Izgnanie (The Banishment)
I wanted to write about my teeth but I think this is probably slightly more interesting to read.
Anyone who’s followed this blog should know I am an enormous fan of the Russian film Vozvrashcheniye, also known as “The Return”. So when I heard that the director made his second film - Izgnanie (The Banishment) - and it was now being shown in Singapore, I snapped up the chance to go watch it.
I’m not sure what to think of it. The plot was based on a Pulitzer Prize winning book, but it really could be summed up in 4 words: Depressed Wife Commits Suicide. The book’s title was ironically named “The Laughing Matter”.
I suppose I still love Zvyagintsev for his masterful application of direction, but strangely enough, it’s the plot that throws the whole thing down. It’s beautiful scenery after scenery, with symbolism hidden in every nook and cranny - down to the choice of costume - and the scene setups are just absolutely breathtaking. The problem lies, I think, with attempting to be artistic while trying to tell a coherent story.
I’ve (briefly) mentioned this observation with another director, and I think it still falls quite true here. While Zvyagintsev’s techniques aren’t as invasive as Joe Wright’s, there always seems to be a clash between exposition and artistry. The ending in Izgnanie was an additional hour of flashback exposition stuck at the tail end of what-could-have-been-the-ending, which really didn’t make the movie “whole”, in a sense. It felt a bit like Lego - someone sticking a brick on an already completed piece and everything now looks lopsided.
Plot grievances aside, I did go in with high expectations and I was very, very satisfied. Despite the fact this was only the director’s second movie, you start to notice certain things that he enjoys sticking into his movies - the theme of water and life, for example, was very prominent in Vozvrashcheniye and is certainly prominent here, as well as the religious images and pieces of art he scatters through the movie. I absolutely love the techniques he uses to switch scenes (and time); it’s subtle, gradual and almost effortless. It doesn’t blast in your face like those spy thriller cop movies where the glaring subtitles go “2 WEEKS AGO, 11.30 AM, WHITE HOUSE LAWLZ”.
I know a lot of indie-type/art movies employ this, but what I absolutely love is the realistic acting. Emotions don’t get plastered in people’s faces like how Ilsa looked when she listened to “As Time Goes By”. I mean, in the real world, we don’t look dramatically wistful gazing off into the distance as we fantasize about how we could’ve lived in Paris with a dashing Christian Bale uh, guy, and movies that overdramatize emotions just look absolutely fake, in my opinion (see also: Dreamgirls. How the hell did that film get nominated?)
Alex, in Izgnanie, never has emotion on his face, even with he’s completely broken, and yet you still wholly throw your heart out to the poor guy. It’s not his face, but the actions he does that’s just heartbreaking - he stops driving in the middle of the street to pause for reflection; he sits outside his wife’s bedroom and stares at the door for eternity; he stumbles through the grass after he realizes his wife has had an affair. The only time his exterior breaks is when he discovers his wife is dead, and it’s so much more poignant (and so much more human).
I just ate dinner and I’ve lost track of what I wanted to say, but overall, I was impressed by the film, but just not as impressed as I was for Vozvrashcheniye. The plot in the latter, at least, could be analyzed (which I totally did for my Psychology of Personality class - the id, ego and superego anyone?) but this one was just ridiculously simple and dragged on for a bit too long.
Singapore, observations
1. MY CUP SIZE IS A FUCKING E. I AM NOT A FUCKING E!!! WTFASLDAKJAK
2. Is there a reason for the sudden influx of angmohs in Singapore? Tourist season or something?
3. I am still on World of Warcraft, current level 43! IF ANYONE PLAYS WOW (which I think none of you do, gah I’m still 10 years old) PLEASE TELL ME SO WE CAN PLAY TOGETHER.
4. People whom I talk on Meebo: Meebo doesn’t work on my router, for some reason, and I’ve uninstalled MSN and refuse to plug it back, so sorry!
5. I tried playing MGS4 for all of 4 minutes, and (I think it was just the controller because it was whacked) I couldn’t get the hang of it. I like how they called Snake “Old Snake” now though. Ahaha.
6. I watched “Don’t Mess with the Zohan” today. Please, please, please, save yourself the misery and don’t watch it. I thought Adam Sandler was above these things!
Valkyrie
Whazzhername? Mylie Cyrus? Myli Cirus? My citrus? My big circus?
Whatever.
I’m both excited and apprehensive for Valkyrie. I mentioned to Julia the other day that after the masterpiece that was Der Untergang, it just doesn’t feel right if WWII films set in Germany has everyone talking in English. With Tom Cruise American, Bill Nighy and co. British, Christian Berkel and Thomas Kretschmann German, accents are going to be flying all over the place. I think that’ll be the stage for some major lulz.
Also, I’m sure they’ll be taking some liberty with the original event that occurred, so I’ll be the one in the theater yelling about the inconsistencies.
Atonement
I managed to catch Atonement (which may or may not have been… y’know) and I’m not quite sure where to put my sentiments. I think it’s awesome because of the story, but then again, that wasn’t the product of Joe Wright’s genius, because the movie was based on a book.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite movies. It had gorgeous countryside locations, the story was told well, and… it felt like every shot had a purpose. I think Atonement tried to be both an art film and a commercial one as well. You have odd details that are mentioned once and never mentioned again, flashbacks, movement patterns which are supposedly for aesthetic reasons, and finally there’s a long 4 and a half minute tracking shot of the evacuation at Dunkirk. Maybe it’s just the Film Studies geek in me that realized all this, so I probably should start watching Pride and Prejudice again with this new critical eye, but in short, I didn’t like Atonement as much as I liked Pride and Prejudice.
Maybe because the plot wasn’t linear, maybe because it was too much of an art film than a commercial one, or maybe I just came in with the wrong expectations. It’s sort of like going in to see Lost in Translation with more plot, I suppose. That film still bores me.
I think the whole point of the movie was to see it from Briony’s point of view, but that, as a result, pretty much left Cecilia and Robbie as empty shells you can’t identify with. I suppose I did feel a little cheated at the end, even if the movie did drop audio clues the whole way.
Anyway, I still recommend watching Atonement, simply because of the big twist at the end, and it’s JOE WRIGHT. Try to find subtitles, because you can’t make head or tail with those accents. Keira talks in a fast and clipped manner, and sometimes it’s just so fast you can’t decipher it at all (for me, anyway).
Enchanted
After all that hype and promoting the heck out of this movie to my sister, I decided to watch it illegally, on my computer. I wasn’t too big a fan of the ending, but everything before that was pretty amazing. Like, 80% of the film had Disney references in it, and I hope I caught most of them. Spotted Jodi Benson as the guy’s assistant and Paige O’ Hara in that television soap (Beauty and the Beast FTW… although I was a little annoyed that they referenced it in a soap, of all things). Loved the Maleficent references, and the Kiss the Girl homage. It was a little odd to see Idina Menzel not singing, and James Marsden as Not Cyclops from X-Men, no sirree!
Disneyland vibes went crazy when they went prancing and singing through the park - was a little cute, and I enjoyed the Be Our Guest reference at the end. The ball was pretty as well, (HAH, the Beast’s costume looks so tacky!) but the colors just looked like something out of a high school prom. I was also kinda sad that Prince Edward didn’t do the cliched, heroic thing by 1. saving the world and 2. … spoilers.
Is it me, or does Nathaniel’s 2D counterpart look remarkably like Quasimodo? I suppose it has to do with the fact that James Baxter’s company handled the animation… IT’S UNCANNY.
I doubt I’ll be picking up the Enchanted soundtrack, despite it being composed by Our Most Favorite Composer in The Whole Wide World, but I’ll definitely listen to it now and then, only just to pick up the references to the older Disney songs.
New Layout!
Spent approximately 6 hours working on and off on this. I’ve learned a ton of new stuff, and now everything’s CSS. So here it is: Keira Knightley! Whee!
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EDIT: On another note, Apocalypto is a movie I can watch over and over again.
