Film Club!

[arteom]

Re: Film Club!

I give up.

[arteom]

Re: Film Club!

"In this mesmerizing allegorical tale set in post-Civil War Spain, precocious young Ana (Ana Torrent) becomes obsessed with finding the spirit of Frankenstein's monster after watching director James Whale's 1931 classic. When she happens upon a wounded military deserter, Ana believes that she's evoked the cinematic creature. Helmed by Victor Erice, the film also stars Fernando Fernan Gomez and Teresa Gimpera as Ana's disengaged parents."

This was a very particular style of film, watch leaves fall, or day in the life of. Very cinematic, though at times you feel as though its forced and you feel as if they were really trying for the effect. But then again, its a necessary part of the film. The movie is about death, about life, from the point of view of a small child who gets fascinated by the subject after watching the 1931 film Frankenstein. She questions why the monster kills the small girl in the movie, and why the town kills the monster afterward. The movie is essentially an alternate ending to the film, where in her imagination she befriends Frankenstein and he doesn't kill her. The quality of this type of film is really dependent on cinematic execution of the scenes, it is often the cinema which tells the story, and that is what plays out here. The cinematic bar is set high, subtlety is what determines a work of fine cinematic art from an art-house film. And sadly for me this was just an art-house film, not a bad one, just no piece of cinematic masterwork. What I thought was well executed perhaps to a fault was the question of death as first experienced by a child, more specifically; why do we kill? The filmmakers did well in exploring the subject from the perspective of the small girl that is the main character, not overstepping boundaries of maturity. There was a certain charm to that, as well as the general setting of the film and the characters which was enjoyable.

[One-Way]

Re: Film Club!

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

I really wish I saw this film in my History of International Cinema class last semester. These are the types of film we saw in class, and what I mean by that is, this is an allegorical film that is set in the 1940s and explores the after effects of the Civil War in Spain. I didn't read anything up on this film except for the bit of information that revealed it was about a young girl who becomes fascinated with the story of Frankenstein after seeing the film. I was unexpectedly surprised, both at how ambiguous this film was and unconventional.

The Spirit of the Beehive is Victor Eric's directorial debut. I don't know what the entire film is about, mainly because I'm not an expert on the history of the Spain, but that's mainly what this film explores. The quiet, vast landscapes are surreal and capture the emptiness that these families experience after war. The atmosphere captures the somber silence of despair and becomes haunting at times. The real charm in this film is Ana Torrent, arguably the best child actor I have ever seen, right up there with Mohsen Ramezani from The Color of Paradise. She carries the entire film with her large, expressive eyes that reveal so much about her personality and have so much to still learn. Ana's fascination with the story of Frankenstein sends her searching for answers about life and death, and each scene is delicately crafted.

I have see The Spirit of the Beehive once more, or several times more, to fully let it sink in and begin understanding its deeper layers and meanings. This is a film that doesn't spoon-feed you the entire story. This is a film that presents you with beauty in its images and way of telling a story, and asks you to revisit it again in the future. That's why I believe this film is a terrific one, because it's a work of art that you can revisit several times and experience something different each time. I wish more films could do that to its audience, but very few can.

[One-Way]

Re: Film Club!

arteom, thanks for playing and keeping us on track. You can give us your film suggestion now.

[arteom]

Re: Film Club!

No problem One-Way, and thank you as well. My choice is The Hidden Fortress by Akira Kurosawa, though I suspect you may have seen it. Let me know if that is the case. My alternate choice would be Mr. Nobody (2009). The first film can be streamed on netflix.

[One-Way]

Re: Film Club!

I haven't seen it yet, but I've been meaning to. I hope you haven't seen the film, though!

So, our next film is The Hidden Fortress and we should be back with our reviews by Friday, December 3.

[arteom]

Re: Film Club!

No I haven't seen it. Slowly making my way through Kurosawas films, yet to be disappointed.

[One-Way]

Re: Film Club!

Cool. I'll probably see it in the next few days because I'm free. I'll be back soon!

[arteom]

the hidden fortress

"Lured by gold, two greedy peasants escort a man and woman across enemy lines. However, they do not realize that their companions are actually a princess and her general."

I enjoyed this movie, kept me interested throughout. One thing that always seem to stand out in Kurosawas films are the characters, well they all have such...character. The movie had a pretty light overtone, pretty comical at times. The idea of greed was a driving force throughout the film, though again often not taken too seriously, executed comically. Though the idea of nobility is also present. On one side the princess in the film is progressive in her thinking, she remarks at one point that the double that took her beheading was the same as her, and later in the film she shows kindness to a general on the opposing army who had been disgraced by his leader. On the other side of nobility are the greedy peasants. The peasants were ruled by greed, they had tried to take the gold for themselves on multiple occasions. One could not help but feel that the peasants were not capable of the same kindness presented by the princess. Though there was sort of a counter to that I suppose, the princess rescues a peasant girl that stays loyal to her. But in the end, when the peasants get a single piece of gold they offer it to each other rather than fighting each other who gets to keep it. Perhaps we aren't to take too much from the peasants who were the comical relief. But a similar idea of nobility and peasantry was present in The Seven Samurai, will have to see it again.

[One-Way]

Re: Film Club!

I promise, I'll watch this soon enough. I suppose I'll be picking the next film, since all the other members are missing. I already have a film in mind, but I'll watch this, post my review, then announce it.