First scene: a car crashes onto the side of the road. A man runs to the car lifting the glamorous female passenger out and leaving the man for dead. He seems to know the girl and he takes her back to his house. Cue flashback. 'Accident' The film's dramatic and intriguing opening lead me to expect a thriller or mystery. This is not exactly what was on offer. The tension comes from emotions, desires and inner conflicts. This is a character led film with wonderfully subtle performances and a good eye for life's little details. Dirk Bogarde is in top form as the professor whose mid-life crisis antics have tragic effects on those around him. The film has enough drama to keep your attention. The ensemble acting and editing create a sense of tension and impending doom in the banal country setting and bright weather. Ultimately though the film fails to tell a fully rounded story. At the end the fatal 'accident' loses it's impact rather than gaining any extra meaning. This is also a film with a very male perspective. The main female characters are very much stereotypes; the wife is a quiet, long suffering housewife, the professor's young and beautiful student an impenetrable femme fatale. Both characters act very much as symbols of the professor's inner struggles without very much character development. In conclusion this is an interesting way of spending a couple of hours as long as you're not looking for an enlightening or particularly pleasant view of human relationships.
Reviews
5 Reviews
The Theory of Flight
(1998)
Beautiful
2 September 1999
I suppose this is not the best film ever made but I voted it at 10 stars all the same. Mainly because of my feelings at the end. I and all the people around me were simply touched. This is something you don't often feel . We are all getting a bit cynical and fed up with over sentimentality, lazy manipulation or preaching in modern films. The story of the film centres around Jane a young woman in the last stages of MND and the friendship that grows between her and Richard, a man on the verge of a breakdown. This could have so easily been a dull and worthy piece but it is so humorous, humane and lacking in sentimentality that it wins you over completely and against the odds is a feel good movie.
The acting from Branagh and Bonham-Carter is superb especially the latter who is always believable and strong in her role. The chemistry between the two also lifts the movie.
The title comes from Richards masterpiece, a plane made of junk and his old paintings. Flying here is a symbol for both Richards and Janes living life to the full so that one can carry on and the other can face the end.
A beautiful and funny movie that I would recommend to anyone. don't let the subject matter put you off.
The acting from Branagh and Bonham-Carter is superb especially the latter who is always believable and strong in her role. The chemistry between the two also lifts the movie.
The title comes from Richards masterpiece, a plane made of junk and his old paintings. Flying here is a symbol for both Richards and Janes living life to the full so that one can carry on and the other can face the end.
A beautiful and funny movie that I would recommend to anyone. don't let the subject matter put you off.
Photographing Fairies
(1997)
a gem
20 August 1999
At the time of release and now this film is tragically undervalued. The reviews were merely making fun of the rather unconvincing fairies rather than looking at the film as a whole. In fact I was not tempted to see it at all but ended up watching it while doing work experience as an usherette in a local cinema.
The fairies are not the latest in technology but it is a small yet intensely beautiful and haunting film that I suspect could only be made outside of Hollywood. It is a film about grief, faith and mysticism. The lead character is a man who puts pictures of dead soldiers (from WW1) into family pictures who is haunted by the loss of his wife. He is confronted by a woman who has a picture of fairies which with all his expertise he can not disprove so he goes back with her to investigate. What follows is a tale of obsession, magic, faith, violence and loss.
The acting is superb and intense (Ben Kingsley plays a wonderfully malevolent vicar). There are scenes which are purely cinematic, especially those of the dead wife dancing and her fall in to the snow.
I would recommend this film to anyone who wants a little more out of a film. The imagery and the feelings behind it will last in your memory for a long time.
The fairies are not the latest in technology but it is a small yet intensely beautiful and haunting film that I suspect could only be made outside of Hollywood. It is a film about grief, faith and mysticism. The lead character is a man who puts pictures of dead soldiers (from WW1) into family pictures who is haunted by the loss of his wife. He is confronted by a woman who has a picture of fairies which with all his expertise he can not disprove so he goes back with her to investigate. What follows is a tale of obsession, magic, faith, violence and loss.
The acting is superb and intense (Ben Kingsley plays a wonderfully malevolent vicar). There are scenes which are purely cinematic, especially those of the dead wife dancing and her fall in to the snow.
I would recommend this film to anyone who wants a little more out of a film. The imagery and the feelings behind it will last in your memory for a long time.
Unique perspective?
30 July 1999
I am probably one of the few people not to have seen the Star Wars Trilogy so I entered the cinema with few preconceptions. Actually I was ready to be bored because the reviews of the film had been so dire. When I left the film I felt pleasantly surprised.
It is disappointing in a way because the subject could have been treated in a more dark and complex way. After all it is called "Menace" and Darth maul is not used as much as he should. At the beginning the dialogue felt stilted and Jar Jar Bing was infuriating but soon enough I was lost in the beautiful world that Lucas had created and none of this mattered.
The landscapes were beautifully rendered and the superior acting (especially Neeson and Portman) and wonderful imagination of Lucas created a real feeling of myth and legend. There were moments of pure cinema and excitement that were the best I had seen. These included the breathtaking pod race, the battle and the two fights that included Darth Maul and the Jedi Knights.They had magnificent pace and drama.
I can tell that this is not the best of the Star Wars movies and that it is not a perfect film. It has it's faults and low moments but don't believe the critics who call it boring.The greater moments save the film. It has a magic and excitement and a mythical quality that in this day and age we need.
It is disappointing in a way because the subject could have been treated in a more dark and complex way. After all it is called "Menace" and Darth maul is not used as much as he should. At the beginning the dialogue felt stilted and Jar Jar Bing was infuriating but soon enough I was lost in the beautiful world that Lucas had created and none of this mattered.
The landscapes were beautifully rendered and the superior acting (especially Neeson and Portman) and wonderful imagination of Lucas created a real feeling of myth and legend. There were moments of pure cinema and excitement that were the best I had seen. These included the breathtaking pod race, the battle and the two fights that included Darth Maul and the Jedi Knights.They had magnificent pace and drama.
I can tell that this is not the best of the Star Wars movies and that it is not a perfect film. It has it's faults and low moments but don't believe the critics who call it boring.The greater moments save the film. It has a magic and excitement and a mythical quality that in this day and age we need.
Plunkett & Macleane
(1999)
Plunkett and Macleane:History doesn't always matter
12 April 1999
Far from being historically naive, Plunkett and Macleane is a very cheeky comedy which uses modern touches to bring humour and vibrance to the story. In one hilarious scene modern music is used to turn a ball into a kind of rave. This picture probably conveys more of the spirit of England at that time than any of the tightly corseted period dramas that we see on our small screens. In those days London would no doubt have been (not much different than today) a hive of grime, guts, violence and sex. The best thing to do is to sit back and enjoy the energy,comedy and damn fine performances in this great little britflick. It's not exactly accurate but then this is not what was intended. Give it a go!
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