This is definitely worth catching if you ever get the chance. I happened to come across it at a screening for the Kiarostami season here in London and really made my day. It's colour instruction for children, filmed in such a fun, uplifting way that it looks like Kiarostami was having a whale of a time doing it. It's witty, fast-paced and, in a subtle way, poetic, very much like most of Kiarostami's films, but in most other ways, radically different from them. Kanun was really lucky to have Kiarostami making films for them and Kiarostami was lucky to have been employed by Kanun to start his career with because he obviously got a lot from this experience of making films for and about children.
Reviews
7 Reviews
The Stepford Wives
(2004)
What an awful flop!
12 July 2004
I very rarely write comments here about films I didn't enjoy but this is different. This film boasts a cast that will be pulling people in cinemas. My advice is: don't bother. It's just the most boring, predictable, badly planned and executed piece of celluloid I've ever seen. It's as if Frank Oz had a good idea but got bored half-way through realising it. I haven't seen the original but surely the actors who got involved in this read the script of the remake? They can't have based their participation on the Seventies film, surely. Because the 2004 remake is full of awful cliches, bad jokes (OK, there are a couple of good lines but that's about it) and it is so empty of ideas that it makes you want to shout to the screen. If the actors playing in this film were unknowns there is NO WAY anyone would have gone to see it. It's just a parade of famous names (some good actors, some average) that sleepwalk through a dreadful script. It can't even become a cult classic - it's THAT average. 1/10 for me and that's being lenient.
Election
(1999)
Surprisingly effective
9 July 2004
I am not a fan of Hollywood teen movies. In fact, I can't stand them. But this one is surprisingly good! It's only a teen movie in that it revolves around teenagers. However, there's much more to it than that. It's a very good commentary on voting trends and political apathy. It's clever, it's got an edge and most importantly great performances, especially by Reece Witherspoon. Although she was only a second choice for this role but it suits her so well I'm pretty sure the producers were chuffed! Matthew Broderick is also very good as the good-teacher-turned-neurotic who becomes obsessed by Witherspoon's obsessive character.
Really worth watching. A well-deserved 7/10.
Really worth watching. A well-deserved 7/10.
The Others
(2001)
Disappointing
29 January 2004
Warning: Spoilers
I was looking forward to watching THE OTHERS because I love good ghost films. However, by the end of it I was disappointed. The screenplay didn't quite develop some of the best ideas in the story.
**** SPOILERS ****
For instance, the "what happened that night" part should have been introduced more forcibly earlier on in the film. The problem for me was that as soon as I saw Christopher Eccleston (Kidman's husband in the movie) appear out of nowhere in the fog, the twist became pretty clear to me. Also, the servants' clothes gave them away as ghosts (too old-fashioned). Having seen The Sixth Sense, I just knew that if the husband and the servants were ghosts, then Kidman and the kids must be ghosts too. I quite enjoyed the ending but it wasn't half as scary as the ending of The Sixth Sense. I know it's not fair to compare films in this way, but I can't help but do it in this case, simply because they are based on the same premise and quite frankly, The Others jumped on the bandwagon in that sense.
As far as Kidman's much-performance is concerned, I thought she was good but not impressive. I would have preferred someone with a face that said more than their whispers. I found her a bit hysterical.
Overall, I would give this film 6/10 for trying hard and for generating a good atmosphere.
**** SPOILERS ****
For instance, the "what happened that night" part should have been introduced more forcibly earlier on in the film. The problem for me was that as soon as I saw Christopher Eccleston (Kidman's husband in the movie) appear out of nowhere in the fog, the twist became pretty clear to me. Also, the servants' clothes gave them away as ghosts (too old-fashioned). Having seen The Sixth Sense, I just knew that if the husband and the servants were ghosts, then Kidman and the kids must be ghosts too. I quite enjoyed the ending but it wasn't half as scary as the ending of The Sixth Sense. I know it's not fair to compare films in this way, but I can't help but do it in this case, simply because they are based on the same premise and quite frankly, The Others jumped on the bandwagon in that sense.
As far as Kidman's much-performance is concerned, I thought she was good but not impressive. I would have preferred someone with a face that said more than their whispers. I found her a bit hysterical.
Overall, I would give this film 6/10 for trying hard and for generating a good atmosphere.
The English Patient
(1996)
A wonderful, poetic film
25 January 2004
OK, so this is not for everyone. It's long, its narrative is complex, there are at least two subplots and it is based on a difficult novel. But if you like films that make you think, that don't impose a moral code on you, that challenge you, then this is certainly a film you have to watch. It's poetry on the silver screen and a real treat for people who like their films deep in meaning and wide in scope.
12 Angry Men
(1957)
Exquisite script, perfect acting
27 December 2002
The old cliche "they don't make 'em like that any more" is an understatement for this fantastic film. What strikes me as unique is the fact that it takes place in real time in one room and that without being sensationalist, the script has the strength to keep the viewer captivated, hanging on every word of the actors. The acting is also executed with such power that one can see the characters develop within his/her own very eyes. It's such pure, unadulterated artistry, the kind of camera work and dialogue only real visionaries could bring to fruition. A must-see, one of the best films of all time for this cinefil.
Amélie
(2001)
Pretty much what cinema is all about!
31 October 2001
What a wonderful film. I cannot honestly find one flaw! Sweet without being syrupy, surrealistic without being too clever, the actors were fantastic, the humour was subtle but great (the dwarf-around-the-world polaroids were absolutely spot-on!), it was sexy, childish, PERFECT! Just do yourselves a favour and go and see it.
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