Werckmeister Harmonies

Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) is a film that puzzles me even after two views. On the first time it put me to sleep because I wasn't ready for it. The second time its screenplay makes me wonder. Essentially the film is about a Hungarian town on the brink of a violent rebellion, but beyond that it is hard to say whether the screenwriting is brilliant or not.

The film attemps to approach the profound and it certainly brings emotions and thoughts forth by giving the viewers time to ponder about what they see. There are only a few moments that gives us a hint about what the director was aiming for. Tarr once said the film is about "civilization and barbarism", but that's a rather weird subject to explore in cinema in the first place. The film's extreme bleakness is almost parodical on a few occasions, but it still manages to work well. The screenplay's biggest strength is the relatable and wonderfully thoughtful main character, János, who is just as confused and helpless as the viewer is. Lars Rudolph's take on him is mesmerizing.

Even if the writing does not completely convince me, its representation is flawless. The menacing lighting, complex and captivating camerawork, terrific black and white photography and the haunting musical score make me utterly love the film. If anything, this film is a great audiovisual experience even when the significance of the symbolism is lost.

Score: 8 out of 10

Kagemusha

Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980) reminded me of why I am such a huge fan of the director (in fact, I would name him the greatest director of all time): he has made so many films that are simply too brilliant. Even though Kurosawa himself referred to Kagemusha as the "dress rehearsal" for Ran (1985), the film is not a minor masterpiece. In fact, it is nearly as great as the epic Shakespearean film even though its tone and scope are vastly different.

The film recounts the tale of a thief who is forced to impersonate a famous warlord after his death. The impersonator's role is quite poetic, seeing how he is metaphorically between life and death throughout the film. His problems with identity and something resembling an existential crisis are thought-provoking. The powerplay between the warlords might not be as violent and aggressive as in Ran, but it surely is intriguing.

Kagemusha is incredibly poetic in its expression: long takes, precise compositions, graceful camera movement, meditative pacing and fascinating imagery create a distinctive mood for the film.

Kagemusha instantly became one of my favorite Kurosawa films. It creates a fantastic pair with Ran - it would be fascinating to take a deeper look into these two films and compare them.

Score: 10 out of 10

A Letter to Uncle Boonmee

First of all, I have to thank The Auteurs for hosting the online premiere of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's latest short film, A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (2009), for FREE. I recommend everyone to check it out (see the link in the earlier sentence - you only need to sign up to the site and it is free as well). The short film is extremely lyrical and it's hard to grasp what it is exactly about. The letter mentioned in the title is focused upon at first, but then the film ventures elsewhere. Most of the film consists of beautiful panning shots of houses and jungle. The form is extremely hypnotic in its sound design as well - it reminds me of the director's earlier film, Tropical Malady. In short, the short film is an interesting production although the content is quite baffling.

Score: 6 out of 10

The New World

Terrence Malick's The New World (2005) is a take on the story of how Europeans met and fought with the Native Americans when they found American and tried to establish settlements. Terrence Malick is known for making only a few movies during a long period of time so The New World is at the moment his latest film. The film mostly follows an American Indian girl who at first falls in love with an Englishman, and then struggles to live among the newcomers.

The New World flows like a poem, an epic poem that touches on various subjects and themes. The poetic structure is certainly admirable. The film abandons and takes on so many different things that it becomes a little disorienting to watch the film - and it never seems to fully grasp anything. It does try hard to properly handle its content, but the result is utterly uneven. The inner monologues are probably the biggest offender in the film. When you are just about to be enthralled by some other aspect in the film, the monologues come up and slap you in the face to wake you up. Sometimes they work, but mostly they are just pretentious and shallow attempts to be more "intelligent".

While watching the film I was wondering if the film ends properly due to the charming poetic structure - because I remembered that when I watched the film for the first time the ending came abruptly. This time I felt the film ended on a satisfying note - "the poem faded out".

It is no surprise that Emmanuel Lubezki worked as the DP on The New World: the cinematography is beautiful, intense and captivating. There is simply no better way to glorify nature than the way Lubezki portrays the film's world. The musical score of the film is subtle and sometimes a bit weird. It left me cold sometimes - especially when it should have NOT done that.

The acting in The New World is more or less phenomenal. Kilcher makes a great debut and Farrell performs nicely in a subdued way (yet again). Christian Bale is the big star again - his performance is simply breathtaking.

All in all, The New World is a calm and poetic film that suffers from being a little too uneven.

Score: 6 out of 10