The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame IV

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Gentleman’s Agreement

1947 Oscar winner about a journalist who pretends to be Jewish to investigate anti-Semitism. This is the sort of film that still wins Oscars these days – a solid, talky issue film.

It’s a little ponderous and takes a long time to get going – in the time it takes him to think of an angle for a story he is writing (at least 30 minutes, and we all know from the summary of the film what that angle will be), our leading man has managed to get engaged to his new editor’s niece. Either he’s very slow at thinking of angles for stories, or very quick at proposing. Probably both.

It’s all very well meaning and does have some serious and astute points to make about anti-Semitism and about how inaction from those who purport to be against it help it to flourish, in the character of Kathy. Interesting to see that anti-Semitism was such a huge thing in America in the 40s - I'd never heard of 'restricted' hotels before. I still think there’s something a bit off about the premise of this man pretending to be Jewish, although he obviously has good intentions. More uncomfortable still was when he harangues the actually Jewish secretary about anti-Semitism after his 8 weeks of experience.

Although it’s not the main point of the film, I liked the presentation of the domestic side of things, and the relationships between Phil and his ill mother, his young son (played by Dean Stockwell) and his old friend. I liked the character of Anne. I felt that the romance was too shoe-horned in and I didn’t like the ending. It doesn’t have much visual flair.

I’m glad I watched this, because I want to watch all the Best Picture winners, but I doubt it would place high on my ranking of best picture winners. All in all it was fine but not great.
I really like Gentleman's Agreement. I think that the anti-Semitism in the 40s was more strong than many people think. I recently watched Best Years of Our Lives and there's a scene where a man tells one of the veterans that the USA sided with the "wrong side".

My sticking point was the romance as well. Not only did it feel shoe-horned, Anne was RIGHT THERE! And yet
WARNING: spoilers below
he ends up with the woman who is snobby and bigoted?!



THE INNOCENTS
(1961, Clayton)



"All I want to do is save the children, not destroy them. More than anything, I love children."

"More than anything, I love children". That's Miss Giddens' (Deborah Kerr) selling point in order to secure a job as the "governess" (or caretaker) of two recently orphaned children in this eerie dramatic thriller. With no desire to take care of them, their wealthy but selfish uncle disposes of them in the hands of Giddens and the housekeeper at his country estate, but not before reminding her of her own words. "They need affection and love... I feel that you are that person".

The Innocents follows Miss Giddens as she tries to take care of the kids. But things start to unravel when she starts to fear that the estate is haunted and that the kids are possessed, putting to the test her love and her desire to "save the children". Can she handle the situation? Will she do what's needed to "save" them?

This is a pretty darn good film, but the story behind the scenes is compelling as well. Based on a popular play, the original script was written by William Archibald. However, producer/director Jack Clayton, wanting to add layers to Archibald's script, commissioned Truman Capote to rework it, incorporating deeper psychological themes that take the story beyond the inherent eeriness of its plot.

But also the excellent performances elevate what is already a great script. Kerr does a great job of portraying the mental and emotional deterioration in Giddens; from a rather naïve and insecure, yet eager woman to someone who's desperate for answers at any cost. Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens are simply excellent as the two children: Flora and Miles. Stephens, in particular is a revelation in almost every scene he's in.

Finally, a gorgeous black and white cinematography and an assured direction from Clayton create a creepy atmosphere that juxtaposes feelings of isolation with a sense that these characters might not be alone. Something that's bound to drive anyone into the edge of uneasiness, or even madness.

Grade:
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The Innocents won the 17th HoF. Helluva movie, with oodles of atmosphere. I've seen other version of it too and there all good and all had a slightly different take as to just what was going on.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Innocents is a VERY solid film.
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movies can be okay...

Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders 1984)

Reaction: Impressed

As strange as it might seem I don't really remember the movie after a week but like Harry Dean Stanton's character I know something real important took place.




When I think of cinematography, this is one of the first films that pop into my mind. There are some insane achievements that were made here when it comes to shot composition and framing, I'd even go to say the film is revolutionary in that sense. So simple but sophisticated. Flawless and effortless at the same time. Genuinely a beautiful movie visually and definitely story wise as well.

I also remember particularly loving the child performance, and he still sticks out to me as one of the best ever in my eyes. I loved how his character was written in general, because most of the time children are written as stupid when in reality they're way smarter and more aware than movies give them credit for, so it's great to see that respect level there.
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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



movies can be okay...
Plus it has that unique Bong mixture of drama and thrills with a bit of quirk and offbeat humor.
I haven't seen Memories of Murder yet, it's one of the few Bong films I've yet to watch, but I would agree that that is his best quality and it's surely present in every single film of his that I've seen. His ability to combine serious and humorous story elements so effectively, without losing any tension or feel of consequences in the serious portions, and without losing the hilarity of the funny portions either. It's always impressive to see him blend genres in such a clean way.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I've seen Parasite, Mother, Snowpiercer, The Host and I really should see Okja but Memories of Murder is very high on my Watchlist for this year. And like Thief and Okay comment on, (extremely well) regarding just how much of a mixologist the man is when it comes to blending serious and comedic elements without tipping the scales regarding the effectiveness of either. Each enhancing the other.
Just an utter treat to behold and experience.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



The Searchers (1956)

[Brad Jorgenson takes a small boulder and attempts to crush the skull of a dead Comanche warrior]
Reverend Clayton: Jorgenson!
Ethan: Why don't you finish the job?
[shoots out the eyes of the Comanche warrior]
Reverend Clayton: What good did that do ya?
Ethan: By what you preach, none. But what that Comanche believes, ain't got no eyes, he can't enter the spirit-land. Has to wander forever between the winds. You get it, Reverend.
Ethan: [to Martin] Come on, blanket-head!

cricket nailed it when describing this film as divisive. It is. Exceedingly so. There's a part of me that feels guilty for not only enjoying but fully loving this film. Those divisive aspects adding to my overall appreciation for actually delving into them as they did. Ethan (John Wayne) is not a hero saving his niece from evil savages but a revenge-ridden man hellbent and too f@ckin stubborn to change nor apologize for who he is or what he does. That revenge is extended by, and this is never spoken, but shown (VERY briefly) by a gravestone the young Debbie hides behind belonging to Ethan's wife, murdered by Comanches.
His narrowminded vengeance is amplified as well as the wrongness of it as the search involves interaction with Comanche tribes. Director Ford employed Navajo natives for every Comanche role except the leading character Scar (Henry Brandon), who has an excellent retort to Ethan's derisive "You talk good English; someone teach you?"
Before they enter his teepee to parley, he stands toe to toe, chest to chest, telling him, "You speak good Comanche, someone teach you?" and enters, not caring for an answer. Leaving Ethan to pause and think about it. In the end, the pause ending and is forgotten as he enters.

This film is chock full of such scenes where the moral ground is kicked about and argued over. Considering how this film opens with a gosh, gee enthusiasm as Ethan returns to a homestead from the Civil War, those scenes resonate incredibly so for me. My already high appreciation of John Ford, albeit an overly God Bless America dogma when it comes to his films, he IS an exceptional Director. That direction delving into the secondary characters and the interactions of friends, family, and yes, the rare insistences that interaction brought to play beyond the antagonistic, volatile conflicts out in the desert and mountains with Comanches.
I need to remark on the amazing, and I mean AMAZING landscapes in this film. I read that the cinematographer(?) for Lawerence of Arabia studied them before working on that film.


I can't even count the number of times I was struck by the beauty captured, time and again throughout this film. Extending to that final shot, including everyone entering the darkness of the home, adding a "What now?" to it all as Ethan stands outside. Saying SO MUCH without a single utterance. WOW!


Any hoot, but before this gets too d@mn epic, I wanted to explore a little more regarding the interactions of the rest of the cast. Such as the headbutting between Ethan and his estranged brother, the Reverend, the sympathetic, amusing Mose and his crazy ramblings to the fistfight between two friends before the wedding, and the politeness that permeates it.
Said interactions are a common staple of Ford films and one of the reasons he was the Director with the most films on my list for the Western Countdown. For which this would have found a spot. However, it would have been a difficult one having to extract another for it. But it would have been done.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Sullivan's Travels



Whoever picked this for me must have known I think McCrea is a pretty underrated actor, and I thought that trend was strengthened with this film too. And obviously having Veronica Lake in the movie was a huge bonus too. Their chemistry worked real well in this film for me. It had the feel of a Capra film, and obviously I'm a pretty big fan of his too. Screwball like this just works for me even if it isn't for everybody. Plus the film looked really good, something maybe I wouldn't have expected to say about it being a romantic comedy type of film and all. The only off-putting thing was how I just found the whole sentenced to six years thing kind of weird, but certainly not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the film. Cool to have gotten around to it finally. Look forward to even more Sturges. Did I mention how great Lake was?





Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh 1996)
Reaction: hmm

See that screenshot? That's my reaction to the film.

Now, don't get my wrong, I loved the subject matter which was right up my alley. In fact I expected to like this. The two lead actresses were good too.

I hate to describe a film as boring but I was bored with Secret & Lies. Everything felt so artificial, so much like a daytime TV soap opera. There was barely 90 minutes of relevant story here, which leaves an additional 50 minutes of added padding. Hence part of the reason I was bored.

I felt like each character was doing their own little monologue and wasn't really connected to the film's universe. It was like each actor got a bit of 'me time' to do their own personal, emotional breakdown scene. One after another they all delivered their little scenes at the birthday party and I didn't but any of it. Eventually I ended up laughing out loud at these people, really I did! Only it wasn't suppose to be funny....After the movie I read on IMDB that the director let the actors improvise a lot of their own dialogue, I'm not surprised either.

Anyway, sorry to whoever chose this for me. It sounded good and if someone else had directed it, it might have been good.



I've only seen Naked from Leigh and haven't heard of that one, sorry to hear it didn't work for ya, CR
I just cut this out of my review as it didn't really belong so I'm giving it to you as a reply

Twice in the past I was perusing the shelves of my local library when I came across a DVD that starred Sally Hawkins. I really like Sally Hawkins and the movie sounded good, so I borrowed it and watched it...then after 10 minutes of inane, fake sounding dialogue I shut it off. Twice I tried to watch Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky and twice I shut it off. I can't stand his movie Naked either with the same chatter driven, faux characters.



Although I wasn't the one who nominated it, I liked Secrets & Lies a lot. Vera Drake is my favourite of Leigh's film. I thought Happy Go Lucky was just ok and I hated Naked.



Although I wasn't the one who nominated it, I liked Secrets & Lies a lot. Vera Drake is my favourite of Leigh's film. I thought Happy Go Lucky was just ok and I hated Naked.
I haven't seen Vera Drake, but I did see Mr. Turner which is a film about the mid 19th century painter, I liked that one.

My short and spoiler free! review of Mr. Turner