Time Bandits

Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits (1981) doesn't seem similar to the director's output at first. But after a group of time traveling dwarves pop out of an American kid's closet (while being chased by a floating, animated head), you know you are watching a Gilliam flick. The film tells the story of the said group attempting rob the rich in different periods of time, but at some point the story takes a turn by introducing the main villain, "Evil Genius".

It seems as if Gilliam had run out of steam by the time he made this film. What begins as a peculiar social commentary turns into a series of peculiar recreations of historical events and then you are given the strangest cinematic battle ever. The film feels like a cheap Monty Python imitation with only a few good gags and no coherency of any sort. The characters are flat and not even funny - apart from Evil Genius who is a true delight in this confusing film. The screenplay only manages to become solid once the group gets into the fortress of the main villain. 

Even though the set and costume design are spot-on in their bizarreness, Gilliam's form is mostly hit-and-miss in terms of cinematography and editing. There is the same sort of uncontrolled and (horribly) alienation chaos in its form like there is in its content. 

Sadly Gilliam misses the potential of a great premise. His bizarre vision saves the film from being a failure, somehow.

Score: 5 out of 10

Kiki's Delivery Service

Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) tells the story of a 13-year-old witch who has to move out from her home for a year as a part of her training. Her quest to find a new home and to become accepted in the new community takes her to unexpected places. The screenplay's strengths are the characters and the dense narrative. On a thematic/metaphoric/symbolic level, the film is not as rich as Miyazaki's other films, but it is still satisfying.

As usual, Studio Ghibli's animation and art design are top-notch. Hisaishi's music is good yet again. Miyazaki's use of silence is fascinating yet again - and it also makes the musical score's effect greater.

Even though Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the "lesser" films Miyazaki has ever made, it is still a great film.

Score: 9 out of 10

The Hidden Fortress

The Hidden Fortress (1958) is one of Akira Kurosawa's "lighter" films. While the film has its share of serious content, it is mostly comical and adventurous. The film follows two hilariously greedy peasants who end up in silly places and situations while escorting a princess and her general.

The most important and funniest aspect of the whole story is the interaction between the two peasants. When they're down on their luck they try to get along, but once they receive a chance to get rich they bicker and fight each other until they ruin their great opportunity. It is this tragic yet funny cycle that is repeated so many times during the film - and that never loses its appeal. In fact, The Hidden Fortress actually made me laugh more than any other film I've seen in a month. Sadly the other characters arent quite as good as the two peasants because they are so blank that you can easily forget them.

The film's narrative is a bit weird: while you watch the film its structure remains mysterious because you dont have any idea where it will go next and when it will end - unless you are looking at how much time has passed. Somehow Kurosawa makes the narrative work even though it seems quite chaotic in hindsight.

Kurosawa yet again proves how he can effortlessly punctuate the whole film with brilliant camera movement and editing. For example, after the peasants have worked hard there is a shot when they are walking towards the camera (and the camera is pulled at a similar speed) while talking about the general. Once they begin to suspect his disappearance and come to their own funny conclusion, the camera stops right away (the actors stop as well) in order to enforce the impact of the "conclusion".

Oh melodrama, melodrama. The Hidden Fortress suffers from occassionally terrible melodrama. While the exaggerated performances of the peasants is justified (and essential), there are other performances which are too stiff and melodramatic. Mifune doesnt fall for that as can be expected from him, but Misa Uehara's performance as the princess is a notable example of this problem.

In the end, The Hidden Fortress is a nice and entertaining adventure film. It was supposed to be one though: it was Kurosawa's way to thank the producers for financing riskier films like Rashômon (1950). The film is often compared to the original Star Wars film because it was one of the films that influenced Lucas. There are a lot of similarities and the funny thing is that Star Wars actually does everything even better than The Hidden Fortress. Although, I might actually prefer the peasants to the droid duo of C3P0 and R2D2. I know, I'm a heretic for saying that, but I simply find the two a lot more interesting and funnier.

Score: 7 out of 10