The entire time that I sat watching A Brilliant Young Mind I could not stop thinking of the 2011 film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The theme similarities were so striking. In his 2012 review of Extremely Loud, Roger Ebert said, “No movie has ever been able to provide a catharsis for the Holocaust,… Continue Reading
Story of Film: An odyssey – Great tool.
Mark Cousins’, The Story of Film: An odyssey provides tremendous insight into the “art” of film. I am once again leading a study group using Cousins 15 hour documentary series and the accompanying book. This is my fourth time. Each time I go through the material I learn something new. While initially it might seem… Continue Reading
Pawn Sacrifice
Bobbie Fisher vs. Boris Spassky. What would become a historic match is the backdrop for a study of the emotional make-up of two great minds. Can the masks hold the cracks together? There is not a lot of meaning to discern from this presentation. The story is linear and for the most part above… Continue Reading
A Great Narrative Rule
“[T]he picture follows the rules of indie films rather than commercial Hollywood. Narrative unfolds at its own deliberate pace; emotions are muted instead of shouted.” Steven Zeitchek’s description of Equals could also be applied to one of the major differences between American and Foreign films. It is the element that helps keep audiences involved for… Continue Reading
Liv Ullman and I Agree
In an article in The Guardian (9/5/15) film great Liv Ullman comments on one of my pet complaints – the paucity of foreign films shown in Great Britain and the U. S.. “[Her film,] Miss Julie was originally set in Sweden, but Ullmann’s version transplants it to Ireland, partly because its British producers wanted an English-language… Continue Reading
Grandma (2015) and life’s choices
As the movie opens our Grandma Elle’s current girlfriend is subtly trying to manipulate Elle into changing her ways and to tell her that she loves her. Like most attempts at manipulation, it does not work and Elle pushes back harshly in the opposite direction and makes sure the relationship ends. “You were a footnote”… Continue Reading
Blog site is active
The new blog site www.vibesfromthescreen.com is now active. There are several posts already up. It is connected to both Facebook and Twitter. I will be blogging about film on at least a weekly basis with film analyses (not reviews) and material on learning about film elements. If this is to be successful, please be sure… Continue Reading
Phoenix (2014)
The movie opens and closes with the song “Speak Low” (Kurt Weill). It opens with an instrumental version of a bass accompanied by a piano playing over the titles. It ends with a vocal accompanied by a piano but turning into an a capella rendition. Both renditions are absolutely wonderful but for obvious reasons… Continue Reading
Amour (2012) An example of detailed analysis
Written and directed by Michael Haneke Primary Characters: George and Anne Laurent: Husband and wife; former piano teachers Eva: Their married daughter From the critics: Philip French in The Guardian, November 17, 2012: “Amour will, I believe, take its place alongside the greatest films about the confrontation of ageing and death, among them Ozu’s Tokyo… Continue Reading
The End of the Tour (2015)
The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segal), which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace’s groundbreaking epic novel, ‘Infinite Jest.’. My viewings of this movie were totally unfettered by any knowledge of the characters or their actual writings.… Continue Reading