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Reviews
Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015)
Great trama and beautiful mexican scenery get ruined by rotating camera work, cheap dialogue and green screens
The premise holds a lot of potential: The true story of a soviet director making an improvised film about Mexico with some US funding. Elements of political intrigue, Stalin, art, filmmaking, surrealism, a shock of cultures, and the beautiful Mexican landscape all give plenty of opportunities for an interesting film.
Unfortunately, the film version of this story does not make it justice. The movie is plagued by unending pretentious speeches by Eisenstein, these are rather empty speeches and simplistic. The characters in the movie react to Eisenstein's observations as if they would hold unending charisma, wit, or insight, but none is to be found inside Greenaway's script.
It is very clear from the start that this movie is all about Eisenstein getting sex from his backend. There is no tension nor chemistry nor romance . Any exploration of obsession, erotism, love or feeling of sin is badly executed.
The movie has some beautiful shots of Mexico and Guanajuato. The colourful houses, skeletons and the dark and wet Guanajuato tunnels, however any aesthetic gets ruined by the constant usage of three framing, some awful rotating 360 degree scenes that go for way too long and some questionable use of green screens.
The green screens are particularly strange for me. Why is Greenaway shooting with a noticeable green-screened theater backdrop when the scene has no need of a theater backdrop and could have happened anywhere?
A big miss, and one that makes me not want to explore the rest of Greenaway's works.
Priscilla (2023)
A Rock-ola with no songs to play
This is a movie that has nothing to say. The long sequences with old music playing feel more like an advert than a movie. There are no characters in here, just props that wear costumes. After almost two hours of run time, we are nowhere close to understanding who Priscilla is in this movie. Unfortunately, this movie will be a disappointment for Coppola fans.
The female voice that is so distinct from Coppola films is missing here. Elements familiar to Coppola are almost explored, like the feeling of captivity within luxury and the loneliness of the female protagonist, but the movie spends way too much time on other things or does incompetent partial exploring of these themes. It seems Coppola could not decide on whether to make a movie about Elvis or a movie about Priscilla, in the end, the audience gets neither. The little dialogue that happens between Priscilla and Elvis is superficial. There is no love, no drama, no human touch to the relationship of these characters. Nothing happens in this movie. A missed chance that keeps Priscilla under the shadow of the king.
Mad God (2021)
Beautiful & Horrific Kaleidoscope
A beautiful collage of horrifying images, with matching textures and sounds. Phil Tippett creates multiple atmospheres for the watcher to sumerge on.
The movie has no real trama or real narrative, so it is better to accept it for what it is, and travel through its monstrous lands without understanding the why's.
Viewers that want concrete answers will end up frustrated, just enjoy an experience charged with beautiful nightmarish imagery.
This is the kind of movie you can pause and come back later.
Phantasmagoria (1995)
Magic universe
This wonderful animation brings us inside the beautiful mind of Tamura Shigeru. . Each episode brings a story that plays within the world of Phantasmagoria. The stories have a warm and relaxing nature to themselves while having a touch of melancholy. The animation design is completely unique and follows the style that has given Tamura Shigeru a cult following within the illustration world. Each story is told by a narrator which generates an effect that is more often found within literature than anime. The stories are accompanied by delightful music and the most charming sound design. Fans of Studio Ghibli should not miss this animation! A truly charming animation!