gilli Reviews

Fireworks (1997)

"Death Wish" meets "Ikiru"

[14 May 1999]

Characters are unidimensional. Kitano spends quite some time displaying his own paintings (in the movie they are the paintings made by the paralyzed cop), which I liked, but occupy far more movie time than they were entitled to. Most of the movie is simply boring. Some moments of shock here and there. Some gratuitous violence. A primary and questionable morality pervading it all.

The River's Edge (1957)

Pacy melodrama

[14 May 1999]

This one has a farmer, his wife and her ex-lover. And a case full of money. It is not particularly memorable, but has pace, good acting, and a gorgeous Debra Paget. What else could you ask for?

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Makes me cry

[13 May 1999]

This is such a wonderful film I recover my faith in the human race just to remember it. But I also lose my faith in my own perceptiveness, since I didn't notice its greatness until watching it for the second time. I clearly see it at two different levels. First, as a straightforward gangster story, and it works perfectly well as such, with endless brilliant scenes and the cutest dialogue you could imagine. Secondly, in a deeper, more philosophical level, it is a reflection on such themes as personal ethics, chance, destiny, and one's command over one's own life. There is a clue to this in the final dialogue between Byrne's and Finney's characters. A truly complex and superior movie.

Red Line 7000 (1965)

A Soap

[13 May 1999]

This film is a collection of racing scenes interweaved with small love dramas involving drivers and their mates. Although the racing scenes are well done, the dramatic portions are extremely silly. Outside James Caan, acting is poor. The choice of a final scene is unconventional and intelligent.

Safe (1995)

Isolation brilliantly studied

[10 May 1999]

I advise Safe to all that look for more in a film than accompaniment to popcorn. It makes you think whether civilization took a wrong turn somewhere. I disagree with those that see ambiguity in it. Impartiality, yes. It reminded me of Michael Tolkin's The Rapture. Julianne Moore was not perfect, though. She coughs unconvincingly, for one.

The Happy Ending (1969)

Serious but dated

[10 May 1999]

This is a serious work about a bored wife. Some of it seems a little dated. Seen in 1999, the development of the story is quite predictable, although I figure it was less so 30 years ago. Didn't move me much. All in all, respectable stuff.

The River's Edge (1957)

Watchable and naive

[10 May 1999]

This is a western, though set in more modern days. Quite watchable, actors are fine, Paget is stunning. It is not very deep, and it borders on the naive, though never falls into the absurd.

The Pillow Book (1995)

fake art

[7 May 1999]

Just because a movie looks good, it does not mean it is good. Just because it is filled with erudition, it does not mean it has any cultural or artistic value. It must have something to say, and say it in a consistent manner. That is what distinguishes great art from phony art. "The pillow book" is not great art, it is not art at all. Its main subject is about writing on people's bodies. It insists on having a plot, although it seems to constantly remind us that it is not a conventional melodrama, but a pictorial essay. In fact it does not work either as a melodrama or as an abstract construction. Its meretricious efforts are a sad evidence of a certain "anything goes" quality that pervades much of the noncommercial post-60s cinema that bloomed amidst the disillusionment with the increasing infantilization of the Hollywood mainstream films. Madness, it is known, begets madness.

Chance Meeting (1959)

nicely done

[7 May 1999]

This is basically a mystery story, but the mystery itself and its solution are not very satisfying. The best is that in the mean time we get to see some character study. And Losey's mise-en-scene is above average, as usual.

The Night Walker (1964)

absurd and ridiculous

[6 May 1999]

I am writing this because I see it as my duty to warn whomever I can that this is a bad movie. It is a bad movie because its script is bad and no other aspect of it is sufficiently good to compensate for it. Its script is bad because of many different reasons. It is bad because its ending makes no sense and revealing the details of this would be considered a spoiler, so I am not doing it. Also because it is full of psychoanalytic mumbo-jumbo that makes you laugh even if there is not a moment of voluntary humor in it. I would rather forget this movie and that is what I am going to do whether this gets published or not.

The Eel (1997)

Flawed but interesting

[5 May 1999]

This film deals with the theme of faith, its loss, its recovery. It has strong images, as usual in Imamura's films. It has also a well thought out plot development. But... it hints at directions that are never fully explored. There is a suggestion that the main character is insane. There are hallucinations. Keiko's behavior is also a little obscure at times. But as the core of the movie is melodrama, surreal aspects are only hinted at. That leaves a slight sensation of unachievement.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

perfect vacuum

[23 April 1999]

If you want to see a movie that is absolutely devoid of any point to it, rush to see this. This is the quintessence of the "make an easy buck" spirit that rules some sectors of filmmaking. Watched 48 minutes of it.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

A timeless work of art

[23 April 1999]

First of all, let me state that this is a stunningly good movie in every imaginable aspect you could pick, and one of the high points of all human art in all human times. I'd like to pinpoint an overlooked subtext in it: the schizophrenic twist. Just a hint of it: Tootie is a lovely little girl, a murderer, a sadist and a morbid soul. That is shown in complacent ways. The trolley accident she causes is not shown: we hear of it. And the other characters are also vile creatures: take Esther and the ball carnet filled with the names of the local freaks. It is only too emblematic that Halloween is their celebration of preference. There is too much too be said about this masterpiece in too narrow a space.

About Mrs. Leslie (1954)

silly

[22 April 1999]

Uninteresting plot. Although acting is nice, how can you be turned on by this silly story? I think the flashback parts are the most boring part of the film. That Mrs. Leslie was sure better off alone than with that jerk Mr. Leslie.