Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

Four Layers There’s no shortage of intelligent work in film. But here we have one of the most complexly referential things I’ve ever seen. Simple self-reference points to itself. Common self-reference points to the viewer defining the experience. But Mingus used to say why have three threads when you can have seven? Here, some of… Continue reading Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

It (1927)

Invention I have put this film on my list of required viewing for cineliteracy. The reason is obvious: here we have the creation of a persona that changed the world of film and indeed the world. I believe that the relationship between film reflecting society and inventing it is complex, but in some cases the… Continue reading It (1927)

Enter the Void (2009)

Tomorrow Never Knows One of our next great filmmakers, yet another South American, makes a film about French filmmaking. That once great tradition was compromised in the sixties by a burst of non-sustainable creativity that ate itself. A decent enough metaphor is that cinema overdosed on introspective drugs. Now we get a film that both… Continue reading Enter the Void (2009)

Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980)

Doubts that Bind Love is internal. It is sustained by questions of doubt, tension, expectation. The solidity of the hand is strengthened by the slipperiness underfoot. So suppose you wanted to make a film about the fields that animate your anchor relationships. You couldn’t do what everyone else does: deal with the tokens: the looks,… Continue reading Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980)

2046 (2004)

Gloved Hand If Welles, Tarkovsky and Kurosawa are the three past masters. Greenaway, Medem and Kar-Wai are the three greatest living filmmakers. All three weave incredibly deep and personal stories which bleed into the act of their creating the film. Each create striking images that resonate deeply, far beyond mere metaphor or exposition. Each worry… Continue reading 2046 (2004)

The Golem (1920)

Life This is the most exciting film I have seen of those made before “Kane.” It is far better than those usually clumped into the so-called expressionist movement, particularly better than “Caligari”. The lighting, framing and rhythm of the thing is about of the same fine quality. Where is astounds is in the sets, which… Continue reading The Golem (1920)

Memento (2000)

Skin as Photograph I rate this very high on my scale, primarily for its ambition and intellect. Usually I get annoyed at IMDB comments that report the story as if it were important, but it is here: —Lenny’s home is attacked, wife raped, him injured. He develops this ‘condition’ which has no physical cause. In… Continue reading Memento (2000)