My Week In Film (3/24 - 3/30)

Most of the movies I saw this week were for marathons or movies I had already seen. However, I made time for some new faces.

Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors (2000)
(Directed by Hong Sang-soo)

Korean art film shot in black white? Sign me up! Well, not really. Hong Sang-soo's obsessions seem to be romantic triangles, failed directors, sloppy sex and drinking a whole bunch. Naturally, I am drawn to such idiosyncrasies. The most interesting thing here is the film's structure. The film is broken up into 2 halves with different chapters. The first half details the man's view of the courtship while the second half details the woman's side. Of course, some of the scenes play out almost exactly the same on both halves while the others are radically different. Is Hong (Sang-soo?) saying something about memory or about the way we choose to see events? Hell if I know. I just know that I enjoyed it greatly. This guy is directing some really good ones.

★★★

The Story of Adele H. (1975)
(Directed by François Truffaut)

Adele H. tells the story of just that, Adele Hugo, the daughter of famous writer Victor Hugo (Les Miserables.) Well, that tells me nothing, thanks, Jhon!? I'm getting to it, jeez! She goes off to America to follow a man who has clearly already moved on. She sets up shop and basically begins to stalk him. It is pretty obvious that at some point Adele has lost it but we follow her as her lies begin to unravel and she is destroyed. To be honest, films that are centered around a single great performance aren't really my thing so I was never going to go crazy over it. Isabelle Adjani is very good though. However, this being a Truffaut film I expected a little bit more. Where is his usual visual flair, his sense of humor? Perhaps this story didn't call for those things but they're still missed.

★★★

The Player (1992)
(Directed by Robert Altman)

Robert Altman's incredible 1992 comeback isn't any less relevant today. Not even the names of the stars have changed. This is pitch black satire and I bet some of those hoping to make it in the town had their hopes dashed. Tim Robbins stars as the Hollywood producer who cares only about one thing and that's job stability. Everything he does is designed to keep him at his job. Robbins is excellent here and turns in one of his best performances in a role that requires both confidence and moments of paranoia. The star here is Altman though. His direction is impeccable and it truly shows you why he's regarded as such a great filmmaker.


★★★1/2

I saw better films this week but of the new ones that I hadn't seen before...

Film of the Week: The Player

Expect a post on the films of Terrence Malick pretty soon :)