Singin' in the Rain

Stanley Donen's and Gene Kelly's Singin' in the Rain (1952) is generally considered one of the greatest musical films of all time, but I have never watched the film for some reason. I decided to erase this peculiarity from my knowledge on cinema by watching this legendary movie - and I don't regret it. Essentially the film is about actors struggling with new cinematic innovations (most importantly, sound) and love. In the musical tradition, they often break into long and complex song and dance numbers that captivate the audience.

I was surprised by how intricate and deep its exploration of cinema and acting was. Even though most of the songs performed in the film are quite corny, they fit well into the film's context and serve as a great source of entertainment. The narrative is really hyperactive because of the physical acting and vast number of musical bits. There's also a breathtaking, long musical sequence near the end of the film that baffled me a bit because it was almost distracting in its epic scale.

Most of the film's brilliance stems from the manic form, perfect acting (especially the physical acting is stunning) and intricate dance choreographies that left me in awe. It's not a surprise why most of the songs have become so popular - and why the Singin' in the Rain sequence is so famous (because Gene Kelly's performance is GODLY).

Even though I wouldn't consider Singin' in the Rain one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time, it certainly works very well under its genre's restrictions and it's great for what it is.

Score: 9 out of 10

The Wayward Cloud

Tsai Ming-liang's The Wayward Cloud (2005) is certainly a unique film: it is a Taiwanese arthouse porn musical. Sadly I havent yet watched Tsai's What Time Is It There? (2001) and The Skywalk Is Gone (2002). The Wayward Cloud continues the stories of the characters seen in those films. In any case, the film doesnt rely heavily on those characters because I felt like there was nothing missing in the story.

The Wayward Cloud examines the relationship between an amateur porn star and a lonely woman. They know each other from the past and both of them are desparately seeking a connection. Will they succeed? They go about their daily lives on a calm pace which is sometimes interruped by odd musical numbers. These musical bits are charmingly off-beat when compared to the rest of the film. It is like the film's story flows back and forth between two completely different layers. There is this sort of "dualism" in the "porn" scenes too. Sometimes you can see the people behind camera in rather amusing situations, and then there are scenes where they are completely non-existent. Tsai brilliantly switches between these two "styles" to emphasize certain aspects of the content. For example, the first porn scene catches the viewer completely off-guard and it is done "professionally" with no visible cameramen, complete with costumes for both characters. The most shocking part is what actually happens during the scene - I'll leave that for you to find out.

Despite the film's cold and alienating attitude most of the time, there are truly hilarious moments. Tsai is able to include his "trademark humor" into the serious content seamlessly. For example, there is a lovely scene which uses only one shot: the shot is divided by a wall in the middle of it and we can see one main character on each side. The man tries to be nice to the woman and accepts the drink she offers to him. While she goes behind the wall, he disposes of the drink without drinking it - because it's god awful. When she comes back, he kindly gives the glass back to him, which she interprets as him wanting more. His facial expression after she fills the glass again is priceless. The same sort of composition is used later in the film for a completely another purpose, but it is certainly meant to be parallel to this scene.

The film's Taipei is under a drought which has made watermelons extremely common, to the point of them becoming a fetish. All of this can be seen as a metaphor for the "dryness" in the relationships of the characters, the lack of connection. The Wayward Cloud's watermelons are infamous among cinephiles.

Apart from the musical scenes, Tsai's form doesnt hold any exceptions in comparison to his other films. He likes to linger on carefully framed and beautiful shots which are often used for a certain purpose. Even his musical numbers follow his tradition of only using old Mandarin pop songs which surprisingly fit really well with the modern setting. 

I seriously cant find any mentionable flaws from the film, and it is great as it is. It is an intriguing example of how far cinematic language can go.

Score: 10 out of 10