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Reviews
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Master of Story and Dialogue
I've been a fan of Woody Allen since I saw Annie Hall. I love his use of dialogue, satire, and indie style. Actor Owen Wilson surprised me the most. He is usually type casted into arrogant womanizing male lead roles. In Woody Allen's film he plays a dreamer, a romantic and plays it quite well. Rachel Mcadams steps out of her comfort zone by playing his materialistic soon to be bride. They are complete opposites. While Mcdams character is concerned with living a charmed life in Malibu, Wilson's character is an idealist. He is nostalgic of the past and has a romanticized vision of Paris. He is so nostalgic he really has no interest in his present reality and wishes to live amongst the great writers and artists of the roaring 1920s. Woody Allen manages to create a fantasy world without the use of special effects. Woody Allen is about story; great writing with a sharp wit. Anyone who enjoys classic American literature or Woody Allen's humor will enjoy this cinematic treasure. I would love to see this again.
Wag the Dog (1997)
Entertaining political satire
Barry Levinson's film, Wag the Dog is a political satire about a political spin doctor and Hollywood producer who stage a war in Albania to cover up the president's sex scandal during the upcoming election. We the audience are shown how Conrad Brean played by Robert Deniro and Stanley Motts played by Dustin Hoffman create an outlandish fake plot to distract the American public from sexual allegations made by the president. After Albanian war is created, fake news footage is created within a studio, create fads (throwing shoes onto tree branches in support of a false war) and catchy sayings with theme songs are created by famous country singers in support of their fake war hero, Sgt. Schumann, who turns out to be psychotic resulting in his own death. After that, they stage a funeral procession for Schuman. It's amazing how this whole big sham becomes Brean's best work because it's so convincing and looks so authentic. He is so proud and enamored with his own creative work he decides he wants credit and his greed and pride lead to his death. The secret service take care of him. Good example of how the government can easily dispose of someone who gets in their way and no one would ever know.
The obvious message is; Americans believe what they are told and hate whom they are told to hate. The American public is very gullible and too lazy to find out the whole situation and facts themselves. In the film, we see how people jumped on the bandwagon without giving the situation much thought. I notice Americans have become very complacent and comfortable within their overprotected lives. We should be aware of global and national politics on a much larger scale. We are so behind compared to other countries. We should get more involved by questioning our government. Corruption exists in many government systems but the American people is the only country I know of that is either unaware or okay with that. It was very frustrating to watch everyone go along with the diversion. I am sure there is much we do not know. I was actually rooting for Brean and Motts to fail but I am sure the outcome rings true.
There are so many examples in American Politics that resonate without own because American government has initialized wars (Iraq War) and also created false sense of patriotism to get Americans to back up their country even when the motives seem somewhat blurry (weapons of mass destruction). "Even when a conflict is real and necessary (the Gulf War, for example), the packaging of them is invariably shallow and unquestioning; like sportswriters, war correspondents abandon any pretense of objectivity and detachment, and cheerfully root for our side."
At one point in the film, Levinson asks, "Why does a dog wag its tail?" We are told, "Because a dog is smarter than its tail." To the film director, the tail is smarter and we the viewers and American people are taken for a ride and invited to be that easily manipulated dog. The message is clearly to be more aware of the government and become proactive by questioning what is going on and don't just accept everything the government tells you to be true. Learn the facts from both sides.
Toute une vie (1974)
Intellectual Foreign Film
"And Now my Love" directed by Claude Lelouch is a philosophical and socio political film which follows 3 generations leading to two adults who will someday meet each other when they become mature enough to deal with love. The director sends many social and political messages throughout this love story and one must pay close attention to gather all information. The film begins at the turn of the century. The director uses camera techniques to illustrate each period. It changes to conform to the movie-making industry. During the early 1900s, the film is a black and white silent film. First, we are shown a photographer and woman falling in love. Second, a lady giving birth. Third, a letter arriving during combat. The letter is by the cameraman and when he shouts, "it's a boy!" a bomb falls on him. A very nice montage of a human's life: Fall in love, produce children, and then we die. Repeat cycle.
Then the story begins with a dancer who is having an affair with an officer. She marries his superior. It is unclear whom the child belongs to. The husband soon discovers who the girl's father really is and kills the dancer. Suddenly we are thrown into a new period. We move into an era of color and sound. A train appears of men and woman returning from the concentration camps. A man locks eyes with a woman. No words are spoken but we know they are about to fall in love. From this scene we know all the characters shown are Jewish and related to one another. Finally, we are introduced to the new generation. Sarah who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth as her father (the man on the train) has become very successful with his shoe making business.
There is a parallel storyline of a young woman who was born with everything and a young man who had nothing. On Sarah's 16th birthday, it is clear her father spoils her rotten. A famous French singer Gilbert Becaud sings at her birthday party. He seduces her, takes her virginity, she falls in love, he leaves her, and she is left with a broken heart and tries to commit suicide. She survives and her father takes her on a trip to many exotic cities while teaching her about life experiences and the world. The filmmaker expresses monotonous philosophy. The filmmaker's personal views on religion, culture, history, etc. Sarah is a spoiled, ungrateful, and care free young woman so she sees no value in what her father says. She doesn't really appreciate it until after her father is gone. She didn't fight for what she has like her ancestors and when she inherits it all she has no idea what to do. Sarah has many love affairs but she is not content. She wants to have a child but doesn't really get along with men. She gets bored easily and moves on to the next thing that sparks her interest without a care. She starts out immature and turns into a social conscious writer often gaining insight from her father's words and her experiences.
On the other end, there is Simon who is the complete opposite of Sarah. Apparently he is just her type. We are given clues to this. For instance, Sarah mentions in a restaurant with her father, she wants "a man who is part rascal and part gentlemen." This describes Simon well. During the parallel stories we see him steal Becaud records after we are shown Sarah's party. He is a juvenile delinquent. We know Simon is mischievous but he is also a romantic. He struggles to survive but seeks a girl who sweetens her coffee with three teaspoons of sugar (as his jail mate said he must). When he is interested in a girl, he always asks her. We see Simon get his heart broken. He goes from thief to porn filmmaker to successful commercial director.
Throughout the film, there are updates on the time period with historical figures, events or cultural icons (WWI, Hitler, Marilyn Monroe, Berlin Wall, Nixon administration). Our two protagonists cross paths many times but do not meet until the end when on a plane and Sarah asks for three teaspoons of sugar. This is definitely a romantic film about destiny but at its core it is a political film addressing how society is rapidly changed throughout the century. The filmmaker was obviously influenced by both French and American culture and uses his own philosophy of life to move the film along. The film draws attention to politics such as wars, emptiness of western world, unionizing of workers, class, a bored generation who has everything, and degradation of society. However, in the end, the new generation is still shown to be capable as our two protagonists find each other.
Across the Universe (2007)
Visually Stunning and Creative Musical Film
Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe" is a visually stunning musical arranged with Beetles songs. The turbulent era of 1960s is the backdrop of this whimsical love story. The social and political commentary (anti-war protests, struggles of freedom of speech and civil rights) give the characters and story depth and meaning. Although set in a different time period it is still relevant today as government and society continue the same cycle. The two main characters Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Jude (Jim Sturgess) come from different worlds. Lucy and her rebellious brother, Max come from Upper Middle class suburb of Brookline, MA and Max attends Princeton University, while Jude is a ship welder in Liverpool who makes his way to New York by ship to meet his father who he thinks is a professor at Princeton but turns out to be the janitor. There's also the Guitarist JoJo who has a Hendrix flair while his love interest and vocalist, Sadie personifying Janis Joplin and lovelorn Prudence who hitchhikes her way to NYC. Each character's story is interwoven and they all come together sharing a Greenwich Village apartment living a bohemian lifestyle.
The title of the movie, and many of the characters are named after various songs: Lucy, Jude, Max (Maxwell) Sadie, Mr. Kite, Prudence, and JoJo. The songs are used to set the mood of each scene and symbolize the character's internal struggle. We the audience gain insight through song and character's performance. The film uses the song, "Dear Prudence" as a subtle reference to Prudence character's reluctance to 'come out of the closet' in relation to her sexual orientation. Also, when Prudence sings "I want to hold your hand" it makes reference to her holding a hand she will never hold. The director Julie Taymor changes the mood and meaning of a upbeat song to one of frustration, unrequited love, and sadness.
The film sequence with the song "Come Together" featuring Joe Cocker illustrates the characters coming together adjusting to the New York City lifestyle before they meet cohabiting with one another. It also gives off social commentary of living in NYC- structure, robotic movements, and the rat race come to mind when the businessmen dance and expressionless city dwellers move systematically. There is a GI Joe dance sequence with the song "I want you she's so heavy" as Max is recruited into the war. He is sent on a conveyor belt as is a product being manufactured. He is the puppet being pulled by strings as he is molded into a soldier. Recruiters hold a statue of liberty as they walk through a Vietnam field singing "She's so heavy" as they take on the weight of responsibility or duty to their country. When Max sings "Hey Jude" it makes reference to the character Jude as he sulks in a Liverpool pub thinking of Lucy and his friends. Suddenly he makes the decision to go back to NY to try to get his girl back.
Many scenes derive from actual political events which are compressed within a short period: the song "Let it be" plays through the Detroit riots. Within the context of the film, this is a song about accepting death of loved ones. This is universal but the director gives us parallel stories. A young Black boy sings hiding behind a car while the riot occurs. His life is abruptly taken away along with Lucy's boyfriend who died in war. Julie Taymor shows images that people are familiar with but the context is what makes people see it with a new perspective. Other Political events include premature detonation of a bomb by a radical organization, the violent student protest at Columbia University, Vietnam war both referenced through the songs "Across the Universe" and "Helter Skelter". Julie Taymor also uses pale-bodied Asian women dancing top of the water referencing towards the dead civilians who have perished during the war.
Through all these events we see a radical shift in politics during a era filled with cultural, social, and political upheavals. In the end, the director gives us her central message or punch line as all the characters meet on a rooftop to sing the song, "All You Need is Love." We all need the same thing in the end, love. It is a anti-war film which tell us through life we must remember to come together to create peace, love and unity.