parausted Reviews

Ada (1961)

Almost a historical document

[9/10 · 31 August 2023]

Note the year in which it was filmed: 1961. Full Kennedy era. Notice the clean and critical political air that was blowing in the USA. The argument is a profound defense of democracy and a painful denunciation of political corruption. For that alone it deserves to be remembered. But the time it was made makes it a kind of historical document. Susan Hayward was a very good actress and Dean Martin I think he did his best to live up to it. Impossible to forget Martin Balsam, Wilfrid Hyde White and director Daniel Mann. Thanks to all of them we recovered a bit of that clean air that was breathed thanks to John F. Kennedy.

Ticket to Heaven (1981)

ONE OF THE TOP TEN

[10/10 · 9 May 2021]

If you were to see only one movie in your life, this is the movie.

Interesting, important, intelligent argument. Superb performances. All put at the service of a human, moving, essential and necessary message.

In the tradition of "Elmer Gantry", "Inherit the Wind", "My Mother's Smile", "Häxan", this film must be in the list of the ten best films in the history of cinema.

A separate comment: this movie is 108 minutes long, but I saw this movie in 1990 and it was 90 minutes long, I've watched it again and it's 86 minutes long. Please watch it before the censors keep cutting it.

Margarita (III) (2016)

Crystal clear, emotional, high quality

[8/10 · 18 October 2020]

Peruvian cinema reaches a very high point, even other works by the same director, with this well-interpreted film, where vulgarity has been avoided without losing a modern sense of humor, where the viewer is not extorted with emotional impacts and television sentimentality. Really admirable the work of the scriptwriters, lighting, interpretation, direction and even music (even when it appeals to some common place). Seeing this movie reconciles with the seventh art.

Man with the Gun (1955)

AN INTELLIGENT FILM

[9/10 · 12 May 2018]

A western that makes many contemporary film directors blush with envy: perfect setting, intelligent dialogues, socio-psychological soundness in the script, good acting, camera direction and music without errors. A semi-unknown jewel that delights the intelligent viewer.

Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956)

PRETTY BAD HISTORY

[1/10 · 15 March 2018]

Cinematographically it is a poor, conventional film. Photography is at times excellent but that is not enough to overcome the defects of a mediocre script. The actors repeat their parts without much conviction (except Hawkins and Finch) and the Latin character of Christopher Lee (the future Dracula) deserves to be remembered in the history of cinema as one of the most exhilarating cartoons that have been seen in movies. For all the technical errors that the film contains and for the glamorous presentation of the cruelty of war, this work is disgusting. Not only is the view of war, the supposed chivalry of enemies, questionable, but also the lack of historical truth. The Graf Spee arrived at the coasts of Mar del Plata (south of the city of Buenos Aires) and there many sailors descended freely. This is top secret perhaps because of some unknown agreement between British, Argentines and Nazis. That is understandable in 1939, when the events occurred ... but not in 1956 when the film was made. In addition, to some extent, the no hidden admiration towards the Nazi chivalry shown in several scenes recalls Howard Hugues' "Hell's Angels" ... and Mr. Hugues had a great deal of sympathy for Nazi Germany. I do not know if it's a problem of inferiority complex on the part of Great Britain, but I remember that James Mason proudly incarnated Rommel in another film. It seems that not only several components of the British royal nobility admired the Nazis. In short: forgettable.

A Heart in Winter (1992)

SOBRIETY AND ELEGANCE

[9/10 · 2 March 2018]

A very intelligent dialogue. Perfect choice and direction of actors. An in-depth analysis of everyday situations, almost non-transcendental, where artistic merit lies in sobriety and elegance. The love, the disagreement, the superficial calm, the internal whirlpools ... everything is being intuited by the spectator, who has an essential ally: music (a real character that translates us the intimate states of the protagonists). Perfect camera direction. A small, subtle, almost intangible jewel like life itself.

A Royal Affair (2012)

THE DEEP LINK OF BEAUTY AND INTELLIGENCE

[10/10 · 7 January 2018]

THIS MOVIE HAS THE INCREDIBLE MERIT OF PRESENTING A PRACTICALLY DELETED REALITY OF THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF DENMARK. ITS PROTAGONIST, JOHANN FRIEDRICH STRUENSEE, IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO THE FREEDOM OF THE MANKIND... THAT RESULTS VERY INDIGESTIBLE TO OFFICIAL HISTORIANS. THIS FILM BRINGS BACK SOMETHING THAT LOOKED LOST IN THE CURRENT CINEMA: DEPTH, MORAL RELEVANCE, PLASTIC BEAUTY, SINCERE EMOTION, GREAT INTERPRETATION, EXCELLENT DIALOGUES. THE THEME OF FREEDOM OF THOUGHT HAS BEEN FEW TIMES TOUCHED BY CINEMA (I REMEMBER "WITCH" IN 1920, "INHERIT THE WIND" IN 1959, "THE PHARAO" IN 1966), BUT AS IN THIS MOVIE, NEVER. EQUALLY "A ROYAL AFFAIR" (TITLE THAT HIDES THE TRUE SENSE OF THE ARGUMENT) SHOWS EMPATHY TOWARDS THE OPPRESSED PEOPLE, TOWARDS THE IDEALS THAT CAME IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND DENOUNCES THE DARK COMPLOTES OF THE EUROPEAN NOBILITY AND THE CHURCH. THIS IS THE DENIED HISTORY, THIS IS A WORK OF ART THAT OBEYS WONDERFULLY THE GREEK IDEAL OF THE DEEP LINK OF BEAUTY AND INTELLIGENCE. "A ROYAL AFFAIR", DESPITE THE TITLE, IS A GIFT FOR THE MIND AND THE HEART.

Made in Italy (1965)

AN INTELLIGENT AND BEAUTIFUL FILM

[10/10 · 7 January 2018]

IT IS A TYPE OF FILM THAT HAS ALMOST DISAPPEARED: THE SPECTATOR IS PERMANENTLY ALLUDED AND PERMANENTLY HE IS OBLIGED TO REFLECT, BESIDES SMILING ... OR TO BE EXCITED. IT IS NOT ONLY A HUMORISTIC FILM, IT IS NOT ONLY A FILM OF SOCIAL CRITICISM, IT IS A TESTIMONIAL FILM OF A CULTURE. AND IT IS ALSO A BEAUTIFUL CINEMATOGRAPHIC WORK: WELL INTERPRETED, WELL PHOTOGRAPHED, WELL DIRECTED. THE 1960'S, ESPECIALLY IN ITALY, SHOWED UNFORGETTABLE WORKS IN THE INTELLIGENT LINE AND HIGH QUALITY LEVEL. IN SOME HAPPY WAY, THE STEPS OF "LA DOLCE VITA" BY FEDERICO FELLINI WERE FOLLOWED. AND "MADE IN ITALY" IS ALSO A TESTIMONY OF THE TERRIBLE FORCE OF CENSORSHIP: I HAVE SEEN THIS FILM THREE TIMES AND THE THREE TIMES HAD DIFFERENT DURATION. THE FIRST TIME WAS 1966 (AROUND 95 MINUTES OF LENGTH), THE SECOND TEN YEARS AGO (100 MINUTES) AND THE THIRD ONE WAS A FEW HOURS AGO (ABOUT 120 MINUTES). UNFORCEABLY IT IS NOT ONLY AN ANTIPATHIC FILM TO CONSERVATIVE MENTALITY BUT TO RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS. POVERTY, SELFISHNESS, IGNORANCE, SUFFERING ARE REFLECTED HERE IN AN IMPLACABLE FORM AT TIMES, BUT ALWAYS WITH A HIGH CONCEPT OF CINEMATOGRAPHIC ART. "MADE IN ITALY" IS, FROM ALL POINT OF VIEW, ONE OF THE TEN BEST ITALIAN FILMS OF ALL TIMES AND ONE OF THE GREATEST 100 OF THE WORLD CINEMATOGRAPHY.

La disubbidienza (1981)

Sabotage?

[8/10 · 23 January 2016]

The argument touches irritating topics (very irritating to some): hypocrisy of the Italian upper class who survive her beloved fascism and even the hated partisans and always enjoys a good economic situation, some collaborationist Jews!, the conformism of the communists, sexual relations between an adolescent and adult women ... but as always, Pietrangeli "forgets" the Vatican factor... (self censure?). Anyway, the film seems sabotaged: at least in the copy that Youtube provides, can hardly be seen clearly some images, the soundtrack is awful and at times the music prevents follow the dialogue. However, you should look this intelligent film. But one must denounce these acts of sabotage against certain films (since this is not the only one).

Pajarito Gómez (1965)

To think and rethink

[9/10 · 27 December 2015]

This film belongs to a time when few went to the movies to hang out and eat popcorn. It's the kind of movie that you have to read between the lines, that you must not wait to be told what you have to think and feel and you can rely on that your idiosyncrasy and cultural level will be respected by the director and screenwriter. It is, in short, a social, cultural, psychological critic of a generation to which Rodolfo Kuhn -the director- belonged and did much for the cultural advancement of the world. And if that generation did wrong a lot it was because they wanted to do much. It is one of the best films of the Argentine and world cinema. It is a moral obligation to see it for anyone who loves art.

The Stepford Children (1987 TV Movie)

A hollow film

[1/10 · 27 December 2015]

Predictable, mediocre, deliberately confusing. What in "The Stepford Wives" was abnormal (the hollow robot housewives) in the conservative society it is normal. In "The Stepford Children" what is normal in a civilized society (good manners, respect, balance aesthetic conception of all that is human: music, language, etc.), is presented as abnormal, and abnormal (bad manners, bad music, lack of culture, ideas, reflection) is presented as desirable. The intention of the film is to flatter the younger audience (already around 1990 were the ones who paid to see this kind of fake art.. and probably in those years began the disastrous film industry that exists today).

The Stepford Wives (1975)

Orwell called "1984".

[5/10 · 27 December 2015]

The film charged, indirectly, to the invasion of technology and chemicals to be creating new -adaptables- human beings. This was thought in 1975. Today -2015- the discussion is virtually closed : the technological dictatorship and large laboratories already have created a new customizable humanity. Not only that discussion is closed: also the "liberating weapon" -embodied in the film by the intervention of a psychoanalyst- is prohibited (no university in the world has courses on Freudian psychoanalysis). Unfortunately, the film ends poorly, avoiding giving these ideas to the public.I wonder if the director Bryan Forbes or the film's producers were afraid to express these ideas clearly. Anyway this is the best version of the three that have been made (not even worth mentioning "The Stepford Children" ... a horrific stupidity).