Originally uploaded by ismond

"Googly googly"

A film I recently happened to stumble upon, ironically, was The Fall. I'd heard of the book by Camus, and the alternative band... but not the film; so I cautiously approached it, deciding it would not be as sophisticated or as complex as either. I was wrong.

Like Blame it on Fidel, the young actress in this picture is mesmerising, her foreign accent adding to the sense of childish innocence and learning throughout. It grips the attention of the viewer constantly by mediating between 1920's hospital scenes and a colourful fictional world where bandits seek revenge. In fact, pairing it with Blame it on Fidel, this picture does more than tell a story, it explores more philosophical 'adult' issues through the eyes of a child; in this case, suicide. Thus it also fits into the same category as Pan's Labyrinth, taking the similar route of child-indulges-in-fantasy-world-to-cope-with-harsh-realities-of-life.

But it is not pretentious, or long-winded, or conservative for that matter. Its beautiful slow-mo intro is reminiscent of a silent film, but moulded up to today's standards. And the ending provides us snippets of silent movies as a reminder that not only actors should be hailed, for there are many unsees faces backstage.

Christmas List

Nothing completes the Christmas season like a good old trip to the movies or a night in front of a film next to the tree. Here are the films that have recently come out or that I haven't yet got round to watching but that I want to see this Christmas nonetheless:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Gone Baby Gone
• Milk
• Son of Rambow
• Of Time and The City
• Choking Man
• Yes Man
• Ano Una
• Hunger
• Belle Toujours
• Gonzo: The life and work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
• Fear(s) of the Dark
• Choke
• Waltz with Bashir
• The Silence of Lorna
• Triangle
• Angel
• A Bloody Aria
• Burn After Reading
• The Chaser
• I've Loved you so Long
• La Zona
• Somer's Town
• Eden Lake
  

HOW TO DRESS LIKE... Bonnie Parker

Faye Dunaway as the beautiful, brave, ruthless Bonnie Parker is one of cinema's greatest heroines... or anti-heroines. And through all her bank robberies and car chases, she always remained so well dressed! I didn't realise I had a Bonnie outfit until I looked through my cupboard (mine is all from the charity shop) so I felt that Bonnie's style should be revived, and hopefully it will inspire women to mix fashion with crime instead of the awful ideals that are promoted in Sex and The City.

Ochre Chunky Cable Polo Jumper - Miss Selfridge
Price:
£35.00
Colour:


Ochre Bridle Print Silk Scarf - Topshop
Price: £22.00

Cream angora Beret- Miss Selfridge

Price : £9.00





Adding a Tweed skirt or trousers would complete the outfit but Tweed doesn't seem to be in this season so I can't help you with that. Cigars are also a must. And obviously if you really want to recreate Bonnie's style, a revolver would be necessary, but I don't know where you can get hold of one of those.

This blog is sounding a bit too much like a fashion blog for my liking so I'll carry on writing more reviews when I've seen some more films. In the mean time, let's not forget that Bonnie and Clyde were real people, both extraordinary.

The 1967 film by Arthur Penn starring Warren Beatty and Dunaway paints a very personal picture of the outlaws, detracting from the idea that they were criminals and portraying them as flighty, adrenalin-seeking lovers.

The film was quite groundbreaking; violence in it was a lot stronger than had ever been shown on screen. This, combined with the recent introduction of colour made Bonnie and Clyde quite a taboo film. It also explored concepts such as impotence and sexual promiscuity which made audiences very cautious in seeing it.

"Tomorrow is another day"

Goethe: poet, dramatist, author, scientist, theologan, humanist, philosopher... film director?

I have never read any of Goethe's works, but from what I have read about him, he was concerned primarily with trying to understand humanity, however bleak and sorrowful it may be. This is exactly what Roy Anderssen has done in You, The Living (Du Levande). He's raked the Hollywood leaves off the muddy ground, resulting in a beautiful black comedy resembling an Edward Hopper painting.

Sounds grim, eh? No. Not once does this very slow paced film get boring. The lack of explosions and sex scenes does not detract from the film at all. In fact, the only sex scene involves a very old, rather dead looking couple and was one of the most memorable I have seen. An end shot, reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove which overlooks the whole city seems to be inserted to announce that the film documents all of our lives.

The cinematography is stunning, the stories slightly disjointed yet all craftfully told, the music haunting yet merry, the pace rich and delightful. A dream sequence evokes sadness, a nightmare horror and and humour, and all the other events evoke relief, relief that we are not the living dead as the characters of this film seem to be.

Anderssen has only made 6 films in his life time, this being the only one I have seen, but I'm glad he doesn't churn out films like a butter factory churns out butter, because they would become as monotonous as the lives of he characters in his films. We may think our lives do not follow the same patterns as those of the nameless characters in this picture, but this isn't popcorn munching fun...it's a reality check in disguise. He is documenting the harsh reality of life, the triviality of events, the significance of relatioships. In You, The Living, he's documenting each of our lives, and sadly for us, he tells the complete truth; there are no explosions and gratuitous sex scenes but greyness, sadness, bizarreness and brass music leading us to the grave.

"You said Mickey Mouse was a Fascist!"

I have two younger siblings, one 9 years old, the other 5 and I cannot imagine their lives being upturned by the introduction of communist ideals into the house. My parents have always been very left wing, but not so much that they allow 'barbudos' into their home and trade in their house for a flat which they transform into socialist headquarters. It is this idea, of total chaos within ones habitat, of young children becoming involved in the politics of their parents, that makes this film so unbelievable. It is also this idea, of a child holding a personal grudge against Fidel Castro, that makes this film so appealing.

Blame it on Fidel! does nothing wrong. It explores moral and political concepts through the eyes of a child who in school ultimately begins to employ communist ideals... as games. The visual aspects of the film are beautful; red, yellow and blue are prominent, evoking time and place (France during 1970's) and inkeeping with the idea of 'red' as Communisms signiature.

Nina Kervel-Bey is one of those children that was meant to act. She is so convincing as an innocent, yet rebellious Anna De la Mesa that you turly feel she's real, and this close association with her character results in a similar feeling towards the young Marjan Satrapi in Persepolis. She's charming, feisty, inquisitve, clever and, most of all, wise beyond her years. If sympathy is evoked in this film, it is only slashed away by Anna's sharp words.

This film is very pro-Socialism, which may be off-putting to some, however if all advocates of Communism were little, feisty, red-coated girls, and all believers in Capitalism were the adults around them, it'd be a tough fight, and one where the victorious would certainly be most unlikely.

"I wouldn't hurt a fly"

Today I bore witness to the masterpiece that is Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho... and I really didn't expect what happened to happen. Only Hitchcock could have escaped hilarity, thanks to the bizarre plot (it's not my job to spoil it) involving a, well... unlikely psycho. The film has been looked at from several analytical perspectives (primarily psychoanalytical but also feminist and Freudian) yet to this day seems simply able to slip into the slasher movie category.

Certain parts of the film of course appear dated, but it is because of this that Psycho has managed to retain its charm (the notorious shower scene appearing all over modern cinema as well as repeatedly topping 'THE 50 SCARIEST CINEMATIC MOMENTS OF ALL TIME, EVER!!!' on various channels.) The use of black and white here was very effective, creating an illusion of shadow and doubt. Indeed, Gus Van Sant made a shot-for-shot remake in 1998, which I haven't seen, but which received bad reviews... as everyone had already seen the original, and something was lost in the addition of colour (Van Sant is also a crap director in my opinion. but I am yet to see Milk.)

Sadly as a film student, I already knew that all the blood in the shower scene was really chocolate sauce, and I was squinting throughout just to catch Hitchcock's cameo (all in vain.) But that didn't stop me (excuse my french) shitting myself when the shower scene came along. Although many of my peers claimed to have seen the film, I heard A LOT of gasps coming from the audience- proof that however dated Hitchcock's techniques may be, he still deservedly holds the title of 'master of suspense.'

After a very unpredictable, and slightly unconvincing ending (Lila Crane shed no tears at all for her dead sister) came the most sinister inner-monologue I have seen on screen. One must ask themselves why the shower scene is so poignant when more fear is evoked in the stillness of an individual than in the brutal murder of an innocent woman.