What I watched this week: Nov 8-14

After my mostly stellar week of rentals in the first week of November, week 2 was a somewhat iffy, though by no means bad, follow-up. My recent string of French film viewings continued with two classics, both of which left curious impressions on me:

Murmur of the Heart (1971) dir. Louis Malle:

It's hard to accuse Malle of doing the same thing twice. This is my third film of his, and it couldn't be more different than the previous two: adultery thriller Elevator to the Gallows and WWII coming-of-age tale (and masterpiece) Au Revoirs Les Enfants. In Murmur of the Heart, Malle once again focuses on a young male protagonist, but one of a very different nature. Where Au Revoir's protagonist was far from grown up (both in age and experience) and loses his innocence without choice, Murmur's is desperately trying to rid himself of innocence. Laurent Chevalier, youngest son of a bourgeois family, is trying his best to lose his virginity, but various and sundry obstacles keep getting in they way, including his older brothers. While Malle's story here is less overtly eventful, he still has a skill for keeping your attention, even in a low-key manner. The scenes with the brothers ring true, as does the portrayal of young boys trying to make themselves feel like adults. The problem, though, is simply that the film is just a little too long for its own good. Boring? Not at all. In need of some trimming here and there? Yes. The film's stronger second half, focusing mostly on the boy's relationship with his loving but unfaithful mother, could have arrived sooner, and we could be spared some of the three brothers' obnoxious antics; after a while it stops being interesting. Not a bad film. Actually quite the opposite. It's a very understated and mature work, complete with a surprisingly scandalous ending, but it just doesn't feel as accomplished as the other two Malle films that I've seen.

Grade: B/B+

Le Samourai (1967) dir. Jean-Pierre Melville:

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I have no problem with slow "minimalist" movies. That said, I just couldn't get into Melville's supposed masterpiece about a usually perfect hitman (Alain Delon) who finally makes a mistake. The problem for me is that the film's dialogue is often too functional, while the quieter moments feel empty as opposed to introspective. Alain Delon's stoic gaze, while appropriate for the character, fails to communicate whatever feelings or thoughts Melville was trying to get across. And unlike Murmur of the Heart, Melville's film did cross the dreaded line into boredom, and on multiple occasions. Not that there aren't things to like. The opening that leads up to the kill that sets off the story proper is wonderfully composed and structured. Unfortunately, once Delon's Jef Costello is identified as a possible suspect, the film loses the quiet magnetism that it had before. The result leaves the plot's minimal bursts of violence without impact or tension, and the poetically designed/written ending without real poetry. An interesting work with a handful of moments, but otherwise a well-made disappointment.

Grade: B-

What I watched this week: Nov 1-7

Overall, one of the best movie-viewing weeks I've had in quite some time...

Last Year at Marienbad (1961) dir. Alain Resnais:
Considered one of the last great black and white films, Resnais' tale of past love (which might not be real...) is a bizarre, mesmerizing work. The set-up could have been simple: a man tries to convince a woman that one year ago they had an affair at a luxurious hotel. And yet, from the first frame, Resnais' film is anything but. As a block of voice-over narration is repeated ad nauseum, the camera glides through hallway after hallway of a mysterious hotel. This goes on for what feels like 10 or 15 minutes, before we see the first characters, none of whom are of major importance (on a strictly narrative level). And yet once the Man (Giorgio Albertazzi) starts speaking to the Woman (Delphine Seyrig), it only becomes more strange, more confusing, and more fascinating. Above all things, it's a masterwork of cinematography and editing.
The gorgeous gliding camera work, mixed in with appropriate wide shots and a crane shot or two (one stunner involves the camera rising up from behind a pair of statues). As far as editing, the film seems to have level upon level. In one instant you'll see the Woman in her room in a white dress, and the next instant she'll be in a black one; this may happen with a shot in between, or may simply happen consecutively. As far as trying to keep the different strands figured out (how both see it, how they imagine it, etc...) it's best to simply let the images unfold if this is your first viewing. Along with the eerie music (most of which comes from a rather dingy sounding church organ), Marienbad is a haunting, mind-bending tale featuring gorgeous production design and a script and story that will probably continue to reveal details after each viewing.

Grade: A-

Au Revoirs Les Enfants (1987) dir. Louis Malle:

Only my second Louis Malle film, this tale of boyhood relationships picked up Venice's Golden Lion, and for good reason. In the midst of World War II, Julien slowly develops a friendship with new classmate Jean Bonnet. The pair attend an all-boys Catholic boarding school, generally away from, but never complete separated, the horrors taking place in Europe. The majority of the film could have easily been mundane, but Malle's beautiful screenplay keeps things moving just enough without rushing. The relationship between the boys feels real; they don't immediately become best friends after some single incident. They get closer, and then one gets angry at the other for one reason or another, and so on. But what really carries the film, is its point of view: war and its effects through the eyes of a child. There is not an ounce of bloodshed in the story, nor any death, and there's a purpose for that. When the film reaches its final 20 minutes, it becomes agonizing and horrifying to watch. It easily ranks up there with the best sequences in cinema history, despite its total lack of flash or grandeur. It is a heartbreaker of stunning power, without ever being manipulative. To put an end to my rant, suffice it to say that this is film making of the highest order, and whether it was based entirely on Malle's childhood or not, is a beautifully human story of friendship.

Grade: A

Manhattan (1979) dir. Woody Allen:

With directors as prolific as Woody Allen, sometimes it's easy to forget the strongest works of their careers. Thankfully I made myself watch Manhattan, and I couldn't have been more pleased. This is classic Allen, all the way down to the character the famed auteur plays and the references to Bergman and Fellini, the quick bursts of laugh-out-loud hilarity, but it's also Allen at his finest. He isn't trying too hard, and it's too early in his career for him to rehash past work. I particularly love the opening sequence, in which Allen's Isaac tries to write the opening of his book describing New York City, as Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" plays majestically over the gorgeous black and white photography. The film's other strong point is the way in which Allen almost seems to be poking fun (quietly) at the film itself. It opens with grand images of skyscrapers, yet then jumps into the intimate relationships of a small group of people. In the film's best scene, Isaac and Mary (Diane Keaton) discuss their relationships in the planetarium, as objects of far greaert importance loom in the background, emphasizing how small and trivial their issues are in the grand scheme of the universe. It's just one example of a master working at the top of his game, and it's actually reinvigorated my interest in Allen's filmography, even with the beating that You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is taking.

Grade: A-

And in repeat viewings...

I am Love (2010) dir. Luca Guadagnino:

I wasn't really fond of this when I first saw it over the summer (my review), but I remember being so shaken by this film that I've been dying to give it another look. Sadly, after seeing again, little has changed, although my general bitterness towards the film has lessened somewhat. What this film is to me is an interesting idea with simply one too many things wrong with it mucking up the works. I'd love to say that Swinton is great, but I can't. She has a few good scenes, it's true, but even though I made it my goal to really pay attention specifically to her, I just got lost in Guadagnino's relentless style, and not in a good way.The stand out for me is still Flavio Parenti as Swinton's eldest son, and he's the closest the film has to a truly interesting, worth-caring-about character (I'd say the same for the daughter, but the role is too limited despite the conflict she has). Upon looking at the film, so many of the lines, from very early on, carry strong meaning. The problem is that the dialogue carries too much meaning. Not in a blunt, beat-you-over-the-head way, but in a manner that's almost too low-key for its own good. For such stylish (and eventually over-the-top) execution, everything else is too low on the radar, making the "importance" of things like Emma's feeling of stillness/oppression feel academic to the point that they don't really register. And yes, those last five minutes are still a hilarious train wreck, and a total waste of John Adams' glorious music. Still, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I did find it a liiiiiittle bit better on the second go round, missteps and all.

Grade: C/C+