The film is an epic 40 year journey of two men who met when they were children and is beautifully told against the majestic backdrop of the Italian Alps. The two men come from entirely different backgrounds and it is the mountains that keep them connected through the 40 years. Their individual lives go in opposite directions and years go by without them seeing each other and yet when they do meet again it is as though no time has lapsed. The title refers to a Buddhist belief that metaphorically no matter how many mountains and how many seas you travel it is the journey to the center of the self that is the hardest and ultimately the only one that matters. I give it a 9 because I was appaulled to read (subtitles) that the Nepalese "skin their dead." Absolute hogwash and offensive. It could be a bad translation from the Italian but I wish someone had caught it before its release.
Reviews
13 Reviews
Suits
(2011–2019)
Key characters
6 September 2023
Terrific show one of the best but doesn't hold up all the way to the end however that's saying a lot considering it was 9 seasons. Great characters and dialogue and chemistry between them all and kept the tension going. Not being a lawyer I can't say the cases were always convincing but good enough for me a steady diet of killer legal strategy. The internal office politics are fun with all the believable human follies and well placed backstories. Unfortunately after two of the lead characters leave the show it starts to sag. I won't say more since it could be a spoiler alert for the end. Enjoy.
Irma Vep
(2022)
An ode to cinema
29 July 2022
Fantastical and honest. What a combination. The honesty Assayas captures in the intimate two character scenes is extraordinary as is the ephemeral and fragile nature of filmmakers the director actors the crew. And the very real chaos of filmmaking is often hilarious. Each character is so clearly defined as Assayas superbly juxtaposes the farce of the film he's making (the remake) with the reality of each character's actual life. Vincent Macaigne is brilliant as the director Rene Vidal. And yes Alicia Vikander is a gorgeous and wonderful actress although I find her voice no doubt part of her charm annoying at times. She speaks from the back of her throat so there were occasional words and phrases that were barely audible. Most important I almost forgot Assayas gets to say "the industry has taken over films."
Sundown
(I) (2021)
My kind of film.
10 February 2022
As one critic said "pitch perfect" and it is. The critic also claimed he laughed several times, I did not. At first the family set up works and you go along with it until you find it's otherwise. Misdirection and the slow reveal at its best. Tim Roth gives a superb performance leaving you to wonder and even understand his character although you don't know what the reason for his apparent disengagement is as you the viewer attempt to fill in the blanks. A film so worth seeing but unfortunately likely to be dismissed or misunderstood by many.
Burn After Reading
(2008)
Zany
12 January 2022
Wonderfully zany romp. The cast is great. Brad Pitt is fun to watch being playful as an average kinda not the smartest guy. A treat to watch McDormand being silly. The film is a satire on the world we live in that builds into utter stupidity but that unfortunately fizzles out at the end though I laughed a lot getting there.
The French Dispatch
(2021)
Clever
8 November 2021
A hodgepodge of 'see how clever I am' with scattered visual moments and performances that are enjoyable. The conceit is essentially three New Yorker style articles (obviously Anderson is a fan) brought to life from a period in Parisian life where political discourse and artistic aesthetes both swindled and thrived and so too, young revolutionaries, I indeed a very French birthright. Note, clever, is the key word and if that's for you go see it.
Scenes from a Marriage
(2021)
Madness
1 October 2021
When I first reviewed this I had seen only three episodes. By the fourth episode I completely dropped the reference to Bergmans film, I never watched the series, and reversed my opinion of this current series. I call it Scenes from Neurosis. The fourth episode was brilliantly, not only acted, which I had high praise for in my first review, but it was also brilliantly directed and written. By the last episode the title Scenes from Neurosis was confirmed. I rate it an 8 based on film values not content. In a nutshell I came away with a terrific experience of two wonderful actors, for me Jessica Chastain is a terrific actress but really cold, whereas Oskar Isaac is warm and a simply fantastic actor. Perhaps an heir to Paul Muni.
Paterson
(2016)
Perfect
18 September 2021
An absolute gem. Jarmusch has perfected filmmaking in this one. The visual impact of the wife's obsession with black and white counter the repetitive, though not quite, daily life of the main character, the bus driver, played by Adam Driver, yes, to perfection. And the wife's, played deliciously by Farahani, melting sweetness in contrast to her husband's direct and unadorned personality is inspired. The coup is the daily evolution of the poems the bus driver writes. They are the engine of the story, a conceit I found so engaging I couldn't bear to miss a line and which is the vehicle for the crisis two thirds through the film. Finally the ending Jarmusch gives us is perfect, yes perfect. If you love good films it's a must watch.
Stillwater
(2021)
Flawed but succeeded in a subtle way
27 August 2021
The film is nuanced and subtle and for that reason perhaps led to many of the not so great reviews both by critics and viewers alike. What made it worth watching to begin with was Matt Damon who, as the character calls for, is "thick" both physically and emotionally and represents, for the filmmakers, a fair portion of heartland Americans. People exposed to little outside their small town lives and emotionally subscribed to blind faith in Christianity. The character finding himself in Marseilles, France, is rich with contrast. The good but insensitive American as against the world of the French woman, Camille Cottin, a charismatic actress, who helps him with translating and from whom he rents a room is the most interesting part of the film. Meanwhile the case of his daughter being in prison, loosely based on the true story of Amanda Knoxx, goes through the motions.
It is the end, when they are both back in Stillwater, that is devastating and I believe what the filmmakers were leading up to all along.
It is the end, when they are both back in Stillwater, that is devastating and I believe what the filmmakers were leading up to all along.
Joe's Palace
(2007 TV Movie)
Extraordinary film
19 August 2021
An extraordinary film that exposes the tortured and amoral empty world of power, position and possession. Michael Gambon plays Elliot Graham a man of deep sensitivity who has inherited a great fortune from his father, the symbolic opulent and empty house Joe's Place, being one of them. Graham is paralyzed by the need to find out how his father's wealth was acquired and fears the worst, I won't say what that is to not give the revelation, in itself an indictment, away; is seen in contrast to that of Joe Dix, a guileless Everyman character played to perfection by Danny Lee Winters whose performance was utterly mesmerizing. Gambon of course can, yes, make reading the phone book, riveting. See this extraordinary film.
The best.
11 June 2021
Nomadland
(2020)
Not dazzled
26 March 2021
Someone living for 30 years on the edge of a town way out there and working at a factory doesn't know how to fix a tire! Sorry the whole story if you can call it that is contrived with a sloppy script. If it wins Zhao owes it to her cinematographer partner Joshua Richards.
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