25th Hall of Fame

Bicycle Thieves -

One of Wall Street's most memorable quotes is "the main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don't want to do." While Lou is referring to those who have more money than they know what to do with, but who desire just a little bit more, this movie proves that the quote applies just as much to those who have very little like Antonio. I like how his quest makes him question everything for which he stands. For instance, there's a scene where he seeks advice from a Christian seer after previously showing skepticism about faith in general. Antonio encounters various potential suspects and collaborators in his search, most notably an old man who he saw conversing with someone who may be the culprit, and to his detriment, none of them want to give him or his son the time of day. Thankfully, the movie paints them as sympathetically as it does Antonio and Bruno, and in doing so, it reminds us that the real villains here are war and unjust poverty. This movie is frequently at or near the top of lists of the best movies of all time, and while I agree that it is great, I cannot give it a perfect score. Its setup is a little too perfect - contrived, in other words - and the emotional authenticity is diluted a bit as a result. Even so, it deserves its status as a prime example of Italian Neorealism, and for better or worse, its themes will likely persist as long as human civilization does.

I'd say that both her character and situation are quite realistic because of what you mentioned before:

Dominique's life being controlled by men is something a depressing number of women will still be able to relate to now, even though it's been 60 years. You don't like that the film treats her like an object, but I think that's entirely the point. She's framed that way because that's how people see her.

To me, not letting her have a say reinforces the fact that her opinion doesn't matter, which was a message I thought the film was clearly trying to convey.

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By "realistic," I mean a human being, not her situation or her "character," which is defined by little but her looks and hysteria.

It's one thing for the people in the film to objectify her. It's another for the film to do it. If, as was being argued, this is intended as a critique of how French society treated women then the filmmakers appear to have been clueless that they were behaving in the same way. If the theory is "don't objectify women," great, but if the film itself does it, that severely undermines this theory.

Again, I understand why others saw her the way they did and the point of not having her testify, but the filmmakers could have given us something internal to show she was human. Some examples: interior monologue; scenes with her attorneys explaining herself; and/or more scenes with her friends where, instead of playing grab ass, they actually converse about her plight. There were ways to do this.

Instead, the filmmakers treated her like everyone else in the film treated her, which to me, reads as an endorsement of that view, intentional or not.

Fair enough. I understand, my words could certainly have been chosen better.

Whiplash (2014) -

Though my appreciation of this film has somewhat decreased throughout the several times I've watched it, I still think it has a lot to offer. In the brutal world Chazelle crafts in this film, you need to pay a price for your dreams to come true (Chazelle's La La Land has a similar theme). Not only do we see the toll Andrew's pursuits of being a great drummer have on him, but also on his relationship with those around him given his alienation of some of his family or how he cuts off his contacts with someone who may have gotten in the way of his dream. Also, even though Fletcher's teaching strategies technically work, the film simultaneously acknowledges the downsides to them given what we learn about Sean Casey and how some of Fletcher's students leave his program. In spite of the darker bits though, the movie also manages to be a lot of fun. The jazz concerts are both well-shot and edited, with the standout being the technically outstanding ending which dropped my jaw when I first watched it back in 2014. Finally, J. K. Simmons does a terrific job in this film. He's electrifying when he teaches the band and equally compelling in his quieter scenes, with the standout being his conversation with Andrew about Charlie Parker.

In spite of these strengths though, something about the film's message turns me off. While I don't think the film champions Fletcher, it does imply that the only way to achieve greatness is through being abused. You can either roll with the abuse and become famous or give up your dreams. While I'm not denying some people will require that kind of pressure to improve, that isn't the only way someone can become famous. I wish the film would've presented more options to achieve greatness to Andrew, but have him choose to stay in Fletcher's program (staying in abusive relationships that you recognize as being abusive is normal, so this would've worked just fine). As it stood, I thought the film's message was conflicted. Yes, it does acknowledge the flaws to Fletcher's teaching methods, but it also acted like Andrew had no other options to pursue his dream and that didn't sit right with me. In spite of this, however, I still like the film quite a bit. Its strengths are compelling and engaging enough to carry the film.

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That is a perspective that never crossed my mind and will be attempting to view it that way next time I see it. Perhaps before the end of this. . .
I'm not sure if the film itself is a "critique" regarding objectifying women. For me it was the "free spirit" aka bohemian life that is easily dismissed by the court system and those living "Normal Lives".
A perspective that followed my previous viewing of Clouzet's Le Corbeau focusing on the hearsay of others as opposed to actual truth. Expanding that concept from countryside to the city via the court system.

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

Rewatched half of Vertigo and will try to finish soon.

looks like I'll need a link for BlacKkKlansman, if anyone would be so kind - much obliged

I sent a link.

VERY COOL!
THANK YOU

La Verite -

This is an okay legal drama that I ultimately admired more than I enjoyed. I do like the flashback structure and believe that each one is well-timed and never negatively affected the pace. I also found Bardot and Frey to be very strong in their roles and in portraying a toxic relationship. The way the movie has the lawyers sort of represent both sides of the brain - i.e. the prosecution on the reasoning side and the defense on the feeling side - is appropriate as it is inspired. The cinematography is not too shabby either. With all that said, it sadly did not leave much of an impression on me. Is it good criticism to compare movies with other entertainment like it that came out before and afterwards? I don't know, but despite the slightly unique flashback structure, I imagine it would fall somewhere in the middle of the many other legal dramas, episodes of Law and Order, what have you I've seen in my lifetime. Moreover, it's the kind of movie that makes you wonder if it being in the Criterion collection has an "emperor has no clothes" effect on the brain. I'd be interested in seeing the feedback from an experiment where one group watches this movie and the other watches one with the same script, but filmed as if it were a Lifetime movie and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ivan Sergei as the couple. Finally, this may prove that I'm more like the jury and prosecution than Dominique and her friends at this point in my life, but I can neither define nor really care to define exactly what the movie is saying. Can the truth be lost or can a correct verdict ever be reached when there is a generation gap like the one in this situation? Is any legal system set up to properly handle a case involving a toxic relationship? Does all of this simply represent the old and appropriately French saying that "the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of; we know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart?" Maybe it's one of these and maybe it's all of them, but if this were a great movie, I'd think about it for days afterwards. However, I'll likely stop when I finish writing this.

I was also lukewam on this film. I get it's an effective tragedy for a few reasons and my issues are more or less subjective. However, I remembered feeling worn down after I finished it since tragedy and bleakness seemed to be baked into almost every frame with little to no levity to balance this out (although, the first act was easier to watch). I compared it to The Whisperers from the 24th HoF in my review as that film also had bleakness fill almost every scene. However, its ending made it an easier pill to swallow.

As usual though, Bardot was beautiful.

Good point, and there really isn't any levity, is there? I agree about its similarities to The Whisperers in this regard, but that movie does have some at the end. Where could La Verite have added some? I don't know, but surely it could have instead of continuing to twist the knife. I mean, even another legal drama from this era, Judgement at Nuremberg, has levity if I remember correctly and it's about the Holocaust!

Also, good call to seanc to mentioning its similarities to Anatomy of a Murderer, which I prefer.

Sean nominated Anatomy of a Murder in the 8th HoF, it did well coming in at #3. And Judgement of Nuremberg was nominated by Neiba in the WWII HoF and won. I'd consider both films superior to La Verite.

The trial portion of La Verite didn't do much for me, except that it propelled the idea that Bardot's character was headed for an ultimate doom in the flashback scenes. I don't remember the details of the movie well, but I'm seem to recall having both sympathy for her character and at the same time thinking she was also self destructive. I mean who brings a gun to a breakup I guess I felt sorry for her but not totally...and that's what I liked about the film it didn't paint her one way or the other.

Insane 8/13 people have finished. And of course I'm one of the 5 slackers. I'll get to 2 more this week though.

I want that tattooed on my thigh.
I LOVE that.

Can't honestly remember if it was the Criterion or the Egg, for me, but I do know it's pretty inconsequential for me. Registering in the bemused, "oh, that's cool,"
Weird thing, I get the dislike and appreciate the witticism in the tear-down. But for some reason - no idea why, but that one bugged me. Not offend, nor outrage. More of a "Now, now, you just hold on there, mister. That'll be enough of that - Let me you sum thing or two."




Just accept it, raul.

You're one us.

Just say it. "I'm a Slacker and I'm Okay."

C'mon, raul, I'm not hearing ya saying it. . . With me, now, "I'm a Slacker. And I'm Okay."

Also, finished The BlacKkKlansman.

Glad you like it. An old co-worker had it as her MySpace signature and I've remembered it ever since. Blaise Pascal said it, I believe.

I probably twisted the knife a bit too much myself, didn't I? I still think it's a good nomination. It's the first Clouzot movie I've seen, so now I'm ready to give The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques a try.

You want to start with Le Corbeau (1943) than Les Diaboliques (1955) and then finish with The Wages of Fear (1953) which can be split into two viewings...the Camp and the Drive