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thebigheat
live in NYC
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againmovies are listed more or less in the order of preference:P
Reviews
Conte d'été (1996)
Deceptivly simple tale oabout relationships.
A Summer's Tale – Pretty solid movie by Eric Rohmer. It is heavy on the dialogue and the dialogue is not too bad. In this movie Rohmer studies a couple of weeks in a life of a young man traveling on vacation before starting his new job. Like a lot of Rohmer's movies, it examines relationships which the characters develop, their perceptions of one another and how that perception changes over time. Rohmer examines people's motivations and tries to figure out what is it that really motivates people, what is it that they really want? The characters sometimes deceive, sometimes contradict themselves, sometimes without even realizing it. The way Rohmer gives insights through dialogue is pretty interesting, it often leaves the viewer to determine for themselves why a character said this or that and what it reveals about them. This is not an easy task and Rohmer doesn't give the viewers too many clues. Since Rohmer's characters are not very two dimensional, it is interesting to see how Rohmer skews the viewer's perception about them, the more they are revealed. For some reason the movie kind of looks like it was shot by a video camera or something, but that did not stand out for very long. The movie looks very carefully crafted and Rohmer is very particular about what he wants the viewer to see, often depicting relatively minor events or ending some scenes abruptly. A- Strong Recommend
The Reckless Moment (1949)
Excellent 40's thriller.
This movie is result of an unusual combination, of a foreign movie director working within limitations of Hollywood in the 40's. This is really one most impressive thrillers and of my favorite movies. Ophuls does a great job working within pretty simple story line and illustrating how strong of a grip a family can have on a person life and how quickly it can come apart when fate intervenes. Ophuls camera creates nagging, dark atmosphere out of this middle class community, sort of like on a Twin Peaks episode. The story deals with a housewife, played by Joan Bennett, having to manage her family while her husband is abroad. Her daughter's relationship eventually escalates into blackmail and Joan has to deal secretly by herself with this problem, while trying to manage her family and keep everything under control. Bennett is excellent at portraying a person whose world is slowly caving in under pressure. Ophuls cleverly uses just about every scene to illustrate the tensions and inner conflicts of Bennett's character. James Mason is great as a refined crook who suddenly finds himself feeling empathy for others. Can't think of too many actors who could pull this off, or other places in time where this character would work. In addition to strong acting performances, there are lot of interesting allegory in the things which Ophuls shows and a very strong ending make this movie a masterpiece.. A + most strongly recommended.