Okay's Thoughts on Okay Films

There really isn't much about this film, that is exceptional or impressive. Not cinematography wise, not acting wise, etc...but I don't even necessarily think the movie is out there to impress either, rather than charm. Therefore, "Metropolitan" is your typical indie, with a simple story, simple execution, and a very charming atmosphere, which is what ultimately lured me in.

This discreet charm of the bourgeoisie that I'm talking about, stems from a unit of young bourgeois "friends", who constantly gather around for a social get-together. At the beginning, their interesting and complex discussions, definitely come off as forced, but as the movie went on, I sort of got over that, and was tricked by my admiration of their dynamic interactions. I realised this even more, once this tight group started to slowly break up, which brought out of me a strong feeling of nostalgia. I of course felt such thing on numerous occasions throughout my life, and I always say it's the strongest emotion and sense I have, so the film earns extra points for successfully manipulating such a reaction out of me.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Funnily enough, for an over three hours long film, I was only genuinely bored or irritated throughout its last thirty minutes or so. The overall concept of the film, is to display on "the first day", the toxic practises of Jeanne Dielman, "the second day" is meant to showcase a sudden crack in them, while "the final day" is the total decay of such lifestyle. The first two days of Dielman's routinary way of living, were brilliantly constructed, and the transition from one to the other is done with enough changes and subtleties, that escalate the tension, and appropriately portray the slow decay of our main character. I'm actually not sure if it's even fair to call Jeanne Dielman a character, since by the end of the movie, I felt as if I barely knew anything about her. This may be intentional, since she probably represents a void person who's unable to think beyond their daily routines. The decision to strip her from any specific characteristics, isn't one I like, but I still wouldn't have it any other way either, so that's conflicting.

The repeating aspects of the film (for the most part) actually didn't take anything away from my experience, since as I said, there are multiple changes and subtleties scattered around, which in a way amuse the viewer. I also think it immensely helped, to start out the first day midway through, as opposed to from the beginning. It's a pretty good decision by Chantal Akerman, which showcases how uninterested she is in being different just because, but rather with a purpose. She is a women whom I've researched, read about, and was very interested in, way before I got around to any of her work. So to say I was amped up to finally check out her most acclaimed film, would definitely be an understatement. Regardless of my upcoming "criticisms", I came out of Dielman's apartment very pleased with what I got.

Let's rapidly talk about Delphine Seyrig first, since she is pretty much the whole movie. I really enjoy when one can perfectly tell, whatever is internally occurring in a character's head, just by studying their face and body language. That is Mrs. Seyrig's sublime "performance". I was seriously expecting her at any sudden point, to blow up, scream, break whatever is near her vicinity, because of her powerful portrayal of suppression and emptiness. We're talking about a woman, who on paper, does the exact same ordinary habits, throughout what we see of her bleak life. But Delphine brings nuances to her character's actions, making them more interesting than they appear, and dare I say it, more entertaining.

As for the last 30 minutes of the film, I actually suddenly found the happenings to be very lazy and uncreative. I'm not very sure of the reason why the latter half of "the final day" didn't work for me too, maybe it's because the repetitions became stale and lacking of enough substance, or maybe it's because of the scene with her and the baby, which really got under my skin, and annoyed the hell outta me. Not to mention, having Jeanne Dielman sit on a chair for over 5 minutes, seems like such a cop-out to me. It's the usual artsy fartsy bull****, that moviegoers of the opposite spectrum make fun of, and rightfully so. Even after saying that, I still have conflicting feelings, because an argument can also be made, about how I'm contradicting myself, in expressing the dullness of the final act, when in reality, there isn't that big of a difference between the last 30 minutes, or the multiple ones that came before it. I'm also commending Delphine's acting, and how "I was expecting her at any sudden point, to blow up, scream, break whatever is near her vicinity", when this kind of impression is actually more present during the last act than ever.

The overall point is, I don't know, and feelings are hard to comprehend. I do know why I didn't like what I didn't like, but I don't know why it's contradictory to why I liked what I liked. Look at me being artsy and fartsy with my unending thoughts. I guess my writing is an unintentional metaphor of the actual movie. One thing I'm sure of that downright soured my experience, is the ending (the bedroom scene). Sorry, but that was so stupid and sloppy, in concept and execution. It's another cop-out. What a poor climax, to an otherwise, very rich film.

⭐⭐⭐

I'm not the biggest fan of musicals. Matter of fact, I think the only "musical" I've ever seen and liked is "Dancer in the Dark"...which is an anti-musical. So, I was pleasantly surprised by my immense enjoyment of this nomination. Visually speaking, the following film is kind of a masterpiece. The cinematography, the set design, the costumes, along with all of the bright and flashy colours, they sync together perfectly, in order to visualise a small tale of romance and heartbreak.

I wasn't that bothered by the generic love story, and not just because this is the 60's after all, but also due to the style of the movie, and how much it fit such a tale. Still, It really would've helped had there been more of an interesting flavour, to the relationships and the dynamics. Ultimately, what genuinely elevated this safe narrative, was its risky execution. Having every single last line of dialogue be sang, is a ballsy move that I didn't expect. More importantly, it worked, and never turned stale!

"The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" is a film that pleased all of my senses. In fact, just the phenomenal and powerful score alone, could of done that by itself, but the movie goes beyond that, and even wraps itself up with a satisfying ending, to one of the most unique musicals there are.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I’m not very familiar with Samurai movies, in fact, it’s a ground I barely ever touched, so I was very excited to see one get nominated (in the Mofo HOF), but still wary of my reaction to it. Right from the get go, the excellence of the cinematography was showcased, which is a pretty great advantage a film can have, and that’s what benefited “The Sword of Doom” the most. Because of the movie’s failure to hit any of my emotional chords, I was only left to absorb and admire its technical qualities, and all of its impressive details. Though, my liking to the film, was still from a distance.

Having a main character such as Ryunosuke, can be a double edged sword, depending on the viewer, and how much they’re willing to accept from such a portrayal. Thankfully, he effectively worked on me, so that’s all that matters. He has some incredibly intimidating wide eyes, a very evil laugh, along with an overall cold demeanour. This and more, contributed into making his presence alone, feel unpredictable and menacing. Not to mention, the ending is the perfect bow to wrap up the psyche of his character, by pointing out his alienated, lonely, and narrow square he’ll always occupy, while also having the whole sequence just be so darn badass.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

"The Secret in Their Eyes" totally feels like it came straight out of the cream of Hollywood (which is ironic, since a Hollywood remake of the story is already out there, and it looks garbage). It has the overall structure of the typical investigation/crime drama, with the typical twisted ending, while also presenting all of the above in the most excellent manner. The cinematography is pretty great, and downright exceptional throughout a few scenes, such as in the opening of the film, as well as in the impressive stadium sequence. Along with its appealing look, the movie is greatly performed, and the characters are appropriately established.

The relationship between Benjamin and Irene, seem to be the main focus of the movie, but definitely not from my perspective. I much more gravitated towards the mystery and the themes, in fact, one of the more interesting aspects I found, was how the subject of morality is played upon. The movie successfully puts the audience in certain positions, where the notions of right and wrong blend together. I found myself answering the questions that the film raised, but then going back on these answers, and being confused and uncertain of my own code of ethics, and that's a fantastic accomplishment. Moreover, there was a lot of unexpected quality humour scattered around. I probably laughed out loud while watching this, more than in the overwhelming majority of comedies.

Overall, the film is very deserving of its reputation. I might have had a few issues with some of the conveniences throughout the story, but what was special about them, is how the characters themselves actually acknowledged their improbability, which makes them a bit more forgiveable. The only other minor problem I had, was one concerning make-up, but other than that, the presentation of the film is virtually flawless.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Oh man, Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely riveting in Lynne Ramsey's newest feature film. He plays an alienated man, haunted by his weaknesses and traumatic past. In the director's words, his mind is filled with broken glass, and that's a perfect way to describe his current psyche. Moreover, the unconventional physical appearance of our lead, along with the subtleties he brings to his performance, elevate his overall character to a unique level.

Ramsay takes absolute advantage of her medium, by crafting such an emotional story, while mostly utilising visual storytelling. The editing, the sound design, along with the soundtrack, they all contribute into putting the viewer in the shoes of our disturbed lead. One can probably understand the nature of his past, but none of it is blatantly showcased, instead, it's displayed in a manner that properly represents the way he himself remembers his past.

With all of that being said, I'm not sure I can really get with the conclusion of the movie. I don't have an explanation for this dislike of mine, since it simply didn't click with me, and didn't feel right.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Let me just start out with what I thought the film did competently, because frankly, I believe everything else was executed poorly. Visually, the film looked pretty nice, with a few stand-out shots here and there...nothing extraordinary or exceptional though. Unfortunately, that's where my short-lived compliments must end.

My biggest problem with the film, is how seriously it took itself, while simultaneously providing nothing of substance to the issue of immigration, other than scratching it from the surface. Even if I take away all of my criticisms of the movie that are on a technical level, what's left is still a giant missed opportunity, that lacks power and strength in expression.

Out of everything, the aspect I absolutely despise and can't forgive about "Entre Nos", is the chosen music throughout the movie. I genuinely can't stand when film-makers heavily utilise a soundtrack or a score, in order to manipulate unearned emotions out of the viewer. This is the case of almost every single scene in the film, they all kept begging for an emotional reaction out of me, but instead, all they got was a shaking head and rolling eyes.

The irony of this situation is, we're featured with a helpless family in an unfortunate condition, accompanied by sad piano and guitar music wherever they go, only to make me as a viewer become very detached and careless of their circumstance. The tools that the director exploited in order to make the occurring happenings more effective, only made them seem fake and laughable. For example, a montage of scenes was slapped into the movie, which contained the family happily collecting cans off the streets, meanwhile, a happy go lucky instrumental was playing in the background. This generated so much laughter out of me, because it's an extremely clichéd thing to put in a film.

I'm not even going to go in depth about the acting that ranged from terrible to painfully mediocre, or the confusing change of audio levels during the latter half of the movie. Even though they're inexcusable, they're still overshadowed by other more insufferable aspects, such as the ending, which wraps everything up with a nicely colourful ribbon. The conclusion to the film avoids having a lasting impact, and prefers a safe, out of nowhere, clumsily put together, happy turnaround.

For an 80 minutes long film, my experience felt like an eternity. I was very surprised by how little I found in what's supposed to be an effective movie, only to come out of it very exhausted by the repeating chain of events, lack of depth, and overall poor presentation. What a disappointing 80 minutes of my life.

⭐1/2