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alphatwin2002
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City on Fire (1979)
Worse than lemon
I hate myself for watching this film.
Hank Fonda and Ava Gardner are the star power, but they cannot save this catastrophe.
The cinematography is garish, the plot is ridiculous -- and how much do you want to see a person on fire , running, screaming, and writhing? Shelley Winters is in this, and I will not divulge her fate. Move on. There's nothing to see here.
Local Hero (1983)
Technophile goes to remote village and finds the real world.
What a lovely, quiet film this is. Mac personifies modern man--out of touch with nature,out of touch with his own soul, who needs "electricity" to function. He is all technology of that period. Although he is a "telex man" (this was before the computer-cellphone era), he reluctantly goes in person to buy a village in a remote area of Scotland for the glory of oil production. The place he finds is paradise. No urban sprawl. No locked doors. Gradually, Mac is seduced by nature, which culminates in the death of his electronic watch--it drowns in a tidal basin after he removes it in order to collect sea shells. By degrees, he sheds his identity, represented by his business suit and fashionable shoes, and becomes a beachcomber. He is amazed when he sees the Northern Lights for the first time, a celestial phenomenon the locals take for granted. Mr. Happer the president of Knox Oil and Gas, is Mac's opposite--Happer inherited the family oil business and has done well, but his eyes are on the stars, the things of nature. He allows others to run the company while he watches the sky in search of comets. What makes a film memorable are great moments, and this film is a series of great moments that stay with you long after the film is over. I will offer no plot summary. You must see this magical film for yourself. But be forewarned: if you are in love with all that modern technology can offer, you will not like this film. You may find it too slow; too outdated; too sentimental. But, if (like me)you yearn to be away from the horror that modern technology has created in us and around us, you will love and dream of your own remote village by the sea. And it is very funny, too. Wonderful characters.