Sunday, November 25, 2007

...and some film reviews




Tonight I saw I'm Not There the Bob Dylan story as told by Todd Haynes through 6 actors including Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, and Richard Gere. I think this film is Todd Haynes most successful experiment to date (previous tries including Velvet Goldmine and Far From Heaven). The movie is interesting to say the least, blatantly tackling the mythology surrounding celebrity and the chameleon quality of Dylan himself. The film occasionally delves into Fellini-like metaphorical imagery which sometimes works, and sometimes seems really odd. The running time is fairly long, and the plot quite far from linear...not really a problem for me and I would recommend the film with all of its flaws.


Recently I rented Andrei Tarkovsky's first film Ivan's Childhood. The story revolves around a twelve year old boy whose entire family is killed in the war between the Nazis and the Soviets. After their deaths he becomes obsessed with revenge and works as a scout for the Soviets. He is angry but still very much a child with vivid dreams. Parts of this movie are incredibly beautiful and I really enjoyed the whole thing.


Lastly, I really don't need to add my voice to the praise for No Country For Old Men, but it has to be the best movie I've seen all year. A quiet, gory, existential, Southern Western critique of modern society and violence. A far better film than a book. I look forward to seeing it again soon.


So that's all for now, back to more "important" matters next week.

2 comments:

Saxon Baird said...

giraffe? what? hell...why not.

Nora Dillon said...

I think personal matters are sometimes more interesting than political matters... I think a good blurt of personal shit in public spaces is a-okay.