Diary of a Country Priest

Judging by what I had seen in Pickpocket and what I had read about him, Robert Bresson definitely wanted to differ himself from his contemporaries. He rarely used professional actors. Many of his titles lack the emotional connection many other films of the era clearly possessed. And yet, he's dubbed an essential director.

His film Diary of a Country Priest contained the very trademarks that immortalized Bresson, as well as the profound theme of religion. (Bresson was a deeply devoted Catholic.) The blending of these themes provide an interesting tale.

This is of the first films that focused on conflict in religion, and one wonders if many later films of the same subject had Diary of a Country Priest as a primary influence. Bresson makes it clear that the protagonist (we never find out his name) struggles to break free from his spiritual alienation, and as far from the dramatics as possible.

Though I couldn't help but notice the dryness of some of the film. It starts off strong, but then slips into slow territory. Fortunately, it doesn't last for very long. I have a feeling that it will be less noticeable on a re-watch.

Diary of a Country Priest is very good, though I didn't love it as much as Pickpocket. The way it flows captures the Bresson mood, which is also evident in the films that he influenced. Still, I might like more upon a re-watch.

My Rating: ****1/2

Rocco and His Brothers

A brief early moment in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers shows four of the five Parondi brothers gazing at the storefronts of Milan as they pass by in a trolley. They're dazzled by what they see but as time wears on, the bedazzlement fades away like the flame of a match.

Throughout their years in Milan, the brothers, mainly Rocco (Alain Delon) and Simone (Renato Salvatori), become deeply disillusioned by the lives they lead. They seek for meaning and find nothing. The brotherly become frayed (never severed though) and eventually they become violent.

A sport three of the brothers partake is boxing. In early Hollywood films, boxing was treated as an allegory for a character's battle with their conscience. It's fitting since the three brothers take up the sport when their personal lives take a downturn. It's sort of Visconti's homage to Hollywood's Golden Age.

In a similar vein to The Bicycle Thief, Rocco and His Brothers is an Italian neorealism film. The difference between the two films is that Rocco and His Brothers is a trifle more optimistic than The Bicycle Thief. Sure, the film shows some of the characters' plights, but what Visconti shows isn't as emotionally powerful as what De Sica showed. (A lot more risque in some scenes though.)

Rocco and His Brothers, though not as great as some of Visconti's other work, definitely gets its point across. Personally, Visconti was at his best when he made lavish epics like Senso and The Leopard, though he was also good when he toned down the extravagance. Shows the man had range.

My Rating: ****1/2

Roger Dodger

One can only imagine what goes on in the mind of Roger Swanson (Campbell Scott), the title character of Dylan Kidd's Roger Dodger. He speaks with an air of grandiose, but the words he utters sound more like they're from the mouth of an immature teenager rather than a man in his forties. Essentially smarm incarnate.

There's no denying that Roger is a chauvinistic bastard. He views women as objects, and is constantly thinking of new ways to charm them. The women he talks up clearly see right through him, but he doesn't care. (When asked how often a woman goes home with him, Roger hesitantly replies, "Every night." Response: "Bullshit.")

Enter Nick (a pre-everything Jesse Eisenberg), Roger's nephew. Nick has something Roger clearly doesn't have: a conscience. Roger of course overlooks that and tries to teach Nick the tricks of the trade, but Nick has no real desire to learn them. Like that's going to stop Roger.

In the wrong hands, the film could have fallen apart after the opening scene. Instead, Kidd ensures that every scene works, and they do. He also makes sure that every line has the effect that's desired, and they do. You gotta love a script that has bite.

Roger Dodger is vastly underrated, and it really shouldn't be. All of the actors play their parts very well, especially Scott (who delivers each line with comedic snarl) and Eisenberg (who displays a neurotic vulnerability). Though in all honesty, if I encountered someone like Roger and he talked to me the way he does, he'd get a drink in his face.

My Rating: ****1/2

Dogville

Everything has two sides. What may look trusting is actually harmful. Good is actually evil. In short, looks can be deceiving.

This definitely is the case with the titular town of Lars von Trier's Dogville. Narrated with dry irony by John Hurt, the film is von Trier's perspective on capitalism. And it's not a pretty portrait.

The cast is practically one for the ages. Of the names in Dogville, the more prolific ones include Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Patricia Clarkson, Stellan Skarsgard, Chloe Sevigny, Philip Baker Hall, Ben Gazzara and James Caan. Each actor plays their part extremely well, but the best comes from Kidman and Bettany, the only selfless people in the town of Dogville.

Tom (Bettany) is the only person in town who welcomes Grace (Kidman) with open arms. The other residents reluctantly accept her when she starts helping with menial chores, though their treatment towards Grace could be compared to that of a slave. The chores become more demanding and eventually take a sexual nature. What will happen next?

I was aware that von Trier's reputation of making controversial films tended to leave a lasting impact on those that dared to watch them. Hard to watch in some scenes, yes, but Dogville isn't as risky as I thought it would be. The way the film is set up is very clever and unique. Oh, and I just love the many expressions playing across Kidman's face in the final moments.

My Rating: *****

The Virgin Spring

I'm not much on religion or thoughts of morals. And yet with certain films, my mind tends to rush to those very topics. I'm not sure why that is.

I felt this way as I watched Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring. Is murder justifiable for the right reasons? Can He forgive someone for deeds they have done? Bergman asks such question and more.

Some might know this more as the film that was a key influence for Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left. (Those people, in my opinion, are ignorant.) Those that prefer to acknowledge the film as an individual achievement have gone down the better route.

Along with Bergman's direction, it's the notable details that make The Virgin Spring what it is. Of them, the most crucial ones are Max von Sydow's spellbinding performance and Sven Nykvist's haunting cinematography. Both capture the dark mood of the film, and the running theme of right and wrong.

What Bergman captures in The Virgin Spring is the questioning of morals, what drives someone to do something. A number of later films have done the same task on a more melodramatic level. Only Bergman could do this on an honest note. And this is with many of his films, not just The Virgin Spring.

My Rating: *****

2046

Many of the directors I deeply admire are from the United States, Canada and/or the United Kingdom. There are a handful of other directors from various parts of the world that predominantly made films in the English language. Only a small number of those directors made films in the language of their country.

A director I've recently taken a shine to is Wong Kar-wai. I was very much impressed by In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express, mainly for how Wong underplayed feelings of romance and passion. If only more directors were like him.

I checked out 2046, which is more or less a sequel to In the Mood for Love. Picking up where the last film left off, the film shows the interactions between Chow (Tony Leung, who is slowly becoming a favorite foreign actor) and the women staying at his hotel. The encounters garner both emotional and physical intimacy.

Chow isn't as quiet and reserved as he was in In the Mood for Love, but he's just as lonely. The many sexual encounters he has throughout the film are mainly as a means of acceptance rather than desire. Though he does develop feelings for one woman, he decides to remain silent on those matters, reasons only known to him.

Though not as poetically flowing as In the Mood for Love, 2046 has its own charm. I will say the score by Shigeru Umebayashi is perhaps the most gorgeous score I ever heard. All in all, a very well done follow-up.

My Rating: *****

D.O.A.

In the opening moments of Rudolph Mate's D.O.A., a man walks into a police station and announces he wants to report a murder. When asked who was the victim, his response stuns the officers: "I was."

The man is Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien). Away from business for a week, he hopes to get his mind off his troubles. But someone slipped poison into his drink, and it's up to him and him alone to find out who did such a thing.

The question remains: why would anyone do this to an innocent man? Does Frank have a few skeletons in the closet? It seems likely judging by how some people look at him. But these secrets I shall keep hidden for the sake of surprise.

As well as O'Brien's performance, the film also relies on Dimitri Tiomkin's score and Ernest Laszlo's cinematography, two crucial elements in any noir. They are crux for building suspense and capturing mood. Hey, I've seen enough noirs to know that's true.

It's a bit confusing if you don't pay attention but still a very well done film. It's not as great as the other noirs of its era, but it's as clever as them. Worth a look.

My Rating: ****

Chungking Express

Don't you love it when you watch that one film responsible for getting an actor or a director recognized by the masses? It's such a wonderful feeling.

Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express is one such example. Focusing on the lovelorn and the lovesick, the film captures life in a bustling city.

Chungking Express is reminiscent of Woody Allen's Manhattan. Both films focus strictly on certain individuals in a large city, all only faintly connected. The sole connection between the main characters of both films in something simple: love.

Another connection between Chungking Express and Manhattan is the cinematography. It shows the cities as characters in themselves. Manhattan shows New York City in a seductive black and white setting; Chungking Express is shot in color to show the vivid shades of Hong Kong.

Much how I very much enjoyed In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express knows how to underplay the love between the characters. (Wong is a master at that from what I've seen so far.) Also, I just love films where the city is a character as well.

My Rating: *****

The Servant

Early in Joseph Losey's The Servant, there's a shot of Hugo Barrett (Dirk Bogarde) sitting alone. The smoke of his cigarette floating before him, there's a slight look of deviousness in his eyes. One wonders what's running through that mind of his.

His employer Tony (James Fox) is very much the opposite of Barrett. Brash, lazy and arrogant, he makes it clear that he is in charge of the household. He is a bit manipulative, but that doesn't mean he can't be manipulated.

Halfway through the film, something happens. The roles of master and servant get blurred. Who's in charge and who's getting ordered? It becomes hard to tell.

As well as the work from Bogarde and Fox, the cinematography by Douglas Slocombe is a sight to be seen. From the deep focus interior shots to the exterior shots of British life, Slocombe captures both a beauty and an ugliness of society. He also captures the mood of a scene as shown marvelously in the final scene.

I still stand by the fact that his best work is in Victim, but Bogarde's work in The Servant is just as great. Fox is also great, displaying a very layered performance. Losey depicts a society where class status doesn't matter; having no scruples does.

My Rating: *****

In the Loop

Usually when people go to the movies, they do so to escape their troubles and their everyday lives. Though I think Mad summed it up nicely in a comment on another blog: "...going to the movies isn't always about escaping our own lives but giving it perspective."

I suppose what Mad said could be applied to politics and the media. A film that focuses on these topics is Armando Iannucci's In the Loop. Having studied the effects of mass media several times in the past few years, I know what's depicted in the film is fairly accurate.

Of course I'm not well versed when it comes to politics, but In the Loop provides a sort of commentary to those unfamiliar with their own government. (Sure helped me a bit.) Believe me, it could be subtitled "Politics for Dummies".

Oh, and that script is to die for. It has bite in every line, something that if you know me enough I just adore. Think of it as a political satire by Quentin Tarantino minus the violence (and plus the British).

In the Loop is one of the most clever films of the last decade. Can you honestly go wrong with a script like that? In a word, no.

My Rating: ****1/2