow and run down that it is the perfect setting for this troubled relationship.

It should be clear by now that I think that Happy Together is truly a remarkable piece of filmmaking. But wait, I'm getting to the end of this without mentioning the Tango scene? That's just wrong. What a beautiful, heartbreaking moment... Anyway, thank you very much for this dictation, Clovis!

worm@work

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #22 on: May 31, 2009, 11:12:47 PM »
Yayyy :). Lovely write-up, Emiliana. Am soooo glad you loved this.

Clovis8

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #23 on: June 01, 2009, 12:47:34 AM »
Glad you loved it also. Its my favorite WKW.

Bill Thompson

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #24 on: June 03, 2009, 08:53:47 AM »
Paris, Texas (1984)

As it drew to its conclusion Paris, Texas could have gone off the rails. So much had been invested in the journey of Travis, in his plight and his mystery, that his return to see his wife was either going to cement the film as a master work or an interesting, but ultimately futile exploration of the human soul. To say that meeting was handled in deft fashion would be an understatement of the highest order. The first meeting between Jane and Travis is like a test for the two of them, while their final meeting is a cleansing of the soul on both sides. I don’t claim to be that knowledgeable on the careers of Harry Dean Stanton or Nastassja Kinski, but I don’t know if anything else I see from them will ever be able to top their work in those final moments.

What brings us to that final meeting is a series of odd events. I don’t know if odd is even the right word, but it is the word that springs to mind at the present time. Travis is an oddity, in a world where the need to conform, to go with the flow no matter what has become paramount, he is outside the realm of society. He isn’t insane, he’s damaged, broken. Travis is a shattered man, no longer fit for conventional society, and the only connections he can make are with fellow social outcasts. Anne is a foreigner in an odd land, the maid is much the same, his son is a child in an adult world and Jane is just as damaged as he is. It is only to those characters that he can really connect and express himself again. The meeting with his wife becomes so important to Travis and to the viewer because we know the function it serves in his life. He needs to cleanse his soul, he needs to own up to his past and accept his part in the end of his marriage and the ruination of his family. Even as he cleanses his soul we understand that the cleansing isn’t about him, it’s about his son and wife. He wants them to have a happy life, he wants to right his wrong but he knows that he can’t be a part of that happiness. In that way Paris, Texas is bittersweet, Travis corrects his mistakes, he applies a salve to his family and comes to grips with his own actions. But, there is no place for him in the rebuilt world of Hunter and Jane, so he leaves so that they may be happy.

The knee jerk reaction may be to say, “Wait, he wants his family to be happy so he tears Hunter away from Walt and Anne and takes him to his stripper mother?” It is a valid critique, I will grant you that. But, I believe that loses sight of the most honest part of Paris, Texas, life isn’t fair. In a perfect world Travis’ family never would have been destroyed. In a perfect world Hunter would have lived happily ever after with Anne and Walt, but we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world built on the idea of family and second chances. By taking Hunter to Jane, Travis has given his wife and son a second chance at happiness. This comes at the cost of the happiness of Walt and Anne, but in the cruel, honest truth, such is life.

I don’t know if I can do justice to the combination of the visuals in Paris, Texas with the score by Ry Cooder. I am a fan of Cooder, that should be known. However, this is the first score of his I have heard, I’m not even sure if he did any others, and I loved it. The slow, deliberate nature of his slide guitar perfectly accompanies the languid pace of the narrative as told through the visuals. While the final twenty or so minutes are necessarily talkie, the first two hours are bereft of a lot of dialogue, using the visuals to advance the narrative more than words. This is only possible because of Wim Wender’s ability to mesh expansive shots with small shots. The drive of Travis and Walt being shown from Travis’ perspective inside the car with his eyes seen in the rear view mirror because Travis can only see himself at that point. When we look down from the top of the stairwell at Walt’s house to see the arrival of Travis and his head is obscured by a beam, it quickly dawns on you that we are seeing it from Hunter’s perspective and he has no idea what his dad looks like. Then you have the expansive shots of the Texas plains in particular. They are beautiful to look at, but at the same time they are damaged and desolate, just like Travis.

I could go on and on about the shot selection in Paris, Texas alone, but there is a limit to what I can type about. On that note, the solution is for the people who haven’t yet done so to make sure they experience Paris, Texas. The film does a much better job of getting its point across than I ever could with my words. There’s not much else to say, or a whole lot to say depending on your viewpoint, but I leave you with another hearty thanks to that fine lass Worm@Work for getting me to finally see Paris, Texas, it was well worth the time and it will be well worth your time to see it as well.

pixote

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #25 on: June 03, 2009, 09:03:16 AM »
Yay!

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worm@work

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #26 on: June 03, 2009, 09:40:41 AM »
Yayyy :).

oldkid

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #27 on: June 08, 2009, 12:25:28 PM »
I finally got Umberto D. and was able to watch it.  It's an Italian film made in post WWII.  It's about an old man on a pension, whose debts are catching up with him, and he's about to lose his housing.  He has a friend who works as a maid for his landlady, and his only real joy in life is his cute, well-trained dog.  It brings you into his life well, and it often reflects the disrespect older people get-- as if life is for those who are working and young, and the older should just die and get out of the way. 

I think it's a good film, solid, but not great.  It probably would have been better if Maria-Pia Casilio had been a better actress.  But Carlo Battrisi was excellent-- I completely believed in his plight. 
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

skjerva

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #28 on: June 08, 2009, 01:56:29 PM »
actually, it is great.  i dictate you rewatch it!  though i am glad you experienced it :)

we have poor Umberto running up against all these people and systems that should support him, but every one of them fails him.  de sica is positing a kind of love/relationship/care-model that people get from dogs.  devastatingly beautiful
But I wish the public could, in the midst of its pleasures, see how blatantly it is being spoon-fed, and ask for slightly better dreams. 
                        - Iris Barry from "The Public's Pleasure" (1926)

oldkid

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Re: May MDC write-ups: Cannes
« Reply #29 on: June 08, 2009, 02:23:53 PM »
actually, it is great.  i dictate you rewatch it!  though i am glad you experienced it :)

we have poor Umberto running up against all these people and systems that should support him, but every one of them fails him.  de sica is positing a kind of love/relationship/care-model that people get from dogs.  devastatingly beautiful

I am glad you dictated it to me.  I like seeing it as being a really honest view of what many seniors experience.  However, the stories I know of of people who live on the street are worse-- families failing, the system failing.  This story is so similar to many people's lives that I know-- especially the relationship with the dog.  Having a pet can really give you a reason to live when everyone else has failed you.  But I know of two people who's dogs have been stolen from them, and one person who's dog was taken by the pound and now they want him to pay way more than he can afford to get his dog back.  Can you imagine how this story would end if his dog was stolen from him, and he was lost forever?  Terrible to imagine...
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

 

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