Chung Hing sam lam / Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994)

Two stories of policemen falling in and out of love.

I loved the story with Faye Wong - her character's carelessness and (slightly creepy) stalking of the police man she falls in love with is engaging to watch. Some people argued that this would be a horror movie if the genders would have been reversed, but I don't think that the film should be taken realistically anyway. I've seen it as a beautifully dreamed up fantasy about romance.

The other thing I noted that it's really funny. It has so many comedic overtones that ventured on the absurd. I enjoyed the policeman calling his former lovers, just to find somebody he could talk to. At one point he ends up calling a girl he went to fourth grade with - she obviously has not the slightest idea who he is. Another great moment is when the shop owner is supposed to deliver a "very personal" letter - and literally everybody in the shop gets to read it.

Also the side kicks were carefully cast and they too get their little moments of comedy. All the workers in the back of the take-away get one or two funny lines - and they don't feel cheesy. Maybe I would have found the whole film too cheesy if it hadn't been for the many subtle light moments.

I am not a big fan of "Avid slow motion" - unfortunately, the film is full of them. And although the colors already predict what's to come in later years, they are still on the 80s side. The editing is frantic, but not too fast for a story like that.

Kommentare

Beliebte Posts aus diesem Blog

They drive by night (Walsh, 1940) #DTC #161

Two truck-driving brothers dream of a better future and financial independence in a sea of good and bad fortune.

Although the film has all the ingredients of a film noir, like the selfish femme fatale, Bogart, and many night scenes, this is something you could consider a feel-good movie. It pretty much surprised me with its turns and twists and I also wasn't prepared in the least to see Bogart as the sidekick, instead of the lead.

In terms of interesting characters, Ida Lupino as the selfish wife that tries to seduce George Raft's Joe she is definitively at the most intense when she slowly sheds all the layers of sanity towards the end. Although her motives are a bit unclear - the amazing thing about her behavior is that she values love over money. In that perspective the movie feels like a tragedy, as (except for the loan shark) everybody has comparatively sophisticated understanding of emotion and life.

Au revoir les enfants (Louis Malle, 1987)

During second world war the monk running a boarding school for upper-class kids hides Jewish kids.

This highly personal movie is very touching and manages to avoid all the pitfalls of being overly emotional. Music and editing are very subdued and carefully used to underline situations. This makes the story ring true (which it was) and gives the viewer good time to settle into the universe that these kids live in.

There are many quite complicated scenes and I was interested in one particular: When Jean gets invited on parent's day by the mother of his new best friend into a posh restaurant. In that very restaurant there are Nazis at one side of the room and an elderly Jew sitting on the other side. The table of the family is right inbetween. Many things about France during the war are told during this scene, I'll just try and focus on camera placement.

The focus shifts twice in the scene: From the family table to the French Jew's table (who I have been told wears the red …

Glory (1989, Edward Zwick)

A young commander in the civil war is asked to recruit and lead the first all-black Confederate battalion into the Civil War.

I am not too interested in details of the American Civil War but the film managed to stir my interest in some ways. I might want to look up the difference in treatment of the many Chinese laborers that were employed in the development of the West and what kind of legacy this particular group of people has to suffer from in contrast to the better-known fate of African-Americans.

There are some interesting scenes in the film. I decide to examine the battle scene in the beginning. It introduces Broderick's character as a naive and brave but inexperienced soldier - a great choice of casting, especially in contrast to the hardened appearance of Washington. According to imdb footage was used from re-enactment groups and intercut with the staged film.

Before the battle scene commences Broderick walks in row of soldiers and talks over the pictures of the gathering…

Yogi's Movie Consumption Blog

Dieses Blog durchsuchen