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benjaminhedley
Reviews
Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)
This beautiful film would have been better as a short.
I was truly captivated for the first forty minutes of this film. As the camera seemed to sweep around the city of Berlin taking in the internal dialogue of all it encountered. The crowning moment of the opening scenes was a section filmed in the city Library which was just breathtaking.
After this I quickly became bored. Apart from a brilliant cameo from Peter Faulk and a great scene in a Nick Cave gig the film's themes had little more to offer me. The cinematography was excellent throughout however, with a memorable shot of a bus in the twilight and a few timely transitions from black and white to colour.
I would like to see this film cut back to a nice little 20 minute short. My Mother in Law disagrees on this point and thought the film was just perfect.
Worth a stab but prepare for tedium. (The film... not my mother in law)
Khane-ye doust kodjast? (1987)
A Cute but Tedious Film
I've not seen an Iranian film before so i thought I would start with one by iconic director Abbas Kiarostami.
The film reminds me of a recurring dream I sometimes have of trying to get somewhere but being distracted and slowed down by laborious people and tasks. Watching this film was like reliving one of those dreams. The young Ahmed cannot seem to get a break as he navigates the quaint streets of an Iranian village trying to return his school chum's workbook. All the time being held up by tiresome adults who seem hell bent on slowing his progress as they subject the poor boy to banal conversation.
If the story line is tiresome the cinematography is not. The composition of the camera work is quite stunning as we follow Ahmed on his quest, it captures the essence of the village perfectly. A pleasant soundtrack accompanies the film too. Still, these pleasing aspects fail to improve on what is a very tiresome and tedious film. I suggest avoiding at all costs.