Piles
Posts: 5531
Joined: 6/8/2007
From: Whalley Range
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First two of the year. Good day...
The Diary of a Chambermaid (1964, Luis Bunuel)
"The Diary of a Chamber Maid” tells the story of Jeanne Moreau's Celestine, a chambermaid who gets a job under the command of the Monteils. Made up of Monsieur Rabour (Jean Ozenne), Monsieur Monteil (Michel Piccoli), and Madame Monteil (Francoise Lugagne), the Monteils are a relatively rich but undoubtedly bourgeois family who all have their odd little quirks. More than anything, "the Diary of a Chambermaid” is a savage attack on Bunuel's second favourite subject matter. After religion, the Spanish director seems to always have something in for the bourgeois, but whilst "The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie” was cynical and knowing without ever being biting, "The Diary of a Chambermaid” is indeed the sharp attack that you'd expect from such a ferocious director. Bunuel paints his characters – or at least the so called "upper class” ones – as dull, petty creatures, too busy arguing over whether a neighbour is allowed to throw branches over his fence to notice that a rapist is living in their mist. There are also some nice thoughts on everything from fascism to politics to – yes – religion, but Bunuel doesn't give himself enough time or room to develop them. Maybe it's the plot that gets in the way, who knows, but the case is probably that Bunuel is taking on too much in too little time. The primary themes are brilliant, but these subsidiary ones are very disappointing. It's not too damaging, though, and the film succeeds for many reasons. The plot is good enough, with shock at every turn, but it's the characters that really pull it through. Jeanne Moreau's Celestine is one of Bunuel's finest feminist creations, spurning the male affections when it pleases her, and never bowing to the conventions set by the bourgeois society around her. Michael Picolli is particularly great, and perfectly cast to boot, whilst Lugagne, Ozenne, along with Georges Geret and Daniel Ivernel provide more than capable support. 4/5.
Twelve Monkeys (1995, Terry Gilliam)
Contains spoilers that you'll probably already have heard. To wipe the horrible memory of "Surrogates” from my mind, I decided to sit down to a viewing of the good Bruce Willis sci-fi film today, "Twelve Monkeys”. The story is of Willis' James Cole, who is sent back from the future to 1996 to gather information regarding the plague that has wiped out humanity. Whilst there, though, he's arrested, thrown into a mental asylum, and, uh, shot in the leg in a World War I trench battle. I think most things that could be said about "Twelve Monkeys” have already been said. Yes, the performances are all very good, and yes, Bruce Willis is probably stuck in a time loop. That particular interpretation is pretty much universally accepted now, so going on about it would be redundant and futile. Besides, I think the most interesting conversation that you can have about "Twelve Monkeys” is when comparing it to Chris Marker's short film "La Jetee”, on which Gilliam's film is based. I'm unsure as to which film I prefer, because they are so different it's untrue, despite the fact that they are based around the same basic plot. Whilst "La Jetee” is about ideas and philosophy, "Twelve Monkeys” is about entertainment. That is by no means to say that "La Jetee” isn't entertaining and "Twelve Monkeys” isn't intelligent, because they both have their fair share of both attributes. However, Gilliam has indeed shifted the main focus of Marker's film, and has translated what is a philosophical exercise in cinema into a Hollywood blockbuster, but a very good one at that. Gilliam fleshes out Marker's (genius) framework into a full two hour narrative film. New characters, new plot points, and new action sequences are introduced, all of which contribute to what is one of the most entertaining films of the 1990s. And then there's Gilliam himself, who has created here his second best film. Indeed, it's similar to his best, "Brazil”, in its dystopian aesthetics, but rather than a savage attack on beurocracy "Twelve Monkeys” is an epic meditation on time, insanity, and man's insignificance. Yes, they may be second hand ideas, but Gilliam has successfully brought them to a wider audience. 4/5.
< Message edited by Piles -- 2/1/2010 7:15:15 PM >
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RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2010 - 
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