Week 44 in film

The Silence (Ingmar Bergman, 1963)
Bergman and female leads, sometimes a brilliant combination. This film has all the ingredients but somehow it doesn't work as well as for instance in his Persona, 3 years later. Tystnaden is at times too slow, it is however beautiful and the mystery between two sisters and one of their sons tickles the mind at times but it is not as convincing as some later films from the Swedish master. Feels like a warm up exercise for what I consider to be one of the best films ever. 7/10



The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1938)
Best known British film from the master of suspense. It takes a while before the mystery unravels but when we arrive at this point the suspense is as Hitch would make it his standard. Some of the story elements are a bit of a stretch and the shoot out scene is, as funny as it is, ridiculous which reduces the urgency of the plot. I did very much enjoy this film though. 7.5/10

Le rayon vert (Eric Rohmer, 1986)
Talk, talk in french. Somewhat lonely and clearly unhappy Parisian is left by her fiancee 2 weeks before their planned vacation. She plans to have a vacation anyway but is having a really hard time enjoying herself. Rohmer effectively portrays the bores and void of everyday life. The unhappy mood felt somewhat transferable and I am not sure if I find this a quality. All in all I expected more. I can see what the director wanted to do here and for most it might work but I felt bored too often.  6.5/10

Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)
One of the last big titles in film noir. If I wouldn't know any better I would say this film was based on a play. As good as it is there is a relatively large amount of lively dialogue. Much of the action is left out and inferred events are therefore now shown. What remains are great performances by the two evil leads (Lancaster and Curtis). A good film and solid criticism towards show business but not in the same league as some great noirs from this era, if you ask me. 7.5/10

Moonrise (Frank Borzage, 1948)
Best film I saw this week. Borzage already surprised me with his Man's Castle (1933) and his great style can be seen here again. Emotionally layered and nuanced film which also managed to incorporate some beautiful cinematography. I will surely watch more from Borzage in the future.  8/10

Week 37 in film

Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano, 1997)
My first encounter with Kitano leaves me with some mixed feelings. This film is supposedly his masterpiece and I can see why some hail it as such. It has some stylized, concentrated violence versus a beautiful peaceful pace. Has it moments, but unfortunately didn't really affect me emotionally.  7/10



Wolfsbergen (Nanouk Leopold, 2007)
Dutch arthouse. Slow, static and in this case very intense. Portrays members of a family that is, to say the least, dysfunctional. Its slow pace works in the sense that emotions can be felt really well and for at least an hour this film is good. Unfortunately the last part loses the quality of being interesting and the pace turns against you. In other words, it becomes too slow, way too slow. 6.5/10

Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)
2001, as Kubrick, predicted was a magical (film) year. Ghost World is not a perfect film but has charming acting performances and shows wit and confident directing. Thora Birch (what happened to her?) shows to be a better actress than the beautiful Scarlett Johansson. I like the world of the 'imperfect' that is portrayed here in an original piece that partly manages to capture the world of the teenager. Reminded me of a much better film from the same year, Donnie Darko.  7.5/10

Jobs (Joshua Michael Stern, 2013)
Inevitably to be compared with David Fincher's The Social Network. That film managed to portray a brilliant asshole who did something that really mattered for his generation. Fincher gave us an insight in both why and how Eisenberg is an asshole and why Facebook is such a hit. Jobs fails to do both, Kutcher gives it a nice try to show us what Steve Jobs was like, but no why he was like that or why his product is so special. 4/10

North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
It was a couple of years ago when I last saw this classic Hitchcock. After seeing it again I understand why I only remembered a couple of scenes. The film is not as visionary as some of the other films that the master of suspense created in those years. This film sandwiched between Vertigo and Psycho, two of the best ever, is not as good but definitely entertaining and influential for the later (spy) action film.
"I am a big girl. -Yeah, and in all the right places, too"  8/10



Lovelace (Rob Epstein, 2013)
Week of the horrible biopics. I was hoping for something that could be in the region of Boogie Nights. Forget about it, this film has the artistic value of a late night TV-movie. 2.5/10

The Earrings of Madame de... (Max Ophuls, 1953)
I like Ophuls his beautiful visuals and camerawork, and again this picture is eye candy. Not as good as his Letter from an Unknown Woman (a personal favorite). Somehow this one is more distant and despite some smart devices (the earrings obviously) and a role for the great Vittorio de Sica it felt like a long and at times tedious exercise. 6.5/10