United 93 (2006)[center][/center]British director Paul Greengrass is the first filmmaker who dares to make a film about September, 11. Fortunately, the result is more than convincing. In an almost documentary and incomparably intense way, he focuses (in real-time) on the happenings onboard of the fourth plane which did
not reach its target on that day, but crashed in Pennsylvania. Without the slightest grain of patriotism or sentimentality (and therefore also without giving any speculative and/or political statements), the film sticks to mind for a long time. Very positive is also that Greengrass preferred a cast of no-names to big stars, which would otherwise have weakened it a lot. 77 The Goddess (Devi) (1960)[center][/center][left]Seeing this in the cinematheque (without air conditioner) on one of the hottest days of the year so far probably contributed to the fact that I was absorbed by the fascinating and at the same time frightening prevailing mood of The Goddess, sadly the only film by Satyajit Ray I have seen. While the story itself is not very appealing, the atmosphere Ray masterfully develops is extremely gripping. Unfortunately, at other moments, you really notice the film's age which might explain that it is at times a little tedious. On an artistic level however, The Goddess stays far above average and is therefore worth a look, not just for fans of the director. [/left]69 High Tension (Haute Tension) (2003)[center][/center]This rough, violent and bloody horror thriller succeeds on numerous levels where most of the other genre films miserably fail. For example, the settings are, for once, intelligently used, in order to establish a gritty atmosphere. Also, camera work and editing are far above the standard. The soundtrack, especially Muse's New Born, is wisely utilized. But it is above all the direction and the writing, which are outstanding, because they are, unlike in many recent Hollywood-horror-flicks, really inspired and reveal an interesting directorial talent to keep an eye on: Alexandre Aja. Only the pivotal twist is really bothering, as it is not just as illogical as a Deux Ex Machina-device, but also because it adds nothing at all to the film. On the contrary, it even reduces the flick's intensity. Not quite a French Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but a good alternative nonetheless.68 Antibodies (Antikörper) (2005)[center][/center]I must admit that I am not much a fan of German films, and this seemed to me at first like a mere German version of David Fincher's masterpiece Se7en. Now, that is what Antibodies eventually is. Not more, but certainly not less. The film actually features some really interesting topics, such as philistinism, evil or faith. This said, it is unfortunately necessary to precise that the film is at times a little too spiritual, and also the ending didn't quite fit the picture's preceeding dark moments. What could otherwise have been a totally obscure, but fascinating psychological trip remains too much on the surface to ever become as deep as the apparently unreachable Se7en. 66 Secret Window (2003)[center][/center]In spite of the vibrating and charismatic presence of Mr. Depp, who desperately tries to fight against the poor script and the weak direction, Secret Window is eventually nothing but a rather cheap adaptation of a Stephen King-story. Anyway, it is John Turturro who steals the show with his fascinating and bizarre acting and manages, as the only actor in the entire film, to give at least some depth to his character (a point where Maria Bello awfully fails). The ending could have been appealing, but it is, surprise, surprise, poorly executed and therefore rather ridiculous. What a pity.60 ----------------------------------------------------------------Since I have decided to dedicate full-entry-reviews only to films that really inspire me (such as, recently, C.R.A.Z.Y.) and therefore reduce the space of other flicks to more or less 100 words, I want to add to each entry the lyrics of some songs I enjoy. I begin with Billy Joel. While the artist is certainly not a surprise, the choice of the song might rather be: Captain Jack. It is the most depressing song I know. Read yourself, but please read them and let me know what you think... CAPTAIN JACK (Billy Joel, album: Piano Man, 1973, 7:18) Saturday night and you're still hangin' aroundTired of living in your one horse townyou'd like to find a little hole in the ground,for a while... So you go to the village in your tie dyed jeansAnd you stare at the junkies and the closet queensIt's like some pornographic magazineAnd you smile Chorus: Captain Jack will get you high tonightAnd take you to your special islandCaptain Jack will get you by tonightJust a little push, and you'll be smilin' Oh yeah... Your sister's gone out, she's on a dateYou just sit at home and masturbateYour phone is gonna ring soon, but you just can't waitFor that call So you stand on the corner in your New English clothesand you look so polished from your hair down to your toesAh but still your fingers gonna pick your noseAfter all, ... ChorusSo you decide to take a holidayYou got your tape deck and your brand new ChevroletAh, there ain't no place to go anywayWhat for? So you got everything, ah, but nothing's coolThey just found your father in the swimming poolAnd you guess you won't be going back to schoolAnymore... ChorusSo you play your albums, and you smoke your potand you meet your girlfriend in the parking lotOh but still you're arching for the things you haven't gotWhat went wrong? And if you can't understand why your world is so dead,why you've got to keep in style and feed your headWell you're 21 and still your mother makes your bed,And that's too long... Chorus x 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------My fight against spam: As you probably know, I currently have some trouble with spam. In a first step, I decided to moderate from now on comments by non-registered users. Since those comments become more and more frequent and because moderation takes a lot of time, only comments by RT users will from now on be allowed to my journal. This doesn't concern most of you, I know, but it was just to let you know.
July 18, 2006
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