Change Your Image
ipilowsk
Reviews
Body and Soul (1947)
Those were the days'
Iloved this movie at the time. it seemed to be about real life in the USA and there weren't many movies like it at that time. The leads;Garfield and Palmer were superb,the former a graduate of Yiddish theatre, the latter a refugee from Hitler's Europe. the melodramatic roots were there from which 'the method' later grew, with performers like Brando, Dean and Poitier portraying the wounded and suffering hero.(Did Mel see this movie?} it also anteceded 'Marty' the quintessential realist U.S.struggling migrant antihero movie Where are you Paddy Chayevsky now that we need you? Perhaps what was most striking were the heroes who spoke articulately using words of more than two syllables, reaching its acme in 'Streetcar named desire' where Brando's character refers to 'The Napoleonic code' when he rages about his sister-in-law's possessions. Was the subversive element the depiction of working class heroes who could reason? and whose language had a poetic,almost Shakespearian ring to it? No longer the inarticulate (Tarzanic brute) but someone who could debate issues in the corridors of power: a noble and sexually attractive savage?
Billy Liar (1963)
A great movie wonderfully evocative of its time and place.
A great movie which I saw in Sheffield when it was first released. It rang true at the time in all its details.Julie Christie burst onto the screen as a remarkable talent in a role depicting the new English woman. Her energy and beauty were astonishing and refreshing in the post postwar period. We thought it augured well for a revival of the British film industry but this was only partly fulfilled.All the actors were excellent and were given great opportunities in Billy's fantasy sequences.On the stage Albert Finneys performance overshadowed the others but in the movie there was a feeling of an ensemble presentation which was all to the good.
Ten Canoes (2006)
A superb naturalistic and respectful presentation of Australian aboriginal life.
Ten canoes is a remarkable film which I am sure will take its place amongst the classics in history of movie-making. As usual he allows the subject(s) to speak for itself and the result is marvellous. The audience I saw it with did not seem to want leave at the and no one moved or made a sound until the end of the credits. i don't know how to interpret this reaction. In my own case I had a sense of hoping for more which may have been due to the nature of th final 5 minutes during which there was a sort of false ending with some self effacing humour. The participants were excellent and their 'naturalistic acting was outstanding. The music and editing contributed to the elegiacs quality of the movie. Rolf de Heer never disappoints!
Match Point (2005)
The work of a master craftsman.
I am a fan of Woody Allen as a hardworking creative artist. This movie reminded one of 'Crimes and misdemeanors': has the same nightmarish quality. Juxtaposes humdrum upper middle-class life with the world where murder is used to resolve problems (war?).Current geopolitical preoccupations are dealt with summarily in the final ten minutes eg the issue of 'collateral damage for the purpose of a greater good'. The police were played by excellent actors in an effective low-key style. The movie is well paced and has a character-driven inevitability about it which gripped me.I needed a feel-good movie that day but this movie's virtuosity satisfied me.