Movies, Mom & Me

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I rented this movie a couple of weeks ago just to undergird my decision to purchase it. Mom was thoroughly bored, so bored that she wandered around looking for things to do, at one point, while doing crosswords, asked, "Is that thing still on?!?", so my viewing was highly distracted.
    No matter. Martial Arts movies of all stripes are another of my guilty movie pleasures. I am particularly fascinated with the use of color in this movie. I am approaching it rather more as though it were a Little Buddha movie, rather than a "guilty pleasure" movie. I like the idea of the telling of stories being the subject as well as the discipline of the movie. I find the depiction of the 'heroine', as well, thoughtfully complex, and the world view thought provoking and disturbing.
  Update 11/17/2021:  This post was originally published February 6, 2005. It was one of the accidental deletions that occurred, which is covered in this post.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jet Li	Nameless	Tony Leung	Broken Sword	Maggie Cheung	Flying Snow	Chen Daoming	King of Qin

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2002; 2004 in the U.S.
    Directed by Zhang Yimou.

Labels: §1, action3, dramaC, dream2, period6, political5, spectacle2, suspense3

# posted by gail @ 19:41    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This film is a German remake of All That Heaven Allows. I just received it, so haven't yet watched it, but I'm really looking forward to it. I can't quite get a fix on this one and refuse to read the Wikipedia write-up, below, before I watch it, so stay tuned for more commentary.
    I'll tell you one thing I'm going to do, though. I'm going to figure out how many Sirk movies I have in my collection. It's entirely possible I have some of which I'm unaware. If so, I might need to make a new label. I know. This movie isn't a Sirk movie, but it can be argued that without Sirk's movies, this movie might not exist.
    Well, it turns out I have three Sirk movies. So far. His oeuvre is influential, though, so I have a feeling I'll be acquiring more of his work. A label, his name becomes.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Brigitte Mira	Emmi Kurowski	El Hedi ben Salem	Ali	Barbara Valentin	Barbara	Irm Hermann	Krista
  Rainer Werner Fassbinder	Eugen	Karl Scheydt	Albert Kurowski	Marquard Bohm	Gruber	Walter Sedlmayr	Angermayer
  Doris Mattes	Mrs. Angermeyer	Lilo Pempeit	Mrs. Münchmeyer	Gusti Kreissl	Paula	Margit Symo	Hedwig

  
    One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1974
    Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Labels: §1, Criterion3, melodramaA, romance5

# posted by gail @ 16:56    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I've seen snippets of this movie, which is why I decided I not only wanted to see the whole movie, but that I wanted to own it. I'll be watching it, in toto, tonight. In the meantime, I've seen enough of it to wonder why Roger Ebert gave both this movie and the other directed by Chris Weitz to which he compared it, About a Boy, the same number of rating stars, three and a half. Although I enjoy About a Boy and own a copy of it, just from what I've seen of this movie, if I'd seen About a Boy before this movie and given it three and a half stars, I'd be inclined to give this movie four stars.
    It's not that I always agree with Roger Ebert. In fact, I whole-heartedly agree with him a little less than a quarter of the time, although I rarely find one of his reviews in which I don't agree with something he's said, and, anyway, I appreciate his insights and the extra movie info he provided in his reviews, which is why I link to a lot of them. His reviews continue to point me toward movies I haven't yet seen but might find interesting. But, I notice, of all the Chris Weitz movies Ebert reviewed (they're listed in the immediately previous link), Ebert gave only one a full four stars: The Golden Compass, a movie I really tried to get into but just couldn't. It was full of razzle dazzle, yes, but the story, to me, was old and tired and leaning so heavily on its artistic presentation that the whole of the movie just kind of crumpled. When considering Ebert's reviews against my own, I always have to remind myself, he gave The Polar Express an enthusiastic four stars both times he saw it (one review was of the IMAX version), whereas I had a dim view of that movie (my write-up of it is linked to the title, further back in this sentence) and, out of two watchings, my mother didn't like it the first time around, although she enjoyed it the second time. Nonetheless, I got rid of it. She never asked to see it again and turned an offered viewing of it down after she'd seen in a second time.
    Perhaps I'll feel differently about this movie, A Better Life, after I watch the whole thing. Perhaps I'll even feel the same as Roger Ebert and consider it not-quite-a-four-star-movie. We'll see. Stay tuned.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Demián Bichir	Carlos Galindo	José Julián	Luis Galindo	Dolores Heredia	Anita	Carlos Linares	Santiago
  Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo	Himself	Joaquín Cosío	Blasco Martinez	Nancy Lenehan	Mrs. Donnely	Gabriel Chavarria	Ramon

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2011
    Directed by Chris Weitz.

Labels: §1, character-study, coming-of-age2, dramaD, father-son-dynamics1, gang-movie, reflective

# posted by gail @ 15:25    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I just added this movie to my collection today, 8/25/21. I haven't watched it yet but I don't think I'll be disappointed. I'll report back within the next few hours, or days, depending.
    It should be noted that this movie was written, produced and directed by Edward Norton and stars him, as well. This is one of the reasons I wanted to add it to my collection, since I'm becoming interested in Edward Norton's work. The critics were impatient with, and mostly downgraded their reviews because of, its length. The length of a film never bothers me, unless it's because it wasn't well edited, which no one accuses this film of being. As well, according to Wikipedia, Edward Norton's "personal engagement" with this film is immense, and, might I add, compelling to me, at least.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Edward Norton	Lionel Essrog	Bruce Willis	Frank Minna	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Laura Rose	Alec Baldwin	Moses Randolph
  Willem Dafoe	Paul Randolph	Bobby Cannavale	Tony Vermonte	Cherry Jones	Gabby Horowitz	Michael K. Williams	Trumpet Man

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2019
    Directed by Edward Norton.

Labels: §1, edward-norton, neo-noirC, police-procedural, willem-dafoe

# posted by gail @ 13:08    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Roger Ebert wrote twice about this movie. He wrote, first, about the Dutch movie, the review of which is attached to the title of this post, above. He was much impressed with it, gave it 3.5 stars, and wrote enthusiastically about it.
    Then, George Sluizer came to the United States to remake the film for an "American" audience. I'm not going to describe Ebert's disgust with the remake, I'm going to quote it, because it's succinct, appropriate and, well, thank you, Roger, for saying it: "... I do not want to reveal important plot details, but let me say that I sat with a sinking heart as the movie methodically rewrote all that was good in the earlier version, turning its cold logic into trashy commercialism. The first movie was existential in its merciless unfolding. This one turns into a slasher movie with a cheap joke at the end. ... What's the story here? Do Sluizer and his American producers believe the American movie audience is so witless it will not accept uncompromising fidelity to a story idea? Are Europeans deserving of smart, cynical filmmaking, but Americans have to be approached on a more elementary level? I don't know. I simply know that George Sluizer has directed two films named "The Vanishing," and one is a masterpiece and the other is laughable, stupid and crude."
    I saw the "American" version on television years ago. Without knowing there was an original, much more elegant version of the film, or that Ebert had reviewed both, I felt exactly the same way Ebert did about the second version. Just like him, in the last third of the movie I had that "sinking" feeling that this was not going to end well, by which I mean, I was going to feel as though I'd been cheated, then spat upon for being a dupe. That's exactly how I felt.
    I only recently acquired this film, the Dutch version. I haven't watched it, yet, but I'm looking forward to erasing any memories I have of the "American" version with this version. I'll be reporting back.
    Roger, although we never knew each other, may I say, I feel closer to you than I do to many people, right now, after having read your review of the "American" version of this film.
    Let me say, as well, to you, dear audience [Of one? Of none?]: if you are native to the United States, be aware that the rest of the world thinks of you, erroneously, I hope, as an "American", in quotes. There are many reasons, in the history of our country and within our national personality (I hesitate to use the word "character", I hope that is not true), why this is so, and it has been true for a long time (consider The Ugly American, published in 1958). If you want to refute this perception, and I do, start acting like a person of the earth, not a person of a belligerent, dying empire. The empire will die. You will die. But, maybe you can see to it that your personal death will bring sorrow to the world, not relief. I'm not one who often endorses "shoulds", but that's how it should be.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu	Raymond Lemorne	Gene Bervoets	Rex Hofman	Johanna ter Steege	Saskia Wagter	Gwen Eckhaus	Lieneke
  Bernadette Le Saché	Simone Lemorne	Tania Latarjet	Denise Lemorne	Lucille Glenn	Gabrielle Lemorne	Roger Souza	Manager

  
    You can find the Wikipedia write-up for this movie here. You can find the Wikipedia write-up for it's remake here. The "Reception" sections are interesting to read, one after the other.
    Release Date: 1988
    Directed by George Sluizer.

Labels: §1, Criterion3, horror1

# posted by gail @ 16:05    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Peter Riegert	Mac	Burt Lancaster	Felix Happer	Fulton Mackay	Ben Knox	Denis Lawson	Gordon Urquhart
  Norman Chancer	Moritz	Peter Capaldi	Danny Oldsen	Rikki Fulton	Geddes	Alex Norton	Watt
  Jenny Seagrove	Marina	Jennifer Black	Stella	Caroline Guthrie	Pauline	Christopher Asante	Reverend Macpherson

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for this film.
    Release Date: 1983
    Directed by Bill Forsyth.
  

Labels: §1, burt-lancaster, Criterion3

# posted by gail @ 16:01    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Hideko Takamine	Keiko Yashiro	Masayuki Mori	Nobuhiko Fujisaki	Reiko Dan	Junko Inchihashi	Tatsuya Nakadai	Kenichi Komatsu
  Daisuke Katō	Matsukichi Sekine	Nakamura Ganjirō II	Goda	Eitaro Ozawa	Minobe	Keiko Awaji	Yuri

  
    Here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up of this film.
    Release Date: 1960
    Directed by Mikio Naruse.

Labels: §1, Criterion3, tatsuya-nakadai, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 21:03    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This is a very emotionally complex movie. I've actually watched it twice since I received it. It casts a spell on me. It's not that it causes me to focus on deaths which have affected me, it's that it produces in me deep meditation about life, our knowledge that life is limited and no particular time frame or experience is promised to anyone.
    The final scene of the film, too, carries a unique poignance. I think it's up to the viewer whether The Dead are resisting Death's lead, confused about what's happening or simply celebrating the dropping of the final curtain. Perhaps it depends on the individual characters in the dance. Whatever each of the characters is experiencing, the same experience is happening to all of them, but, as in the Dance of Life, each one is having an individual reaction. That's why I included as many actors/roles as I found listed in the table below. This film is not about the experience, I think, but the reaction to it. Which is why the chess game is so important. When one is given a chance, just before death, to play with the possibilities, well, what difference does it make? Good, and not rhetorical, question. Perhaps none? Perhaps all?
    I may write more, later. I may not. I can assure my readers, though, I will be emotionally magnetized to watching it again. And, again.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Gunnar Björnstrand	Jöns	Bengt Ekerot	Death	Nils Poppe	Jof	Max von Sydow	Antonius Block
  Bibi Andersson	Mia	Inga Landgré	Karin Block	Åke Fridell	Plog	Inga Gill	Lisa
  Erik Strandmark	Jonas Skat	Bertil Anderberg	Raval	Gunnel Lindblom	Mute Girl	Maud Hansson	Witch
  Gunnar Olsson	Church Painter	Albertus Pictor	Church Painter	Anders Ek	The Monk	Benkt-Åke Benktsson	Merchant
  Gudrun Brost	Maid	Lars Lind	Young Monk	Tor Borong	Farmer	Harry Asklund	Innkeeper

  
    One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 1957
    Directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Labels: §1, Criterion2, magical-realism, max-von-sydow, period6, philosophical, war2

# posted by gail @ 18:58    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This film is a series of biographical vignettes from an extremely personal perspective. That may sound like it's difficult to watch, but, in fact, it is, like it's title, dreamy and extraordinarily engaging. As you watch, you can either consider it a Kurosawa statement, or you can meander through the vignettes as individual statements being made by the characters.
    The fact that this collection of films is "hosted, of sorts, I sometimes find annoying, but then another vignette begins and I lose myself. Again.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Actor Name	Role Name	Actor Name	Role Name	Actor Name	Role Name	Actor Name	Role Name
  Akira Terao I, Dreamer	I, Dreamer	Mitsunori Isaki	I, Young Dreamer	Mitsuko Baisho	Dreamer's Mother	Martin Scorsese	Vincent Van Gogh
  Chishū Ryū	Old Man	Mieko Harada	Snow Spirit	Yoshitaka Zushi	Private Noguchi	Toshie Negishi	Woman with Child
  Hisashi Igawa	Nuclear Power Plant Man	Chosuke Ikariya	The Demon	Akira Kurosawa	Self	Matt Sloan	Host

  
    Here is a link to the Wikipedia write-up on this film.
    Release Date: 1990
    Directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Labels: §1, akira-kurosawa, chishū-ryū, Criterion2, fantasy4, magical-realism

# posted by gail @ 18:22    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I remember the first time I saw this movie. I was a mid-teen (or, perhaps, a little younger), continuing to take dancing classes but not toward any particular goal. I don't know how it happened but the local university managed to wrangle a a copy of this movie for an exclusive showing. My dance teacher, who considered me talented but unmotivated, badgered me until I asked my mother to take me to the showing of the movie.
    It didn't motivate my dancing but it did accelerate my interest in romantic tragedy. I remember audibly gasping at the scene of Vicky Page's death. I was not expecting it. This brought the movie into focus for me and I've had a hankering to watch it, again. Now, it's a part of my collection.
    So far, I've only watched it once. During that watching, I couldn't help but compare it to the story portrayed in Black Swan, which I've seen, but, you'll note, I do not own, and doubt that I ever will, unless someone gifts me with it. Anyway, it occurred to me as I was watching this, and, mind you, this consideration is based on a relatively poor memory of Black Swan, that Black Swan portrays the interior danger of living for one's art and this film portrays the external danger of living for one's art. Not that I particularly, well, sympathize with either of the movies' statements. But, there you have it, an off-the-cuff thought about these two movies.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Anton Walbrook	Boris Lermontov	Marius Goring	Julian Craster	Moira Shearer	Victoria Page	Robert Helpmann	Ivan Boleslawsky
  Léonide Massine	Grischa Ljubov	Albert Bassermann	Sergei Ratov	Ludmilla Tchérina	Irina Boronskaya	Esmond Knight	Livingstone Montague

  
    One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
    The Wikipedia write-up for this movie is here.
    Release Date: 1948
    Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger.

Labels: §1, Criterion2, dance, dramaD, fantasy4, romance4

# posted by gail @ 17:56    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Noémie Merlant	Marianne	Adèle Haenel	Héloïse	Luàna Bajrami	Sophie	Valeria Golino	The Countess

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 2019
    Directed by Céline Sciamma.

Labels: §1, Criterion2, dramaD, female-director2, historical4, period6, romance4

# posted by gail @ 16:53    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    The Wikipedia write-up for this film is here.
    Release Date: 2011
    Directed by Wim Wenders.

Labels: §1, Criterion2, dance, documentary2

# posted by gail @ 16:10    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under Construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Gérard Depardieu	Georges Danton	Wojciech Pszoniak	Maximilien Robespierre	Patrice Chéreau	Camille Desmoulins	Bogusław Linda	Louis de Saint-Just
  Angela Winkler	Lucile Desmoulins	Andrzej Seweryn	François Louis Bourdon	Serge Merlin	Pierre Philippeaux	Roland Blanche	Jean-François Delacroix
  Jacques Villeret	François Joseph Westermann	Anne Alvaro	Éléonore Duplay	Roger Planchon	Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville	Franciszek Starowieyski	Jacques-Louis David
  Alain Macé	François Héron	Krzysztof Globisz	Amar	Ronald Guttman	Herman	Tadeusz Huk	Couthon

  
    Here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up of this movie.
    Release Date: 1983
    Directed by Andrzej Wajda.

Labels: §1, Criterion1, drama1, gérard-depardieu, historical1, period1, ronald-guttman

# posted by gail @ 19:14    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Brady Jandreau	Brady Blackburn	Tim Jandreau	Wayne Blackburn	Lilly Jandreau	Lily Blackburn	Cat Clifford	Cat Clifford
  Terri Dawn Pourier	Terri Dawn Pourier	Lane Scott	Lane Scott	Tanner Langdeau	Tanner Langdeau	James Calhoon	James Calhoon

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of this movie.
    Release Date: 2017
    Directed by Chloé Zhao.

Labels: §1, female-director2, western

# posted by gail @ 15:07    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Andrew Garfield	Sebastião Rodrigues	Adam Driver	Francisco Garupe	Tadanobu Asano	The Interpreter	Ciarán Hinds	Alessandro Valignano/Voice of Jesus
  Liam Neeson	Cristóvão Ferreira/Sawano Chūan	Shinya Tsukamoto	Mokichi	Issey Ogata	noue Masashige	Yōsuke Kubozuka	Kichijirō
  Nana Komatsu	Mónica (Haru)	Ryo Kase	João (Chokichi)	Katsuo Nakamura	The Monk	Yoshi Oida	Ichizo

  
    Here's the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 2016
    Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Labels: §1, historical4, martin-scorsese, religion1

# posted by gail @ 00:47    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Catherine Deneuve	Carol Ledoux	Ian Hendry	Michael	John Fraser	Colin	Yvonne Furneaux	Helen Ledoux
  Patrick Wymark	Landlord	Renée Houston	Miss Balch	Valerie Taylor	Madame Denise	James Villiers	John
  Helen Fraser	Bridget	Hugh Futcher	Reggie	Monica Merlin	Mrs. Rendlesham	Imogen Graham	Manicurist

  
    Here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up of this movie.
    Release Date: 1965
    Directed by Roman Polanski.

Labels: §1, Criterion1, horror2, neo-noirA, psychological1, roman-polanski

# posted by gail @ 00:24    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Josh Brolin	George W. Bush	Elizabeth Banks	Laura Bush	James Cromwell	George H. W. Bush	Ellen Burstyn	Barbara Bush
  Richard Dreyfuss	Dick Cheney	Jeffrey Wright	Colin Powelv	Scott Glenn	Donald Rumsfeld	Thandiwe Newton	Condoleezza Rice
  Toby Jones	Karl Rove	Bruce McGill	George Tenet	Ioan Gruffudd	Tony Blair	Noah Wyle	Donald Evans
  Rob Corddry	Ari Fleischer	Dennis Boutsikaris	Paul Wolfowitz	Jason Ritter	Jeb Bush	Stacy Keach	Earl Hudd

  
    The Wikipedia write-up for this film is here.
    Release Date: 2008
    Directed by Oliver Stone.

Labels: §1, ellen-burstyn, josh-brolin, oliver-stone, popcorn-and-soda1, presidential, richard-dreyfuss

# posted by gail @ 23:53    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under Construction.
    Although this is an old, silent movie, it's an unusually interesting presentation of The Ten Commandments. DeMille intertwines the Exodus story with a modern (1923 modern, that is) tale of two brothers, one of whom follows the "law", the other of whom doesn't. Although, as you might expect, life turns sour for the second brother, and, of course, everyone in the movie is affected by his rankled life and death, salvation reigns for those the tawdry brother has mired in his muck. From my perspective, this movie is more about Christian Salvation, rather than following divine law, which is what turns this movie into a surprise; muddled, yes, but still a surprise. It's very interesting, even though sometimes confusing, to watch and ponder. It's revelatory, as well, to realize that DeMille was not satisfied with this version of the Exodus story, thus, he reprised it in 1956 and left out any kind of modern take on divine law. Frankly, I would have liked to have seen a more well thought out version of this 1923 intertwined story. This movie, though, is quite provocative, nonetheless. Definitely worth more than one watch. As a homage to this extraordinary rendition of the Exodus story, I'm including many credits in the Actor/Role Table, below.
  Update: 6/7/2022:  As of this date my collection now includes four versions of the Exodus story: The Ten Commandments 1923, The Ten Commandments 1956, Moses 1995 and Exodus: Gods and Kings. Splitting the difference, care to wager on how long it will be until we see another Exodus epic? My money's on 31 years.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Theodore Roberts	Moses	Charles De Roche	Rameses	Estelle Taylor	Miriam	Julia Faye	Pharoah's Wife
  Terrence/Pat Moore	Son of Pharoah	James Neill	Aaron	Lawson Butt	Dathan	Clarence Burton	The Taskmaster
  Noble Johnson	The Bronze Man	Edythe Chapman	Mrs. Martha McTavish	Richard Dix	John McTavish	Rod La Rocque	Dan McTavish
  Leatrice Joy	Mary Leigh	Nita Naldi	Sally Lung	Robert Edeson	Inspector Redding	Charles Ogle	The Doctor
  Agnes Ayres	The Outcast	Wilson Benge	Butler	Louise Emmons	Elderly Israelite	Roscoe Karns	Dan's Pal & Associate

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1923
    Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

Labels: §1, bible-movies1, drama2, film-art1, moses, silent

# posted by gail @ 23:17    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This movie is the Japanese version of Make Way for Tomorrow. Literally. Ozu admitted, at one time, that he was influenced by Make Way for Tomorrow to create this movie. This is also my favorite Ozu film, if I can be said to have a favorite. I also love Ikiru, although I don't own it (yet), and, of course, I do own An Autumn Afternoon, which I also love. Ozu had a way with the subject of aging. Tokyo Story is never maudlin, never particularly editorial (although, of course, fiercely editorial in the choice of subject matter). Tokyo Story is also not pointedly about aging, but, rather, about inter-generational conflict when aging is involved. And yet, despite its trajectory, it does not strike me as tragic. Perhaps that's because I was my mother's enthusiastic companion through her last almost two decades and subtly nurtured her amazing belief that she was going to live forever in the flesh. She, by the way, informed me that I would also live forever in the flesh, a prophecy that I happily embraced. Are you kidding? The two of us living, together, forever? Oh, my what adventures we'd have (to misquote Dr. Seuss)!
    Roger Ebert was so impressed with the movie that he wrote two reviews of it: the second, a "Great Movies" review, linked to the title of this post and the first, his review after the first time he saw it, which is linked a bit further down in this post. They are somewhat similar, but I think any readers will get a kick out of comparing the two.
    In addition, the cinematography and the choices made in regard to connecting scenes are intuitively brilliant, from my perspective. The mood is preserved, throughout, by these delicate, connecting links in the chain of the story.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Chishū Ryū	Shūkichi Hirayama	Chieko Higashiyama	Tami Hirayama	Setsuko Hara	Noriko Hirayama	Haruko Sugimura	Shige Kaneko
  So Yamamura	Kōichi Hirayama	Kuniko Miyake	Fumiko Hirayama	Kyōko Kagawa	Kyōko Hirayama	Eijirō Tōno	Sanpei Numata
  Nobuo Nakamura	Kurazō Kaneko	Shirō Ōsaka	Keizō Hirayama	Hisao Toake	Osamu Hattori	Teruko Nagaoka	Yone Hattori

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1953
    Directed by Yasujirō Ozu.

Labels: §1, aging, chishū-ryū, Criterion1, drama2, film-art1, psychological1, spiritual1, yasujirō-ozu

# posted by gail @ 10:51    0 comments    email......this post