A dreamy landscape, that is crafted through a sharp lens and powerful vision. I was constantly reminded of Ivan’s Childhood (1962) throughout. The rupture of innocence, and the resilience that comes with it, and Andrey Rublyov (1966) comes to mind as well for they share a language: that otherworldly feeling that was (or we think was) medieval Europe. It is a beautiful view that is starkly contrasted with the theme, the actions depicted. ...
In Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky takes on the task to comprise the thoughts that accompany the films that he created. This means that he goes from discussing a particular technique and why use (or don’t) it, to the most troubling attitudes that pervade modern societies. The art Throughout the book Tarkovsky presents with different perspectives on what Art means, and how does that relate to his craft specifically, namely, cinema. ...
The city This is a movie that boils down to family and the relationships that are formed between the members of the same family. This feels, at every step of the way, a homage to Ozu and the way he was able to portray the intergenerational struggles of what could be called modern Japan. Kogonada tries to portray the intergenerational struggles in an even more modern United States. The viewer is presented with so many clues to understand that this is a small town. The calmness of the characters, the slow pace in which everything develops. The viewer is then forced to slow down, if they are not used to living like that (like myself). ...
There is no easy way to start unpacking what this movie has brought to cinema in any simple manner. The influences that others films that I find dearly close to my heart found part of their voice because of this film. The film is clearly surreal and the meta/self references abound, starting by the title itself. During one of the last dialogues, his film critic brings Mallarmé and his blank page up. This is, I believe, of importance since Fellini never directly points us at the matter, as if to accurately describe the issue or theme at hand. Instead, he does so by circunventing it, by symbolising much of the film’s theme. This is, Mallarmé would never describe a flower inasmuch detail as to accurately paint that flower in the reader’s mind. What 8 1/2 does is present the viewer with as many symbols as it can possibly think of and it does so in a beautiful way. ...
It took me several days after having watched Andrey Rublyov (1966) to even begin to start making sense of it all. This is a film that leaves the viewer speechless if they do endure in its watching. This is also not made for the contemporary viewer, since this requires amount of patience that is not required in contemporary blockbusters (as in every Tarkovsky film). Tarkovsky effectively transports us to wherever he might want his story to take place. It might be medieval Russia, or it might be in a distant planet, an abandoned place where miracles happen, or it might well just be his home. ...
Words, in their day to day use, are descriptive: they describe the state of affairs at a given time. When poetic language is used, however, language transcends this limitation: it precisely tries not to describe the world as is, but rather as it is experienced. A terminally-ill Greek poet attempts to finish a poem by their national poet, Dionysios Solomos, yet he says to his daughter that he just cannot find the words for it. Even when trying to use language in its poetic function, Alexandros is unable to put the vast experience into words, it is beyond both description and poetization. ...
A revision of our society at large. The stunning cinematography in this film guided me throughout it. From the opening scene, with the Osage dancing to the findings of oil, through the idyllic moments of the wedding where the light hits the characters and the water just right, to the doomy feeling of the final funeral, every scene creates an atmosphere that adequately depicts the overall tone of it. Thematically, at least at first, this is close to There Will Be Blood (2007), where we see DDL create an empire disregarding human lives that may be affected by it. The Hale family is doing the same: running after money without any concerns towards human life, especially because that life is not a life of people they can relate to. The people they affect are in no way close to them. Not historically, not genetically, not religiously. It is only in this juncture of time that they meet one another, and their goals in life are diametrically opposed: while they white folks want to gather as much money as possible, their Osage counterparts just want to live their lives in peace. ...
The Silence Of God The second entry in what has been dubbed as the “Silence of God” trilogy is hard to describe in itself. 80 minutes packed with the most profound type of crisis: that of faith in a modern world with a beautiful cinematography that is characteristic of Bergman. Bergman worked repeatedly with the cast of this film, namely, Björnstrad, Thulin, von Sydow. I believe they just shared some of the concerns Bergman himself had for they portray these characters so vividly that it is hard to think of other actors for the roles. ...
Psychoanalysis and Marxism In Freud’s psychoanalysis, the father is the quintessential cultural bastion, for he is the one who introduces his children into the cultural world, by allowing his son to have any woman he desires, except for his own mother. This is the simplest formulation, but more kin is introduced in more complex societies and one cannot have sisters or cousins. It is hard to dissolve Freud’s theories from its own cultural background: raised in a victorian era, the Judeo-Christian thought pervades him in ways he could not even see. His attempt is a proto-scientific, but it ultimately fails. ...
Much is said about Whiplash (2016) regarding the acting of its two main characters: the young man trying to be the best he can be, and the old man breaking souls in search of that one great student. The pain Andrew Neiman has to go through to be considered decent by Fletcher, the literal blood he has to give, the relationships he has to give up on, and of course the psychological intensity he is subject to. All those themes have been addressed. ...