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The Return (2003)
Brothers, Andrei and Ivan, have been craving for a father figure throughout all their life, and after 12 years of absence, their father abruptly returns, and takes the kids along with him on a trip, little does any of them know, that this trip will be a soul-stirring journey.
To call this film "haunting" would be an understatement, ever since I watched it, it has been creeping into my thoughts, deservedly so. This is the result of the evocative music, eerie cinematography, mysterious characters and tense atmosphere, meshing all together perfectly, in order to create an unforgettable experience.
The father's character is the biggest mystery of the movie, and as we are given the same perspective as his young kids, we ask the same questions they wonder, and we long for the same explanations they crave, but it's also important to know that firstly, the film is more so about the father-son relationship, and the results of the absence of this fatherly figure. We have Andrei, a son who is desperate for his dad's love and approval, and is ready to turn a blind eye to his father's shady behaviour, and we have Ivan, who's stubborn and unwilling to forgive his dad for his long absence, which translates into his hostile and negative attitude towards him. So as the two brothers clash with each other on the topic of their father, the tension and mystery builds and builds...until it all plummets down to a shocking conclusion.
Andrey Zvyagintsev, who's one of my favourite currently working directors, accomplishes so much, with so little, in his atmospheric directorial debut, and I cant wait to see what else is left in his bag of tricks. This is a great movie that I'm still going to think about for a long time, my only gripes with it are some small issues with the presentation, otherwise, this is everything I look for in a film.
Speaking about The Return, I don't like to divide movies, book, music etc. into categories: for women or for men, but in this case, when I was watching The Return (both times) I thought it's a movie for boys/men. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, but this movie is about relationships between men.
Reference to what You wrote about attitiude of two boys, I would rather expect that the older son would be full of anger and beef, as a teenanger, and the younger would treat his father almost like a good. This not obvious perspective is quite interesting.
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One thing I failed to mention about "The Return", is that the acting is near flawless, and this is a film that's lead by a teenager and a kid. This is why I hold everyone, no matter the age, on the same pedestal, in terms of acting.
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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."
"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
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The Graduate (1967)
I'm glad The Graduate was nominated in this thread, because I wouldn't rewatch it probably. CR and Okay were right when they wrote about difficulty of watching cult movies. I don't like to watch trailers, because they have influence on my attitiude towards a movie. In case cult movies, "trailers" (read: references) are everywhere.
When I saw the Graduate for the first time I watched The legend. This time I watched the movie.
And I like what I saw. First of all I watched gready comedy, which was really funny. A lot of dialogues made me laugh loud. For instatnce, when Benjamin says that Mrs Robinson is the most attractive of his friend's parents or ask her if she would like to go to a movie instead of staying in the room.
I have to admit that I recognised this time Dustin Hoffman's acting. His little, barely noticable gestures, like when he pokes the table in the hotel, what marks his confusion and clumsiness.
I looked also in different way on Mrs. Robinson character. After first watch she was for me like bad stepmother or a witch, who want to stole Youth from young girl in fairytales. This time I saw tragic woman, who's had to come to terms with consequences of their earlier choises. What I want to tell here is, young people think they will be able to change every single thing in their lives, when they realize they had made wrong choice. I did when I was after my graduate. Mr Robinson says to Benjamin: I wish I was Your age again, because Ben... You will never be young again. This time this lines didn't sound as much funny as before for me.
I'm glad The Graduate was nominated in this thread, because I wouldn't rewatch it probably. CR and Okay were right when they wrote about difficulty of watching cult movies. I don't like to watch trailers, because they have influence on my attitiude towards a movie. In case cult movies, "trailers" (read: references) are everywhere.
When I saw the Graduate for the first time I watched The legend. This time I watched the movie.
And I like what I saw. First of all I watched gready comedy, which was really funny. A lot of dialogues made me laugh loud. For instatnce, when Benjamin says that Mrs Robinson is the most attractive of his friend's parents or ask her if she would like to go to a movie instead of staying in the room.
I have to admit that I recognised this time Dustin Hoffman's acting. His little, barely noticable gestures, like when he pokes the table in the hotel, what marks his confusion and clumsiness.
Last edited by Ms. M; 11-19-17 at 11:30 AM.
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After much thought, I'm still not sure what to think of Dustin Hoffman, to me, he was kinda all over the place, and his performance ranged from pretty good to laughable, depending on the scene.
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After much thought, I'm still not sure what to think of Dustin Hoffman, to me, he was kinda all over the place, and his performance ranged from pretty good to laughable, depending on the scene.
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Watching "Bottle Rocket" next, I don"t think you can ever go wrong with a Wes Anderson film.
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After much thought, I'm still not sure what to think of Dustin Hoffman, to me, he was kinda all over the place, and his performance ranged from pretty good to laughable, depending on the scene.
That kind of person would be more self confident than the way Hoffman plays it.
I read a young Robert Redford auditioned for the role but the director though him to handsome for the part. I think Redford would have been better. I liked the movie and it's theme, but Hoffman keeps me from loving it. I'm not a fan of his work in general for the same reason, he's too goofy.
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I didn't like Dustin Hoffman's performance. He seemed to be acting as if he was mentally slow. He played it too odd and too geeky. I mean after he touches Mrs Robinson's breast he starts banging his head into the wall, like he's having a break down. And yet in the movie he's suppose to be the Captain of a sports team, just graduated from college and from a rich home.
That kind of person would be more self confident than the way Hoffman plays it.
I read a young Robert Redford auditioned for the role but the director though him to handsome for the part. I think Redford would have been better. I liked the movie and it's theme, but Hoffman keeps me from loving it. I'm not a fan of his work in general for the same reason, he's too goofy.
That kind of person would be more self confident than the way Hoffman plays it.
I read a young Robert Redford auditioned for the role but the director though him to handsome for the part. I think Redford would have been better. I liked the movie and it's theme, but Hoffman keeps me from loving it. I'm not a fan of his work in general for the same reason, he's too goofy.
The fact that he is a depressed, lonely and awkward, rich captain of a sports team, is what makes the film interesting, he wants to drift away from the materialistic norm, that his parents raised him to be like.
I read the same thing as well, but I'm not too sure how Redford would of done in his place, it's not like he was any good during his 5 seconds of camera time.
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...I read the same thing as well, but I'm not too sure how Redford would of done in his place, it's not like he was any good during his 5 seconds of camera time.
During rehearsals of Dustin Hoffman's and Anne Bancroft's first encounter in the hotel room, Bancroft did not know that Hoffman was going to grab her breast...When Hoffman did it, director Mike Nichols began laughing loudly. Hoffman began to laugh as well, so rather than stop the scene, he turned away and walked to the wall. Hoffman banged his head on the wall, trying to stop laughing, and Nichols thought it was so funny, it stayed in the finished film.
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Did you read the director saying this on IMDB trivia:
The head banging is one of the scenes that didn't make sense to me. I never got the idea from what was said in the movie that he was frightened of women or brutally shy. It seemed to be about him being adrift after college and not knowing what to do with his life and finally finding himself.
The head banging is one of the scenes that didn't make sense to me. I never got the idea from what was said in the movie that he was frightened of women or brutally shy. It seemed to be about him being adrift after college and not knowing what to do with his life and finally finding himself.
I suppose the head banging scene didn't bother me from what I remember, and I don't think it was out of his character either, I mean weird people do weird things...What exactly about that scene irked you so much ? I was more so irritated by how Ben and Mrs. Robbinson's first encounter played out.
I never thought he was afraid of women either, I would say he's more so the type of character to overly act out in an awkward situation.
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That's quite funny and interesting, I did not know that.
I suppose the head banging scene didn't bother me from what I remember, and I don't think it was out of his character either, I mean weird people do weird things...What exactly about that scene irked you so much ? I was more so irritated by how Ben and Mrs. Robbinson's first encounter played out.
I never thought he was afraid of women either, I would say he's more so the type of character to overly act out in an awkward situation.
I suppose the head banging scene didn't bother me from what I remember, and I don't think it was out of his character either, I mean weird people do weird things...What exactly about that scene irked you so much ? I was more so irritated by how Ben and Mrs. Robbinson's first encounter played out.
I never thought he was afraid of women either, I would say he's more so the type of character to overly act out in an awkward situation.
What exactly about that scene irked you so much ?
It didn't irk me or make me mad, but I thought it seemed very odd for him to do it (head banging), as it didn't seem to fit with his character. Of course after reading on IMBD I seen it wasn't in the script either.
On the other hand right before he bangs his head, he's slowly touching the side of Mrs Robinson's breast/bra, and that worked well, as it conveyed that he was cautious and nervous about the encounter. I liked that part of it, just not the head banging part after it.
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Bottle Rocket (1996)
I liked it... and that says a lot as I've found Wes Anderson films to be a challenge for me. I'm guessing as this was his first feature film that explains why it wasn't as ecliptic as his later ones. Actually it was the most straight forward film I've seen from Wes.
I instantly warmed up to the actors, I'm not familiar with Luke Anderson's work but I liked him here, he was laid back and easy to relate to. I don't know if you guys felt this way, but it was like he was our guide into the movie. I liked the other actors too: Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, great cast.
I'm a sucker for a romance story and thought Inez (Lumi Cavazos) was pretty special in the film. She reminded me of a Hispanic Marcia Brady, no kidding. I was rooting all the way for her and Anthony to get together and find true love!
The way this was filmed, especially the lighting and composition was pretty great. And indeed it did look like a Wes Anderson film. Bottle Rocket, cool name for a movie too.
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Hey fellow Virgin HOFmers. My apologies guys, have had ZERO free time this weekend to watch anything.
I think I'm gonna kick things off by rewatching Leon tomorrow night after the wife and kid are sleepin. lol
I think I'm gonna kick things off by rewatching Leon tomorrow night after the wife and kid are sleepin. lol
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I didn't like Dustin Hoffman's performance. He seemed to be acting as if he was mentally slow. He played it too odd and too geeky.
I mean after he touches Mrs Robinson's breast he starts banging his head into the wall, like he's having a break down.
I mean after he touches Mrs Robinson's breast he starts banging his head into the wall, like he's having a break down.
And yet in the movie he's suppose to be the Captain of a sports team, just graduated from college and from a rich home.
That kind of person would be more self confident than the way Hoffman plays it.
That kind of person would be more self confident than the way Hoffman plays it.
I read a young Robert Redford auditioned for the role but the director though him to handsome for the part. I think Redford would have been better. I liked the movie and it's theme, but Hoffman keeps me from loving it. I'm not a fan of his work in general for the same reason, he's too goofy.
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The fact that he is a depressed, lonely and awkward, rich captain of a sports team, is what makes the film interesting...
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The fact that he is a depressed, lonely and awkward, rich captain of a sports team, is what makes the film interesting, he wants to drift away from the materialistic norm, that his parents raised him to be like.
Maybe to show universality of this feelings?
Also, an aspect to consider, following up on @Citizen Rules' earlier statement about seeing it in an historic light; I do remember a lot of films touching on those specific feelings: depression, loneliness and feelings of awkwardness.
There was this insistence of getting to the truth of things and ourselves and tearing down the social facades. To say, "No, everything is NOT okay. We are NOT fine."
So, along with Ms. M's observation of making the character more universal, there may be that mindset of that time period as well.
I'm going to try to see The Graduate very soon so I can remark on Hoffman's portrayal as well.
And, yes, Citizen, Bottle Rocket WAS Anderson's first movie. When it came out, it was lumped in with the group of movies that were following the Tarantino bandwagon of "interesting dialogue" and strange twists that Reservoir Dogs had created with its underground popularity; since it didn't make it to the movies except for late night or specialty locations.
When Bottle Rocket came out, the ads focused on the criminal aspects and things going wrong, and I had seen it, at that time, for that reason and found something else instead. Which would come to be Anderson's style of film making.
Have not seen it since its first arrival but that had more to do about the growing aggravation of Owen Wilson's one-dimensional character than anything else.
For myself, I've been on and off for Anderson except for The Grand Budapest Hotel which I just adore and have even nominated in a previous HoF.
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Bottle Rocket (1996)
In Wes Anderson's first feature film "Bottle Rocket", we are introduced to three dysfunctional friends, teaming up in order to pull off a robbery.
With this being Anderson's début, I was pretty interested in seeing how it compares to his later work, and how exactly did he evolve as an auteur, and while the differences between this and his latest film are significant to say the least, you can still already see touches of his personal style. The movie does indeed lack a lot of his trademark shots and the stylistic colouring schemes we would become to know, used to, and love, but the quirky and interesting characters are still here to be found, the font choices are still as magnificent as ever, and the dialogue while not totally perfected is still pretty Anderson.
The film is also pretty darn funny, the subtle and effective humour is found in how characters behave and react during situations, which in my opinion is the best kind of comedy, rather than simply delivering punchlines throughout the whole movie.
On another note, there is a whole sub-plot of a half-arse romance between two characters, Anthony and Inez, that not only didn't do it for me, but it didn't even add much to the overall story, sure it was the source of a few clever chuckle-worthy scenes, but it still took too much camera time for a sub-plot that goes nowhere and has no pay-off in the end (which is what I hoped for).
Other than some noticeable continuity errors, and cheap practical effects, this is a pretty good film, it is indeed Anderson's weakest work, but it's still an enjoyable watch that I can already see myself revisiting in the future.
Last edited by Okay; 11-21-17 at 03:24 AM.
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...When Bottle Rocket came out, the ads focused on the criminal aspects and things going wrong, and I had seen it, at that time, for that reason and found something else instead. Which would come to be Anderson's style of film making.
Have not seen it since its first arrival but that had more to do about the growing aggravation of Owen Wilson's one-dimensional character than anything else.
For myself, I've been on and off for Anderson except for The Grand Budapest Hotel which I just adore and have even nominated in a previous HoF.
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