Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Kaufmania
I'm back from the mountains now. I haven't been doing much except sitting around watching movies. What else would you expect a guy like me to be doing during summer vacation?
A Very Long Engagement is the most recent movie by Jean Pierre Jeunet, director of the Amelie. And I'd have to say that this is just as good, if not better, than that film. It follows a young woman named Mathilde as she goes on a quest to find out the fate of her husband-to-be, Manech, who has supposedly been killed on the battlefield during World War 1. You'll either really like this movie or hate it, but whatever you think about it, you can't deny that the art direction is incredible. Every once in a while I'd find myself thinking, "Wow! Awesome shot!" I'm really surprised it didn't win any Oscars at all for technical stuff like that.
The love story that makes up the backbone of the film is told extremely well. The actors have chemistry, and we want her to find her lover in the end. We understand why Mathilde's going through all this trouble to find the truth. And as to what the truth is...well, Jeunet keeps us guessing until the very end. Along the way Mathilde will ask fate to tell her about Manech by asking it questions of chance: "If Manech is alive, the train will go through the tunnel before I count to seven or the conductor will come ask me for my ticket." It seems like each time she asks questions like that, fate responds rather ambiguously. Forget foreshadowing. With a story like this one, Jeunet made the right choice by choosing to never give any hints as to what will happen in the end.
Jodie Foster also makes a surprise appearance in the film. Who knew she could speak French?
The only thing I'd complain about is that at times it's hard to keep track of who all the characters are. Luckily, Jeunet uses enough flashbacks to avoid confusing us for too long. I found myself thinking, "Who's that guy again? Oh yeah, that's right." For such a simple plot, it unfolds in a rather complex way. But the movie is all the better because of it.
But on to another movie. Being John Malkovich is the best movie I have seen in a very long time. It's absolutely brilliant. This only confirms to me that Charlie Kaufman is the best screenwriter in Hollywood today. He's a genius.
The movie basically follows a puppeteer named Craig who one day finds a mysterious portal...into the brain of actor John Malkovich. By entering the portal he can see through John Malkovich's eyes for 15 minutes before being kicked out. His wife Lottie tries it, and she has such an incredible time doing it that she becomes addicted and decides she prefers being a man. Both Craig and Lottie end up falling for the same woman, and the sexual tension and plot gradually thicken and go through one twist after another.
This movie is an IB student's paradise. Like all of Kaufman's movies, there's so much going on beneath the surface it will take multiple viewings to fully understand the point he's trying to make. The message of the movie, at least the one I took from it, is about how we're all afraid to show our true selves, so we live our day to day lives by pretending to be someone we're not. The amount of symbolism is stunning. The fact that Craig's a puppeteer, of all people the portal leads to the brain of an actor, etc. And yet it's presented in such a way that most people probably won't notice all the little details of what Kaufman's trying to communicate. That's how good he is. Unlike most movies these days, which either skip over a message entirely or repeat it over and over until you're sick of hearing it, Kaufman chooses to write movies that are somewhere in the middle. There is a definite message to all of his movies, but they're cleverly hidden in such a way that you won't grasp the details of it unless you're looking. Some of the clues as to what it is are obvious, but if you're like me and love to pay attention to all the little details, there's a lot hidden beneath the surface.
If there's anything I don't like about this movie, it's that the ending has a pro-homosexuality ring to it, and like all the Kaufman movies I've watched has at least one scene that's very pro-marijuana, but that doesn't do much to undermine all the positive things it's trying to communicate. This is just as good as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, if not better.
See this movie now. It's funny, intriguing, and actually has something important to say.
Quote of Da Moment:
"There is truth, and there are lies, and art always tells the truth. Even when it's lying."
--Being John Malkovich
A Very Long Engagement is the most recent movie by Jean Pierre Jeunet, director of the Amelie. And I'd have to say that this is just as good, if not better, than that film. It follows a young woman named Mathilde as she goes on a quest to find out the fate of her husband-to-be, Manech, who has supposedly been killed on the battlefield during World War 1. You'll either really like this movie or hate it, but whatever you think about it, you can't deny that the art direction is incredible. Every once in a while I'd find myself thinking, "Wow! Awesome shot!" I'm really surprised it didn't win any Oscars at all for technical stuff like that.
The love story that makes up the backbone of the film is told extremely well. The actors have chemistry, and we want her to find her lover in the end. We understand why Mathilde's going through all this trouble to find the truth. And as to what the truth is...well, Jeunet keeps us guessing until the very end. Along the way Mathilde will ask fate to tell her about Manech by asking it questions of chance: "If Manech is alive, the train will go through the tunnel before I count to seven or the conductor will come ask me for my ticket." It seems like each time she asks questions like that, fate responds rather ambiguously. Forget foreshadowing. With a story like this one, Jeunet made the right choice by choosing to never give any hints as to what will happen in the end.
Jodie Foster also makes a surprise appearance in the film. Who knew she could speak French?
The only thing I'd complain about is that at times it's hard to keep track of who all the characters are. Luckily, Jeunet uses enough flashbacks to avoid confusing us for too long. I found myself thinking, "Who's that guy again? Oh yeah, that's right." For such a simple plot, it unfolds in a rather complex way. But the movie is all the better because of it.
But on to another movie. Being John Malkovich is the best movie I have seen in a very long time. It's absolutely brilliant. This only confirms to me that Charlie Kaufman is the best screenwriter in Hollywood today. He's a genius.
The movie basically follows a puppeteer named Craig who one day finds a mysterious portal...into the brain of actor John Malkovich. By entering the portal he can see through John Malkovich's eyes for 15 minutes before being kicked out. His wife Lottie tries it, and she has such an incredible time doing it that she becomes addicted and decides she prefers being a man. Both Craig and Lottie end up falling for the same woman, and the sexual tension and plot gradually thicken and go through one twist after another.
This movie is an IB student's paradise. Like all of Kaufman's movies, there's so much going on beneath the surface it will take multiple viewings to fully understand the point he's trying to make. The message of the movie, at least the one I took from it, is about how we're all afraid to show our true selves, so we live our day to day lives by pretending to be someone we're not. The amount of symbolism is stunning. The fact that Craig's a puppeteer, of all people the portal leads to the brain of an actor, etc. And yet it's presented in such a way that most people probably won't notice all the little details of what Kaufman's trying to communicate. That's how good he is. Unlike most movies these days, which either skip over a message entirely or repeat it over and over until you're sick of hearing it, Kaufman chooses to write movies that are somewhere in the middle. There is a definite message to all of his movies, but they're cleverly hidden in such a way that you won't grasp the details of it unless you're looking. Some of the clues as to what it is are obvious, but if you're like me and love to pay attention to all the little details, there's a lot hidden beneath the surface.
If there's anything I don't like about this movie, it's that the ending has a pro-homosexuality ring to it, and like all the Kaufman movies I've watched has at least one scene that's very pro-marijuana, but that doesn't do much to undermine all the positive things it's trying to communicate. This is just as good as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, if not better.
See this movie now. It's funny, intriguing, and actually has something important to say.
Quote of Da Moment:
"There is truth, and there are lies, and art always tells the truth. Even when it's lying."
--Being John Malkovich
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 7/19/2005 04:18:00 PM 
