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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
Dreaming while awake
Aristotle argued that watching theatre was a way to exercise our emotions safely, and to learn about morality in order to live better in the real world. But when printing was invented, some warned that fictional stories would be written that would generate emotions entirely within a hallucinated world, which may not help us live at all, so Bertold Brecht tried to invent theatre that kept us aware that we were watching fiction while we were watching it, in the hope that we would not fall prey to believe in fictional narratives. It goes without saying that we now live in a world of fictional narratives, which most people believe. I think Wes Andersen has found a way of delivering fiction which is at once involving, yet carefully constructed to remind us of its artifice. Hence the use of sliding panels, unreal colours, and flat dialog. This irritates many, but I find it a quite fascinating tribute to the art of storytelling.
Uncharted (2022)
Charmless
Comparisons to Indiana Jones are completely hollow. This film lacks the subtlety, charm, double entendre that made the Indiana Jones fantasies enjoyable. The overall good humour and self deprecating style of the Indiana Jones films let us overlook the plot holes and cliches. Not so here. This is an utterly charmless and clumsy assemblage of mediocre set pieces, lacking any creative juice or vision. Cringe worthy.
Underwear (2015)
Explores creativity, integrity and marketing in a fascinating way
I found this to be unexpectedly interesting, and was seduced into almost binge watching it on Netflix. Who knew lingerie was a secret affirmation of a woman's essence. Well maybe you did, but I didn't. Many little esoteric philosophical droppings along the way in this otherwise enchanting little story about a girl in a high end lingerie shop. I was quite willing to forgive the lapses into sentimentality. The acting was uniformly excellent although the lead girl was perhaps provided with a somewhat banal and underwritten script. For a westerner it was a nice contrast to see the thought patterns of the Japanese, whose politeness seemed interwoven with surprising directness and honesty. No slang, clichés, double entendres, sleaziness even among the nasty corporate brutes encountered along the way. For me a refreshing change of pace. Highly recommended.