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Ida (2013)
A beautiful and heart wrenching film
Ida is a film about a novice Nun named Anna who, approaching the end of her training is delivered a startling revelation concerning her identity and she must leave the Nunnery in an attempt to find answers.
Ida as a film is almost perfect. The film is shot in a crisp black and white intended to be reminiscent of the Soviet era Poland that the film is set in. This decision is complemented by brilliant cinematography which prefers longer shots, and frames almost every one of them perfectly. It is only a small exaggeration for me to say that any shot randomly picked from the movie could work for its poster. Pawel Pawlikowski and cinematographers Łukasz Żal and Ryszard Lenczewski pull off wonders behind the camera and make even a shot of Anna walking down a country road breathtaking.
The acting in Ida is also very strong although perhaps its weakest element in comparison to others. The performances are mostly emotional and heartfelt but at times Anna's character can come across a bit too passive and blank (even if she is in an alien environment.) The acting of Agata Kulesza as the Aunt is by far the best in the movie and she delivers a conflicted deep performance.
There is no music in the film except for when there is music for the characters (with a small exception in the final scene). This silence works in the films favour creating a more immersive experience and adding significance to those scenes where music is heard. For example the Jazz band's pieces are emphasised by their breaking of the silence and are contrasted with the absence of music in the Monastery to illustrate the diverging lives Anna could lead.
The film also poses deeper questions to the audience over the areas of guilt and moral responsibility and the slower pace that the editing provides gives the audience a greater time alongside the characters to consider this.
Ultimately this film delivers an incredibly impactful story in a beautiful fashion. As long as you don't mind films with subtitles or a slightly slower paced movie, I cannot recommend it more.
C'era una volta il West (1968)
Some moments of pure brilliance alas not maintained.
I went into this movie hoping for great things. I had already seen and loved Once upon a time in America and the Dollars trilogy and was hoping for another superb Leone film. To some extent this is what I got. There are some scenes in this movie that are sublime. The opening scene as they wait for the train is close to perfection as the deadly quiet is only interrupted by the small quirks of the environment it leaves you on tenterhooks. The same is true of the later scene at the house when all seems well but occasionally we see McBain's uneasy glances when he hears small noises. The score is by Ennio Morricone so it goes without saying that it is superb.The plot is also interesting and complex, it twists and turns as we attempt to decipher what the big game is that all these men are fighting over and yet the final twist (as to the nature of Harmonica and Frank's relationship) feels contrived and forced and comes too late in the movie for the animosity which has been present throughout to have meaning. If we had understood their relationship earlier on it would have lent more weight to their interactions (particularly where Harmonica saves Frank's life). It would also have had the effect of making the characters less bland. Blondie worked in the fistful trilogy because although he displayed few emotions, he was able to be sarcastic and fun too. Here it seems Leone wanted the next Blondie but Harmonica's character is boring, he sullenly fails to emote throughout the whole film even in scenes that should be of real emotion for the character (when he is facing off against the man who did so much to him at a younger age) he remains in his bored expression. If he doesn't seem to care about anything why should we. The other characters are not much stronger, their motives seeming to change on a dime (as with Cheyenne who is at one moment intimidating and hostile and the next best friends with Harmonica and Claudia.) Claudia's character is the worst though. The writer seems to have made an effort for her to be a strong character, but she becomes a tedious damsel in distress and has a confusing relationship with Harmonica (who is at one minute trying to rape her then the next protecting her from Frank's thugs???) All this adds up to a film that could have been brilliant but squandered this through its characters and it's failure to make its big plot twist at the end count for anything by deploying it in a way that doesn't feel token and forced.