The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame IV

I actually just watched this yesterday and enjoyed it as well. I loved the heavy use of CCTV and us focusing on a main character with that kind of a job, thought that was quite unique and interesting. I really dug how in the beginning information was slowly and subtly being revealed. I like watching characters that are ****ed up, as they're pretty fascinating to watch go about, and I thought the film was going that way especially when we see that scene of her in the bathroom after having sex with the guy (it gave me The Piano Teacher vibes), and then her goal and intentions are revealed which debunked my theories but I was still ok with where it was going, but then by the end once everything was revealed I was disappointed because it was a bunch of the same old stuff and made everything that preceded less challenging and interesting. Things became more predictable and generic, and everything wrapped up too nicely for my liking.

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

As for some of the other films mentioned recently.

Persona I have not seen since my first viewing, and that feels like ages ago. It was my first Bergman, I do remember liking it, and I do remember even writing about it for mofo but I don't wanna dig that up as I'm sure whatever I wrote is an absolute cringefest. Point is, I've changed so much as a moviegoer since then, and I've also gone through a good chunk of his films since then, Winter Light and Cries & Whispers being favourites. Nonetheless, this film of his especially needs a revisit from me.

Mustang I don't have much to say about either, and I only remember the general story of it as explained by Thief. I don't recall loving it though, nor disliking it...maybe I'll watch it again someday...maybe not.

I haven't seen Missing by Costa-Gavras, but I have seen Z which was a very pleasant surprise because I usually don't enjoy political films when I'm not too familiar with their subject, but this one obviously has a lot more to offer than just that. It was very cinematic, and the presentation was definitely its best quality, the editing and score in particular. I still remember those last few minutes because of how they were edited together, and how the music was crucial into the intensity and fun. It's also another movie about how frustratingly pointless it is to oppose the government and how the ball will always be in their court no matter their opposition.

The opening sequence of Apocalypse Now might just be my favourite opening to a film ever. The combination of the editing, the music, the cinematography, and the actions that take place make this a masterful way to introduce the film and its main character, settling us into his state and feelings at that point of time, and gearing us for what's soon to come in the movie.

I overall loved the episodic nature of the film, with each set of scenes giving their own vibes while being the very best at their genre. My favourite episode has to be the one with the crazy Kilgore. It reminded me a lot of Full Metal Jacket in the sense that it was beautiful and hilarious yet so so terrifying. And just like Full Metal, the craftsmanship reaches an insane level here, but that's also the case throughout the entirety of the film. I would even say that the craft here is unprecedented which explains the craziness of the production.

If there's anything I disliked it was Chef's character at first. I thought he was unnecessarily annoying and I would've rathered he died in place of Chief who was much more interesting to me at that point. But then, later on, he definitely goes through a character transformation that made me appreciate him more, and now I can't even imagine the last episode of the film without him. Not to mention, I didn't think it was time for Chief to die when he did, and his death itself was pretty abrupt and a little out of nowhere. It almost felt as though the story needed him to die asap before they reach Brando's island, and I get that but it still could've been handled better, especially with his kind of character who deserved a more proper sendoff.

Speaking of Brando, I'm sure I'm not saying anything new here, but I especially loved the way he was shot and framed and just overall looked. There's a lot to say about him in general, I'm sure he's polarizing as there's a lot of ways you can take him and interpret him, but even with all of that in mind you still can't truly understand him or figure him out, and I really like that. He definitely feels like a godly figure that has transcended logic and feelings. I also like how there's so much build up towards him way before we actually meet him, with Martin Sheen (who's fantastic btw) analysing him for us and trying to figure him out more and more with each passing episode. And this is what I was talking about in Platoon, you can have crazy evil people in your movie without them being cartoony or feeling phony. The fact that I can't even call characters like Kilgore and Kurtz antagonists speaks volumes to what the movie was able to accomplish. Every last character in here, whether they're over the top or reserved, likeable or not likeable, they're all super memorable, and that's because they feel genuine and they're carefully written and portrayed. Not trying to diss Platoon because as I've said before I definitely enjoyed it, but this is on a whole other level.

So yeah, I'm happy to have finally watched this and I'm glad to not have been disappointed. It's definitely a movie worthy and deserving of many revisits, hell that entire conclusion was a lot to take in, I mean that cow scene...**** I'm still speechless about it.

I don't have as much to say about The Devil's Backbone as any other film I've written about here and that's mainly because it was easily the least memorable one out of the bunch. This is a competent good looking movie, it has great aesthetics, great production design, a great setting, but as far as my emotional investment in the story, that remained on a surface level. Even though the story elements are competent, they lacked the inventiveness that is present within the technicalities of the film. And the characters themselves are even less interesting, so to have the entire first hour focusing solely on them made that a very hard watch. And this is a general problem that I have with Del Toro, and I said similar things about Pan's Labyrinth back in the Foreign Language Hall of Fame, the only difference being is that the creature designs are a thousand times better in the latter, but the overall storytelling and the characters are probably just as dry and stale.

Great job Okay with back to back reviews!

Surprised CR didn't care for Secrets & Lies. It was picked for me before and I loved it.

Tootsie follows Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), an unemployed actor that's been "blacklisted" for being a perfectionist and hard to work with. Desperate for money, he assumes the persona of Dorothy, a middle aged, feisty woman, in order to land a job in a soap opera. Of course, things get complicated when "she" becomes a star, while also falling in love for "her" main co-star (Jessica Lange).

This is a film I didn't feel that drawn to; I probably wouldn't have seen it if someone hadn't recommended it to me, but I'm glad I watched it. However, I won't deny that I had some significant issues with how the plot develops, but for the most part, it was an enjoyable watch, well acted and with some important and still relevant points to get across about the treatment of women in the workforce, and in general.

The thing is that it has to be a man the one that tries to get those points across. I like that the experience serves as a moment of introspection for Michael and how he himself views and treats women, but when it comes to the larger point of how women are seen and treated in the workforce, and how they react, the fact that a man is the catalyst for this "change" kinda muddles the message.

In addition, there is no proper balance in terms of male vs. female characters. Michael/Dorothy interacts primarily with two female characters: Sandy (Teri Garr) and Julie (Lange). The former is a well-intentioned, female friend with whom he gets "accidentally" involved. Unfortunately, she ends up being used as a bit of comic relief in the end, and comes up as a bit of a hysterical, while Julie, although a more balanced character, still comes off a bit underdeveloped and ultimately needy.

Finally, I don't think the conclusion was properly executed. The character of Sandy, regardless of how important seemed to be, ends up being unceremoniously dismissed, and the resolution to Michael/Dorothy's predicament felt haphazardly executed. Despite those issues, the acting is solid. Dabney Coleman, who was quite a presence in the 80s, is great as a sexist director, and so is Bill Murray, who I didn't even know was in this, as Michael's roommate.

But the key to the film is Hoffman. Not only is he perfect in the role, but he also seemed to be a driving force behind the film's production. Hoffman, who oversaw the writing process, said in an interview that the film helped him reevaluate how he related to women. He said he found the character of "Dorothy" to be interesting, but argued that he would not have spoken to her because she was not beautiful, which led him to realize how many interesting conversations he had missed. For a man that must've met hundreds/thousands of women, it's weird that it took a meeting with a "man" to realize it.

Grade:

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I think that's the most negative review of Tootsie I've ever seen. I loved it back in the day but it's been decades since I last watched it.

I've not seen Tootsie, but I'm betting I'd like it especially after just learning that Terri Garr is in it.

Been a long time since I saw Tootsie, I definitely didn’t love it.

Isn’t the whole point that a man is getting a female perspective of how women are treated in the workplace? I don’t think the premise makes any sense with a female lead. Women already know how they are treated. That’s a different movie.

I really enjoyed Tootsie. I have the Criterion blu ray. It's a fun, enjoyable film with good performances and a smart screenplay.

My argument isn't to change the lead into a female, but rather that the male is the catalyst for women to want to demand fair treatment and for the audiences of the "show" to notice what a "strong female" is. Plus I don't think there was a balanced portrayal of females to contrast against Hoffman's character.

Anyway, 3 popcorn thingies isn't negative at all. Like I said in my review, I enjoyed it, regardless of those issues.

Fair enough

As someone who does really like Tootsie, the problem is more the idea that men need to be the agents of change, and also a little bit of the problematic idea that you can't understand someone else's struggles unless you literally walk a mile in their shoes.

It's obviously true, to an extent, that at some point people in power need to be willing to share power. But as Thief points out, the film doesn't do a great job of empowering its female leads, so at the end Michael leans more toward savior than ally.

So the problem isn't the concept (a man learning what life is like as a woman), but more how it treats the actual women in the story relative to the male lead. And the movie is obviously coming from a place of empathy, it's just that it paints itself into a corner a bit because of how much it centers the action on its main male character.

That said, Tootsie is easily a or even a film for me.

What do you like so much about it?

A good chunk of it is nostalgia. Our family owned a VHS tape of it, and so my sister and I watched it a LOT. It was one of the main "grown-up" movies that I watched as an adolescent.

But I also just think it's a really funny movie. And it shows that you can make a (for lack of a better word) political point in a really accessible way.

I haven't seen it in years, and so I might have a slightly different opinion of it now. For example, I know that the older man who likes "Dorothy" later makes a comment implying he would have reacted with violence if he'd ever kissed her. That's obviously a nasty echo with the violence that trans-women face, and not really something I was tuned into as an eleven year old.

I'm going to add it to my watchlist, because now I'm curious to know what I think of it as a middle-aged person and not a middle schooler.

I agree about how funny it is. There is a scene where Michael is trying to keep his agent (played neatly by Sydney Pollack himself) up to date with what's happening and he's getting him all mixed up with what's happening to "Dorothy" and what's happening to "Michael", who's Les, who's Sandy, who's Julie... and that scene was really funny.

That comment aside, which we can also attribute to the anger of being deceived instead of any gender issue, I really liked the way that final conversation between the two was carried and Charles Durning was pretty good in it.

But probably on the same line of the older man's comment, there's also a "toss-away" line from the sexist director towards the end, when Michael reveals himself, where he says "I knew there was a reason she didn't like me!" which kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Not that the film focused a lot in how this character changed because of "Dorothy", but that comment feels like a justification for his previous actions ("She didn't like me, not because I'm a sexist pig, but because 'she' is actually a 'he', so I can be relieved and continue with my usual behaviors") It's ultimately a toss-away comment meant to be funny, so I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but like I said a couple of times already, I ultimately enjoyed the film.

I watched Onibaba (1964). Directed by Kaneto Shindô, the film stars Nobuko Otowa and Jitsuko Yoshimura as a woman and her daughter in law who kill samurais and sell what they take from them. Further complications arise when the daughter in law has an affair with a neighboring man who has returned from the war. I really liked the concept of the film, but it didn't grab me in the way I would have hoped or expected. The execution of the story only worked somewhat for me. The performances were fine, but I wasn't blown away by anyone. I was only mildly invested in the characters and what was going on with them. The cinematography is quite striking and effective though. I'm not convinced that this film is a masterpiece as some have suggested, but it is still a good film and I'm glad I finally saw it.

Pandora's Box: I really loved this, it had my mind racing throughout. On one hand it felt very misogynistic, on the other it certainly had only disdain for the plethora of male predators throughout. In fact, I am not sure there is a redeeming character in this film. Nihilism before it became the rage. This is what good art does, makes us question our behavior. our expectations, our assumptions. Makes us think about how we should deal with broken, animalistic humanity. Great stuff.

The film also looked great and had a lovely score. Never sure with silent scores. I know sometimes new scores are added when the films are restored. Either way, bravo. Very good rec for me. Looks like the two silents chosen for me will be at the top of my list.

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Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

I think I nominated Pandora's Box in a HoF? Good flick.

Love Onibaba!

The Scarlet Empress: I will definitely be willing to give this one another shot if it gets another restoration. It plays like a lush epic but all of that has been lost visually unfortunately. That could change my mind about the film but it also wasn’t a very well put together narrative. It’s not playful or funny. There’s really no suspense. Sorry to whoever nominated this, but it wasn’t for me this go around.