Week 12 and 13 in film

Nymphomaniac pt.I & II (Lars von Trier, 2013)
Suffers from lack of subtlety on multiple levels. As a whole not a bad film, since its length never feels problematic, but some parts are simply there to raise controversy. Comparing sex to fly fishing and classical music? Please. Luckily, this time von Trier doesn't try to imitate Tarkovsky but simply borrows Bach's 'The Mirror'-piece and one of Roeblov's icons. Clear enough. 6/10



Batman (Tim Burton, 1989)
Early Burton where he shows his strengths and weaknesses. Great art direction and good type casting. Nicholson is good, comparable to what Heath Ledger did with the Joker. I can't say the same thing about Michael Keaton. He lacks the status and charisma to really present a believable Bruce Wayne. Especially if you can't display chemistry with one of the most beautiful women in film history. 6.5/10

Death and the Maiden (Roman Polanski, 1994)
The paranoid Sigourney Weaver thinks her visiting neighbour is the man who raped and abused her in the past. Polanski has its way with films that are based on a play. I am not sure if I really like this one. The acting, not unimportant in such a setting, is overall not that great (Stuart Wilson). Polanski did make me doubt the guilt or innocence of the antagonist constantly. 6.5/10

The City of Lost Children (Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995)
Disappointing. Some great ideas, beautiful settings and an original script. It's the directing where it goes wrong, no suspense or urgency is created here, at least not for me. What doesn't help is that the most annoying actor in this film is multiplied by 7. 5.5/10

Beyond the Black Rainbow (Panos Cosmatos, 2011)
It's like Only God Forgives in slow-motion. No suspense, a lot of pretentions, really, really boring despite some beautiful photography. Experimental film is called experimental for a reason, it fails at times. 2.5/10

Vampire's Kiss (Robert Bierman, 1988)
Cage-mania. Saw it two years ago and simply rated it on its merits. I was wrong. Cage makes the merits and is  insane and therefore hilarious. Died laughing. 6.5/10

Week 27 in film

Some great surprises last week.

Trance (Danny Boyle, 2013)
What do we know about Danny Boyle? That he excels in his use of lighting and soundtrack choice. Those are probably the only things that are good about this film. Trance could therefore be seen as a visual treat (Rosario Dawson!) but lacks in originality. The writers 'borrowed' from Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and plot twists are so 1995!   5/10

The Terrorizers (Edward Yang, 1986)
If you want to watch a film again after you finished it it must be great. Yang shows to be a very intelligent filmmaker by presenting a very calm and compelling network narrative which, as it should, provides its viewer with more pieces of the puzzle as the film carries on. Not so much do we receive clues or facts but are we getting more and more involved emotionally and do we learn to understand the choices of the individuals. Add some stunning cinematography and several graphic similarities which I always dig. Contains a lot of elements (even a photographer) that would be in the later masterpiece Yi Yi. Only thing I didn't like so much was the ending, but a second viewing shouldn't take too long.  8.5/10


The Element of Crime (Lars von Trier, 1984)
Von Trier's debut is clearly influenced by his idol Tarkovsky. The plot has hints from Hitchcock, perhaps if von Trier would have quoted Hitchcock a bit more this would have been a better film, now it is too much style for a crime plot. His style is nevertheless impressive. 6.5/10

Two Lovers (James Gray, 2008)
The best film for this week. Joaquin Phoenix is a romantically naive photographer with suicidal tendencies who lives with his parents after his fiancee dumped him. His father introduces him to the likeable and decent daughter of a business colleague. A romance is born, but Phoenix seems to develop a weak spot for his more unstable neighbour, the beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. A film that stands out not only in its performances, but in portraying a harsh and emotional reality. As so often in a great film, the ending makes all the difference.  9/10 

Xich Lo (Anh Hung Tran, 1995)
Vietnam's Cidade de Deus. Good film, but a bit too dark and depressive for me. Some misery is shot beautifully though, but I couldn't enjoy it as much as I could in different themes and settings.  7.5/10

Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda, 1965)
Varda's happiness has almost the same opening as my favorite The Tree of Life, at least visually. Funny how a different tone can change a film experience. Left me colder than it should, I guess.  7/10

Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012)
Looks like a Manhattan-inspired exercise by Allen-adept Baumbach. Thanks to an honest and smart script co-written by its 'mumblecore' lead Greta Gerwig proves to be more than just a copy. Credit for portraying a complex and somewhat annoying lead character you slowly learn to love.  8/10