Pi (1998) is "a personal, visionary, hermetic art film par excellence, one that announces the arrival of an exciting and potentially major new talent in Darren Aronofsky,...recalls early David Lynch...as well as Stanley Kubrick...part of the grand historical tradition of works interested in the pursuit of knowledge and theories of existence (Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety). I have nothing more to add. It's just one of the best movies I have ever watched.
Baraka (1993) has no plot, no actors, no words. But its dazzling barrage of images that transcends language is a true "blessing". It tells us the story of the evolution of Earth and Mankind and the manner in which man relates to his environment. It delivers a profound message to whomever views it with the right eye. It is deep. Subtle. Complex. Mystical. Horrifying. Fascinating. It is a timeless universal masterpiece. Some people willl only see the surface and technical aspects of the film but Baraka is a movie that can only be grasped in its totality, profundity and significance on an intuitive level. Like all the greatest works of art, Baraka points away toward a direction that is more profound than the object of your observation. The closeup image of a Japanese snow monkey, incredibly human-like, resting, meditative, still, aware, awake, ever present, is probably the most beautiful and eloquent capturing of transcendentalism ever made on film. Baraka hit me hard. It shows how full of contradictions is the world we live in, how full of horror and beauty it is and will remain.
Jeunet and Caro have invented their own universe of fantasy, unusual colors, mysterious dreams and oddities. They have a flair for visual communication and comedy, keeping viewers engaged in the film even when the style seems to swallow the plot. Since the first time I've watched Delicatessen, I consider the making of films as an Art. Delicatessen is a post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building, who creates cannibalistic meals for his odd tenants. I'll never forget one of the most mimicked scenes of Delicatessen in which the separate activities of each of the hotel's tenants - a couple making love in a squeaky bed, a man painting his ceiling, a woman playing the cello - become hilariously rhythmic and synchronized. This scene spawned an entirely new cinematic language, making Delicatessen one of the most original movie of the early '90s.
La double vie de Véronique is a wonderful and subtle story of two women (or maybe one woman in two bits) who feel a profound connection for each other while they do not know and have never met. They live in two seperate countries, one of which is Poland, the country of Kieslowski's birth, the other is France, his country of adoption. In this movie Kieslowski examines a soul's search for identity and connection. The cinematography and music (by Zbigniew Preisner) are outstanding. And it does not do any harm to look at two Irène Jacob for 90 minutes either.
"Blue, liberty; White, equality; Red, fraternity. We wanted to show what these well-known historical notions mean to us today, who already possess liberty, who are already equal, and for whom fraternity is a common ideal. Therefore, in Blue, liberty is not treated in a social or political way...but if we talk about liberty, we mean individual liberty, the liberty of life itself" (Kieslowski). Blue is a beautifully realized and intimate film on the process of healing and cathartic liberation. It is a melancholy masterpiece on how to carry on after tragic loss. Superbly photographed. This movie will leave you happily sad, or maybe suicidal in a good way.
Red is about a fashion model (Irene Jacob) who meets by accident embittered, retired judge Trintignant. Then she develops relationship with him and enters his cloistered, secret world. Set in Geneva, this is a tale of several intertwining lives, a look at communication and the lack of it in modern society. Discussing the theme of the film, Kieslowski said : "At this moment, in this cafe, we're sitting next to strangers. Everyone will get up, leave, and go their own way, And then, they'll never meet again. And if they do, they won't realize that it's not for the first time". This is the kind of film that makes you feel intensely alive while you're watching it, and sends you out into the streets afterwards eager to talk deeply and urgently to the person you are with.
Kieslowski (1941-1996) left the stage with his inquiry into human nature unfinished. His last efforts concentrated on developing the latest script together with Krzysztof Piesiewicz entitled "Hell, Purgatory, Heaven". It was intended as another trilogy. Time will tell if we will see any of it either in print or on the screen.
Lost Highway (1997) depicts a world where time and space are dangerously out of control, where reality and dreams merge. It is an explosive investigation, full of symbolism and imagery, into parallel identity crises and a disturbing journey through an expressionistic landscape of loneliness, paranoia, desperation, and decadence. Fred Madison, a successful jazz musician, lives in comfort with his wife, Renee, a strangely withdrawn, beautiful woman. The first part of the film tracks Fred's anxiety and insecurity, which escalates as he begins to suspect that Renee may be leading a double life. As he begins to lose its own identity, the darkness of the past mixes with the present. Madness, jealousy, sex and violence overrun his dreams so much that he cannot distinguish them from reality anymore. David Lynch says about his films : "In my mind, it's so much fun to have something that has clues and is mysterious. Something that is understood intuitively rather than just being spoon-fed to you. That's the beauty of cinema, and it's hardly ever tried. These days, most films are pretty easily understood, and so people's minds stop working".
When Germans do a film set in the Third Reich, one can normally expect either a really heavy-handed lesson in history or some superficial hokum using the time as a mere colourful background. Aimée und Jaguar (1999) is so different from that. It is a subtle and deeply moving love story between two women. It is at the same time a realistic and thought-provoking reconstruction of what it was like to live in Berlin during World War II. The naturalistic atmosphere gives an impression of how normal people really looked and behaved in this difficult time. On the plot level, the love story is all the more tragic as it is based on true events. Acting is great throughout, even in the supporting roles : the Nazi newspaper editor and the soldier who comes home from the front only to discover that his wife is cheating on him with a jewish woman. Aimée und Jaguar shows that life has no sense without love, whatever its nature. And this is all the more true in wartime, when everything around you is just desolation and grief.
The world as we know it is a computer simulated environment (the matrix) created to prevent humans from discovering the truth. The truth that humans are slaves to a computer race. Under controlled conditions, we are continually reproduced to provide power for evil, artificial, intelligent computers. However, a computer hacker called Neo posses the key to defeat the reality-controlling computers. Together with Morpheus and Trinity, he must discover his true ability and try to free the mankind. The special effects are jaw dropping, and they give a real depth to the film. But the Matrix (2000) goes beyond technique. It asks some fundamental questions. Are we really free? And if not, how to deal with all the constraints placed upon us by modern society while at the same time act for the good of it?
Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), is an Italian war bride brought back to Iowa in 1945 by the soldier whose heart she captured. Twenty years later, she lives on a farm with her middle-aged husband and teenage son and daughter. Long since before, she's had to give up her career as a teacher because her spouse, an otherwise gentle and considerate man, doesn't approve of a working wife. She lives, without dreams or passion, a life of quiet desperation. Then along comes Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) during a period when Francesca is home alone, the rest of the family off to the State Fair in neighboring Illinois. Kincaid is a photographer for National Geographic. His current assignment is to photograph the local covered bridges of Madison County. The divorced Kincaid is the quintessential wanderer, at home wherever in the world he finds himself at the moment, taking his experiences and relationships as they come.
During the four days of her family's absence, Francesca falls deeply in love with Robert, and he with her. In him, she rediscovers her dreams of the wider world long denied her in rural Iowa. In her, he discovers the personal and emotional commitment that he professes not to need. When Francesca must choose between Robert and her two children, duty, responsibility and loyalty battle with the heart for the outcome. The scene towards the end of the film wherein Francesca, sitting in her husband's pick-up truck, sees Robert standing in the rain, is just unforgettable. The expressions on their faces, the wrenching mental turmoil and emotional anguish displayed by Fransesca over a decision that she must make immediately, are just caliber performances.
Based on Robert James Waller's novel, The Bridges of Madison County (1995) builds to a crescendo of powerful and conflicting emotions. Superbly acted with an emphasis on quiet, graceful moments of tender revelation, this movie is not only a deeply moving romance between Francesa and Robert but it is also about how Francesa's children came to understand who their mother really was. The Bridges of Madsion County takes you into the hearts of these two individuals who share a precious moment in time that stays with them forever. The leads performances are nothing short of classical stage drama : eloquent, touching and innately human.
In Shining (1980) Jack Nicholson plays frustrated writer Jack Torance, who loses his mind in a deserted snow bound hotel. Jack Torrance has taken on the job as a caretaker for the hotel during the winter in the hope that it will be an ideal opportunity to work on a novel. However Jack's mind begins to slip. A series of bizarre visions ("the shining") appear to both Jack and his son Danny. Danny sees the blood stained bodies of two twin girls while Jack meets up with the old caretaker responsible for their murder. The greatest moment in the film is when Jack's wife uncovers the novel he has been working on. To her horror she discovers that page after page contain the phrase "all work and no play make jack a dull boy" repeated over and over again. This scene creates a sense of utter hopelessness as his wife realises that Jack is completely mad and must have been that way for some time. There's no hope of turning back for him, he has completely lost the plot and eventually tries to kill his own family. Anguish comes from the true sense of desperation and loneliness the family has to endure.
Les amants du pont-neuf (1991) is an astonishing film about bare-bones love. It deals with an intense love story between two homeless people. Juliette Binoche plays Michèle, a half-blind artist who wanders the streets with her Abyssinian cat, a sketchpad, and a head full of disturbing memories. Denis Lavant plays Alex, a disturbed street punk and wino who makes the crumbling Parisian landmark his home. They spend their days and nights on a bridge that's been closed for renovation. The film builds a lot of tension around the madness of the love affair. Binoche's character is going blind and she needs help but the street punk is so obsessed with her he won't let her be go. The movie is fascinating because of the contradictions it embraces. Stylistically it is very flamboyant and bold especially in its editing and shot selections. Unfortunately it was hampered by budget problems and never made its money back. Another great Leos Carax's film is Mauvais sang (1986).