COLD WATER (Olivier Assayas, France, 1994, 9)
OK, I need to re-check my reactions to Olivier's early stuff, which mostly left me ... ahem ... cold.
I would seriously compare this film to THE RULES OF THE GAME -- the two films have very similar structure and center around a big party. And in the same sense that Renoir made a film about class where his stance was clear but which didn’t openly root for Class X or caricature Class…
NAPOLEON (Ridley Scott, USA, 2023, 6)
Just a mess, albeit often a superficially entertaining mess. In some ways this 2 1/2 hour film is the perfect advertisement for the 4-hour director cut that Ridley Scott wanted to release (though frankly I think it'd take 6-7 hours to do justice to a Napoleon movie with this much scope — 1792 to the end). The NAPOLEON we have is underdeveloped and speeds though too much material, too often just cartoony highlights that…
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD (Kirsten Johnson, USA, 2020) 9
At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, I saw Kirsten Johnson’s CAMERAPERSON while coincidentally sitting right next to her. As the closing credits rolled, I whispered to her “that was the best film of the festival.” She said “why, thank you” and pressed her cheek against mine. I then immediately left the theater without another word, as I knew going into the film that I’d have to rush to a sports bar…
LEAVE NO TRACE (Granik, USA, 2018, 10, was 9)
This is gonna sound more back-handed than I mean it but a significant part of this film’s greatness is in what it DOESN’T do. There is no war flashback; Foster’s reaction to diegetic helicopter sounds is enough. There is no real father-daughter “confrontation” talk before the last scene, because that isn’t these people. There is no VA-related politicking because people don’t live like issues. There is no elaborate long-term plan. And…
