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Haack ...The King of Techno (2004)
Bruce Haak, musician, composer, avant-guardist, genius
I want to start my review by thanking the makers of this documentary, it is obviously a labor of love and I think they did a pretty good job of putting together an enjoyable documentary about a person who has had so such little info available about him. It definitely has a fan worship feel about it, which is a good thing.
I had heard of Bruce Haack but didn't know much about him, and I found the start of this documentary frustrating because I could hear other musicians talk about him, but Bruce Haack himself was kept way too far off in the distance. I wanted to see this Bruce Haack guy!! I felt as though the makers assumed I already knew him as well as these musicians on the screen which I didn't, so I felt a bit left in the dark.
When Bruce was finally shown in action it was great and gave me a taste of who Bruce Haack was, but it was only a taste. We got treated to more musicians and I felt as though I was being told "Look - all these cool musicians are into him, so he must be cool!" I didn't really care much for the musician's commentary on Bruce.
I wanted to see Bruce, as a person. You know, the important stuff - more interviews with people who worked with him or knew him. More about his life, and yes, his use of drugs and other issues. I would of liked to know so much more about his "Hackula" project. I wanted to get inside his mind. Even if they did this via some "voice of god" commentary and photos it would of been OK.
The animations were good, but again I felt these were used as filler, they didn't really do anything other than allow me to hear his music and see some imagery based on the Dimension 5 records. I did think it was clever and creative, but again... I wanted to learn more about Bruce!
Maybe Bruce Haack was this elusive in real life?
Anyway - in the end I enjoyed this documentary and felt a sort of sadness that such amazing pioneers and geniuses such as Mr. Haack get forgotten as the march of time stamps ever onwards. I am glad that this film is around to educate people about Bruce Haack, even with its flaws.
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Like torturing a fluffy bunny rabbit....
The only thing disturbing about this film is how bad it is.
I know what makes an audience cry - just needlessly victimize a character and keep it up for an entire film.. throw in a few clichés and away you go. Wow. I could get a fluffy bunny rabbit, slowly torture it on the screen and that would make you cry, wouldn't it?
I think that this film shows nothing but contempt for its audience. It is meant to be a vehicle for Bjork's singing, but even that is handled in such a pretentious manner it ruins it for me.
The plot was incredibly thin and predictable. Are we really meant to believe what happens on the screen? It's set in America, and it is so obviously not in America at all. Bjork's accent is terrible. The film is incredibly anti-male; all male characters are seen in such a one-dimensional, negative light. Feminist radicals would have to love this film!
Von Trier's Dogma95 ideals were in full force but instead of creating compelling cinema, it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Can't wait to watch it in 20 years time and see how badly this has dated.
I found this film shallow and cynical, and also somewhat stifling... in the end I was pleading - put her out of her misery please! It did not move me or make me cry, the only emotions I got was that of detachment and boredom, plus relief once the whole sham was over. This film was so overtly manipulative, I just could not get into it.
Disappointing. Could of been something special.
Les incendiaires (1906)
Fascinating look into early film making genius.
An amazing look into early film making by the French pioneer Georges Méliès, a man who was way before his time (see Voyage dans la lune, Le (1902) )
A man is murdered and the killer bought to justice by the guillotine. What really struck me as amazing about this film was the depth of imagination with the storytelling, especially a dream sequence where the man waiting for his ultimate faith has visions... I was wanting to find out what the real significance of this was if anyone could please enlighten us that would be great! There are no title cards for this silent film.
I recommend this to anyone with a fascination for the history of film making.