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giorgialosavio
Reviews
Cazuza: O Tempo Não Pára (2004)
cliché, cliché, cliché...
This film cannot be seen as a good piece of film as it is. Out of context, it has no special meaning besides the point it constantly tries to make of the clichés we have heard over and over again. That is, gay men taking drugs, having sex with everyone they see and being self-destructive. As it usually happens with Brazilian cinema, this movie doesn't try to break away from the national social basis and only repeats all the beliefs the citizens and foreigners have of the country and its own people. A very sad thing to do, a very bad message to pass. I watched this film remembering my mother telling me how horrible it is when people start smoking joints and end up dying of aids for sharing needles and being promiscuous. That's what everyone goes around saying in Brazil, in sensationalist terms, and this is how this film is presented. It is a true pity that such a good composer and singer had to be pictured in such horrible colours. And worst still that Brazil hasn't learnt how to do something new that will challenge the people to expand their way of thinking into new areas.
Head On (1998)
Over the top
Was this supposed to be a realistic film? The main character goes around having sex with every single walking being he sees. Now, would one be able to carry so much horniness after doing all the existing drugs in a space of 24 hours? I don't think so. And then again, what's with the character doing e, heroine, joints, coke, speed, all in one day?!? This film is absurd, cliché and it shows what people want to see - gay people being libertine and junkies. On top of this the filming itself doesn't help much. There isn't anything I hate more in film then hand-held cameras (von trier seems to be one of the only people who can do that without being pretentious). It makes the whole process self-conscious and you just know too easily the message the director wants to pass. Bad, bad, bad.
Swept Away (2002)
Good if Madonna had spared the public of her presence
Don't get me wrong, I love Madonna. But knowing limits is something else. From all the movies she has ever made, Evita was the only one that actually worked. She was being herself and acting was left behind because of all the singing and dancing and cheering. Uha. Here she succeeds in sinking the boat for good. And a good boat it was. What's with people complaining about the washed out quality of the film? It was the most memorable thing of it. Photography and everything else is great, the themes are wonderful... if only Madge had stayed down in London Town writing some more songs. But she'll keep on tormenting the cinematic world. Endlessly. So brace yourself, because here comes Madonna. Again.
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios" (1988)
Almodovar at his best
You cannot not like this film. It should be forbidden by law. Even more if one knows Spain and the Spanish! The dialogues are exhilaratingly absurd, the happenings don't make any sense, but why should they? At the end of the day, that is how women are, and that is how Almodovar tries to portray them - hysterical, jealous, irrational at many times. Men are in the second plan here, and that is also to put men in their place. It is a joyful look into women's heads while crazed by love, and without all the "deep thinking" feel a lot of directors try to put into their films just to make them serious. This film proves that seriousness have nothing to do with greatness. The only time he fails is when he makes his ode to Fellini too obvious in the beginning of the film - a man walking through the women of his life, with winds silently blowing in the background in a b&w image... I've seen it all before. But apart from that, everything about it was just wonderful.
Les liaisons dangereuses (1959)
Obvious
Les Liasions Dangeureses is one of the best books ever written - very rococo, very stylish, and very evil but a kind of evil that you have to love. It is surprising even for me to say that the American version of this film beats this horrible French version. The film starts with the director obnoxiously explaining the plot and the characters are continuously explaining themselves. This story is all about secrecy, style and good manners. The film replaces all the good stuff with characters that say out loud all the facts the viewer should be obliged to ponder on. I saw this film with two other fans of Viscont de Valmont and Marqueis de Merteuil (I don't know if that's how you write it) and by the time the film had hit the first half an hour our faces were all alike - disillusioned and disgusted.
Hable con ella (2002)
Almodovar taking another turn
This could be a good movie, yes, but if it wasn't from Almodovar or Spanish. The colours are beautiful, vibrant and all over the place, yes. The theatre scenes are beautiful. The music is well-put. But everything works too coordinated, something that should not happen with Almodovar. The film is too quiet, and it doesn't convince me. Knowing the language and Spanish people as I do, I cannot come to fully like this film. Spain is hot, people are the way they are, and it just doesn't fit right in the film as a whole the sensitive and quiet ways. If it was a French movie, I would say all right, French people are blasé and beautifully so. But here something is missing, that constant "cono" and something bizarre. Besides, the whole 'beautiful imagery' is starting to bore me to death and to seem pointless. It is time for world cinema to take other and new turns and to start something else - I can't stand seeing those bright colours anymore, they have become a cliché for good cinema.
Giulietta degli spiriti (1965)
A very sensitive Fellini masterpiece
I can never get too tired of seeing Fellini. Over and over again. When I bought this film I was very anxious about it, but I had sub-estimated the film in my imagination. When I actually saw it, I was awed, amazed, in love. Giulietta Masina is a genius, a real actress. Even though this time she doesn't act in her brilliant clownesc style, she is as convincing and loving as she always is. The colours are brilliant, even more so for a film done in 1965 (and much better than the colours used in later works such as Casanova). The film is full of hidden hints so the attentive eye can understand the story more in depth. Fellini is a master on putting things in a very metaphorical way, and here he achieves to better himself even more. The clothing is fantastic and ageless. The flowers flowing from all the other female character's clothes contrast with the linear and simple ones from Giulietta, showing how introspective she is in her life, specially in her sexual one. The film is very Fellini, but very feminine in the other side, something rare until then. Even though women played a central part in most of his films, they were always seen through other men's eyes. This time the whole world is seen through Giulietta and her feminine repressions, caused by the typical Fellini factors - education, the church, family and of course Italy. Fellini might be good for those who love cinema, but for those who love it and understand what being an Italian conveys, it is a wonderful delight. Nothing better than a Fellinesc big southern woman, or an outrageously funny Ruma'...