The Before Trilogy (1995-2013) Review

Title: The Before Trilogy
Year(s): 1995 - 2013
Director: Richard Linklater
Country: US
Language: English

When Before Midnight (2013) was released I was a year younger than Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) were in Before Sunrise (1995). I didn't watch Before Midnight in theatres, because I had made it a goal to see the other two films first for context. For various reasons I kept putting off viewing the trilogy - until a decade later. Now I am the age Celine & Jesse were in Before Sunset (2004), and I feel like I have the maturity to appreciate Linklater's masterful works. 

In Before Sunrise (1995), Celine (Julie Delpy) & Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meet on a train and spend one evening together in Vienna. 

In Before Sunset (2004), Celine & Jesse meet again on the French leg of Jesse's Book Tour. 

In Before Midnight (2013), we meet Celine & Jesse nine years later in Greece. Two decades have passed since their initial meeting on a train. 

Each film in The Before Trilogy is a view into various stages of life; focusing on the opportunities and tribulations of adulthood through the decades. Linklater provides a unique, sweeping experience that gives us the full scope of adult romance; contrasting fantasies with the realities of falling in love. 

The script in each installment of The Before Trilogy is remarkable. The dialogue is heavy with introspective substance, as our characters contemplate time, mortality, dreams, and politics. The conversations are so intriguing that you won't want Jesse & Celine to stop talking. Yet even when they don't speak to each other we get heart stopping scenes such as when they are in a record store booth in Before Sunrise. 

Sharp, biting, intelligent, funny and filled to the brim with subtext, The Before Trilogy consists of three masterpieces that feel honest and real. I do think Before Sunrise & Before Sunset are the stronger films, but it's still a great trilogy overall. Before Midnight keeps the story from being too Hollywood-ized. 

Before Sunrise: 5 out of 5
Before Sunset: 4 out of 5
Before Midnight: 4 out of 5

The Red Shoes (1948) Review

Title: The Red Shoes
Year: 1948
Director: Powell & Pressburger
Country: UK
Language: English

Amid the post-war gloom in the UK, Powell & Pressburger dared to make a film about passion; the intense passion an artist dedicates to their craft. The Financial Backers of The Red Shoes thought P&P were indulgent, as they had gone over-budget, & that this picture would be a financial flop. At the time they were correct about the financial loss, but long-term it proved to be a huge hit that changed the course of cinema. 

A young ballet dancer (Moira Shearer) is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.

In his 1986 memoir A Life in Movies, Michael Powell said: "We had all been told for ten years to go out and die for freedom and democracy . . . , and now the war was over, The Red Shoes told us to go out and die for art." P&P's musical is an influential technicolor spectacular that dissects artistic expression and takes us to places that no other "backstage musical" has, before or since. 

Composed for the film by Brian Easdale, the score is remarkable as it pulls us into the melodrama and melancholy of this picture. The set designer, Hein Heckroth, designed beautiful sets that will take your breath away. The ballets shows are wonderfully staged and shot with mesmerizing cinematography. 

The Red Shoes is an incredible film that deserves the praise it gets from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese. Modern musicals owe a great debt to this truly brilliant Powell & Pressburger work. It is absolutely a must see. 

Red River (1948) Review

Title: Red River
Year: 1948
Director: Howard Hawks
Country: US
Language: English

In his day, Howard Hawks' directorial talent was taken for granted. It wasn't until the 1950's, when Cahiers du cinema critics championed his style, was his filmography during the Golden Age of Hollywood looked upon as a series of masterpieces. Hawks was a versatile director who could do everything from Gangster (Scarface) to Screwball Comedy (Bringing Up Baby) to Western (Red River). 

Dunson (John Wayne) leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son (Montgomery Clift).

Red River is a Western that feels like an ancient epic. It's extraordinary in scope, and it feels like one of those films you can look at & proudly say "they don't make em' like they used to." Hawks' vivid adventure is as focused on spectacle as it is with human relationships. 

The cinematography, score and costuming add to the action-packed atmosphere. The story is fairly simple and direct, but the complex characters and their interactions will have you glued to the screen. We like to attribute Westerns as a masculine genre, but Red River dissects toxic masculinity and encourages us to have more empathy. 

Red River did have some faults. I found the ending to be a bit anti-climatic & at times the pacing felt like to slowed to a crawl. The hetero romance wasn't well established. Overall I thought it was an ambitious picture that was incredibly well-made. 

Brigadoon (1954) Review

Title: Brigadoon
Year: 1954
Director: Vincente Minnelli 
Country: US
Language: English

I recently watched Brigadoon (1954) on the Criterion Channel under the Classic MGM Musicals Collection. I've loved Gene Kelly ever since I first saw him in Singin in the Rain (1952) and I was ecstatic that I could watch more of his work. Vincente Minnelli is one of my favourite directors as well; I love Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). 

Two Americans (Gene Kelly & Van Johnson) on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past.

Brigadoon is a musical/fantasy that feels - and looks like- a fairytale come to life. It's sweeping in its romance & epic in terms of music. The score is lively; bouncing with feverish energy. The set design is remarkable, as Minelli gives us an 18th Century Scotland that is teeming with life. 

This colourful, vibrant picture made full use of the Cinemascope lens, filling the frame with Gene Kelly's memorable choreography. The other performances are fair, but aren't in the same league as the star of the show. Written for the screen by Allen Lerner, Brigadoon doesn't always maintain its rapid pace, but the overall picture does prevail in entertainment. 

While it isn't An American in Paris (1951), Brigadoon still gives modern audiences a slice of nostalgia for the Golden Age of Hollywood. Musicals this spectacular don't come around very often, so I'm glad I was able to see one of the greats. 

Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962) Review

Title: Cleo from 5 to 7
Year: 1962
Director: Agnes Varda
Country: France
Language: French

With Cleo From 5 to 7, Agnes Varda gives us a unique feminine perspective of day-to- day anxiety. This version of anxiety should not do well in Cinema, because it isn't the slow "descent to madness" that we typically see onscreen. Rather, it is about the angst of health, identity and our main characters' place in the world. 

Cleo (Corrine Marchand), a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.

Told in real-time, the grandmother of the French New Wave Agnes Varda wonderfully constructs a journey of self-discovery set in an elegant Paris backdrop. Her mobile camera, in addition to sporadic jump cuts, create a timeless film that encourages us to find the beauty in our everyday lives. 

Evoking ideas of literary modernism, Cleo From 5 to 7 focuses on the existential human condition and dissects what it means to be human in the Western World. It's funny, dramatic and incredibly heartfelt. Varda's film is effective in demonstrating how an individual can surpass their looking glass self. 

This was a beautiful eye-opening picture that made me reflect upon my own life. Perhaps, like Cleo, I need to do some self-reflection and come at life from a different perspective. I will certainly be revisiting this film for many years to come.
 

The Last Detail (1971) Review

Title: The Last Detail
Year: 1971
Director: Hal Ashby
Country: US
Language: English

The early 1970's were a fairly difficult time for Americans. The Vietnam War, Watergate scandal, and economic crisis had made Americans disillusioned with the Government, which created a more cynical culture. New Hollywood Cinema reflected this attitude with films like Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970) and The Last Detail (1971) 

In this, two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison, but decide to show him one last good time along the way.

The Last Detail shows an America that is tied up in petty bureaucracy; institutions which emasculate men, and only exist to serve its own existence. Meadows (a very young Randy Quaid) is being transported to a prison, where he will serve an eight year sentence for stealing $40. Such unfairness is frustrating. The only reprieve we feel from this injustice is when our fellow men show compassion and empathy. 

The Last Detail is quite a touching film that reminds us to be more humane and kind to others. It's excellently photographed, has remarkable cinematography and is very well written. It's a sentimental good-natured picture that is well paced & quite funny at times. I particularly found the scene where Nicholson demands a beer to be hilarious. 

Hal Ashby was a wonderful hippie, peace loving director that doesn't get enough discussion in film communities. His style of film-making was innovative; you can see his influence in many popular movies including The Holdovers (2023). 

The Devils (1971) Review

Title: The Devils
Year: 1971
Director: Ken Russell
Country: UL
Language: English

I was hesitant to watch Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) because of the discourse related to the controversial film. I've heard that it is a violent "hard to watch" picture and I didn't want to subject myself to a gore-fest. Thankfully its not that violent - especially compared to today's horror standards. Surprisingly, I found The Devils quite fun. It is Black Narcissus (1947) on crack. 

In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's (Oliver Reed) protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue)  is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.

The Devils is a mad film; it dissects the insanity brought about when the fear of God meets political hypocrisy. It is a film, burning with mad energy, that is permeated with carnal excess. Its themes are similar to Dryer's Passion of Joan of Arc (1929); but Russell's film has far more exorcism via enema and naked nuns so therefore Warner Bros. is hesitant to give it a home video release. 

The relentless atmosphere of anarchy is masterfully shot; giving us compelling & memorable cinematography. The score adds to the film's tension and gradual increase of madness. The set design and costuming are gorgeous. Russel does a tremendous job at immersing us into the 17th Century setting.

The Devils may become one of my favourite films. It is a unique unconventional masterpiece that, if anything, felt like it should have been longer. As brilliant as it is bizarre, this is a must-see. 

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Weekend (1967) Review

Title: Weekend
Year: 1967
Director: Jean Luc Godard
Country: France
Language: French

Jean Luc Godard's Weekend (1967) is considered a controversial film; Premiere magazine called it one of the "most dangerous movies of all time." It's a visceral attack on capitalism and a depiction of the decline of human society. 

This is a a surreal tale of a married couple going on a road trip to visit the wife's parents with the intention of killing them for the inheritance.

Weekend (1967) is a film that is saturated with cynicism about the class system in France, and frustrated by the status quo. Just as the "Summer of Love" was winding down, Godard wanted to show a film that would snap audiences out of their complacency and make them re-examine the nature of their society. 

Confronting the, primarily working class, audience wtth a vivid depiction of the morally bankrupt bourgeoisie class Weekend can be viewed as horror or parody. The surreal, and sometimes random, moments in the film are both jarring and comical. In one scene Emily Bronte appears, but she's dismissed as a fictional character and then set on fire. 

I first saw Weekend (1967) at midnight on a movie channel called "Drive In Classics" when I was a teenager. They showed "Underground Cinema" from midnight to 6am. I think it's a great film, but I feel like it's too pessimistic for my own personal taste. I do recommend it however. 

Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023) Review

Title: Love Has Won
Year: 2023
Director: Hannah Olson
Country: US
Language: English

Amy Carlson (Nov 1975 - April 2021) was a cult leader who co-founded the "spiritual movement" Love Has Won in 2009. Amy used social media to gain her following, which peaked in 2020 due the pandemic. The leader believed she was a deity that was destined to take her believers "out of the 3-D world" and into higher existence. 

Told in 3 episodes, Love Has Won is a documentary that explains the story of Amy Carlson  and the nature of her cult group "Love Has Won".

Love Has Won is a fairly conventional talking head documentary, spliced with footage from the group's live-streams, but what makes this picture stand out is that we are supplied with testimonials from active cult members who still believe in "Mother God's" teachings. It's quite fascinating how Director Hannah Olson allows them to speak their mind as they are filmed with eerie objectivity. 

The most riveting aspect from a narrative standpoint is when Carlson has clearly lost control of her creation, and she becomes robbed of her agency because her followers don't believe that "Mother-God" would need help from the "3-D world." From then on, we can only anticipate the worst is yet to come. 

I was impressed by the documentary, but I thought they could have done better to explain the business side of the cult. Clearly a big part of Love Has Won was focused on selling merchandise & making as much money off of followers as they could. The narrative was quite compelling regardless and I certainly was treated to many "wtf" moments. 

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967) Review

Title: 2 or 3 Things I Know about Her
Year: 1967
Director: Jean Luc Godard
Country: US
Language: English

A pretty common thought about French New Wave filmmaker Jean Luc Godard is that his early work is full of masterpieces, but eventually he becomes too artsy and obscure. Seeing a Godard film becomes less about enjoyment, cinema as escape, and more about analysis and political context. 2 or 3 Things About Her (1967) is the beginning of the latter change in his career. 

A day in the life of a Parisian housewife/prostitute (Juliet Berto), interspersed with musings on the Vietnam War and other contemporary issues.

I loved 2 or 3 Things when I first viewed it in 2010, but in my second viewing, 14 years later, I found it quite difficult to watch. It has no "plot", very little character development, and far too much fourth-wall talking to the camera about politics. Godard loved experimenting so much, that at times he forgot to entertain. 

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There is a lot of substance here however; Godard has many things to say about consumerism and how it devalues the human experience. Logos speak louder than people; material goods replace compassion. In the push to modernize, we often have to step over the most vulnerable. These are truths that are relevant today. 

How do you review a film that is essentially a fictional video essay? At times the visuals are stunning, but it can also feel like watching paint dry. Maybe it was great in the 60's, in the context of its time, but it was a struggle for me. 

Breathless (1960) Review

Title: Breathless
Year: 1960
Director: Jean Luc Godard
Country: France
Language: French

 In 1957 the popular weekly magazine L'Express had dubbed the current generation of filmmakers 'la nouvelle vague' or. as we call it now "the French New Wave". This generation of directors grew up watching the cinema of America's Golden Hollywood, and they sought to free the medium by breaking all the rules.  Of the five Cahiers du cinéma critics to start a feature, Godard may be the most notorious. 

In Godard's debut, a small-time thief steals a car (Jean Paul Belmondo) and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he reunites with a hip American journalism student (Jean Seberg) and attempts to persuade her to flee with him.

Breathless was shot by only two people, Godard and his cinematographer, with hand-held cameras, at a fraction of the cost of most pictures at the time. It was filmed on location, using amateur actors, and it looked like a documentary. 

The jump cuts, jazzy score and themes about aimless alienated youth makes Godard's film quite fascinating. There are quite a few instances where his style departs from what you'd expect to see in cinemas - even today. Breathless is timeless, iconic and will forever be cool. 

If you have never seen a Jean Luc Godard, or any French New Wave film, then Breathless is a tremendous way to begin. Francois Truffaut once said "There is Cinema before Godard and Cinema after Godard."