Change Your Image
dclastcolony-12110
Reviews
The English (2022)
A Heroic Attempt
Like many viewers of movies, I am a stickler for watching a film in the aspect ratio in which it was made. This is particularly important for a Western such as this that has fantastic cinematography. Nowhere on this site that i could find does it indicate the aspect ratio of the series. I searched elsewhere and could not find it either.
This is important because on Amazon Prime here in the US, the series is being shown in 16:9 format. But in the UK on the BBC, it is being shown in a much wider widescreen format with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The movie looks much better in this format to me although I am not sure in what format it was made.
The essential story in the film is not very original to be sure and the locations where the film was made look quite a bit different to me than Kansas and Wyoming but this is more than made up for by the quality of the acting and the cinematography -- although it is difficult at times to hear what the actors are saying.
For old timers like myself, I still much prefer the John Ford Westerns. But this is a good attempt to make what may well become a classic Western.
Land (2021)
Excellent Film But
Loved the film, especially the cinematography. The film is an impressive directorial debut for Robin Wright. And the script which, as she says, revolves around the importance of kindness in life and how that can be transforming to a broken individual especially is especially meaningful at this time.
My one problem with the film -- which is likely only a problem for vegetarians and vegans such as myself -- is the depiction of hunting and, in particular, the skinning of a deer. Perhaps the film makers think hunting is essential to living in the wild, but it really isn't. And the murder of animals in the film in a way detracts from the central theme of the film -- unless kindness to animals is unimportant.
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Could Have Been So Much Better
This movie has a lot going for it -- the superb direction of Sydney Pollack -- great acting by Robert Redford -- and gorgeous cinematography in Utah. Its theme also is one that is captivating and that has always interested me -- men alone living in the wilderness and coping as best they can.
Unfortunately, the movie descends into a conventional Western -- replete with Indian attacks, massacres, and much else. Redford has to contend with so much so he barely has enough time to deal with the elements. Just too much happens in this film for there to be an adequate development of character. What could have been a keen exploration of a solitary life in the Rocky Mountains descends into an action movie -- and a politically incorrect one by today's standards since most of the Indians in the film are portrayed as savages.
This is a problem that often plagues American and English films. So often, they are unable or unwilling to explore the inner life, as so many French movies do, for example. French directors learned long ago that character exploration in and of itself can be interesting and compelling without the need to add the kind of events that rarely takes place in most people's lives -- even in the wilderness.
Having said that, the movie is based on a book of the same name. So, I suppose the director decided to stick with that story line.
Aos Teus Olhos (2017)
Superb Drama About Alleged Abuse
Unlike some reviewers, I loved the ending to this gripping film about alleged abuse. The nature of the ambiguous ending ensures that the viewer must judge how alleged abuse is handled -- in this case, appallingly -- with social media playing its usual invidious role.
If there had been a neat ending to the film -- one way or another -- the viewer would not dwell on how the abuse is handled, which is really the whole point of the film -- not the question of guilt or innocence.
The direction and writing is superb. And the lead actor rivetingly good in portraying how a life can quickly become unglued.