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Nightmare Alley (1947)

Another of the nominations that I had never heard of. I didn't know what on earth it was about and couldn't really obtain a lot from the title.

So I kept an open mind and jumped right in.
The film starts with a group of people that work on a travelling carnival, and there is one young ambitious employee Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power). Who is fairly new to the job but has desires to make it to the top.

I struggled to really engage with the film, whilst appreciating it's quality. I did find my thoughts wandering throughout and at times it took real effort to focus on the film.



What I liked

Acting - For the most part the acting was good with me only having a few issues throughout. Power commanded the screen and gave a good performance and really led from the front in terms of performance.

Set - I think the set for the film was great. This was especially true of the scenes at the carnival. What I could see and hear, had me convinced that I was indeed looking in at a group of show people that worked at a travelling show.

Intrigue -- I felt that I was continually trying to guess what was going to happen next, and what certain characters agendas were etc. I didn't find it overly predictable and it maintained a level of uncertainty throughout.

Lessons - There are plenty of lessons to be learned from the story that is told in the film. There is a life lesson or two for all of us within it.



What I didn't like
There were parts of the film that had me shaking my head, One scene in particular involves 'Stan' and a Police officer/Marshall, and it had me laughing at how ridiculous I felt that it was.
I felt at times the pace was a bit slow and these were the times that I found my attention drifting.
Maybe, I wasn't in the right frame of mind (I feel ok) or something but it just seemed to lack any excitement.



Summary
I just don't think that this film was my bag. It was ok and it did a lot of things well, but I can't think of anything that I would say that it did more than well. The acting was largely good, the film looked ok, the plot was good, if a bit far fetched. There was only one character that I felt any kind of warmth for.
It was good, but not great for me.

Captain Fantastic (2016)
Dir. Matt Ross
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Annalise Basso

Forbidden Games (1952)

Yet another that I had never heard of or knew anything about before I watched it. I suspected it would be in French due to the poster being in French, but that was about it.

I have just finished watching this film and I have all kinds of thoughts and feelings about it.
It was simple,complex, enchanting, weird, dark, funny, moving, happy, sad and so much more, in less than 90 minutes.
I am struggling to find what my over riding opinion is. The film has a real purity to it.
Whatever words I eventually get to, in order to sum up my thoughts on this film, they will be positive.

The film starts with a girl and her family trying to get out of Paris as it is under attack from the German bombers.


The two main characters in the film are children, Michel and Paulette.

What I particularly liked
The Characters - The characters were an absolute joy. The film is carried by the two main characters of Michel and Paulette. They are an absolute joy to behold. I found the relationship and dynamic between these two kids to be utterly charming. They are naive and don't fully realise how inappropriate some of their actions are, but they share a special friendship. Brigitte Fossey and Georges Poujouly who play the roles are excellent.

The story - Any good film rises and falls on the strength of it's story. This is a simple story with a great deal of complexity running through it. It is superbly told and from the first scene, I was transported into the story and it was almost tangible.



What I didn't like
There is not a lot that I didn't like about this film at all. There were a couple of bits where I thought "That is not realistic", but unusually for me, I really didn't care about it. It was like they didn't matter as they were a side point anyway, that only existed to highlight the heart of the story.



Summary
I have found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed and was affected by this film.
It has left me with many feelings and that is key for me, as I want films to make me feel.
I was genuinely sad when this film ended, as I had to leave the world that I had been enjoying for the previous 85 minutes or so.

I loved the experience of watching this film.

Thanks for nominating it Jeff

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

The great dictator (1940)

I know that this film was one of my Grandfathers favourites and that my own Father also was also a fan.
I have never seen it before (apart from the speech) but realise that Charlie Chaplin is held in such high esteem by so many people. I cannot recall seeing much of his work before, whilst always being aware of it's status.



I am so glad that this film was nominated and that I have now watched it.

What I appreciated
The Comedy - This film was funny in so many ways. It is however important to say at this point that I don't find anything about Hitler or the Nazi party funny at all, but this is more about the way that Chaplin set's about trying to undermine Hitler. The film was released in 1940 and Chaplin later said that if he had realised the full horrors of Hitler and the Nazis, he wouldn't have considered it funny, and that he wouldn't have made the film The slapstick, the dialogue and the situational comedy,was all very funny. It was subtle and times and blatant at others, sometimes it was simple and other times it was really quite intelligent. I really appreciated the humour within this film, it was really well done and was present throughout.

The message - This is a really ballsy film and had a huge impact in many ways upon it's release. Chaplin is openly mocking Hitler in this film, but it is worth acknowledging that when the film started filming in 1938, Hitler wasn't yet viewed by many as the ruthless, evil person that we now know him to be. Chaplin was onto him though and plenty of the things that the film focuses on indicate that Chaplin could already see what many more would come to know. The film was progressive and seems meant as a personal insult to Hitler himself. Chaplin didn't hold back and without giving too much away, the Character that Chaplin plays in this, is yet another act of insult and defiance towards Hitler.
In some countries the film was banned and even caused Chaplin issues within the United states, resulting in problems for him and many believe it contributed to his long exile.
I admire the blatant open, honest stand that Chaplin made with this film. And then there is THE speech...



Summary
This is a powerful, funny film with great messages at it's core. Messages that run throughout the film, but also the sheer defiance in the making of the film and the courage of Chaplin to use his influence to openly insult the man and the regime that spread a message of hate and fear. I would recommend everyone to watch this film.

Dead Poet's Society