5 films: Renaissance to Bringing Up Baby
Renaissance (Christian Volckman, 2006). In a future Paris a renegade cop searches for a kidnapped scientist in this cyberpunk noir film. The visuals are spectacular, with sharp black-and-white computer images created on top of the real actors. The plot is on the level of Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner when it comes to clarity, which means it’s far from obvious. I don’t think I’ll re-watch it anytime soon. [7/10]
The Wild Blue Yonder (Werner Herzog, 2005). An human-appearing alien stranded on Earth talks about mankind’s foolish attempts to reach other worlds, and how he has made the same futile trip in the other direction. Herzog mixes a fictional interview with the alien with archive material from NASA and underwater special-effect shots that are supposed to represent another planet. The whole film has a meditative feel to it, and I floated away on the alien’s spoken words and the long shots of Earth and space. [9/10]
Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985). In a dystopian bureaucracy a man tries to correct an erroneous arrest, but gets suspected of crimes himself. Wonderful characters, neat retro-futuristic environments and an ever-present paranoia and desperation makes watching this a great experience. [8/10]
Foreign Correspondent (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940). An inexperienced American war correspondent is sent to Europe at the start of World War II, and gets mixed up with high diplomats and spies. The two things that lower my grade of the film is that the message that America is the home and future of freedom and democracy is hammered home and that the plot presented few surprises. [5/10]
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938). A man about to marry gets stuck with a strange girl and her pet leopard. I really wanted to enjoy this since it’s considered a classic romantic comedy. It’s also referenced in a roleplaying game I like called Breaking the Ice. But the film is a much too silly, frenzied, did I mention silly, with a plot that’s more than hard to believe. I don’t like Cary Grant in humorous roles and this is no exception. The one thing that saves the film is George the Dog, convincingly portrayed by the dog actor Asta, and Baby the Leopard played by Nissa. The scene when the two animals wrestle is one of the few highlights. Oh, and the ending sucks. [3/10]
Brazil is one of my all time favourite movies, quite possibly Terry Gilliam's best. Very dark and claustrophobic, yet strangely humorous in a twisted way. Gilliam's recurring theme throughout his movies is the idea of human fantasies and imagination subsisting despite the grim realities of …eh… reality.
Hello Peter,
I really like the main character in Brazil. I think it's easy to empathize with him. But my favorite character is De Niro's “freelance heating engineer” that sweeps in, solves problems and then disappears. That character is hilarious, a true working-class ninja.