[94]
Up from 84. Fifth or sixth viewing, first time trying to scrutinize the three shorts separately -- don't have much to add from my individual capsules of each segment, and I'd probably just end up echoing my earlier sentiments anyway. I will add that while the three components are strong enough to elicit various, moving reactions on their own, the amassed strength when strung together is almost frightening; the way in which Hertzfeldt combines simple animation with optical effects,…
[99]
Astonishing, really, how Teshigahara makes something as banal as sand the sole catalyst of such anxiety and desperation; WOMAN IN THE DUNES is a meditative parable about the The Second Law of Thermodynamics i.e. Entropy w.r.t. Life, the inevitable nature of tiny, little inconveniences to slowly occupy space within our existence, exacerbating if ignored wherein they threaten to enshroud us completely. A grain of sand is harmless on its own, but left to accumulate can present an insurmountable obstacle;…
[56]
Pretty much the same score as Murnau’s NOSFERATU -- with which I don’t hold in the same “horror masterpiece” esteem as many others -- and I can’t stand Coppola’s DRACULA, so maybe I’m just not that fundamental receptive of Bram Stoker’s source material? It seems that even fabricated in three very different ways, I’m unable to truly adore any of them. And in a lot of ways, Herzog’s film -- while telling the exact same story -- is quite…
[55]
Either this is the most plainly straightforward film of all-time, or the most subtly impenetrable one, and while it shockingly seems to me like the former, Kiarostami’s name behind it is making me question if it’s indeed the latter : however, I still don’t know which of those I’d actually prefer. Clearly a study of minutiae, and formal adeptness peaks early and never really lets up (favorite shots/sequences: the opening, somewhat bewildering restaurant conversation ; the window reflection-illuminated cab…
[84]
Second viewing, no score change. This is the final post and then I’m done babbling about this movie (for a while, anyway).
Heavy spoilers ahead.
Second look confirmed that MOTHER! was every bit as good as my initial reaction signified, and it will surely wind up at the top of my “best of 2017” films. Saw it with my wife, who sometimes likes “different” stuff and as the movie ended, she turned to me and said, ”that might be…
[91]
After being highly receptive of every Tsai film I’ve seen thus far, I figured it was about time I tried to dive more in-depth about the essence of his very style, and why I find his particular brand of stoicism fundamentally more alluring and captivating than many others’. THE RIVER completely knocked my socks off, and not only does it contain some of the most painfully lingering sequences in Tsai’s canon (and I say that as a good thing),…
