So, my Netflix for Wii thing got its act together, and I did get around to
watching The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988).
The subtitle of this movie should probably be "Daniel Day Lewis Sleeps with Everybody". Because he does. But, y'know, Daniel Day Lewis is a pretty cool guy, so that's okay.
The description of this movie on the Criterion website describes it as the "screen version of Milan Kundera’s 'unfilmable' novel." I'd really like to read the book now, to see what makes it "unfilmable". The story, long and broad in focus though it is, seems fairly straightforward.
Whatever unfilmable complexity is in the book, the movie turns it into a fairly compelling character piece. Its three leads all do great work (Juliette Binoche is adorable). It's one major downside is that, interesting though it is, after a while you do start to feel its length, which is considerable.
After that came two Jim Jarmusch movies from my Netflix queue.
The first was Dead Man (1995).
Johnny Depp is always a good sign, and a little vaguely pretentious, indie film weirdness can be fun. This movie has an abundance of both qualities.
It's cast is big and good, and famous actors flow in and out of it, showing up suddenly and gone just as quickly. It creates a very intriguing, nightmare version of the West that really helps further the Depp character's evolution through the story.
Depp's character's native American companion, named Nobody, stands out very strongly in the cast. He's one of those characters you find yourself getting excited when you haven't seen him for a while and he shows up again.
A lot of characters die in this movie. There is one black character. Surprisingly, he does not die first. However, he's one of a group of bounty hunters who feature prominently in it. And of them, the black guy does die first. So there. If you look at it a certain way, Hollywood's streak is preserved.
The second Jarmusch movie was Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000).
Of all Jarmusch's movies that I've seen, I probably enjoyed this the most. It left me with the feeling that I should take a while to think about what I just saw and figure out what it meant. Even that I should rewatch it to pick up on some of the details. I love having that feeling after a movie. Also, Forest Whitaker is great in it.
The pairing of Samurai and the mafia is an interesting one. But it works, if you think about it. Both are types of people who follow a code. They live by a very old set of rules, handed down. Both have a certain way of viewing honor, as a concept, and living by it.
There's a lot of animal imagery in this movie. The bears work very well as a metaphor for the protagonist. Birds, I think, sort of work as a comment on being at peace with the world around you. I'm still not totally sure about the dog that's always staring at him. That is one awesome dog, though. I kind of want to play with it.
There's also interesting use of books. The most notable is Rashamon. If you know Rashamon well (it deals with different peoples perspectives on the same event) keep it in mind as you watch the flashback that is repeated several times to how Ghost Dog and his Master met.
Also, it should be noted that the French ice cream man is the coolest.
No comments:
Post a Comment