Change Your Image
Ali-71
Reviews
A Bigger Splash (2015)
Either I'm reading way too much into this or there's something other viewers missed
Apart from the foreground story I felt there was a theme in this film about how Northern Europeans treat and consider other parts of Europe. The clues: the way the Italians give up their table to the "celebrity" guests, the way we view the policeman who is so mesmerised by a celeb that he forgets what is job is, the ricotta making, the way these 4 idiots treat these dignified people with such arrogance and condescension. All that behaviour should disgust us but he shows it nuanced enough that we might think he's romanticising it. It's subtle enough that I think the director is laughing at any of us that don't notice it. Same with the karaoke scene. Like a dreamy Italian town would really care if this lot showed up and sang badly. That's what us Londoners (or similar) like to think and sometimes show in other films romanticising our holidays in Tuscany, Provence, Barcelona (or similar). We treat them like our playground but are completely oblivious to the arrogance of it. I thought the director set a fabulous trap - some people watching this will be blind to those aspects, but any one who has been on the receiving end will see what he's highlighting. This bit might be over-thinking it but if even said something to me about how some Europeans want out of Europe, when it suits us. How dare we!
Don't Come Knocking (2005)
Great performances, looks wonderful, touching and meaningful story
I don't really know Wim Wenders work other than Paris Texas, so had no expectations, but I found this film a real gem. The characters are wonderful. The performances (particularly Eva Marie Saint and Jessica Lange) are amazing. The whole thing looks fantastic, and the music is perfectly judged. I read it described as a film about a man who tries to reconcile with his past - and somehow the film manages to fit in 5 or 6 complex relationships so well that you get really transported to his/their world. Jessica Lange has a scene that is one of the best scenes I have ever seen. (actually she has several, but you'll know which). Initially I wasn't sure if Sam Shephard's character showed enough charisma for you to believe his life as the lovable rogue, but everything else is so good I'm thinking I might have got that wrong - perhaps at this point in his life where he is full of guilt it would have taken away from the story if he was still a charmer.
Strangely the copy I bought on Amazon was only about 1hr45 which shows less than show on IMDb, but I didn't feel I had missed anything. Perhaps it was cut after theatrical release for the better because I can't really understand why the film I watched wasn't a huge success, I loved it.
Somers Town (2008)
Charming story told beautifully
A completely different film to his recent offerings, but shares the cinematic beauty that the director has brought to his other features. The story which has an intentionally light treatment, is charming, and brilliantly acted. I didn't go to see this in the cinema as I thought it wouldn't make much difference watching on DVD, but regretted it as there are some beautiful scenes and sequences that would be awesome on the big screen. Characteristic of his films there is accompanying music that I in my ignorance have never heard before but which fits the scenes perfectly. Some of those scenes are almost collages of wonderful photos of the area that the film is set in. As a huge Shane Meadows fan, this doesn't hit you as hard as his recent successes, but it doesn't aim to - it does though leave you with a satisfying hit of his brilliance until the next time.