All quiet on the Western Front

I haven't got a clue how I have missed Im Westen nichts Neues for so long. It's so famous as a title, I'm ashamed to have not seen it sooner. The film covers:

1. the pre-war education of schoolboys, and the enlistment of the young German recruits
2. the soldiers' arrival at the front of World War I
3. the experiences of the cruelties and horrors of war in trench warfare
4. the hero's homecoming, return to the front, and ultimate death

I wondered whether, whilst watching, it would drag on too long but quite the opposite. Considering how long ago this was made, the change from scene to scene was very engaging. For a plot (in German) click on the excellent German Film Institute's page Follow the further links to read the original documentation which shows the film was banned, one week after its Berlin release, in pre-Nazi Germany. The Net is a wonderful thing!

Whilst writing this I wondered if we'd seen an English or German version and none of the three of us could remember! Quite an interesting occurrence! It must have grabbed our attention in a unique way! As the film is still so effective it's no surprise that it was banned so close to the Second World War!



Apparently Universal Pictures, not wanting to lose major business agreed to censor various scenes of German cowardice, German regret at shooting a French solider, etc. A lovely example of how censorship misses the big picture - if you'll excuse the pun.

Einen ganzen Vormittag spielen zwei Schmetterlinge vor unserm Graben. Es sind Zitronenfalter, ihre gelben Flügel haben rote Punkte. Was mag sie nur hierher verschlagen haben weit und breit ist keine Pflanze und keine Blume. Sie ruhen sich auf den Zähnen eines Schädels aus



[Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I found this film really absorbing as it seemed very modern for such an old film, both in its construction and the sentiments it conveyed. Action sequences are interspersed with the lead character's (narrator's) reflections on war and its futility and wastefulness. WW1 did mark a turning point in attitudes to war and we can see this in the contrast between the teacher's presentation of war as a great and glorious enterprise and the narrator's disgust with the sordid realities of life at the front. There is very little heroism, just a multitude of ways for men to kill and be killed. What is interesting is that it is still controversial and challenging today - perhaps we haven't moved on very far? [Reviewed by Nightjar]

(Stonechat also enjoyed this film but will not be adding her thoughts as she has migrated for the winter.)

The Chorus

The teacher equals saviour metaphor has been done before a few times, but it's nice to see it in French. What more can I say beyond giving you the plot:

En 1948, Clément Mathieu, professeur de musique sans emploi accepte un poste de surveillant dans un internat de rééducation pour mineurs ; entre délation et sévices corporels, le système répressif appliqué par le directeur, Rachin, bouleverse Mathieu. En initiant ces enfants à la musique et au chant choral , Mathieu parviendra à transformer leur quotidien.

I watched the 'specials' on this DVD and then realised how good the costumes were. The music is moving, apparently performed by the actor himself - unlike Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Kerr and few other Hollywood dames. Nicely produced standard fare [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I really enjoyed this touching, human story about a disappointed musician (Mathieu) who takes up a position as a teacher in a correctional school and transforms the lives of at least some of the boys in his care by introducing them to music. One boy, in particular, discovers a hidden talent that leads eventually to a successful career and international acclaim. The grimness of life in such an institution is well depicted and the film is realistic in its portrayal of the differing responses of both staff and boys to Mathieu's music project. I thought everything about the film was elegantly understated and this, for me, was what gave it its special charm. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

(Stonechat also watched this film but, as she has now flown the nest to take up residence in more Northern climes, she will not be able to add her review.)

Jezebel

I don't really honestly like Bette Davis. However, I'm a great fan of the studio films of this era. I watched this and felt it was a trial version of "Gone with the wind" - a screen test almost! I can't suspend disbelief in a woman like this and therefore have a hard time identifying with her in order to care much what she gets up to. I normally love Foindsa, but here even he sinks in the mire of flouncy skirts!

Not one I will re-watch! [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

Although I thought Bette Davis was excellent (as usual) in this film, I was disappointed by the film itself. I believe it was released around the same time as 'Gone With The Wind and to me it seemed to be a smaller-scale version of many of the same themes (spoiled wilful heroine who destroys her own happiness, North/South divide, a world torn apart by sudden disaster - in this case sickness rather than war). Unlike Scarlett O'Hara, however, Bette Davis' character does take responsibility for her actions and makes an act of heroic sacrifice to atone for her misdeeds. The ending, with Bette Davis sitting on the cart with the dead and dying, is a classic movie moment. I'm sure at the time it was released, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Modern cinema-goers are however much more sophisticated and would be unlikely to appreciate the moralistic tone of the story or the staged quality of the production. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

Ikiru

In the sixties there was a fairly standard American TV series called 'Run for your life' with Ben Gazarra. I enjoyed the concept as a kid - 18 months of foregoing life now has to squashed into 18 months of living due to life threatening condition.

I loved this film. Why? The tension in the first part mirrors humdrum civil service beautifully - even though this is in 50s Japan! Not much has changed - just like for our protagonist

The film has three distinct parts

1. Drudgery and acceptance of everyday bureaucratic work
2. With a limited lifespan, breaking out and experiencing life becomes the order of the day (with even a frisson of sexual attraction?)
   
3. Eulogies do not necessarily reveal that a person was known

We do not follow his deterioration but his awakening -skipping his death, but catching a glimpse of his spirit on the swing! Ikiru, after all, means "to live" Is this a depressing film? - no way! It's uplifting and life affirming [Reviewed by Nuthatch]


I found Ikiru absolutely engrossing, so much so that I forgot at times that I was watching a Japanese film with English subtitles. This was because the universal nature of human experience stood out above the sometimes jarring strangeness of Japanese culture. Although we cannot all relate to the central character's experience as a Japanese bureaucrat, we can all empathise with his fear of death, the pain of his illness, his loneliness, his feeling of being distant from and burdensome to his immediate family and his burning desire to achieve something good before he dies. There is a great satisfaction in knowing that he finished what he set out to do and died a happy man. His actions prompt discussion and debate amongst those who attend his funeral and one senses that his influence will live on after his death and inspire change in others. It is a great story of the little man prevailing against the system. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

The Leopard

A strange cover for this DVD film. I much prefer the original poster below. The new one is fictitious as the pair do not dance outside, and this cover implies something that is actually handled better in the film itself. Cardinale and Lancaster's characters dance to indicate the passing of the old and the coming of the new. This cover appears to me to be shallow in implying simple romance. Admittedly I'm sure there is implied sexual attraction in the couple's dance, but that's not the whole message.




A film which starts as a travelogue in history and in Sicily and then twists into a meditation on old age. The story follows the Prince as he watches revolution come from the mainland to the island of Sicily - a revolution that he knows will change hardly anything at all. He sees the need for an advantageous marriage for his nephew, but wishes this wasn't necessary. He moves from town to country and sees the old ways passing. The final section of this beautiful looking film shows an old man on what might look like the verge of a heart attack taking time to look around him and enjoy meditating on life and what he's learned and seeing the short new future ahead, which he half hopes he won't have to face. Scenes stick in the memory: The family after journeying are shown in the church covered in dust like ancient monuments they are soon to become! The Garibaldi's men arrive all pompous to the ball at the end of the film. They are so modern in being of no lasting value and full of celebrity, yet the Prince knows they are fleeting, but at the same time is ware that his way of life is too. We see the Prince lose his temper whilst out hunting, but the comedic servant with him balances the scene beautifully

I always thought Lancaster's subdued acting was underrated despite his fame. In this piece in which his words are dubbed into Italian, he blends into the affair very well. Apparently there is an English version of the film with his own voice, which might be interesting to view to see what difference it makes. Cardinale looks brilliant and Sicily shows off all its glory, much the same as in the Godfather.



"If we want things to stay as they are, things have to change." [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

Oh my! The more reviews I write, the more I am convinced that I must be some kind of cine-barbarian. This film was, in the first place, far too long! A terrible criticism, I know, as it implies either that films should have an allotted time-scale and not deviate from this, or that I merely have the attention span of a three-year-old and so this is the only way I can think of to criticise the film. When I say it was too long, it is more that I felt the narrative was far too long and rambling, with no real conclusions or illuminations, and it never made me feel much sympathy for any of the characters so I felt I never really engaged with it. I am sure that attending a lecture or reading an in-depth analysis of this film could really open it up and I did pick up on many of the broader themes, but for me there has to be a more immediate engagement with a film for me to want to look deeper. I get deeply frustrated with films which, like some impenetrable works of literature or art, require an in-depth analysis and class on how to 'read' them before I can even begin to get something out of them, and so unfortunately this film, although it may have great depths to be penetrated and appreciated, has left me unimpressed and wondering why I spent around 3 hours of my life watching it! If that makes me a barbarian, then feel free to call me Ghenghis!
[Reviewed by Stonechat]


I really loved the book 'The Leopard' but wasn't sure how it would translate to the big screen. I was pleasantly surprised. The film captures the indolence and self-indulgent arrogance of the Sicilian ruling class as it seeks to mitigate the change taking place all around it. The Prince accepts change in order to keep things as much as possible as they are. One senses that the momentous events occurring in Italy at that time were considered more than an inconvenience than a genuine threat. At the same time, it is clear the Prince's family is in decline. Many rooms in the family home have not been occupied for years and have fallen into disrepair. The ruling class is living on borrowed time and the Prince knows this. He seems disappointed with his own progeny and more interested in his nephew Tancredi (Alain Delon), for whom he arranges an advantageous marriage with a beautiful member of the nouveau riche (Claudia Cardinale). While mourning the decline of his class, the Prince also senses his own decline as he moves towards old age and death. The two young lovers (Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale) seem to catch a glimpse of their own mortality too when wandering through the disused rooms in the house and the family Priest is a constant reminder of death and Judgement. Fine performances from the leading characters and beautiful to watch as well as being a poignant study of a man at the end of life.
[Reviewed by Nightjar]

Pleasantville

Very interesting science fiction theme which could have come from a pulp magazine of the 30s. I wonder why we think this needs doing now?

Jennifer is the catalyst once the brother and sister enter the black and white world of Pleasantville. Her randy behaviour sparks the spread of colour. And of course at the end her weedy unsocial brother learns about living and 'finds himself' and she redeems herself for her role in the 'fall' (or is that redemption?) of the town/world.

The problem I have with this film is that I could see loads of tangents at which the film could turn:
1) Parable of the Fall - but is it a Fall? I'm led to believe colour is better than black and white. In a typical postmodernist way, I am told 'everything goes', but then told 'what I say goes'. So did Jenny do the right thing or not? The ending says 'yes'. However
2) Industrial Man meets Stone Age Man. The penetration of modern man into the Amazonian tribesman way of life is an anthropological conundrum. If we watch from afar we see and judge them too prinitive, or black and white and lacking colour. If we show them the error of their ways we give them our Imperialistic vision or our consumerist world-view. Should our friends have changed the world that was well ordered by its own criteria?
3) Colour / Black and white is this not a film about racial problems. Even those slow witted audiences that Hollywood aims at must have seen - even in this single frame - an allusion to the North-South divide! And what about the 'No Coloureds' signs in shop windows - referring here to those who are no longer black and white. Themes accompanying this one are fascist behaviour, apartheid etc.


4) Feminism vs Male control: The poor Dad expects his slippers and pipe to be ready for him and his tea ready on a gingham tablecloth and his woman complies! Hold on though, she falls for another bloke and becomes aware of feelings she hasn't had before (where did their children come from? And don't say a scriptwriter!) I felt it was a pity he didn't 'turn' as well. Then the two of them could have explored those feelings together and retained the good life together. But maybe that's me projecting onto the film my disappointment with modern life and couples changing their partners like....socks, or rather McDonalds Happy Meals! And why shouldn't I as it appears everything is up for grabs according to this film!
5) Teens and sexual promiscuity are the key that unlocks the door to 'rightness' is just one more nail in the coffin for youth-bound society towards the elderly!

There is some beautiful use of colour in this film -think of the blossom's first appearance in colour - perhaps an inspiration for American Beauty's rose petals. However the scene shown above I found disturbing. The message was destroyed in the moment the son covers his mother in grayscale make-up. However Jeff Daniels' character's paintings are fantastic against the black and white world!

Interesting thought-provoking film but goes out with a whimper in my opinion. [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I had seen this film before but almost entirely forgotten it. As it is I don't think I'll remember it for too much longer this time either. The actual premise is quite fun and interesting but it really needed a much quirkier director (Tim Burton comes to mind) to blend some of the more jarring aspects of the story. The film starts as much as possible in the real world and then suddenly, inexplicably, a strange TV repair man shows up (surely our characters, being very much of-the-world would think this odd?) and the fantastic happens. The characters seem to largely accept what has happened (that they have magically been sucked into a TV show), albeit with bluster and indignation that it has, and carry on largely as normal. The actual body of the film is pretty sound, but again the ending is peculiar as so much of the film has dealt with more 'real to life' issues such as sex, relationship breakdown, gender roles etc and then suddenly the characters don't behave like real people. Reese Witherspoon's character decides to stay in Pleasantville and her brother doesn't try to stop her or worry about whether she will ever return, and nor does their mother ask where she is! A very strange film which either needed to become more realistic or make a move towards being stranger still, rather than staying in the very unsatisfactory and slightly bewildering middle ground it chooses. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

I was prepared not to like this film but ended up finding it quite thought-provoking and endearing. Brother and sister (David and Jennifer) find themselves transported into the TV world of Pleasantville and are challenged and changed by their experiences there. David, who at the start of the story seems enamoured with the simplicity and predictability of Pleasantville compared with life at home, emerges at the end of the film with a subtler and more mature appreciation of the complexities of real life and a greater empathy with his mother and the choices she has made. His sister Jennifer is the character who initiates the blossoming (or breakdown, depending on your point of view) of life in Pleasantville. She introduces the wayward pleasure-seeking element into ordered Pleasantville life and, by awakening in the characters an awareness of their power to deviate from their scripts and seek out personal fulfilment , she sparks the change from black-and-white to colour. Despite being a catalyst for the transformation of others, she herself remains unfulfilled until she begins to look beyond herself. I liked the way the film showed the painfulness and riskiness of change and also its divisiveness in that the empowerment of some characters (the mother) went hand in hand with the threat of loss for those around them (the father). [Reviewed by Nightjar]

Elvira Madigan

Birth: Dec. 4, 1867, Sweden Death: Jul. 1, 1889, Fyn, Denmark Born Hedvig Jensen in Flensburg, Germany, to Danish-Norwegian parents. She took the stage name Elvira Madigan from her stepfather, John Madigan, the owner of the circus where she performed as an acrobatic dancer. In late Spring of 1889, while touring with the troupe through Sweden, she met and fell in love with Sixten Sparre, a cavalry lieutenant in the Swedish Army. She was 21, he was 34. He was also married with two children. They kept their romance a secret until June, when Sparre suddenly deserted his family and his post and fled with Elvira to Denmark. They stayed on the island of Taasinge for two weeks before their money ran out. On July 1, 1889, the couple packed a picnic basket and walked deep into the Neorreskov, a nearby forest. After having a final meal and making love for the last time, Sparre shot Elvira and then himself with his service revolver. They were buried together in the Landet Churchyard. The saga of these doomed lovers slowly entered romantic mythology, leaving a key question unanswered: Did Elvira willingly enter a suicide pact with Sparre, or was she the victim of his ruthless obsession? Her sister and friends claimed she was not the romantic type and yearned only for a life away from the circus, which she apparently hoped Sparre would provide. As for her paramour, he was known as something of wastrel, prone to expressing cynical thoughts in his journals while piling up gambling debts. And the positions in which the bodies were found leaves open the possibility that Sparre killed Elvira while she slept. Such clues have had little influence on the popular imagination, which still views the affair as a tragic case of "love on the run". It was the subject of an award-winning film, "Elvira Madigan" (1967), by Swedish director Bo Widerberg. The soundtrack features the Andante from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, now popularly known as "Elvira Madigan's Theme." Newlywed brides still place flowers on Elvira's grave, to make up for the wedding bouquet she never got. Taken from Findagrave

With all art we need to think about the basics: the subject as presented; how the object is constructed; and lastly context

The film looks gorgeous - yellow sunlight, woods with light streaming down (or was that my wishful thinking?), the colour red - as a recurring motif. The acting seems verisimilitudinous, and focusses primarily on the couple. The camera shows time passing often with lingering shots of nature and simple actions. We are enthralled when we see her walking on the tightrope between two trees. And here we begin to see that this might be a story of context. The film was made in 1967 the year before the summer of love - hippie thinking was reaching a zenith. George Harrison met Ravi Shankar in 1967. However in reality this year also saw another film love affair depicted somewhat differently - Bonnie and Clyde. The contrast between the two is ionteresting. In Elvira stravation is not depicted very truthfully - starvation does not equate to eating flowers and then puking in a feminine nice way! B&C show violence more like it is - fictious no doubt, but at least attempting to protray the viciousness.

Beautiful film very sunny, beautiful lady -in the film - tragic love - but hey, could they really not travel to Germany and try their luck? Is life really THAT hard?

Did she jump or was she pushed? Do I care? Nah! I'll remember the image of a lovely blond with sixties mascara freely frolicking, but not much else. Oh, maybe I'll remember Mozart's piece he didn't write for the film! [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I began the film with high hopes. All the reviews looked promising - here was a beautiful love story I could settle down to have a good blub over. How wrong I was! I spent most of this film wondering why on earth these two people were together, and wondering what Elvira saw in a man who had left his wife and kids without any means of support and doomed them both to a life of constant running by deserting the army. Perhaps if we had seen a blossoming romance or scenes of how difficult their lives had been before they ran away then I might have been convinced; but as it was they might as well have just been strangers who met in a field one day and out of the blue struck up a romance (in fact I spent the first half an hour thinking that this was exactly what happened).

Being unmoved by the romance of the piece, I spent much of the latter part of the film feeling disgusted at the supremely selfish and naive attitude of the protagonists (especially Sixten leaving a wife and kids in a time in history when there would have been little support available for her), and a little incredulous that they could possibly feel that suicide was the only way for them to go! I was left feeling that I had arrived at the film 40 years too late, and that I might only have appreciated it if I had watched it in the 60s when it would have fitted beautifully with the sentiments of "all you need is love" and to hell with the consequences. Perhaps being female also clouds one's judgement as I couldn't help but feel sorry for the (presumably older and uglier) wife at home. Writing this review a couple of weeks down the line the impressions I am left with are largely of sunshine, a becoming blonde, and general dissatisfaction at a film, the specifics of which have largely faded from my memory. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

This film evoked for me the same sort of feeling as the long summer holidays when I was at school. There was a sense that it was too good to last!! It seemed as if the two lovers were from the start aware of the time-limited nature of their love. The predominant colours of the film were vivid green and yellow, colours of sunshine and trees in full leaf, but every so often there appeared a touch of blood red, such as spilt wine - a warning of the end to come. The end was as inevitable as the end of summer because Sixten and Elvira's love was a forbidden one and was indulged at the expense of family and other commitments and without the blessing of society. The two lovers had forsaken everything, including their livelihoods, for their love and had no way back into society and no means of support once their money ran out. I was reminded of the tale of the ant and the grasshopper. Sixten and Elvira are like grasshoppers, living for the moment, heedless of the future. Is it significant that this film was released in 1967, the "Summer Of Love"? I enjoyed the film on a visual and musical level but found myself distanced from the characters and their predicament. The film had a dreamlike quality which perhaps echoed the nature of their love - a brief and beautiful interlude that had to end. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

Comme une image - Look at me

Apparently this is 'one of the most sophisticated movies of the year' 2004. Personally I thought 'Lord of the rings: return of the king' was sophisticated and also enjoyable! Admittedly the latter wasn't as real to life as this film, but then I belong to the school, most of the time, that goes to the cinema (or DVD box) for escapism. I don't mean it must not be related to life at all, but to see a fat girl who is unloved or unnoticed by her self-centred Dad go on for so long.....

Perhaps Hitchcock summed it up best: "For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake".

Not a terrible film but I just found myself not caring. Others begged to differ [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

As far as I'm concerned, I have to say that I found it just too close to life to gain any real pleasure from it. It seemed to be largely an attempt to get as much of a slice of real life as possible with very little character development.

True, there is some hope at the end that the women of the film have reached a stronger position and have a better idea of what they want, and I was engaged by the love story of our protagonist, but it generally went on far too long with not much development, constantly reiterating what a self-centred pig the father was and how he generally destroyed those around him. For those who claim that this was 'one of the most sophisticated movies of the year' then I'd have to say they might be right. In 2004 we had such clangers as Troy and Meet the Fockers, but faced with the chance to watch Comme Une Image again, I would have to say that I am quite happy to delve into the sophistication of the computer generated fart gags of Shrek 2 (also released 2004) for the twentieth time instead! [Reveiwed by Stonechat]

I found this film very real and very touching in its portrayal of a young girl who was desperate to be noticed and affirmed by her egotistical father. At times, I almost felt I was watching a documentary rather than a fictional story, so real did the characters seem. There was no great turning point, no earth-shattering crisis - just a quiet development of the central characters as they grow and change. The ending was satisfying in that both the daughter and her teacher seemed to have come to a realisation that the object of their adoration was incapable of giving them what they wanted and so they found the inner strength to move on and give up their impossible fantasies. Everything about the film is understated and yet it manages to convey a powerful message. [Reveiwed by Nightjar]

The Apartment

I studied this film, film studies-wise, a long time ago, and have forgotten all the critical stuff now. But I loved watching it with Stonechat as she kept laughing and thinking she was clever in predicting some of the plot. But little did she know a comedy is not necessarily a bundle of laughs. This is a timeless piece (leaving the office scenario aside - that is anachronistically-wise)

MacLaine and Lemmon are brilliant in this underplayed film. Lemmon does his usual skittish behaviour but, after his triumph in 'Some like it hot' he has really mastered the art of his film character in this film - and deservedly won an Oscar - acting-wise.

Billy Wilder (left) with Jack Lemmon

Billy Wilder directed, produced and/or wrote classics "Some like it hot" (with Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis), and "The Seven Year Itch" (with the iconic Marilyn skirt scene). But he also handled serious material, "Sunset Boulavard," "Stalag 17," and one of my favourites "Double Indemnity," Sad to think he attended Lemmon's funeral and a year later was pushing up daisies himself.



Two 'doors' down - death-wise is Jack Lemmon:


And of course Shirley MacLaine is still with us....... weird-wise that is! [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I really loved this film. I thought that Lemmon was absolutely perfect and so completely likeable, despite seeming at times completely morally bankrupt! I found the premise slightly unbelievable as although we see that Lemmon is motivated into renting out his apartment through the inability to say no and his desire to get on in the company, I wasn't totally convinced that the situation could have really escalated to that point. However, I was very much swept away with the spirit of the film and loved its constant twists and turns. I was also intrigued that it was quite a morally ambiguous film, despite being filmed in 1950s America, and I would be interested to find out how it was generally received at the time of its release. I think it is definitely a film I would revisit in the future and is very deservedly remembered as a classic. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Blue Velvet

"Blue Velvet is a disturbing film that delves into the darkest reaches of psycho-sexual brutality and simply isn't for everyone. But for a viewer who wants to see the cinematic world rocked off its foundations, David Lynch delivers a nightmarish masterpiece" says Sean Axmaker on Amazon.

"Blue Velvet, like American Beauty and Todd Solontz's Happiness, places sex at the base of domestic trauma. So much so, in fact, that what Lynch delivered to his audiences was considered reprehensible by many. This is because it was taken literally. But as Isabella Rossellini, who plays the masochistic nightclub singer, has said, Lynch's films are not so much psychological studies of character as surreal impressions - "more of a sensation than a story". says the Guardian in an article on Derek Malcolm's 100 greatest movies. Where does BV come? Number 55!! The article goes on to say "The film is one of the most uncomfortable I have seen, and it is by no means flawless. For instance, Hopper's character is never fully explained" but if you watch surrealism, surely it's supposed to jar. Why quote these people? Because I'm still trying to work out whether D-A-V-I-D L-Y-N-C-H is an anagram of L-U-I-S B-U-N-U-E-L!

Did I like it? No, too brutal and unsubtle. Bunuel does it better. Too many questions which I feel I shouldn't ask as I'll look ignorant, but glad others ask them too!

QUESTION: Why an ear and not a finger, for example? ANSWER: It had to be an ear because it's an opening. An ear is wide and you can go down into it. It goes somewhere vast. [Reviewed by 'Nuff Said Nuthatch]

Blue Velvet is an intriguing film that kept my attention throughout with its no-holds-barred portrayal of deviant sexuality and its moments of utter surrealism (were we meant to believe the policeman was standing up after being shot dead?). It is a film of jarring contrasts. The violence at the heart of the film's male-female relationships is at odds with the sentimental theme tune sung by Isabella Rossellini. The snippets from the local radio station which accompany some of the scenes portray a normality and decency that seem far removed from the lives of the main characters. The characters fascinate and repel and the viewer is drawn in and at the same time distanced. I can't say I'd want to see it again but it's one I won't forget.

[Reviewed by Nightjar]

Thankfully I've managed to forget most of this horrible film; unfortunately a little still remains in the back of my mind. All I can remember is Hopper's hideously disturbing character acting out his fantasies while our protagonist watches helpless from the closet. I can only say that I hope that even this small memory of it will fade in time. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Stranger than fiction

Interesting concept. Protagonist runs around and suddenly realises there's a voice narrating his every action and commenting in that third person style. I like the bits where he firstly visits the therapist and has to explain, no, it's not he imagines, but that he hears a voice, and it's following him everywhere. The plot falls down and for me loses it when he arrives at Emma Thompson's door. t that point there is only one resolution available - kill him, or not, but surely the latter is feeble. If she did kill him, what would we be watching? Her story now instead of his? The other problem I had was with him. Ever since being so bored at Christmas that I watched his portrayal of an elf, I can't see him in anything else. And as for actually being fancied by Maggie Gyllehaal!!

Pleasant enough, but not again thanks. And for those fans of Emma - surely she should be made Dame Emma, here's a picture for no other reason than beauty should be celebrated.

P.S. I loved her Nanny McPhee - that was a story, and I see Emma must have enjoyed working with Maggie as they are both cast in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010) [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I thought the concept was really clever but unfortunately I'd had a hard day at work and my bed was calling me [Reviewed by Nightjar]

Rather enjoyable film - that's all [Reviewed by Merlin]

I'd seen this one before and hadn't been immensely impressed. I thought the concept and the first half of the film were excellent. Farrell was endearing and the story and direction were quirky enough to hold my interest. I felt the film fell down during the later half and the happy ending didn't really do any justice to what had been a very intriguing premise. I have to say that a second viewing was actually slightly better than a first as I was prepared for the let down at the end and so hadn't had my hopes raised for a cleverer film than this ultimately turned out to be.

It reminded me a little of The Truman Show, again another promising film about a man who wakes up in a strange situation largely beyond his control, which failed to deliver a satisfying ending with any real punch. I have to say that Emma Thompson was wonderful as usual! I found Dustin Hoffman's presence a little confusing, but then he has also been recently seen in such terrible films as Meet the Fockers and surely it can all be put down to old age! [Reviewed by Stonechat]

The Notebook

The plot is fairly thin, but the point is, does this move you? Or is it too corny? For me, the former, I found it an obvious plot from the very start but realised that Alzheimer's was being talked about and therefore I was OK about the thin plot. I really enjoyed Allie and Noah and their different personalities meeting together. If you've ever been in love, some of this will resonate. I found the intensity and the longing very touching and memory-inducing. Perhaps the subtle message of this filom is that the story itself was memory-based and not lived in real-time. This was after all a notebook story. Had Allie's memory gone as she wrote? She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

I think I'll watch this again when I need a warm fuzzy feeling.....oh, and wasn't it weird to see James Garner looking old, after so many years. I did see him in that Mel Gibson film, Maverick but he's aged soemwhat since then. But still got that charm, he had back in the 60s and 70s!

Nice film.....that sounds so yuk! Feelgood film![Reviewed by Nuthatch]

This was a really touching story of the power of love to survive both youthful separation and the ravages of old age. Although it becomes obvious fairly early in the film whose story is being retold from the notebook, the tale of the two young lovers is enthralling enough to propel the viewer forward even though the ending is not a surprise by the time it comes. There seem to have been an increasing number of films in recent years dealing with themes around ageing and the losses that come with age, a product perhaps of the changing demographics of our time. I felt doubly sorry for Noah as he had twice lost the love of his life and one sensed that the second time was the more painful in that she was still there but lost to him. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

This was such a beautiful film and I cried so much that I wasn't able to write anything for a couple of days afterwards. It was interesting that I felt more strongly for the older Noah and Alli than for their younger selves. It was a wonderful demonstration of love throughout the years and also of the difficult decision of who to spend your life with. All in all a true romance film without the easy, sentimental slushy stuff, which instead deals with enduring true love which seeks to overcome obstacles and to continue to be there when the going gets incredibly tough. Beautifully, and subtly acted - well worth a watch. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Merlin didn't watch this one

Stalingrad

Stalingrad.....mmmm....the battle has been portrayed so clearly on film, before this version. Memorable images of mamuschkas dragging their kids on sleds through barren snowy streets, bodies exposed and not buried (how do you dig in near permafrost conditions?). Germans freezing and firing interminable ammunition.

So what does this bring to the table? One, it's by the people that brought us the interesting "Das Boot" and that alone is recommendation. Two, it shows the German viewpoint of a battle in WWII, and that's rare on this side of the Channel. What did I think of it? The horrors of war - whoever the victors/losers are, are portrayed too well. Not being German, I can only guess the effect the word "Stalingrad" has on the population's psyche. I suspect the fact that we always hear "Russian Front" tells us something about avoidance. The figures are inconceivable. Of the 91,000 German POW's alone taken at Stalingrad 27,000 died within weeks, never mind the combatant deaths!

This film follows the adventures of a group o engineers from the heat and calm of an Italian 'holiday' to the Russian Front. In "Das Boot" we are sympathetic to the one character, in this film we don't have things so easily sketched out for us. We get surprising behaviour from some of the group when deriding Hitler's speech in the open; we see sadistic leaders - the cavernous amount of food stored away whilst the 'grunts' are literally starving made its point well. Good acting, 'lovely' cinematography.
[Reviewed by Nuthatch]

Happy sun shiny! Slog slog slog slog slog slog blam! slog slog blam! blam! YAAAAAAAAAA! Silence, bonding, terror, atrocity, fear, survival and blam! The end - This is how most modern European war films go and expect to see this in good amounts in Stalingrad. [Reviewed by Merlin]

For me, Stalingrad almost had the feel of a documentary in the way it portrayed the sheer mundane drudgery of war, in particular the endless waiting in between periods of intense action. Although it followed a number of individuals in order to give us some characters to sympathise with, the film's main point seemed to be the obscene scale of the destruction and the pointless waste of human life in general rather than the individual's sacrifice. I think the long-distance shots in particular, with the vast expanses of snowy Russia in the background, highlighted the insignificance of the individuals involved. There are no outstanding heroes and even the villains just seem to be caught up in events outside their control. War at its most real. [Reviewed by Nightjar]
Hmm, what to say... I was left feeling that this must have been very much what it was like! How different it is from all the great American war films - I very much doubt Saving Private Ryan would have earned as much praise had it been more like Stalingrad. A grim film, but more than that it mixed in all the other aspects of human experience with humour, pathos, hope and empathy as well as showing the horrifying suffering and bleak pointlessness of war. Again, as with many accounts of the first and second world wars, we see how much it is a war started by people who will never have to fight it, for ideals which very few on the ground can actually sympathise with! In Stalingrad one of our protagonists is branded a Russian sympathiser because he orders a ceasefire in order to let both sides collect their wounded. It put me in mind of the famous Christmas football match in WWI - another instance of soldiers recognising others humanity and the Generals realising that should this empathy continue then the fighting would cease!

The bleakness of the Russian winter was hammered home through this film (why on earth did anyone settle there in the first place?) and I was struck by the scenes of the suffering of the Russian civilians shown alongside those of the soldiers. It must have been so terrible - no wonder people couldn't talk about it to their families when they returned. The bleakness of the film made it difficult viewing and towards the end you did feel, like the soldiers, that death would be a welcome release for them as at least it would end their suffering. I defy anyone to still believe that there is any glory to war after watching this film - it should be compulsory viewing for all politicians everywhere. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl. What can one say after watching froth and bubble and then coming to this serious piece. I knew there was internal resistance to Hitler during the war, but had not ever heard of Sophie. One quick search on the Net shows I was ignorant. I suspect being British had something to do with our blinkered one dimensional view of Germans. I remember being stunned when visiting Germany (West, back then) in 1971 and entering a bookshop and not seeing ANY books on WWII. After a few years things changed and I suspect reaction to David Irving had something to do with it.

The acting in Sophie Scholl was wonderful and low key, the impression given that these were ordinary people was very impressive. The actress was thankfully no Hollywood star (God save us from an American remake!) and her understated acting brilliant. The Director allowed space in every conversation for silence thus adding to tension. Many modern filmmakers take heed! The interrogator was well acted too, initially having all the power on his side, and that wonderful scary stare! As time passes we see he might actually be fooled by her, then might actually be listening to her. However his ...I felt, prejudices wouldn't allow that. I didn't feel it was merely his position he was protecting but his actually prejudices. His last appearance did not clarify very much for me. More could have been made of that scene. Especially as her comment didn't make sense to me.
Seeing her and the other defendants finally enter the courtroom and the play acted out before them was incredible. We wonder whether the Generals in the audience (the right word to use) were touched by reason, we wondered how the judge could utter such rubbish, and how he could reveal so much to us about his self belief. But what really struck me was an understanding of how Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter and used silence and inner strength to accuse his captors of their crimes!

Great film, well worth a second viewing.

Martin Luther King said:
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle: the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. . . . Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?' "

[Reviewed by Nuthatch]

This film stayed with me long after it had finished. The story was moving and the actors were entirely believable in their roles. The colour for the most part seemed dull and dark, apart from the blue sky that Sophie looks longingly at through the window of her cell and the red cardigan that she wears throughout most of the film. Perhaps these touches of colour represent hope for the future during dark days? The film portrayed perfectly the agonising alternation between hope and despair. At one point, Sophie is almost released but the order for release is revoked at the very last moment. Later, Sophie finds out that the hoped-for 99 days delay between sentence and execution is not going to be forthcoming. It is at this point, when death is absolutely certain, that she breaks down but then recovers enough to make a brave end. The execution itself is shocking in its brevity and also in the perfunctory way it is carried out. There is no happy ending for Sophie but we, the viewers, are relieved to discover she did not die in vain. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

I don't really feel I can add much to the reviews above. As with many stories of the brave actions of people who stood up for what they believed I was left hoping and praying that I would do the same in similar situations. As Nuthatch said, I too was ignorant of Sophie Scholl and I agree that much of this has to do with the teaching of WWII in our schools, which presents quite a shallow view of the German part in the war due to fear that there is only one 'correct' way to present it and that is to focus in on the Holocaust.

I felt Sophie was very interesting as a character as I had the impression that her involvement had perhaps started out as an exciting exercise in rebellion. Afterall she was very young and was well educated and I would imagine that for her it was initially quite a thrilling thing to be involved in. As her story develops, however, we do see that she has more deeply routed convictions about the importance of freedom of speech not just for the sake of it as a principle but as a way for people to speak out to end the suffering of the German people (those who died on the battlefield and those who 'disappeared' to die in the concentration camps). It was, I imagine, the case that during her time of interrogation she came to realise what her deep-seated beliefs were and the process of questioning helped to strengthen them. I was also pleased that her personal faith in Christ wasn't glossed over in order to make her a more palatable heroine for modern time. I felt the acting was excellent and true to life and it was impossible not to be amazed and humbled by the dignity shown by Sophie and her brother in the face of death. I only hope that if I am called upon I will do the same. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Truth about cats and dogs

PLOT
Sort of Cyrano de Bergerac
REVIEW
The pedigree(!) for this film is the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, later made into Roxanne.Its other pedigree is Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry met Sally etc etc. Frothy comedies that are amiable enough but very like marshmallow - nice to taste but ultimately not as satisfying as steak. I'd never seen the lady I was supposed to see as ugly before but personally would choose her any day over Uma. By the way she has a name: Janeane Garofalo. Apparently I must have seen her in Dogma, but don't remember. I felt the story lacked any depth or tension. I really didn't care that ultimately they would meet up and fall in love and start licking each other's faces.

But it certainly had a great final line as an ending. After the earlier phone sex between the two, Dr. Abby says "about the other night on the phone....I'm pregnant". To which he replies "How do you know it's mine?" "Well I can't be sure as I made loads of other calls that night"[Reviewed by Nuthatch]

Not much to say about this one, it was a frustrating but slightly amusing romantic comedy with the typical unbelievable happy ending. I was left feeling that it had all been done before much better somewhere else [Reviewed by Stonechat]

As generic as the plot is, I found this film to be enjoyable and amusing. The lead character is a fairly complex and believable person who interprets events from her own viewpoint of self consciousness and reacts in a believable manner. As with most romcoms you begrudgingly accept that you like these characters and wish them to be happy in the end despite all odds. One to watch for a grin and a tear. [Reviewed by Merlin]

A lighthearted enjoyable comedy with a fairly predictable plot of 'mistaken identity'. You have to suspend your disbelief somewhat as the hero of the film does not seem to notice that the object of his affections has a completely different voice when he meets her (a little hard to believe after they had spent all night on the 'phone!) Nevertheless, the characters are likeable and we're all rooting for the happy couple. A 'feel-good' film [Reviewed by Nightjar]

Devil wears prada

PLOT Follow the Wiki link

REVIEW A pleasing popcorn film, not much of a message, but pleasant on the eyes. Streep's cold persona was so modelled on Glenn Close that one of our Bird party thought it was Close! Hathaway played her part admirably, but the message of the film was not really punched home. If it was that work and career aren't everything, friends and family are much more important - then I don't really care about the friends. They seem as shallow as the driven Hathaway. It didn't work for me. The lighting was interesting - very sharp lines in everything - presumably to emulate photo shoot conditions? Won't bother watching this again, but it was alright. [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I actually went to see this at the cinema originally as a girls night out and really enjoyed it then. This was now my third viewing and it had lost a lot of its charm. What came out on this viewing was the relentless cruelty of the world of work and the feeling that it only worked out for our heroine in the end because she was fabulously talented and good-looking beforehand - otherwise she wouldn't have stood a chance! I was also disturbed by the film asking us to sympathise with Andi in her stand to remain unchanged in the world of fashion but also making us revel in her transformation into fashionista. The message still seems to be that as a woman she was obviously lying to herself about her need to be a gorgeous clothes-horse! It was enjoyable the first time, very watchable the second time, but by the third time the film had lost much of its appeal. Definitely not one of my favourites. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Not much to say about this film. An enjoyable piece of nonsense with a completely predictable story-line and ending. Characters were stereotyped and one-dimensional for the most part. I was intrigued to note that Andi's bitchy colleague had an English accent. (The Americans seem to like their baddies to be English.) A brilliant film for an evening in with the girls (as long as there's plenty of chocolate to console us as we compare ourselves with the women in the fashion world!!) If the film has any message, I'm guessing it is that we ladies can't have it all and that success and wealth are nothing compared to having a man to wash socks for!!! [Reviewed by Nightjar]

The Collector

PLOT Wikipedia let me down this time. So I joined and wrote the plot summary myself. John Fowle's book version of this film has some good links.

I found it interesting when doing some snooping on the Net to see the cover for this DVD and the covers for the book editions. The following cover gives a bit too much away in my opinion, and attracts those looking for titillation. Surely the theme of the film, although not doubt representing repressed sex urges, is about class and the impossibility, despite money of moving from one strata to another.


Where is Freddie's Mum in the film? His Aunt announces to all in the bank, that he has won the money - directly after we see him being teased by his colleagues with fake butterflies on a string. Interestingly Wyler's direction at the start of the film implies he stumbles across the house and therefore was not planning capturing Miranda from the start. Wyler, I would say, could by no means be seen as an auteur. His history includes very famous and great films such as the Olivier/Oberon Wuthering Heights; The Westerner; Ben Hur and Mrs Miniver - an interesting mix. However, he does deliver watchable films where artifice is not evident to the viewer - the story is paramount.

Eggar was at her peak in this piece, the 'vaseline' lens making too much of her in some shots. However the contrast between this and the later shots when she is dying where there is no makeup or sharp lighting, emphasises some artifice. The music in places appears peculiarly happy. And one wonders why we begin and end with Freddie's narrative, but lose it in the middle. If the film had been from Freddie's viewpoint all through, it would be fine, but we are shown the interloping neighbour's arrival, and the bathroom scene both of which are not from Freddie's point of view. I suspect the book has a main plot including these narratives and this is missing from the film to such an extent.

Nevertheless the film retains tension where many modern ones do not, and the two characters are played very well. Stamp has a brilliant hunched, humble appearance but the sexual/aggressive tension underneath is always there - much like Oliver Reed, a fellow actor of the time. Eggar, I felt was very convincing with what she was given. More could have been made of her fear at the start and her trickery with Stamp could have been drawn out but still a brilliant work.

As to the subject of class, does it still work today? Although I feel most people watching it today would feel as some do when watching 'Brief Encounter' I feel the truth is that it is still as relevant today although the subject is hidden by the 'lower classes' believing they are better off in what they conceive as a more level playing field. [Reviewed by Nuthatch]

I found the film far more disturbing than many more recent 'psychological' films as it contained more threatened than actual violence and therefore allowed space to explore the motivation of the central character. In particular, the soft accompanying music served to portray the distancing of the true sociopath from the suffering of his victims. Stamp's character is entirely focussed on his own fantasy and incapable of entering into his victim's shoes. From the beginning, there is a terrible inevitabilty about Miranda's death as it is impossible for her to fulfil the expectations forced upon her. Like a captured butterfly, her initial resistance becomes ever more feeble until she eventually gives up the struggle completely. The film ends with Freddie moving on to his next victim and we are left with a sense of helplessness because we know what is going to happen next but we have no way of preventing it. Unlike Nuthatch, I don't think the film is about class but about damaged humanity. Freddie is incapable of relating normally to other human beings, especially women, and so, for him, women are unattainable objects to be captured in the same way as butterflies. He destroys in order to possess the object of his desire and that is a tragedy for him as well as for his victims. [Reviewed by Nightjar]

This film has definitely stayed with me as it was so subtly disturbing in many places. I thought the relationship between the two characters was fascinating as they alternate between who has the power in any given situation. At first it feels as if Miranda has almost total control over the relationship although she cannot escape and Freddie, although he has engineered the situation, is largely helpless and fairly easily manipulated. It is only later on that we see his more frightening characteristics and realise once and for all that Miranda is doomed as she cannot win whatever she does. Stamp played Freddie perfectly he was both childish and sexual, seemingly reserved while always having the underlying threat of danger. I felt the parallel with the butterflies was a little laboured as it did not come to me as a revelation and I also found Freddie's commentary a little odd. But all in all a very good film and one which will have me checking over my shoulder as I walk down the street! [Reviewed by Stonechat]

Far from heaven

PLOT See Wiki for a more than adequate reveiw

REVIEW "Far from heaven" - why that title? Is life in Connecticut not as heavenly as the illusion states? I felt that Julianne Moore's acting was brilliantly stiff and I knew it was intentional only because I've seen her elsewhere actually acting. The whole tenet of this film is a director's wish to re-create a 50s style film in the 21st century. That explains why it's such an odd piece, in my opinion. It's rare to get any useful info from the extra features but this disc gave me the clue I was missing. I hadn't worked out the deliberate stiffness was just to fulfil the director's purpose. I originally thought something was wrong. Why?

Firstly a film that tries to make me enter an alien civilisation and time should not, I feel, serve up four major plot lines: homosexuality, homosexuality in marriage, the whole black question (and in Connecticut for goodness sake!) and finally the fragility of middle class values. Why are there no aliens from outer space???? Where's the focus? In Brief Encounter we concentrate on one topic and that's brilliantly handled, I feel tension, suspense, sympathy even empathy. In "Far from heaven" I want to know, at first, when is the 'black' thing going to flair up, when will they run away together? Then I think, hold on, Dennis Quaid is acting like a detective (note the trope of raincoat, fedora and angled shot when he is hanging on the corner about to enter the gay bar! Is that not 'Third Man'). But no, he's gay! Then ....oh look, she's carrying on life in shallowland and something other is going to happen to show up the cracks...ooops nope! It's all of those things (no aliens!)

Secondly I did notice the fifties look to the film, but because the culture is alien to me (and also to most American films) I was put off the deliberate labouring points such as the colours in her clothes, the lighting, and particularly the staging, which I realised was staged. Remember the Mary Tyler Moore Show? I love Lucy? etc etc they all had, at least in my memory, steps in the house. That meant the arriving actor (who usually got a cheer from the live audience) was above the other actors and entered in the play. In this film we get the moving camera and single shot but apparently to break it up, (in lieu of editing) the actors move around, up and down the steps etc.

Thirdly why, when she is obviously so gorgeous do we not see Julianne in one of those lovely Hollywood chiffon nightdresses? I suppose because this is a "50s" film and that didn't happen. (Later in the film I became aware of their double bed actually being 2 single beds pushed together - what?)

Lastly after hearing she is getting a divorce (and the Director "plasters" this scene heavily by showing the young boyfriend in the background so much so that I feel any repentant attitudeon the part of Quaid is not worthy of my sympathy), she rushes to the train station for the , yawn, dramatic (?) ending! But what is that ending? Will she carry on regardless, will she chase the black guy down, I really don't know and sadly by now I don't care, even if she decides to chase 50feet women from the Planet Zarg!!

Oh, and the Director's reference to "Written on the wind" is a bit ironic as Rock Hudson could have played the lead here too realistically. And it was interesting when looking for a picture to accompany this I found this one:


It's interesting that the later packaging (above) shows the two men looking at her and the former doesn't. The latter reflects better the film's intention in my opinion. The most used picture (at top of article) just says 'three people walking in a street'!

Did I like it? Maybe. I felt the artifice was filmically clever and interesting. It's hard to reproduce an entire filmic method out of time, but this certainly qualifies as a good example. And Julianne Moore is gorgeous! [Reviewed by Nuthatch]


I started off really enjoying this film. I thought the recreation of the Hollywood version of the 50s was beautiful and the 'perfect' nature of Cathy's life set her up nicely for it all to go wrong! However, as the film went on I found myself less and less convinced and engaged with the characters. At the beginning of the film it was convincing to see Cathy so staid and trying to hard to create the idyllic 50s middle class existence as that would be how she would have perceived her role, but her apparent lack of rage or frustration in all she goes through (her husband fails to cure his homosexuality, malicious gossip spreads about her relationship with her black gardener, and her world steadily falls apart) is unbelievable in the extreme. Perhaps if she were holding it all together for the kids or for herself then we might believe it, but after her husband has left the kids seem less important to the story and we see little of them until the last scene. We never really have the sense that she has a deep psychological need to hold all of it together for herself as she seems so detached from her society and her own feelings that you can't imagine her suddenly needing to regain the appearance of normality.

I had real problems with Cathy as a character. Julianne Moore brilliantly acted a housewife who had to keep conversation superficial and had to refrain from expressing her feelings in order to continue the appearance of a happy and successful home. However, Cathy never seems to move beyond this when all is not only changing around her but she is essentially changing society and its mores through her actions (albeit largely unsuccessfully). I was left largely unconvinced by Cathy's relationship with her black gardener. He was immensely charming, considerate, and a breath of fresh air into her normal life and this might have been enough to convince me in itself. However, we later find out that she has always supported the black civil rights movement and is very happy to sign up to the NAACP while running out the door on another errand. Where has she got these views from? She certainly hasn't got them from her society who whisper around her. Nor has she got them from her husband whose violent reaction against the gossip displays his feelings (yes, all very ironic, but also very truthful I think). Seeing as she seems to be devoid of intellectual thought and displays no other signs of being a 'rebel' I have to conclude that the film-makers felt the need to tack this all in so that she could be a more comfortable heroine for us as a contemporary audience.

There lies my greatest criticism of the film. The production team have taken great pains to create the idyllic 1950s as portrayed in Hollywood and have set up a fairly believable world (albeit one we recognise from films rather than real-life) and then feel the need to impose on it the views and morals of our times. Therefore it is no longer sufficient to have a lonely housewife falling in love with her black gardener because he is the one genuine and considerate person in her life. She has to fall in love with him because of these reasons but also has to display that she has never really seen colour anyway and supports the civil rights movement. Again, her reactions to her husband's sexuality start off as genuine (she asks him to see a doctor to be cured) but she never really seems to feel the disgust which you might expect from someone of that era (or from today as let's not pretend that people's feelings are now all neatly sown up on this issue) and she only seems to mildly feel the rejection which you would expect from this revelation. All of this put me in mind of The Hours, another film with Julianne Moore playing a woman in the 1950s and a film which left me totally unconvinced and one which received great acclaim (this time for its portrayal of lesbianism through the ages). With both films I remained unconvinced due to the painstaking recreation of the 'perfect 1950s' only seen in films and the introduction of a modern perspective on sensitive issues whether it be racism or sexuality. I am not suggesting that these issues are purely modern issues, I am stating that the treatment of them in these two films was from a purely modern perspective. I also suspect that the reason these films received acclaim was because we have an intrinsic need to impose our views onto the past to justify them in the present.

As I watched the film I was certainly aware of it as a construct - the outfits are too perfect (and on a number of occasions all colour co-ordinated) and people can't really have spoken on such a superficial level all the time except in the world of films. I saw from the extras on the DVD that it was deliberately designed to look like a construct and the colours and sets were specifically chosen to reinforce this and to heighten the emotions of the characters. The producers kept referring to the melodrama of Douglas Sirk and how they wanted to create a film like his, dealing with issues of morality in the time in which he directed. However, the level of artifice in the characters and the world in Far From Heaven detracted from the essentially modern nature of the views expressed, whereas Douglas Sirk was working with 1950s actors within the confines of 1950s techniques and conventions - for him it was essentially 'true', for us the style is essentially artificial.

If the aim of Far From Heaven was to put a modern story within the artificial world of the 1950s and watch how the puppet-like characters and constructs of 1950s film couldn't cope with the storyline because there was no forum for them to express themselves then it makes a convincing film. However, it is quite apparent that this is not the aim of the film - there are still too many attempts at reality and true feelings. For this to work for me they would have to have an even more heavily stylised world (similar to Tim Burton's take on 1950s America in Edward Scissorhands) so that I could seem the actors as mere puppets in the film-machine. As it is there are still too many pocket of reality for this to be the intention. There is the brilliant scene where Cathy and her husband talk (or don't really talk) when he returns home after she has caught him kissing a man in his office. There we see them struggling to say anything because it is all too difficult to admit to and say in the world which they have tried so hard to create for themselves. I found this very truthful and it is moments like this that are at odds with the artificial nature of other elements of the film.

All in all I quite enjoyed this film but I found myself so frustrated with its mix of themes and aims that I am unable to applaud it as anything other than a brave attempt at something which didn't quite come off. What that something is, I have yet to ascertain! [Reviewed by Stonechat]

I really enjoyed the film from a visual point of view, especially the vivid autumnal colours which were picked up in the clothing worn by Cathy and her women friends. There was a real sense of a picture-perfect world in which everybody was (superficially) healthy and happy and living harmoniously together. Cathy is the perfect wife of a successful man and mother of the obligatory two children (one boy and one girl, of course) and the film really captured the essence of the 1950's where respectability was so important. Cathy is so perfect that it is almost like she is playing a role in her own show, which at the end of the day is perhaps what most of the townspeople are doing, carefully maintaining the veneer of orderliness and respectability that covers the real rottenness and savagery of human nature underneath. I had a problem with the plot itself in that there seemed to be too many themes being explored at the same time, with the result that I felt none of them was explored in any real depth. The issue of relationships between the races was entangled with the issue of a married woman becoming intimate with any man apart from her husband and, on top of all this, there was the question of her husband's homosexuality. I could not help drawing an unfavourable comparison with 'Brief Encounter' where one of these issues is explored in greater depth and (in my opinion) with far greater success. I also found Cathy's ignorance of societal norms and opinions rather hard to believe. Having said all this, I think it was a sensitive exploration of the theme of 'forbidden love'. [Reviewed by Nighjar]

[Merlin was busy raiding on WoW]

Pursuit of Happyness

PLOT
In 1981, in San Francisco, the smart salesman and family man Chris Gardner invested the family savings in Osteo National bone-density scanners, an apparatus twice as expensive as an x-ray machine but it produced a slightly clearer image. The white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to his relationship with his wife, who leaves him and moves to New York. Without money or wife, but totally committed to his son Christopher, Chris sees the chance to fight for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter, fighting for a more promising career at the end of a six month - no salary - training period. There are twenty other candidates for the one position. Meanwhile, he encounters many challenges and difficulties, including a period of homelessness

REVIEW
The major part of this film is amazing in that it's an American film which appears to be 'real'. Gardner's life just seems to get worse and worse throughout the film and when he queues with down and outs in a suit, together with his son, I wondered how the richest nation on Earth could allow such a lottery approach to life!
But then I remember that Will Smith is the star and we can't have a sad ending and sure enough, shucks, and gee whiz it ends happy. The American dream is alive and well.....except for a little glitch in the middle! [Reviewed by the Nuthatch]


I personally enjoyed the film as much as one can enjoy a slog of human poverty followed by the inevitable happy ending.[Reviewed by Merlin]

Perversely I actually quite enjoyed the "slog of human poverty" as my esteemed colleague so deftly put it. I felt that the film was a great deal more 'real' than so many films which deal with a similar theme and the bleakness of the material made the moments of tenderness more beautiful and the perseverance of the main character more amazing. I had been pre-warned about the happy ending but was still left utterly cold by it. After so much suffering and hard work he certainly deserved to win but all that this winning consisted of was entering one of the strongholds of capitalism responsible for all his earlier suffering! Of course much suffering is in vain, but I felt that nothing was really gained from his earlier experiences other than proving that he was up to the job. All in all an excellent and thoughtful film ruined by the need to ensure the happy ending was stuck in (albeit from a true story) without allowing enough time to explore the consequences of the earlier material. [Reviewed by Stonechat]

The film had a compelling story line and the fact that it was true made it more moving. However, I personally found that, rather than being engaged with the main character and his struggles, I was constantly struck by the obscenity of his situation given that he was living in the richest country in the world. I think the film went some way towards questioning the American dream but fell short of making any real challenge. This is hardly surprising as the US seems to view any criticism of the free market as rampant socialism. However, nobody could begrudge Gardner his happy ending. [Reviewed by Nightjar]