Anideos Reviews

O Cheiro do Ralo (2006)

Drained is some kind of weird masterpiece!

[10/10 · 23 January 2007]

I just saw this in Salt Lake City at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was both shocked, amazed, delighted and disgusted by it. It is some kind of weird masterpiece. It's based on a book and the filmmakers at the Q & A said it was very faithfully adapted.

Though the story focuses on the obsessions of its pawn shop owning protagonist, namely a pretty girl's ass, a smelly backed-up bathroom drain, and a glass eye, it still manages to be full of intelligent, thought-provoking ideas and themes.

I really loved this film because it is so unbelievably original and fresh, both in its content and with its form. The viewer never knows where it's going to go as it twists and turns through its strange little storyline.

The Red Balloon (1956)

Red Balloon = what, in your opinion?

[10/10 · 15 November 2005]

What does the Red Balloon symbolize for you? What does the film express for you personally as you watched it? For me it represents innocence, passion, youth and individual freedom of expression. The boy with the balloon is rejected and in some cases, punished, by several authority figures and/or institutions. He is prevented from bringing the balloon on the bus, he gets in trouble at school because of it, he doesn't last long in the church with it, and finally, he becomes a target for jealous bullies because of it. Yes, the film has loads of anthropomorphism and at times its special effects "slip" is showing, but it remains powerful and memorable. In a way, it is a revolutionary film. ***Spoiler Alert!*** Balloons all over Belleville seem to jump into action at the violent death of the heroic Red Balloon. There is even a love story subplot involving a seemingly female blue balloon! Could the film have other, more political interpretations? Perhaps it could. For me it's about how society always seems to want to control, prohibit, regulate, punish and even eliminate that which is different or that which is too free with its personal expression. Overall, I think its a great film and so does my five-year-old daughter who just watched it for the first time.

Pie Fight '69 (2000)

Where to find it? On the Rainbow Man/John 3:16 DVD!

[9/10 · 26 October 2005]

Check out this short documentary from Sam Green. It's really interesting. So is N Judah 5:30 which is also on the disc. The Pie Fight '69 footage was lost for decades until someone found it in the trash. It is a good example of radicalism in the 60s and 70s, but with a new twist: the "soft bomb." Sam Green is an excellent filmmaker who hopefully will go on to make many more great documentaries. See The Weather Underground in addition to his three films on The Rainbow Man/John 3:16 DVD. They will stick in your mind for weeks. Pie Fight '69 is short and to the point, but it captures the zeitgeist wonderfully well. I gotta look up PDQ Bach to see what else this guy has done.

Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)

Not a Bad Film, Funny with Touches of Dramatic Realism

[8 February 2005]

This is a very funny, interesting and worth-watching movie from the 70s. It ought to be seen as a product of the early American indie that helped kick-start the anti-Hollywood boom that mirrored the social and cultural changes happening in the 70s. I liked it and I recommend it to anyone who wants to experience something with a rebellious flair. This film has an edge, not unlike Mean Streets or even Repo Man, and it addresses social issues while maintaining a satirical tack. I love movies from the 60s and 70s because they were made before the whole PG-13 watering down of American Cinema, before political correctness took hold of Hollywood, and before we all thought that we already knew everything there was to know.

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)

Best Documentary of 2004

[10/10 · 6 February 2005]

Forget "Super Size Me" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Born into Brothels" is by far the best documentary of 2004, followed by "Touching the Void." This film is actually saving children from lives of prostitution. It is immensely moving and utterly heartbreaking. Do not miss this film. See it however you can. It won the Audience Award for World Documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. At least the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated it for an Oscar, which it absolutely deserves. I cannot express how much or how deeply this film affected me. It is high on my 2004 Top Ten List, easily one of the year's best and most overlooked films.

Soft Shell Man (2001)

This is the best film I saw at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival!

[10/10 · 24 January 2002]

Literal translation: A Crab in the Head. This is an amazing film! It is difficult to categorize it because it has so many aspects, and it works on so many levels. But it is not difficult to praise. It is part comedy, part thriller, part drama, part romance, and part action/adventure. It will make you laugh. It leave you awestruck. It will tickle you in ways you have never been tickled before. The performance by David La Haye is mesmerizing, extraordinary, and poignant. The range in subject matter is vast in scope, as well as being satisfyingly, but curiously, odd. Refreshingly, you will not be able to erase the film's images from your mind because the visual and aural composition of the film are as fresh as they are inviting. The film even has a touch of David Lynch with its shot of crabs on naked brains. SEE THIS FILM. THEN SEE IT AGAIN. I hope you enjoy it as thoroughly as I did, but if you don't, you may want to consider another, less artful form of entertainment. Don't forget, it's a film directed by world-class cinematographer, Andre Turpin. Plus, it has two of the most beautiful women you will ever see in any film. If this is not reason enough, you must not like your life. See a therapist and try to cure yourself. Shoft Shell Man is pure delight. It is like a gourmet, ten-course meal at your favorite restaurant. It is like great sex with someone new. It... is... a crab in the head.