Change Your Image
EleanorD
Reviews
Hidalgo (2004)
Cut to the chase.
Mortensen, Sharif and others might have got away with this in a lightning raid, but oh, the teeny-soapsuds! Oh, the quicksands of sugar! Oh, the plonking exposition and the wallowing in goodbyes! Oh, the electronic leopards!
I agree that there was a good film in here, about half to two-thirds as long. Just cut four-fifths of the dialogue and there it would be.
I can see why they wanted to make this, and I can see why they wanted to make it with this cast. And there are quite a lot of good scenes, especially those in which nobody speaks. It was a worthy ambition. But it's a bloody awful script.
Please do not shoot the scriptwriter. He is doing his best.
Mou gaan dou (2002)
Absorbing and unusual
Beautifully shot, cleverly constructed, humorous, dramatic, and humane. I never felt bored or rushed for a moment. Expect to have to concentrate on who is who, especially at the beginning, who is or might be on to whom and how, and what they might decide to do about it. Others have said that the two leads are excellent and I'm sure they're right, but I especially appreciated Eric Tsang as Sam.
It's elegant without being heartless. I felt the main characters' longing for truth in their lives, and the various different virtues, flaws, loyalties and motivations of many others too.
I was interested to see that virtually all the violence happens off-camera. It reminded me of 'authentic' productions of Classical Greek plays. Their plots often included murders, but violence was not permitted to be shown directly. A character would describe what had happened, and then a tableau of corpses would be revealed, on a wheeled wheels if I remember correctly from one production. Almost the same device is used in this film, and it's very effective when it's done well, as here.
The friend I went with would have liked to the female characters given bigger roles. Personally (I'm a woman myself, if it makes a difference) I don't care about that. I did notice, though, the way the female characters were used as symbols to represent the good and truthful side of life. It struck me, in connection with this, that sex and violence were being treated as opposites, whereas in many US films they are treated almost as two aspects of the same thing and as depending on one another, hardly existing independently. How many plots are driven by the kidnapping or other ill-treatment of the hero's wife/girlfriend/squeeze, so that the violence against her - whether she resists it violently or not - is used to justify and supposedly motivate the whole towering nonsense by virtue of her sexual relationship with the hero? It often seems that the villian's real offence is thought to be less assault on a person, than theft of property. And I wonder if, when the US remake appears, this tedious plot device will have crept in? But I digress - it was just an idea that occurred to me on the way home, and it tells you little about "Infernal Affairs", except that it may be one reason why I found this film refreshing.
An absorbing experience, and has made me more inclined to seek out Asian films in general, as well as films by the same director.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Outstanding
This film is two things:
1. A highly superior action movie. It's exciting, emotional, beautiful and honest. The sound design is particularly good and I suggest choosing a cinema with a better than average sound system if you possibly can. They are very successful at creating the life of the warship, this little floating world, travelling around our world, but not in it, with its own independent, isolated life, subject to the awesome power of the weather and the sea. The actions, with cannonballs crashing about your ears, and the seas off Cape Horn, are awe-inspiring. The heat, the cold, the possibility of running out of water, of accidents, disease, the isolation, the responsibilities, being 'stuck' with your shipmates, the resilience and sensation of living only in the present - all this is superbly conveyed, and that's before you even mention the enemy.
2. A pretty good Patrick O'Brian pastiche. It's not like the real thing, but it's a very worthy tribute. Crowe and Bettany may not be Aubrey and Maturin, but they're about as good a try as you could possibly hope for. If you have read the books, just relax and don't worry about the plot of either of the books this is based on - there isn't room for that kind of plot in the time. Treat this as a new sea story. You should recognise some dialogue, which is all to the good as O'Brian's brilliant dialogue is one of the best things about the novels. What they've really gone for here is physical historical accuracy and great acting. If you haven't read the books, but seeing the film has made you want to, just start with "Master and Commander".
Age range: I think anyone of 10 upwards would be fine, but parents should use their discretion in taking a younger child. Although the violence is not especially graphic, it is realistic. There are some emotional scenes of characters being injured, killed, or buried at sea which might upset an imaginative child. On the other hand, there are also scenes of very young characters showing great courage and responsibility.
Some people have found it difficult to follow. I see that one reviewer simply couldn't understand the British accents, which probably does make it tricky, and two seperate people on the message board have mistaken the brief glimpse of a cricket match for baseball. (Both of them enjoyed the film, though.) If you don't need subtitles, why not give it a go? If you do, you might have to wait for the DVD, which is a pity as this is a big-screen flick.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
A thoroughly sympathetic adaptation.
You know they're serious about creating Lord of the Rings when you see Christopher Lee. And you know they've understood what they're doing when you see the elves, who bear exactly the right relationship to ABBA and to hidden menace. The makeup and costumes are perfection. Elrond is subtly annoying, just as he should be. And Mordor is instantly recognisable as the mother of all the other Mordors created by Tolkien's imitators and devotees from Terry Gilliam to Terry Pratchett. Enjoy.