Carlos Saura

Spanish film-maker Carlos Saura directed Carmen, released in 1983. It features Antonio Gades and Cristina Hoyos as well as Laura del Sol and even Paco de Lucia. The short here is Tabacalera: the brawl at the tobacco factory in which Carmen kills Cristina.





In Bodas de Sangre, Saura also relied on Antonio Gades.

One year in two minutes

Found on YouTube, this video was made by Eirik Solheim with "[i]mages from the same spot through one year with audio recorded from the same location."

It's lovely, isn't it?

No End in Sight

The 2007 documentary No End in Sight has been almost universally lauded; it has appeared on many critics' Top 10 Films of 2007 lists. I highly recommend it.

Savage Grace

I had to watch Savage Grace, an amazing tale of dysfunction and murder, several times before I figured out why it had missed the mark. The cinematography is fantastic, the acting, particularly by Stephen Dillane and Julianne Moore, is first-rate. (Ms. Moore is said to have given the performance of her career: indeed, it is hard to imagine how she was able to pull off the hystrionics in several scenes with such accuracy and without descending into charicature.) The plot is fantastic: the story of a wealthy American family that ends in murder.

Finally, after several viewings (all of them a strain, as the film's subject matter is difficult to watch), I was able to conclude that this film lacks rounding out. I wanted to know more about many of the particular, needed more examples of how the family interacted, and so on. Instead, I was treated to beautiful, but useless, sequences of a horse's eye, scenery, and such.

Savage Grace left me wanting more....

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Last year the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men deservedly received high critical acclaim and garnered numerous awards, including an Oscar for Javier Bardem, one of my favorite actors. The film's message, about the uselessness of violence and venality, was something the Coen Brothers had explored before, but I had not seen them look at its traumatizing effect on people. Much as I liked No Country for Old Men, I was mystified as to exactly why the traumatized character (a sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones) was so affected. Was he predisposed to it? Was it the sheer excess? Was it his impotence? Regardless, the film was an artistic and commercial success: per Wikipedia, its theatrical run has grossed $72.6 million in the US alone.

A few days ago I was fortunate enough to see a true masterpiece whose theme ran along the same vein as No Country for Old Men: it was Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. I was astounded that this remarkable film was missed in 2007 — at least by the public. It grossed a mere $24 million worldwide and is now in DVD release.

The critics adored this movie: it appeared on many top ten lists in 2007. Ty Burr of the Wall Street Journal wrote "There's no larger message other than that greed gives us something to hold on to even as it kills us." A crime drama and a moral thriller, the film, per the Washington Posts's Ann Hornaday, "gets almost too ugly to watch, as events unravel into a Grand Guignol of seedy comeuppance." Almost too ugly, but not quite. The emotional dysfunction, deceit, violence, and eventual denouement are positively riveting.

The movie is populated by villains: they are venal, greedy, unthinking, careless, neglectful, unfaithful... their character flaws and sins are horrid; the violence they commit unspeakable. Yet what makes this movie truly remarkable is that the audience can understand — and relate to — the characters' motivations.

Having Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Alfred Finney lead in a film directed by Nichols would seem to guarantee its success: I wonder why this gem was missed.

The Birdcage

I just adore The Birdcage. Some of my favorite scenes are in the clip below. Watch for "Guatemalanness" and "bag lady."

Lars and the Real Girl

"That's why God made her: to help people." So says the protagonist of "Lars and the Real Girl," one of the most comical yet poignant films I've seen in a long time. Much recommended.


Check out the trailer, found on YouTube.
Some interesting information on "love dolls" in a Salon.com article and in the documentary "Guys and Dolls." I thank I. for his companionship.

Sidney Pollack, In Memoriam

Photo from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Image
I adored Sidney Pollack and was stunned at his death last week. He could create masterpieces ("Out of Africa"), make us take notice of political issues ("Recount"), play worldly, cynical characters to perfection ("The Player" and "Michael Clayton"), and produce the hell out of most anything. What a talent! I shall miss him very much.

Two of my favorites of his pieces are below:
From Pollack's documentary "Sketches of Frank Gehry"

Happy Birthday

For his birthday, I let my husband take me to see the new Indiana Jones film. Oh, I do love that man, for why else would I sit through that? Cate Blanchett, shame on you for appearing in this piece of inanity. (Is that even a word?)