Superb Scenes With Seanc

The story of a divorce through a six year old's eyes. This is no ordinary divorce however, at least I hope not. These people may be the most self centered people to ever conceive a child. For proof of this you need to look no further than the fact that Maisie connects with both her step parents far more than she ever does with her own mother and father.


Everything in this film is through Maisie's eyes so we get little insight into the adult's motivations in this film. This works in favor of the film as we sympathize with Maisie at every turn, as we should. It does work against the film somewhat as well however. The film does not pack the emotional punch I expected due to not having a very strong grasp of where the adults are headed and why. We simply understand this set of adults is neglecting this child and this set of adults is providing what she needs.



What Maisie Knew will still tug at your heart strings a little though.
What Maisie Knew is a simple film with a straight forward narrative. It has good but not great performances. There are some very touching moments and some that feel more than a little forced. Worth the watch but nothing that will stay with you for very long.

This is a perfect example of the director elevating the material. The narrative is simple. A couple growing old together, one of them gets ill, and the other has to watch the person they have given everything to fade away. Haneke engages us beyond this simple narrative however. He does so visually and by always keeping the complexities of the story at arms length.


Haneke's static shots are perfect, as they always are. Most of the film takes place in the couples apartment but that doesn't keep the film from being beautiful to look at. The furniture, the way a door is painted, the kitchen, or the bookcase in the living room. I have never been so enamored with the mundane the way I am when viewing a Haneke film. I also loved the way that the first scene in Amour mirrors the final scene in Cache. You have a simple static shot full of people. In the case of Amour it takes place in a theater. We just spend a short couple of minutes watching people in it exist, but it is mesmerizing. Of course we are searching for someone we know, and eventually you find them. The point is it doesn't matter if you find them or not. They are just existing in this space like all of those around them.


Haneke also has such a unique style to his story telling. We are introduced to a couple of people who have been a part of this couples life. One is a student and the other is their daughter. It is obvious that they have effected both of these peoples life in both a positive and negative manner. Haneke never gives us enough to let us know exactly how but just enough for us to have something to chew on. Ultimately I think he wants us to draw our own conclusions, to fill in the blanks. Most of the time this would be a strategy that would annoy me and remove me from the film, but somehow with a Haneke film it mostly works.


I think that the ending of this film is one that could spark some controversy. There have been other films that have ended in a similar manner, and I feel that it works. In real life such an ending would be appalling, but when taken in the context of storytelling I think it is effective. Like the other Haneke films I have seen I really liked Amour, however I can't help but feel that if he would just give me a little more to grab hold of I would be in love with his films.

My first ever silent film, thanks to DanielM for finally making me man up. Unfortunately the experience was exactly what I thought it would be. It was like watching a long version of the clips I have seen hundreds of times in commercials and in other movies. It is all about the sight gags and in 2013 sight gags aint what they used to be. I am sure what Keaton was doing in 1924 was unique and engaging, I am willing to grade on that scale. That only goes so far with me however and the fact that I never laughed once in a comedy has to go into my grading as well. After all I have laughed at Abbot and Costello and I Love Lucy and even the Three Stooges on a rare occasion. The other thing that struck me while watching Sherlock Jr was that the text was completely unnecessary. We could have understood each and every thing that was going on without a word of it. It seems even in 1924 silent films directors didn't trust us to engage with the story without spelling it out for us.

So I enjoyed four of the sight gags, and that will be enough to get Buster some popcorn points from me, which is what made him get into making films I am sure. I thought the sticky trash that he puts onto the man's shoe was good, that received an actual smile from me if not a laugh. Keaton exiting the train by way of the water tower was pretty cool. Running and jumping through the open briefcase was a nifty trick. Lastly the bike ride with no driver was enjoyable.

I am glad that being on movie forums has made me break down and watch some films that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I will not be adding the rest of Keaton's filmography to my watch list however.

Polley has made an incredibly engaging documentary about her family and the events surrounding her mother's death. She simply sits down her brothers and sisters, her father, and some close family friends and asks them to recount the story in their own words from their own perspective. What the film becomes is an exercise in revealing the truth. How we all make our own truth based on our perspective, relationships, and experiences. Each player in Polley's story has a slightly different take on the amazing story that unfolds before us. Every single person is a sympathetic character, none are trying to be misleading. Each of them is simply conveying the story from their truth of what transpired. They all love Polley's mother, yet they all recognize her strengths and weaknesses as well.


Polley's story is nothing short of extraordinary. The fact that she is willing to share it with the world shows a lot of courage. That is not the amazing part of the film for me though. The fact that she chose to tell the story this way, to tell us the story while also closely examining why and how we tell stories the way we do is genius. Polley is quickly becoming one of my favorite film makers. I cannot wait to see what project she takes on next. Meanwhile Stories We Tell is far and way my second favorite film of the year thus far.