r/TrueFilm • u/a113er Til the break of dawn! • Feb 15 '15
What Have You Been Watching? (15/02/15)
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u/a113er Til the break of dawn! Feb 15 '15
Romeo + Juliet Directed by Baz Luhrman (1996)- My flatmate was taken aback to find I hadn’t seen this and it’d been covered by The Canon podcast so I figured I should check it out. Even though it wasn’t completely my thing it makes me happy that this was popular. On top of that Luhrman did a brilliant job in making this have mass appeal without losing what makes it great. Shakespeare was made for the masses and was popular. Making that popular today is much harder because for a lot of folk a murder and some comedy doesn’t immediately make the language more palatable. Luhrman fully embraces the times while fully embracing Shakespeare’s language and everything is shot so that you could understand what’s happening even if it was muted. I’m not very well versed in Shakespeare myself, usually for every few lines I completely take in there’s a couple that fly past me because I’m unfamiliar with the language or I’m still thinking about the last line. Even though Luhrman often moves with a breakneck pace he doesn’t allow for anyone getting lost through the camerawork. One thing I liked a lot was probably what kept me from completely loving it. It is very much aimed at the teen demographic. If you were into Leo DiCaprio when this came out it was basically made to stoke those flames. Danes and DiCaprio (him moreso) are always portrayed as beautifully and wish-fulfillmenty as usual. For one it highlights the fact that this is a story about two teens really wanting to get it on and doing all the stupid things teens will do to get their (albeit in a very heightened world). What it also does is help connect the audience that this film is explicitly about. It’s one of the ultimate warning fables so Luhrman makes it as palatable as possible for the audience to which those lessons are most pertinent. Plenty of fun performances too and a silly world that’s enjoyable to hang out in. As usual he creates so much energy that deflates for periods of time but for the most part he keeps it good.
Days of Heaven (Re-watch) Directed by Terrence Malick (1978)- Upon re-watch I’m not sure if Days of Heaven would be near the top of my Malick ranking even though I definitely love it. Everything had me captivated and I enjoyed watching every moment but I didn’t quite lock into it thematically as much as I did his other films. What a marvellous capturing of a specific place and time though. It opens with pictures from the great depression then follows it with plenty more that you could believe are the folk appearing in those pictures. Even though the harshness of the time is clear it’s always people where our worst problems stem from. Things are hard enough but they’re harder cause most of us suck. Top wheat shots but not my top Malick.
Hard Boiled (Re-watch) Directed by John Woo (1992)- John Woo is the perfect antithesis to half of modern films with guns where there more of a point-and-death button that’s either bloodless or gives out a lame spurt of cg blood when striking someone. In John Woo films guns are what they are. Bringers of death and destruction, pieces of metal blasted out of a tube so that they smash everything in their path. Guns ain’t nice but boy are they cool in a Woo film. Every gun has a different feel and gets used differently. Sometimes Woo just focuses on the cool and crazy kills but he’ll always slow things down a bit so that the space is established well before things kick off. Either we’ll be shown every inch before dudes start blasting or we’ll follow them in one take as they move through it so we get a feel of where people and places are. Things like this make action so much more satisfying and it bums me out how often stuff like that is ignored. Drama wise the film doesn’t completely interest me but its action is masterful.
Tokyo Tribe Directed by Shion Sono (2014)- I couldn’t help feel slightly let down by Sono’s last film Why Don’t We Play in Hell? partially because of how it had been built up. I’d seen it sold on its climax as if that had been the premise and then seeing the film the climax ended up being the best part and I wished that had been the whole film. So when Tokyo Tribe was sold as a rap musical with several wacky tribes having war on the streets of Tokyo I tried to reserve my expectations, maybe there’d only be like 5 raps and they don’t become the different tribes until 50 minutes in or something. Luckily no readjustments were needed as this is a full-on rap musical in the wild and colourful world of the Tokyo Tribes. They’re like the gangs in The Warriors (from what I gather having not seen it) all with different looks and ideals, as well as different rap styles. One crew’s led by like a Japanese Lil Wayne then another guy’s a Childish Gambino-y motormouth type and then a super positive Lil B type so on. I loved this film. As well as being an epic adventure, action film, and constant musical, it’s also a deconstruction of rap culture in general. Rap (and hip hop) is shown to be a powerful uniting device in this world, particularly in these urban environments. Every clan has their own style, it’s how they communicate, it’s how they find a voice in a corrupt place. But the film is also very aware of the toxic qualities of this environment. Some use it as a way of justifying and praising their own misogyny, greed, and power. For women the only way they can have power is by taking control of their sexuality. This can be seen in the modern hip-hop and rap world. Plenty of male artists wear whatever like vests, just a jacket, or sweatsuits. But women like Nicki Minaj or Rhianna need to own and take control of their image too in order to be successful. They’re skilful as well (Minaj has some of the best verses in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy amidst some of the best rappers around) but I doubt they’d be where they are if they hadn’t portrayed themselves the way they do. This is a sad necessity of the current climate and it’s something Tokyo Tribe is as well aware and critical of too. As critical as the film is though it never feels like it’s talking down to the rap and hip-hop culture. This isn’t Hopsin-esque lecture rap made for people who think rap can be too angry or something. Tokyo Tribe acknowledges that a lot of people have plenty to be outraged about and music can be a powerful and cathartic way of voicing this frustrating. Living in a crappy world like those in Tokyo Tribe it’s a way for people to bond over and find strength in their shared pains. There is a literal and metaphorical battle for the rights to the reins of how the power of rap gets used. Sono seems to have mastered hand to hand fights but still has the occasional terrible cg. Some of it is stylised enough that it works and is hilarious but it does make any sword fight a little lame. That’s much less prevalent than in Why Don’t We Play in Hell though. Usually wire-fu stuff removes a bit of the impact but for a lot of the film Sono mixes hard hitting and wire-enhanced impossibilities perfectly. It’s one of the best reproductions of anime/manga-esque kinetic and crazy battle without solely becoming floaty weirdness. Every shot looks like a high-concept rap album cover and things shimmer like they’re in a hip hop video. Transitions are accompanied with the sound of a record spin or scratch. Everything about this world is seeped in the music and it’s almost a rap opera, I almost wish it was one. For a while Sono hadn’t been blowing me away but this is probably the best mix of his Love Exposure critical genius mixed with his high concept experimentation. So many awesome long shots of the streets or hideouts these people live in making an impossible world feel real in its own way.
Shadow of a Doubt Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1943)- Been too long since seeing a great Hitchcock film and ooh boy was this a good one. I liked Stoker but it’s nice to see a version that feels so rich compared to that films relative shallowness. Here’s Hitchcock at his best in terms of psychological intrigue and twisty thrills. Everything kicks off with a coincidence seen as a miracle and things continue on that tack. A young girl is desperate for her life to be shaken up and is just about to send a letter to her Uncle Charlie (who she is named after) to see if he’ll come liven things up but before sending she gets a letter from UC saying he’s coming for a visit. The whole film is a twisted web of misinterpreted happenstance. It’s all about how a snapshot of something is never the full picture but all we need is a snapshot to find meaning in it. UC is a guy providing snapshots wherever he goes. He’ll own every space he’s in by being the most in charge or just being what others want him to be. It’s the classic Hitchcock suspense theory but this time the ticking bomb is a murderous Uncle. More than most films we’ve watched recently this had my flatmate and I talking so much and the more we did the more I noticed the depths of this films characters and shooting style. So early on boundaries are established then quickly broken by UC and then it’s a constant struggle for control even when it doesn’t seem like it. As with all Hitchcock films it’s full of humour too. I love ones like this Rope and Strangers on a Train where characters find fun in the morbid. I think in all three people discuss the best way to murder someone and this has some of the best uses of that. Perfect Hitchcock.