The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame II

David Lynch doesn't come off as a guy too concerned with emotion that centres around sympathy or dignity. His world and the films that populate his filmography tend to lean towards abstract emotions and the absurd. The Elephant Man walks a fine line of both, with the story being the emotional core element and Lynch offering his usual "Lynchian" style of the abstract and absurd.

Why did it take me so long to watch the film? I don't really have an answer other than maybe the content didn't interest me enough and I thought I might be bored by it.

I was wrong.

This film captured me from the very beginning. It starts off as a typical Lynch film with cross-faded imagery, in this film we get elephants and the violent distress of a woman. We later find out that the woman is the mother of the deformed John Merrick. The first thing I thought of was how striking the black and white cinematography is and more importantly, how appropriate it was for this film. Seeing Hopkins walk down the smoke-filled alleys trying to find his way to the Elephant Man was beautifully done and not only set the tone of the film but transported me to that time and place. Very few films manage to capture that feeling and this film did it wonderfully.

Here is a film with genuine emotional performances. Hurt does a really good job bringing this character to life, being timid and afraid of people in the beginning and eventually crawling out of his shell. People have pointed, laughed and hit him his whole life and now someone is showing genuine care towards him. He doesn't know how to react at first but eventually sees that he can live a better life. I was utterly gutted when he was captured and whisked away to France to perform for 'Freakshows" I thought to myself, this is going to end depressingly, isn't it? Then he managed to get away, but then we get an angry mob chasing after him and my mind went back to the depressing angle. Are these people going to beat this man to death because he looks like a monster? Then we get that iconic line from him claiming he is not an animal.

The Elephant Man is a depressing look at how our society is willing to shun a brilliant mind due to their exterior complications. This man enjoys books, the theatre, drinking tea and building miniatures...yet all people can see is a monster and they treat him as such. Such is true in life, and if I ever feel bad about how my life is going, I just have to turn to this film to remind myself how truly good I've got it.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Hey finally someone else who thought Falk was better than Rowlands, though it's unfortunate you didn't like the film more. I don't know how many movies you've seen from John Cassavetes, but I think he might be a bit of an acquired taste.

Hooray Mr. Suspect! Now that you're done with the countdown, I bet you're going to roll right through this!

I’ve seen The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and that’s it. It was ok. I found Husbands is available for streaming via Amazon so I saved it for a future watch. He has a rather small filmography, so I should be able to crank out them over time.

Out of what I've seen, Chinese Bookie is my favorite. Even more than that, I love Mikey and Nicky, starring Cassevettes, but not directed by, but it's the same style.

Will start Letter From an Unknown Woman and The Innocents this weekend. Reviews to follow.

I've seen them both a couple times and liked them too. Looking forward to reading your thoughts (on the previously mentioned movies that is)

Really looking forward to them. 3 day weekend gives me plenty of time to watch them as well as rent a few other movies for the 24th.

Oh, a 3 day weekend, that must be nice! Me? work, work, work all 3 days

Yeah. That’s rough.
I got lucky it was my shifts turn in the rotation for the weekend off. Coupled with President’s Day, I aim to take full advantage of it during the weather.

I only have 1 left, just been waiting for some slackers to catch up.

the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie

this one has always been near the top of my list for movies i haven't seen but desperately wanted to. i thought it was pretty good but also a little disappointing, although maybe that's on me for always building up movies in my head. i love it conceptually for the same reasons i really liked the exterminating angel, but i have a hard time getting on the wavelength of bunuel's dry surrealism, idk. the conceit of a group of rich people perpetually unable to consummate their dinner parties with actual eating is wonderful, but the obstacles are never as clever as you want them to be (except for the fake turkey one, that part ruled) and its maybe just a bit too discursive. i'd rather it committed to its schematic structure even further because the narrative digressions never really amounted to much in my mind. the lack of compelling characters is i think at least partly intentional because bunuel is showing how their dinner-party lifestyle has drained these people of any discernible personality, but it still leaves me cold. pauline kael writes approvingly of bunuel's "relaxed" direction in this film, but to me it just feels utterly without rhythm or comedic timing so the comedy comes across as lifeless. i can appreciate the way he plays with structure but he seems completely disinterested in basic filmmaking concerns so the formal trickery is all there is. it's possible to throw away all narrative rules and still make a film that's compelling.

with that said, i still like the movie overall. i admire bunuel's contempt for these people and their way of life. a lot of individual moments worked for me, especially the shots of them walking down the street, seemingly on a road nowhere. i appreciate how matter-of-factly he presents the absurd, even if it can also be a hindrance for me at times. the aesthetic is simple, but he still utilizes camera movement quite effectively. i was never bored really, just perpetually in a mild state of amusement that i thought would improve as the film went along, but it never really did aside from a few moments. still looking forward to exploring more bunuel, i think i could get on his wavelength eventually.

__________________
letterboxd
criticker

Beautiful work Inmate, keep it up!

I think that was the first Bunuel I saw. I'm not generally a fan of the surreal so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Get that whip out

can I get a link with subtitles to La Collectionneusse (1967)?

I got one, I'll PM you.

Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring(2003)


So this is a South Korean film who never made a film I had seen before so this was an experience. I understand why this film was picked for me because I can recognize the quality in the film making. Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring tells the story of a Buddhist monk who raises a young pupil through several chapters of his life. Each segment basically has it's own lessons though to be frank I found myself so board with this I couldn't really keep up.


The plotting is just so predictable all the cool things the filmmaker does (we don't get names, we don't see the crime, we don't know the disease) is all somewhat wasted I suppose it's supposed to be meditative but for me I just left the film feeling empty wishing there was more to it or that the lessons weren't so shallow. It was a good idea for a nom but a flop for me.

Wow, this is like the page of the slackers!

Good job Siddon

As for that movie, no comment.

The Collector (1967)


I'm not a huge fan of Rohmer's moral tales series but this was the best of the bunch. The Collector tells the story of several middle aged men who end up summering at a rental home. When getting into the home they come across a teenage nymph type character and we get a sexually charged tale.



The characters were well defined, Haydee Politoff works well as the teenage cypher who is fairly boring and child like but also very sexual and fairly manipulative. Patrick Bauchau is a solid lead what makes the sexual situation work is that both characters are on the same level morally. I didn't feel the need to root for anyone and that helped dive into the moral issues of the film.


Much like the other film I watched this also dragged on a bit, but it went by a bit quicker by utilizing supporting actors changing the scenery and getting more into the personalities of the main players.

That is also my favorite of what I've seen from Rohmer.

This is the kinda Western I like, where everyone and everything is rough, dirty and violent. An aspect of the film that I found really interesting was the way it handles justice and bounty hunters. In the westerns I've seen, the bounty hunters are always depicted as the good guys; Upholders of the law. In this film, they're depicted as the bad guys. The murders committed by the bounty hunters are often unprovoked or in the presence of their family members. I guess, in this way, the film promotes the idea of lawlessness more than most westerns (considering the heroes are outlaws instead of bounty hunters).

It's almost pointless at this point to acknowledge the score, Morricone score's are always wonderful. The absence of music is also used well because the constant wind from the snowstorms adds to the film's atmosphere. The snow makes for a really lonely and interesting setting. Jean Louis Trintignant is a great screen presence because of how he manages to emote our silent protagonist. Kinski is good as the villain too.



Thanks to whoever picked this, definitely worthy of a rewatch.