Quint's Reviews and Ruminations on Film

Hiroshima Mon Amour
Directed by Alain Resnais - Drama, Romance, History - 90 minutes - 1959




When I was a teenager, Jaws was my favorite movie, my first favorite movie as a matter of fact (before then I'd never really thought about ranking such things), as I moved into adulthood, it became On the Waterfront, and in my old age? Well, I've come to see that I have more than one; but if you ask, I'd answer that Hiroshima Mon Amour is my favorite of the here and now.

An innovative and vital piece of the French New Wave (Left Bank contingent), it centers on an intense affair between a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) and a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva). The two spend the day getting to know one another and working through (mostly her) personal demons. The brilliant opening sequence establishes the visual, audial, and thematic motifs - focusing primarily on the nature of memory, as the woman recalls things she couldn't have seen firsthand in regard to Hiroshima, the difference between being there and having it told to you is relayed through the jarring juxtaposition of movie versions of bombing victims to disturbing footage of the real thing. (Seeing the lovers covered in ash at the beginning, was another startling image).

Language-wise... there’s a lyrical quality to writer Marguerite Duras' dialogue, a thread of musicality woven throughout. But it’s not like the nature-born poetry of Ray’s Pather Panchali. It's more exacting, structured - but beautiful none the less. I also find it interesting the way characters can shift from 1st to 3rd person narratives or even take on the personality of another character from a different place and time (as when the Japanese channels the persona of the woman's German lover). The screenplay earned Duras a well-deserved Oscar nomination.

On the technical side of things, I admired the work of its dual cinematographers - Michio Takahashi in Japan and Sacha Vierny for the French locations. Each used different lenses and lighting techniques and such, which lends a distinct look to each time frame. The score, provided by Georges Delerue and Giovanni Fusco, is a mix of the somber and the off kilter - it too reenforces the concept (the scene where Elle splashes her face in the sink; it’s the music that tells us that she’s suddenly back in Nevers). The editing - the matching of hands, bodies, and landscapes, from past and present is expertly done, and again, is another element that sells the idea of time merging.

Acting? While Eiji is rock solid as Lui, the persistent male lead, the feature rests on Riva's capable shoulders. She gives a haunting performance in her film debut. When we first see her playful smile at the start, you can see how a man could instantly be drawn to her. But later a shadow falls over her face, and when she stares off into space it's as if she were stuck simultaneously in both the 'then', and the 'now' - which is just what the director and writer wanted. It's astonishing work, and her scenes hit me hard, shook me up (the moments set in Nevers are devastating).

While I’ve heard that some folks consider the film detached/cold on a first viewing, that was not the case for me, as it instantly got under my skin. I had such a powerful emotional and intellectual reaction to this movie... you could say its exploration of memories that linger, and those that slip away -of the traumas of war; of love destroyed, and the scars left on a soul- stole the breath from my lungs.

Notes: Like Tarkovsky’s horses or Fassbinder’s mirrors, one of Resnais’ visual trademarks is the zeroing in on hands. Even where they are not in close-up, they might be doing something interesting… as when the woman tells the man the story of the German and her hand curls and shakes subtly. Or when she draws her hands away from the man and her fingers briefly move as if she were pressing the keys of a piano.

Personal Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actress, Score, and Original Screenplay

6th viewing.

Hiroshima Mon Amour is so great. The opening 20 minutes are quite possibly the greatest sequence which occurs in a confined area and the remainder of the film is such a seamless combination of political and personal history.

Btw, are you on Letterboxd?

Loved In a Lonely Place…Gloria Grahame owned that movie 🎦

Murder, My Sweet
Directed by Edward Dmytryk - Crime, Mystery, Drama, Noir - 95 minutes - 1944




1944 offered up plenty of treasures for fans of Noir. There was Laura, Woman in the Window, Phantom Lady - and of course, everyone's favorite, Double Indemnity… though I’m more partial to Murder. “Murder, My Sweet” that is. Adapted from the Raymond Chandler novel, Farewell, My Lovely, it sees private eye Philip Marlowe embroiled in two cases; one, a missing person, the other, involving a murdered client, and both just might be the death of him.

This was part of Dick Powell’s successful image change. Known previously for light comedic musicals - and looking very much like a character out of a Dr. Seuss book, what with that button nose, thin upper lip and cartoonish smile. You wouldn’t think he could pull off the tough guy act. But he did, wonderfully. And he delivers Chandler’s colorful dialogue like it was written specifically for him. Sure, Bogart outclassed him as a hard ass, but Powell was the better smart ass.

Along with our charismatic star, the well-cast picture includes Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley, who provide the glamour, while Otto Kruger and Mike Mazurki bring the menace.

Director Edward Dmytryk helms a good-looking picture, shot by Harry J. Wild, with Toland-inspired depth of field and low angle shots, nice use of shadows too. Its most notable moment is the expressionistic ‘coked up’ nightmare sequence - though the film as a whole has an off-kilter, druggy, dreamy vibe to it, beginning with Moose Malloy’s startling first appearance. He’s seen as an oversized reflection on Marlowe’s window - where his looming figure appears and disappears like a ghost. In addition, there’s the black-out effect whenever Philip slips into unconsciousness.

Character-wise we’re offered these interesting off-handed details: Marlowe sniffs - he sniffs a drink before partaking of it, he sniffs a couple of cigs, which he tosses away, before reaching into his coat to pull out his own brand (did those other smokes have an odd smell, were they marijuana?) Marlowe striking a match on Cupid's backside, to which he gives a few quick glances. Not the whole statue, just the butt interests him, I don’t know why. Or the bit when he steals the old woman’s whisky bottle; again, why (to give her a night off the booze, or to give him something to drink later). None of this adds to the overall plot but are simply curious personality grace notes.

It should go without saying that Marlowe’s twin cases, which quickly intermingle, are a kick to follow -- so there you are, it checks off all the Noir boxes. The style, the story, and hard-boiled language, the first-person perspective, the femme fatale. You can’t go wrong with this one if you’re in the mood for a night of murder and mystery.

The Lady from Constantinople
Directed by Judit Elek - Drama - 73 minutes - 1969




This largely plotless slice of direct cinema is a portrait of loneliness -which is found even in crowded spaces- and a mournful look at an older woman who is slipping further into irrelevancy. A dire Hungarian housing situation acts as the backdrop, with overcrowding so severe they are forced to conduct funerals on the rooftops.

Manyi Kiss is memorable as the old woman with the warm smile, still feisty, and caring and desperate to connect - surrounded by her memories in an apartment she's talked out of leaving - which at least allows her to be momentarily caught up in this whirlwind of eccentric characters. But she's also fading and melancholic, there's a deep sadness in her eyes, and when the flurry of activity ends, she's alone, downsized and unwanted again.

Packs a poignant punch in its short runtime - Premiered out of competition at Cannes.

In 1975 Rod Serling passed away and Kate Winslet was born

In '75 I was reading Stephen King's Salems' Lot and James Clavell's Shōgun

On TV I watched Tom Snyder interview John Lennon - All in the Family, Maude, M*A*S*H and Sanford and Son were weekly watches - Saturday Night Live made its debut, I was a night owl and was channel surfing when I happened upon George Carlin. "I like George Carlin", I thought, "I'll watch this" and it became my regular Saturday night thing. Also debuting, The New Original Wonder Woman, which aired as a pilot for an upcoming series.

In sports there was the Thrilla in Manila, Ali vs Frazier

In music, I was digging Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Nazareth's Hair of the Dog - The Tubes released their first album - and I really like Janis Ian's single, At Seventeen.

But the biggest thing in rock and roll was Alice Cooper's first solo outing, Welcome to My Nightmare. I was mad for the album and the TV special that went with it. Only Women Bleed was a hit, and my father refused to believe it was him when it played on the radio, "No, seriously?" My Alice year started on January 13th, 1975, when Coop performed Unfinished Sweet on the first episode of the Smothers Brothers Show.

And in film the summer blockbuster was born, in the form of my first favorite movie, Jaws. I adored this thing, loved the characters, and interestingly I came to adore sharks, I was fascinated with them, studied up on them, I think I wanted to become Hooper when I grew up, lol. It's probably my most watched movie and was the first I saw in theaters more than once; I saw it again when it made a return decades later, and I'll be there if/when it receives a 50th anniversary showing.

Along with that, here are my 10 favorite features from 1975 (Note - Satyajit Ray's The Middleman didn't have theatrical release until 1976)


1) The Traveling Players - Theo Angelopoulos
Greek history, politics and theater merge as one, interesting to watch time blend, for example the revelers who become protesters as they seamlessly walk from one era to another.

2) Mirror - Andrei Tarkovsky
This non-linear, autobiographical drama is cinema in its purist most perfect form. It has similarities to my #1, as there is a juxtaposition of Soviet history with daily life, and like most from the director, is philosophic and a wonder to look at.

3) Jaws - Steven Spielberg
The summer blockbuster is born - a brilliantly crafted adventure, with a host of colorful characters, and a terrifying force of nature

4) Love and Death - Woody Allen
Back when Woody was second to none in building a gag - this is wildly hilarious, silly as heck, with a helping of intellectualism thrown in, in this satire of classic Russian literature.

5) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Miloš Forman
Jack finally wins his Oscar, in this clash between the anti-establishment and the establishment. (and apparently there was a clash between star and director, with Nicholson refusing to speak to Forman - out of this discord, a masterpiece)

6) Picnic at Hanging Rock - Peter Weir
The director's finest work IMHO - atmospheric, mysterious, appropriately ambiguous.

7) Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick
Bored me as a teenager, but as a grown-up it held me under its spell. Incredibly detailed, from the costuming to the set design, incredibly shot, from the candlelit interiors to the picture postcard outdoor scenes. The story and characters are compelling - The hours (all 3 of them) melted away with ease.

8) Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - Chantal Akerman
Yes, it finally clicked, after years of fighting with it, and with a little help from my movie friends, I finally found an in with this challenging but brilliantly realized movie. The reason I put the spotlight on 1975 was to celebrate this joining my 10.

9) Fear of Fear - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
A somewhat underappreciated jewel in Fassbinder's crown. The director treads on Bergman territory in this unsettling look at mental illness. The watery distortions, and the looming figure of Mr. Bauer... who pops up, seemingly from out of nowhere, leave an impression. Camera work and performances are aces. Great story, but frustrating when people either exploit or exacerbate the situation. (Margot's a-hole sister seems to feed off her misery)

10) Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees - Masahiro Shinoda
This underrated gem is about a henpecked mountain man and the woman he kidnaps... who's crazier, smarter, eviler and holds all the power. Trees is a twisted look at relationship dynamics. Only instead of flowers, clothes or jewels, what this lady wants from her hubby is a collection of heads she can play with

After that...

Dersu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa)
Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones)
Fox and His Friends & Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (2 more from Fassbinder)
Other People’s Letters (Ilya Averbakh)

The Passenger, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, Nashville, Welfare, The Magic Flute, The Man Who Would be King, Seven Beauties, The Battle of Chile, Woodpeckers Don’t Get Headaches, Manila in the Claws of Light, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, Everybody Rides the Carousel, The Story of Adele H, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, End of the Holiday, Night Moves, The Valiant Ones from King Hu, and a couple of Charles Bronson goodies, Hard Times and Breakheart Pass

Oh, and I can't forget Super Inframan

Let's talk about Ireland (and hmm, according to these pictures I selected, the Irish are always on the run)


Just finished with Kneecap and loved it! What's funny is that I wasn't that interested in it going in, and didn't really want to watch it - I'm not into rap or hip-hop music, and the drug angle was a turn off for me; and yet, while all of that is present, what it really is about, and what moved me (especially having Irish blood coursing in my veins), was the fight to save the Irish language.

I know we can't go deep into politics here, but stories about one country trying to erase another countries culture and language, sets my blood to a boil. And one thing I love about the recent resurgence of Irish cinema, is the increased use of the language.

In 2024, "Kneecap" was selected as the Irish entry for the Academy Award for "Best International Feature Film" - it was not accepted (Oscar should have dropped that overrated turd, "Emilia Pérez" and gone with it instead) - Thankfully, in 2022, an Irish language film was accepted in that category, the first in Oscar's history, it was called The Quiet Girl.


As the title indicated, this is a quiet, gentle film, heartfelt, without slipping into sappiness. It treads on familiar paths, but doesn't feel clichéd or tired, maybe because it's so sincere with its telling? I was fully invested with the characters, and this moment and place, where kindness and love flourish, to counter the cold, hard bitterness life can rain on a person or persons.

Beautiful movie, with an emotional closing scene that left me in tears, and I was overjoyed to see its well-deserved nomination.

Other recent Irish language movies on my watchlist include Fréwaka (2024), which is steeped in scary folklore, and Arracht (2019) about 'the blight', and Song of Granite (2017), which tells the life story of traditional Irish folk singer Joe Heaney.

Keep 'em coming, Ireland.

Oh, and speaking of music, I didn't even know Kneecap was a real group, but I actually enjoyed their stuff. I found it very catchy; it gets your blood pumping.

"El Indio", as he was called, was a revolutionary, a prisoner, a boxer, a baker, an aviator and a diver, but most know him as an actor, screenwriter and director, one of the giants of Mexico's Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s.

He is also rumored to be the model for the Oscar statuette.

Fernández is one of my favorites, and while his films can be difficult to find, here's a ranked list of 12 I've managed to track down.

1. Maria Candelaria (1944)
In my opinion this is Fernández's masterpiece. It won the Palme d'Or award at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival and features the work from a dream team - actors Dolores del Río, Pedro Armendáriz, and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.

2. Enamorada (1946)
This time the actress is Maria Felix, who plays the beautiful and wild Beatriz Peñafiel, who steals the heart of a revolutionary General

3. Bugambilia (1945)
The spirited Del Rio (and her squeaky shoes) is the leading lady in this tragic romance. It seems I like this a little more than the average viewer.

4. Maclovia (1948)
There's nothing quite like melodrama from Mexico, it often works better than some of the overly polished romances you'd get out of Hollywood, IMHO Mexico was more earnest... I felt that with these forbidden lovers, Indians, who have to deal with a racist military sergeant, as well as an unyielding father, who won't even allow them to look at one another (I love the scene where Pedro Armendáriz catches a glimpse of Maria Felix's shadow, not even her father can defy the sun)

5. Pueblerina (1949)
A man wrongly sent to prison returns home to his lady love, who was raped and gave birth to a son. The town is under the thumb of 2 brothers, both rotten to the core, who make life miserable for the couple. A lengthy piece, with a lot of music - the charismatic cast is led by Columba Domínguez and Roberto Cañedo.



6. Victims of Sin (1951)
My first from the 50s is a recent Criterion release. As previously stated, nobody did melodrama like Mexico during its golden age. And arguably, nobody directed them as well as Emilio Fernández, who also co-stars as one mean, vain, asshat, who sets this tale in motion.

Cuban born Ninón Sevilla is the driving force behind the picture, playing a dancer who rescues an abandoned infant - she's a star through and through.

The talent gathered here is impressive - I was quite taken with the editing during Ninón's opening dance; it was very modern, with quick cutting, and multiple angles. I looked to see who did the work, it was Gloria Schoemann, who edited over 200 movies in her lifetime, many of them the finest in Mexican cinema. The great Gabriel Figueroa shot the film, the superb 4K restoration really shows off his work, all the smoke and shadows, and his compositions.

The story is slight, its run time filled out with a lot of musical numbers (as you'd expect for a cabaretera film), but heartfelt and dramatic, with sensuality and the stench of crime woven throughout.

7. Flor Silvestre (aka Wild Flower, 1943)
His third directorial effort, the first with Del Rio, who he wasn't very nice too (he could really push his actors, but at least he owned up to this and promised to be kinder if she would agree to return for Maria Candelaria). It's been a while since I saw the movie, but I did like the title song from brothers José and Miguel Angel Díaz Castilla.

8. Salon Mexico (1949)
Class divisions, victimization and sacrifices are had in this heartbreaker.

9. Rebellion of the Hanged (1954)
Fernández at his most overtly political - its setting is pre-revolutionary and addresses the exploitation of indigenous people. Watching this mistreatment is angering, as you wait for the cathartic release of some kind of justice.

10. The Pearl (1947)
While it's not my favorite from Emilio, it was a considered an important work, one of his most respected. And it's a gorgeously shot film, featuring some of Figueroa's finest work.

And rounding out the 12... Río escondido (1948), which I gave 3-stars too, and The Torch (1950), A dreadful remake of Enamorada with Paulette Goddard a poor fit in the lead.

I’ve seen Rebellion of the Hanged and enjoyed that one. Need to see the rest yet.

His work is so difficult to find, especially with English subs. I hope "Victims of Sin" being added to the Criterion Collection opens the door for more. Either there, or with another boutique distributor.

Aside from his feature debut (Passion Island), these are the movies high on my watchlist

• The Abandoned (1945 - Las abandonadas)
• La malquerida (1949)
• One Day of Life (1950 - Un día de vida)
• The Net (1953 - La Red)
• Reportaje (1953)
• Una cita de amor (1958) - with Silvia Pinal

Oscar is coming and I'm really behind on the viewing front, I've only seen all the animation nominees (features and shorts), but I'll get to them eventually. Over the years I made it point to watch all the nominees for Picture, Director and the Acting categories - I also started digging into the international film nominees, but still have some ways to go, so let's just focus on the former.

Now, I'll never complete this, there are lost films, and films that are stored somewhere but not made available to the public at large. But here are the final 20 left to see...

1st Academy Awards
The Way of All Flesh (1927)
Emil Jannings (lead actor) - A lost film - I've only seen the surviving snippets

Sorrell and Son (1927)
Herbert Brenon (director in drama category) - A partially restored print is held at the Academy Film Archive.

2nd Academy Awards
The Patriot (1928)
Best picture - no complete or near complete version exists - I've only seen the trailer



Drag (1929)
Frank Lloyd (direction) - recently rediscovered, it's in a film archive somewhere

The Barker (1928)
Betty Compston (lead actress) - only way to see it is to journey to the UCLA Film and TV Archive

3rd - The Green Goddess (1930)
George Arliss (lead actor) - most of these movies aren't considered all that wonderful, you're just here for the performances, but I've read that Arliss, playing a randy Raja, hams it up.

This is a remake of a longer, silent picture that also stars Arliss.

28th - Trial (1955)
Arthur Kennedy (support)

29th - The Bold and the Brave (1956)
Mickey Rooney (support)

41st - Star! (1968)
Daniel Massey (support)

54th - Only When I Laugh (1981)
Marsha Mason (lead), James Coco & Joan Hackett (supp) - that's a lot of acting noms, I guess I should get cracking and track this down.

56th - Reuben, Reuben (1983)
Tom Conti (lead actor)



60th Academy Awards
Gaby: A True Story (1987)
Norma Aleandro (supp actress)

Anna (1987)
Anna Kirkland (lead actress) - never thought much of Kirkland's acting, and I remember the trailer did nothing for me... so I keep putting this off.

63rd - Longtime Companion (1989)
Bruce Davison (support)

69th - Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
James Woods (support)

71st Academy Awards
One True Thing (1998)
Streep (actress) - I didn't even know this existed, watched the trailer, nope, nothing, no memory of ever hearing about this one, and I even watched the Oscars that year, remember Paltrow picking up the award.

Primary Colors (1998)
Kathy Bates (support) - Kathy's always worth a watch

78th - Hustle & Flow (2005)
Terrance Howard (actor)

82nd - Nine (2009)
Penelope Cruze (support) - It's at Tubi and Prime, so I can check this off the list anytime

88th - The Danish Girl (2015)
Redmayne (actor), Vikander (supp) - I dislike Redmayne, so I've been in no hurry to watch it, but I guess I should do so if only for Vikander, who won in support.

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Completed Extant Filmographies: Luis Buñuel, Federico Fellini, Satyajit Ray, Fritz Lang, Andrei Tarkovsky, Buster Keaton, Yasujirō Ozu, Carl Th. Dreyer - (for favorite directors who have passed or retired, 10 minimum)

I’ve also been going through every Oscar nominated film ever in all categories, but no where near as thorough as you. I have made significant headway into them, especially cinematography, director, and best picture categories, but still so much to go

That's cool, it certainly gives a film buff something to seek out and focus on (like cinematography).

I really went after it when I started alt-Oscar blogging back in 2011 (research stage). That's what expanded and increased my viewing habits.

I finished up with their best pictures back in 2020, a lot of the actors came along with that. I also started going through awards from other countries, Canada, Japan, France, etc, just looking for new candidates on years where I was thin on nominees (Canada was a great resource for actors, but so few have been restored or released on disc... you can find the movies on YouTube and elsewhere, but they are sourced from VHS or televised showings and don't look real hot -- and this is just going back to the 80s, so not super old movies either).

I find it kind of funny when people say they are running out of things to watch, while I'm drowning in watchlists and overloaded ques, and bookmarks filled with movies, all while hunting down nominees from Oscars, etc.

Yeah, I started the best pictures viewing back in 2005, but it sorted of tapered off around 2014 and I veered more into foreign films. Like you, I started looking up the awards from other countries, especially Asian countries (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China) and of course Europe (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, The Nordic Countries). I even dabbled a bit in Australia, Canada, and Mexico.

Still so much to see, so I can’t conceive of anyone ever running out of films to watch.

I should also mention I’ve recently started digging into the short categories (this includes documentaries, animated and live action) and have made some decent progress.

Having Hulu gives me access to a lot of the Disney films that had ever been nominated. Especially animated and documentaries. Short or feature length.
Thai will take me down time to go through of course, haha.

A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Directed by Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson - Documentary - 225 minutes - 1995




There have been lengthier and more extensive looks at film history and the evolution of cinema as an art form, so if you're an experienced filmmaker or a student of film as a theorist, historian or as one who loves examining the language of cinema, this won't tell you anything new, but by personalizing it - seeing and hearing Martin's enthusiasm for the medium - that's what makes this 3-part BBC miniseries well worth a watch. In addition, if you'd like to take an introductory film studies class, but don't have the means, this is an excellent alternative - you couldn't ask for a better, more erudite teacher than Scorsese.

Centered on American productions, Martin shares personal stories and shows clips that clarify the points he's making about sound, visuals and other techniques - as well as styles, ideologies and philosophies. You get archival footage with the directors themselves who offer their perspectives. Plus, it's well organized, so you won't get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of info.

As an old timer, I didn't discover anything I wasn't already familiar with, but I was enthralled by it nonetheless, the presentation and the passion, just hearing the director talk about the movies he loves as much as I do, is a joy. And I would recommend it to any neophyte or casual viewer looking to deepen their film knowledge - though it does spoil some plot points and finishes.

It also ends too abruptly, with so much left to say.

The Girl and the Echo
Directed by Arūnas Žebriūnas - Family Drama - 67 minutes - 1964




Gorgeously shot rock formations and seascapes, coupled to sound design that contributes to the texture of the film, enhance a story of a girl at the end of summer vacation, and the boy who betrays her due to peer pressure. Restrained, and with sensitive insight, the movie captures the innocence of this age... and the immaturity (boys, even this young, come off aggressive and intimidating).

The moments that give the movie its title are beautiful, joyous, and magical (at one point the echoes provide an answer to a question the girl asks). It's also poignant that the boy loses the echos after hurting his friend.

Arūnas Žebriūnas is an underseen director for most westerners, but his classic "The Beautiful Girl" is considered a Lithuanian treasure, and this production -another about kids being kids- is equally as good.

Young Lina Braknyte as Vika, the girl, didn't last long in the business, I read that she later went to school to learn the craft of cinematography but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, she's memorable here, bright, natural, and real. All told, the direction, camera, sound and performances, work in concert quite nicely. It's a lovely little film.

La Red
Directed by Emilio Fernández - Drama, Romance, Crime - 80 minutes - 1953




A woman named Rossana, and two men, first Antonio and later, José Luis (both on the run from the law) take shelter at a remote beach. There's sexual tension of course - shirtless or barely concealed bodies, and steamy, penetrating closeups - the atmosphere is dreamlike, with very little dialog, and what story there is, could fit on a post it note.

There's also so much visual splendor -moody skies, sand and rocks and crashing waves- that it seems as much cinematographer Alex Phillips' film as it does Fernández's.

While there's a current of threat or danger, and the faces of the townsfolk who lust after Rossana when she comes for supplies, is disturbing - at times, the quiet lulls you into a false sense of security, it could almost feel like paradise here, until jealousy boils over into violence, first against the woman, which made me loathe Antonio more than I already did. And suddenly, what was sedate, reaches a state of heightened, pulse racing emotion.

It's a unique piece, like nothing I'd ever seen from the director, and while there are off key moments -one of them is shot in the chest, yet he's quick to recover, and left without a scratch- I found "La Red" every bit the equal to Emilio's brilliant "Maria Candelaria".

• Postscript - though I wonder if the off-key moments are intentional, it does feel dream-like, a trance, with repetitions in routine and glances. A sense of unreality bleeding in through reality could be just what the filmmakers wanted.
  
• The film also goes by the titles, "The Net", and "Rossana".

No Name on the Bullet
Directed by Jack Arnold - Western - 77 minutes - 1959




I love psychological westerns (Anthony Mann being the king of that in the 50s). And while Bullet probably spends too much time talking about it (the psychology), explaining the mind-set of its main character, it's still damn good. Very intense.

Audie Murphy stars as John Gant, a well-known hired killer, who rides into a small town. And without a declaration of intent or a draw of his gun, causes the people to lose their heads. Guilt and paranoia eat away at them. They start suspecting one another, turning on one another... turning on themselves (who is he after, him, me?) It's quite the thing, magnificently orchestrated, to see these folks come undone, without much urging from Gant.

Murphy's diminutive with boyish features. So, he has to work harder than a Lee Van Cleef or Jack Palance to be intimidating. But he gets the job done here, not with a mean scowl, but a cold smile, and a cynical world view.

I also enjoyed the rapport he had with the town doctor; how they contrast one another (Gant is truly like a disease that's entered the body). They are kind of becoming friends, though the gunfighter can't quite bring himself to refer to him by his given name - just calls him 'physician', and that's all kinds of cool too.

Directed by Jack Arnold, one of the leading figures of 50s sci-fi, with hits like Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man. Of the handful of westerns he filmed, this was by far my favorite.

Bonus Material: Lists! Compiled here in various categories

The Best of the "Old" West

Favorite "Contemporary" Westerns

Western Dibs & Dabs

I watched several of Audie Murphy's movies for the Westerns Countdown, and No Name on the Bullet was easily my favorite of his movies. It was #3 on my list.

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