chichi-3 Reviews

Tuxedomoon: No Tears (1998 TV Movie)

Serious work

[9/10 · 20 October 2002]

This documentary is probably the most complete and documented film that was ever dedicated to this cult no wave wandering band named Tuxedomoon. It contains extremely rare archives and long interviews of the three core members of the band - Steven Brown, Blaine Reininger and Peter Principle - commenting on the past with an eye on what they are doing today in a globalized world some aspects of which they already escaped in 1981, when they moved from the United States to Europe.

Downtown 81 (2000)

Reply to Xanadu-2, as to where it has been for 20 years

[20 October 2002]

Hello there, The fact that this movie came out after 20 years is due to some kind of miracle : business problems prevented post-production to be completed in 81 and then part of the footage of the film was lost in Europe. It took about 16 years to find it again. It contributed to building the legend of some underground artists like Tuxedomoon who, in 1981, kind of counted partly on that movie to make them famous, as they well deserved, on the East coast. In 2000, when the film came out at the Cannes festival, it contributed to put them back together after about ten years of solely concentrating on their solo career, being now dispersed all over the world (Mexico, New York, Athens, Brussels), as the footage of this film once was...

Intimacy (2001)

A clarification about Christian Koefoed's comment

[10/10 · 4 May 2001]

I just wanted to react for I think Mr Koefoed is mistaken as to who actually did the movie. He said that Kureishi shot the movie and had to go to France in order to have the sex scenes being inserted into the film. In fact, Kureishi actually never thought that this particular book of his would one day be brought on the big screen. All of it is Patrice Chereau's idea (a famous director in France and if you care one day to see some of his other movies like "L'homme blessé" or "La reine Margot" or else "Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train", you'll realize that Chereau's fascination for a naturalist representation of bodies and sex was there well before "Intimacy"). Chereau entirely shot the film HIMSELF (and not Kureishi). Actually Chereau first read a french translation of Kureishi's novel (he did not speak english then : he learned it because he absolutely wanted to shoot the film in London, thinking - and he was right - that Paris was totally inappropriate to render the harshness of the characters'environment) and then he called Kureishi on the phone to tell him that he wanted to make a movie partly based on his book. The writing of the scenario was in fact led by three people : Kureishi (who brought to Chereau one of his short stories from which the sex scenes are actually derived), Chereau and Anne-Louise Trividic. Chereau and Kureishi have both said (lots has been written in the french press about the movie) that the WRITING of the screenplay (Chereau based half of his career on directing theater plays, he is very famous for that too : made huge things for the Avignon theatre festival) was very much of a "by six hands played" piece of music. Meeting constantly for the 4-5 years that the Intimacy enterprise lasted, Kureishi and Chereau became friends but Kureishi saw nothing of the movie until it was practically finished (you can find an interview from him on the Le Monde web site). He said that the film was a perfect depiction of London and of its harshness (that, by the way, does not appear that much in the book "Intimacy" for there the social background of the characters was much healthier) and that he was at the same time totally in awe and appalled by the final result, which in his view demonstrated that the film was really the product of a total cooperation between him and Chereau. In short, as said Chereau himself, Intimacy is really a child of what is called "European cinema", where an English man transmitted his view of London to a French man and where a French man succeeded to tell a story of passion in a language that was totally foreign to him before.

Intimacy (2001)

A magnificient movie on the harshness of love...

[10/10 · 8 April 2001]

This movie got a well deserved golden bear at the Berlin film festival. It was shot in London, based on a British book and novel (from Hanif Kureishi) by a french - also theater - director with a.o. a Shakespearian actor, Mark Rylance, an actress from New Zealand - Kerry Fox - and Marianne Faithfull.

This movie is much spoken of because of its sex scenes : there are indeed magnificient in their simplicity. This is about a man and a woman who go through a crisis and find themselves back through a liaison first lived in silence.This is about the relationship between body and soul : the body leads to the soul but is also an obstacle to spirituality at the same time. Where is the frontier laid down between sex and falling in love truly ? All those to be for ever unanswered questions are here illustrated through moments of pure emotions, among the most beautiful I ever lived in a movie theater. The performance of Mark Rylance, who let himself go in the hands of a director he did not even know before shooting is in itself enough of a reason to go see this movie. Awesome...

Magnolia (1999)

This film is one of the most imaginative in substance and brilliant in form of the former decade...

[10/10 · 15 November 2000]

Hard to tell anything in short about this movie. It has some of the Altman's "Short cuts" (or, for French readers something of Lelouch in the style) in its form but goes well well beyond in its way of interlocking people apparently having nothing to do with one another. Also where Altman films, with a hint of humour, facts and people in their every day life, PT Anderson tackles with not less than... the bible : his characters all facing such a heavy event in their life that God himself will allegedly interfere at the end of the story. PT Anderson does not entirely avoid the reproach of having been megalomaniac and too extreme in the choice of its characters. But if you are aware of this and willing to get over it, this movie is one of the most amazing EXPERIENCES that, as a movie amateur who sees tons of films, I have ever been through. It is not just about a story but also a complete universe (that is buried in our sub-conscience), an atmosphere that is unique and yet close to us, crawling human beens on the face of earth. The film is one of the rare occurences of a realist story that somewhere happens in the twilight zone. See it : you'll either detest or love it, in either you'll think about it and about yourself afterward.

Nang Nak (1999)

A tale of universal value nicely set in a Thai environment

[7/10 · 13 November 2000]

I just wanted to react to a previous Thai commentator meaning that "foreigners will not understand the legend behind this film". Come on... Of course this movie sets a traditional tale of Thai culture. But if you know a bit about tales generally, you will realize that there is one or more versions of this particular one in almost every culture and western ones are not an exception to the rule (go to a Tales Festival and you'll find out for sure). I am not saying anything extremely original here : Carl Jung found out about the universality of messages included in tales way back in time... I saw this movie at the Brussels Independent films festival yesterday (nov 12, 2000) and I can assure you that the western public reacted extremely favourably and that there was nothing particularly difficult to understand about it. It has flaws (problems of rythm) but it sounded extremely sincere, emotional, fresh. It is undoubtedly worth seeing (the photography and actors are extremely beautiful as well). Too bad that it'll probably never get distributed around here...

Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)

This "non-sequel" sequel reveals that the "a la Scream" genre now really gets worn out...

[3/10 · 11 September 2000]

This movie shares just one character with the first Urban Legends : the amusing Pam Grier fan security guard Reese (Loretta Devine)who, after the events in the first episode, was "moved" to another school in order to avoid publicity. The setting of the school is different (modern, non-gothic), the plot is very much of the "a la Scream 3" type, the look of the killer is different (good idea this use of a fencing helmet)although he stills goes around in a parka "a la I still know what you did last summer" (not a surprise : the producers of both films are the same)... and there isn't much left of anything focusing on urban legends anymore... except that this movie is supposedly creating a new one. It is not that bad but everything in the genre has become predictable, therefore not very efficient anymore. The reference to Hitchkock is slightly ludicrous (the setting uses a tower that looks like a modern version of the tower that was cast in Vertigo)and the genre gets so worn out that it has to "borrow" from the "Blair witch project" in its scene ("real" terror and shaky camera). There is also a very dubious message at the end that goes like "to be a professor = to be a failure". For an audience consisting mostly of teenagers, let us hope that this movie will not constitute some part of their "education". The risk is fortunately not that great : this movie isn't good enough for this...

Sade (2000)

An interesting view on a small episode in the life of the "divin marquis", with a magnificent Daniel Auteuil...

[8/10 · 4 September 2000]

This movie deals more with Sade as a philosopher than with the sex-addict whose writings later gave birth to a new disciplin : sexology. The Sade depicted here begins to age and is the prey of anxiety for his life (his life is threatened by Robsespierre' s hatred in the revolutionary turmoil) and about getting old and still having some books and plays to write. In 1794, he sits in a "luxury" prison, thanks to the help of his mistress who "sees" a friend of Robespierre, and undertakes to complete the "education" of a young Emilie de Lancry. He first faces the hostility of his environment, who is too aware of his reputation, but then, since they are all there eventually to be waiting for their death, they respond in various degrees to his claims for spiritual freedom and to take advantage of the joys of the moment that could be the last. Auteuil has always been a good actor but he is truly magnificent here and is by himself enough of a good reason to see the film...