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Ashes and Diamonds, 1958

While I believe it is true that films can be appreciated even if you don't entirely understand their historical context, there are certainly moments when I watch a movie and can sense that my lack of historical knowledge is keeping me from a deeper level of understanding.

This film is set in Poland at the end of WW2. A group of Polish resistance (also called the Home Party) members lie in wait, preparing to assassinate an important member of the Polish communist party. Their brutal attack, however, only manages to kill two innocent men. When their target is due at a celebratory banquet, the men get another chance at their assassination. But events during the banquet threaten their sense of purpose.

I only have a superficial understanding of the tensions in Poland after the war, specifically the tensions between the Polish resistance and the Russian-backed communist party. But despite this surface-level understanding of the politics at play, the themes of this film come through very strongly. As one character bluntly puts it, "This is when we decide the future of Poland."

The image above is very striking, and the film is filled with others just like it. The lighting and shadows in particular are put to good use. At times the images used---such as a white horse that seemingly emerges from nowhere to stand behind a character--border on surreal. Crisp beams of light stream through windows and doors, and the architecture of the inn that hosts the banquet provides many interesting settings.

But the film also uses events that border on, well, not quite surrealism, but more like the universe testing the main characters. For example, the main resistance fighter that we follow is a man named Maciek. Constantly hiding behind his large sunglasses, Maciek seems like a cool and detached customer, until he comes to the hotel. On throwing open his room's window, he is greeted by a woman's screams. Across the street, through another open window, he listens to the laments of the fiance of one of the men he killed. Awkwardly trying to close the window and lower the shade (neither of which work all that well), it's clear that he is not as good at compartmentalizing as he'd like to think. And once he stumbles into something like love at first sight with a bartender at the hotel, the sunglasses come off.

There is another subplot in the film about a different member of the group, this one is offered a potentially high-ranking job in the government. In the course of the night, these men are given a glimpse of what life might be like without their rebellious actions. They must reckon with what they are giving up by continuing to be a part of the resistance. It's not to say that they no longer believe in their cause, but they must grapple with the cost of it. And not just the cost of not marrying or being wealthy, but the cost of taking life--sometimes innocent lives--and the guilt that follows them.

Wajda is a HUGE blindspot for me. (This might be the first film I've seen from him--eek!). But I really enjoyed it. It is a very somber film, and there is a heaviness that hangs over it. The performances and the style of it are very gripping. There were some conversations that I didn't entirely grasp and a few characters whose alliances I was not entirely clear on (especially distinguishing between the Russians and the members of the Communist party). But despite being a little lost at times, the central storyline and themes were crystal clear.

Joy Ride

Decent thriller. Some really great scenes.

Romancing the Stone (1984)

gosh really hope she watched the first one aswell and hope she listen the soundtrack aswell. that is really cool that shes changed cause the movie as amazing hip hop culture

Tender Mercies (1983)

To each their own.
I really liked, in the '58 version, how sad the whole thing is, how he transforms but is constantly trying to hide it from his wife because he doesn't want to break her heart. And then when she finds him, instead of running away, she does everything she can to help him. And then, with Vincent Price as his brother, those final sad moments and that brutal last scene.
I really do love what Cronenberg did with the idea, and I love everything about the remake, but the painful humanity of the original just really surprised me, especially for its time.

I've had this in my queue for a bit, your reaction makes me want to bump it up a ways.

Mister, were you really Mac Sledge?
DuVall is a master.

Yeah,,, this movie is no bueno. Drags on for too long, main plot is a little confusing, action scenes are kinda meh, the villains are super shallow and even Gadot seems fed up with the whole thing, Yikes

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There has been an awekening.... have you felt it?

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020, Charlie Kaufman)

Wow, this is probably my favorite 2020 film of those I've yet had the pleasure to see. Such an unsettling, mysterious and intellectually stimulating tour-de-force - kept me glued to the screen from start to finish. Excellent acting by everybody involved. Very Lynchian in its psychological subtext (the meet-the-parents dinner sequence kinda reminded me of Eraserhead, with some Mulholland Drive-like vibes being felt here and there across the film).
Though I wasn't blown away by the ending, it was still very good, and that ballet sequence was very well done.
Fine, fine film.

Base on that image alone, I want to see it

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I'm always torn between these two cause I find the original to be a bit more consistent from start to end, and the ending is creepy as hell, but I find the remake to be more emotionally affecting, even if the middle act drags a bit. I think based on the latter, I give a slight edge to the remake.

EDIT: I found a comparison I wrote about both years ago (click here), but if you ask me now, I'd probably bump the rating on the original a notch.

Le Samourai -

had to dock points because at no point does he use a katana

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

I've put off watching this for a while thinking that both Arnold and Linda were too old for me to believe them in a serious action film but as it is now free on Prime, I figured I'd give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed Dark Fate. Only a few complaints; First, I didn't buy Mackenzie Davis as Grace. She is just so long and thin I can't believe her in the role, augmented or not. I think Davis would be more believable in the next awkward teen girl coming-of-age movie. Second, the scene where Sarah Connor meets the Terminator (Arnold) seemed way too forced. I get that she was mad and hurt and whatever but I just didn't believe that she actually felt those things. Maybe Hamilton's acting abilities have suffered through the years but I never believed that she felt anything rather it seemed like Sarah was putting on a show for the others benefit. Last, Dani Reyes fell into her badass leadership role way too fast, there wasn't nearly enough character development for that but I guess we needed more time for the lengthy action sequences. All-in-all, Terminator Dark Fate was a good watch, I liked the new terminator and Arnold's character was great. I enjoyed it despite of my complaints.

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I also found the remake to be more emotionally affecting. I appreciated how Brundle turning into a fly complicated not not only Veronica's relationship with him, but also her relationship with Stathis. Early on, him teasing her acted as a threat to their relationship and she initially tried to avoid him. The more Brundle changed, however, staying with Stathis increasingly became the better option, leading to her confiding in him. I found this to be an interesting shift concerning his character and I liked how they wrote it into the script. It gave an extra degree of emotional power to Brundle's and Veronica's relationship.

With the original, I liked the frame narrative quite a lot, but I also think that what @Wooley is describing only occurrs during one stretch of the film. I remember the film taking a while to get past the opening act with them trying to sort out the mystery (I initially liked this act, but found it to drag on subsequent viewings) plus another decently long time to get to the actual "fly" scenes once the flashback segment started, which is, I believe, where the movie officially started. I found that sequence powerful, but a lot of the connective tissue doesn't mean much to me by comparison, save for the creepy web shot at the end.

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That's a 10/10 film for me. Or, to use this forum's rating system.

The Stathis' character is another one of my minor quibbles with the remake. I don't think he was handled properly. The script makes an effort to turn him into a "light antagonist" during the first two acts, but in the last act, he's probably the one with the most common sense. They could've had a more balanced character and ultimately a better effect in the end.

I think that a lot of it lies in audience's knowing "the twist". The way the film is constructed, we're not meant to know that he's fused with the fly, at least the way that he is. But now, 60+ (60!) years after, everybody knows it, everybody's seen the image of the body with the head of the fly. I think that seeing it without knowing what exactly happened in the laboratory, the slow reveal could've worked way better.

I hear you, but he personally worked well enough for me. I liked how, once the situation spiraled out of control, Veronica had no choice but to confide in him, making Brundle's and Veronica's relationship more tragic given the impact the fly incident had on their relationship. It also helped to make Brundle's breakdown in the final act all the more believable.

Yeah, I think there was definitely an element of mystery with the film when it was first released. I imagine I would've liked the film better if I went in completely blind. I did appreciate the first act somewhat when I first saw it, but when I rewatched the remake, it dragged for me.

Agreed.
As I've often said (on previous forums and at least once here), I frequently have more to say about bad movies than good ones as I think the bad ones can be almost MORE instructive. And I think I could say a LOT about the ways in which WW84 is bad, many of them having to do with obvious studio interference and WB/DCs inability to relax and let a good script matriculate and not try to cram everything they think focus-groups might want into every movie... but then I thought, "Why would I bother with a throwaway like this?"