A strange feeling, reality in its purest and most authentic awkwardness, in its uncertainty, in its clumsiness, in the way it makes you feel ... but it's right here happening before our eyes
guys, young hipsters, try to get women on a bar, the talking is so disjointed, it seems like going nowhere, you wonder where this will lead
nowhere, in fact. And why not?
Life is like a jazzy score, you know, the one that punctuates this movie every now and then with the feeling that every thing is so cool, nothing is to be taken seriously unless this little thing that makes you enjoy the way you are, and the people you love it's just in the air, you know
Yeah, who said whatever happened should mean something when it's happening, no one. We got so used to the 'plot for the plot' concept but what we've got here it's well they call it cinema verity, authenticity, reality but maybe I'm wrong but is this movie from 1957, 2 years before the over-praised "Breathless", two years before modern cinema was invented? I can't believe that well, I know it is
And this is the truth for me, that "Shadows" is the pioneer of modern cinema, and maybe "Breathless" took the honor to be considered the milestone, but I don't care because "Shadows" didn't have the pretension to even be taken as a movie, yet it managed to create something so blindingly new, people didn't even realize Cassavettes had just made what cinema needed, poor old fools
Truest and greatest artist are never recognized in their time
But I realized I make the movie sound like an exercise in originality, while this was more the case of "Breathless" which beyond the undeniable artistic creativity, wasn't like the most meaningful movie ever made. "Shadows" brings a new dimension to cinema as the first movie whose main characters are colored people, yet it does indirectly deal with racial issues without the preachy aspect of reverse moralistic racism and of course, with absolutely no stereotypes.
It's a superb movie about races, because it's not even about racism, it's about misconception, like the whole film has been also misconceived, which makes it, an incredibly well- made self-referential film, well, let's go back to the film, will you
The central character is named Bennie, a trumpet jazz musician, a hipster, with the demeanor of a young rocker, he could be a Latino but from his brother, an entertainer singer with darker skin, we understand he's Afro-American. Then we meet Lelia, their sister, a beautiful girl, the cutest cinematic character ever
Again, these are not details, they'll serve the plot in a very uneasy way, that'll make question our approach to racial issues. This is not really about racism, but more about our inner conception of "difference", I mean "physical difference", about color of skins, about black and white and how, ethnicity can fool anyone in such a way, there's no black and white when you think of it, it's more nuanced, more subtle, there's no dark or light, only 'shadows'
This is where the heart of the film relies on, the romance between Lelia and Tony, a powerful relationship that evokes those weird interactions driven by racial misconception Their chemistry when they meet at the party feels so real and natural we believe they'll automatically form a perfect couple, then you realize that Tony might not be the most honest man in the world, probably sincere by the way he manipulated Lelia's feelings leading her to his home, but the respect he showed was only inspired by a strong desire not to respect her, after.
When she understands she was just a body, her distress is so heartbreaking, you feel for her. The shadows is precisely this kind of misunderstanding that undermines relationships between people, it's all about the way you see it, in a way, and I respect Cassavettes' intelligence so much I'm sure this was intended ...
One can see this movie as a self-referential masterpiece, it's juts a bunch of people, talking and interacting, that's all, no precise goal, no plot whatsoever, yeah but remember the museum scene, weren't they all laughing at a statue supposed to be Art? And supposed to be respected just for the sake of that?
And this is how "Shadows" works, and I'm not even afraid to say the word, it's iconoclast it puts into perspective every cinematic conception, what is art? What is cinema? Is it just entertaining people? That's all? Cassavettes, in his directorial debut, decided that cinema was more than showing stuff in a screen while people were eating pop-corn
Art opens your eyes, and now, in 2011, while I'm watching this stuff that happened when my parents were babies, I realize that Cassavettes created something I could relate to, and if a guy like me could relate to, even 50 years after, then all I can said is Kudos to Cassavetes, the pioneer of independent films!
Well, it's a special movie, John. You were too ahead of your time, but don't worry, there are people out there who know about "Shadows" and will talk about this film and give it the greatest publicity, whenever some sophisticated movie snobs will bring out a Godard movie as the most influential cinematic thing ever made
You were too great and came too early for cinema, they didn't deserve such a film, I guess they still had to wait 10 years until "Bonnie and Clyde" and "In the Heat of the Night" were made it's okay, this was the way
The review you just read was an improvisation
Life is like a jazzy score, you know, the one that punctuates this movie every now and then with the feeling that every thing is so cool, nothing is to be taken seriously unless this little thing that makes you enjoy the way you are, and the people you love it's just in the air, you know
Yeah, who said whatever happened should mean something when it's happening, no one. We got so used to the 'plot for the plot' concept but what we've got here it's well they call it cinema verity, authenticity, reality but maybe I'm wrong but is this movie from 1957, 2 years before the over-praised "Breathless", two years before modern cinema was invented? I can't believe that well, I know it is
And this is the truth for me, that "Shadows" is the pioneer of modern cinema, and maybe "Breathless" took the honor to be considered the milestone, but I don't care because "Shadows" didn't have the pretension to even be taken as a movie, yet it managed to create something so blindingly new, people didn't even realize Cassavettes had just made what cinema needed, poor old fools
Truest and greatest artist are never recognized in their time
But I realized I make the movie sound like an exercise in originality, while this was more the case of "Breathless" which beyond the undeniable artistic creativity, wasn't like the most meaningful movie ever made. "Shadows" brings a new dimension to cinema as the first movie whose main characters are colored people, yet it does indirectly deal with racial issues without the preachy aspect of reverse moralistic racism and of course, with absolutely no stereotypes.
It's a superb movie about races, because it's not even about racism, it's about misconception, like the whole film has been also misconceived, which makes it, an incredibly well- made self-referential film, well, let's go back to the film, will you
The central character is named Bennie, a trumpet jazz musician, a hipster, with the demeanor of a young rocker, he could be a Latino but from his brother, an entertainer singer with darker skin, we understand he's Afro-American. Then we meet Lelia, their sister, a beautiful girl, the cutest cinematic character ever
Again, these are not details, they'll serve the plot in a very uneasy way, that'll make question our approach to racial issues. This is not really about racism, but more about our inner conception of "difference", I mean "physical difference", about color of skins, about black and white and how, ethnicity can fool anyone in such a way, there's no black and white when you think of it, it's more nuanced, more subtle, there's no dark or light, only 'shadows'
This is where the heart of the film relies on, the romance between Lelia and Tony, a powerful relationship that evokes those weird interactions driven by racial misconception Their chemistry when they meet at the party feels so real and natural we believe they'll automatically form a perfect couple, then you realize that Tony might not be the most honest man in the world, probably sincere by the way he manipulated Lelia's feelings leading her to his home, but the respect he showed was only inspired by a strong desire not to respect her, after.
When she understands she was just a body, her distress is so heartbreaking, you feel for her. The shadows is precisely this kind of misunderstanding that undermines relationships between people, it's all about the way you see it, in a way, and I respect Cassavettes' intelligence so much I'm sure this was intended ...
One can see this movie as a self-referential masterpiece, it's juts a bunch of people, talking and interacting, that's all, no precise goal, no plot whatsoever, yeah but remember the museum scene, weren't they all laughing at a statue supposed to be Art? And supposed to be respected just for the sake of that?
And this is how "Shadows" works, and I'm not even afraid to say the word, it's iconoclast it puts into perspective every cinematic conception, what is art? What is cinema? Is it just entertaining people? That's all? Cassavettes, in his directorial debut, decided that cinema was more than showing stuff in a screen while people were eating pop-corn
Art opens your eyes, and now, in 2011, while I'm watching this stuff that happened when my parents were babies, I realize that Cassavettes created something I could relate to, and if a guy like me could relate to, even 50 years after, then all I can said is Kudos to Cassavetes, the pioneer of independent films!
Well, it's a special movie, John. You were too ahead of your time, but don't worry, there are people out there who know about "Shadows" and will talk about this film and give it the greatest publicity, whenever some sophisticated movie snobs will bring out a Godard movie as the most influential cinematic thing ever made
You were too great and came too early for cinema, they didn't deserve such a film, I guess they still had to wait 10 years until "Bonnie and Clyde" and "In the Heat of the Night" were made it's okay, this was the way
The review you just read was an improvisation