Requiem for a Dream (2000)

This is an unusually sad film. I wonder if Mr. Aronofsky has given us a confessional of his severe outlook on life in the form of a downward spiraling narrative about broken dreamers; the fact that the characters are or became drug addicts seemed incidental. Still, despite being shown the horrific effects of drugs on individuals, the film seems to lack an edge that could only be achieved with an even grittier style.

The structure of this requiem resembles his earlier breakthrough film "Pi" where again the story starts at a low point for the lead characters & things go further downhill until the catharsis of a climax. "Requiem" is "Pi," with Freud, particularly between Jared Leto's character & his mother played by the bold & incomparable Ellen Burstyn. I liked that sequence where Harry (Jared Leto) visits his mother & they have tense dialogue exchanges at the dining table; the crescendo of the dialogue interaction (from giddy surprise visit to high tension) and the contrasting close-ups between Leto & Burstyn were memorable. This was a very good scene and one of the few parts of the film that seemed realistic to me.

Speaking of realistic, I think many students will be eager to apply this term incorrectly to describe this film's general presentation. There's too much editing for this film to be realistic. Sometimes, editing is replaced with a split screen, which I liked very much because it successfully conveyed a mood: the love scene between Leto & Connelly's characters towards the beginning that used split-screens created palpable sensuality (it's immediacy is something a novel cannot duplicate). Another split-screen involving the mother & her intimidating refrigerator was an interesting substitute to the shot/reverse shot that seems to follow the 180° Rule.

I guess I liked the first half of the film better than the second half. Despite the nastiness of bodily & moral decay depicted in the end of the third act, I still managed to hang on & finish the film; I think Aronofsky had a vision of this "service for the dead" & he pulled it off. If I were to watch it again, it would be to immerse myself in the rhythm of its editing. The editing, like "City of God" is this film's prominent feature. Warning: This is NOT a good idea for date movie.

Beyond The Rocks (1922)

directed by Sam Wood
starring Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

Valentino & Swanson are big names for film buffs proficient with movie history of the past 100 years; it's acting credits certainly caught my attention. The opening wide shot & subsequent long shots that establish setting gave me a good sense of place. Then again, having recently read about "picture theory" of the mind in cognitive psychology and philosophical inquiries into visual perception & imagination, establishing shots particularly from older movies have given me much food for thought; "traces" of the world abound in the most contrived of fiction films.

Both movies stars were very photo-charismatic and to watch this film is to gaze at them every time they appear onscreen or anticipate their appearance. The beginning of the final act saw an interesting turn in this melodrama. The story is of a young woman who falls for a man, but who didn't marry for love. There's footage missing near the end - in the final scene I think - so the ending did seem rather abrupt & not believable. Still, it's a good film to observe silent film acting: Swanson's eye lashes are expressive and Valentino seems to have naturally cinematic body language.

The copy I watched was a DVD transfer originally from a nitrate print found in an eccentric Dutch collector's stash. This story did remind me of how Dreyer's "Passion" was partially recovered from an asylum. The moral lesson: physical artifacts can be found anywhere irrespective of reason.

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005)

Zhang Yimou's "artisan film" is back after several ventures in studio-blockbuster productions. Here are some topics I would like to comment on in the near future regarding this film:

1) Zhang's exceptional ability as a native Chinese artist to depict "Chineseness" with both compassion & a didactic "objectivity". This may be the essence of his auteurism.

2) His motifs and parallels in this film; the communication between persons (kinsmen) through a proxy (translator) in Chinese & Japanese cultures and the parallel of the China-story.

3) The depiction of a prison in China.

4) The depiction of Yang Yang's refusal to meet his father & the Chief's persistent verbal coercion; this is characteristic of the workings of a Chinese family.

Wild at Heart (1990)

directed by David Lynch

David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" lives up to its name. At the center of the story is an undomesticated, nomadic twosome who exists surreally but blissfully, whenever their private bubble remains unsullied by external forces. Alas, even a surreal couple cannot dance & have ground-rumbling sex all day without breaking for food & water. Sailor Ripley's macho attitude & unique snake-skin jacket bring out the cool-rebel characterization, while slim goldilocks Lula Fortune in her conveniently scanty ensembles spells what Tarantino would call "regular fuck-machine."

The last time I saw this film was in college a decade ago; this time around, the love story between Sailor (Nicky Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) comes forth as its prominent feature. I came to this conclusion when the film takes its final turn towards a very happy ending for our twosome. The "nice witch"-inspired twist of Sailor running along the gridlocked cars towards Lula was a relief, and then his rendition of Elvis's "Love Me Tender" completed the wild, & hard-fought romance between our two lead characters. I am considering putting this film in my list of top romance films of all time, which includes such movies as "Casablanca," and "The Road Home."

This film is surreal at a "higher volume" compared to Lynch's earlier "Blue Velvet" (1986). However, the themes of true romance between Sailor & Lula, like that of Jeffrey & Sandy, and the acknowledged strange-world they live in do persist in "Wild at Heart." This time, it is the mother - a wicked witch - who is inexplicably villainous; the story implies the mother's jealousy of the daughter, perhaps due to classic conflicts within father-husband relationships. I contend that the sex & violence in "Wild at Heart" is less shocking compared to "Blue Velvet", but
the frequency of Sailor & Lula's rather playful sex is weird indeed. They truly dig one another & in a Lynchian dream world this is how it manifests itself.

Hero (2004, US release)

directed by Zhang Yimou

A CONTROVERSIAL CHINESE BLOCKBUSTER
Zhang Yimou’s first film of the martial arts genre is an imaginative and expressive interpretation of China’s ancient history; a Chinese poem in the way Beowulf is a medieval poem. Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978) also comes to mind. Zhang accomplishes a majestic work of fiction through highly-stylized cinematic technique and a narrative that is, in Gregory Currie’s sense, variously interpretable (Currie, 1995). Once its color-coded sequences and unreliable narration are interpreted, however, Hero stands as a visionary work of formal beauty and Chinese pride. As a result, these two key attributes have sparked controversy amongst Chinese audiences & American commentators who made such unreflective remarks about the film’s ideology as “redolent of fascinatin' fascism”(Hoberman, 2004). Therefore, two issues must be addressed: does Hero condone tyranny by “revising” China’s history and is it possible to critically evaluate this film within the landscape of Western political correctness? I intend to answer no, on both counts.

Click Here to read more (complete essay in a pdf file).