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Stephen_W
Reviews
Ballast (2008)
Verité, yes. Engaging, no.
While the plaudits for truthfulness are well-deserved, I found myself yawning more than a few times during "Ballast." I really wanted to give this film a chance -- the characters had so much potential to tell us an engaging story. The real tragedy in this tale of near-tragic realism is that the pacing and atmospherics, which for some may bolster the sense of realism, only serve to deaden any spark of story these characters have to tell us. The performances are spot-on, and, with the exception of diction problems on the part of young James, they are technically flawless. But movie characters are not real characters, and when they move through events with the slow and seemingly random momentum of real people in the real world, they fail to engage our interest. While there is much to be said for the film-making -- the cinematography, sound and production design are wonderful -- I can't help but feel these talents were squandered.
Persepolis (2007)
A personal history: engaging but not compelling
I saw "Persepolis" after hearing a lot of buzz, along with a radio interview with the writer/director, Ms. Satrapi, so I had a good idea what to expect going in. And, bottom line, the film did not disappoint -- but it didn't "wow" me either.
As a personal history, a sort of animated diary, it did the only thing it could do: show us a deeply personal account of events that have shaped our world. So, in that capacity, I found it educational, and generally engaging. After all, we all probably know the basic facts of these events. But how many of us have had such a subjective, impressionistic account, one which, by definition, will be skewed to the storyteller's point-of-view, but provides a valuable perspective nonetheless? And while I agree with some of the other comments on this board (the film employs predictable cliché, jokes that fall flat, etc.), I can forgive those as minor faults in an otherwise noble, and at times quite entertaining, effort.
As a film, however, "Persepolis" falls short. One of the basic requirements of storytelling, at least in most cinematic genres, is that the filmmaker engage the audience emotionally, especially if he or she is trying to put across a moral or specific political message. And this is where Persepolis never really grabbed me. While anyone can easily empathize with the exploits of a darling, precocious little girl in such extraordinary circumstances, the "episodic" way her story is told prevented me from truly identifying with the Marjane character. We want to feel that the protagonist's goals are our goals. But if she doesn't really have a goal, other than to grow up, there's nothing for us to latch onto emotionally. So, by "episodic" I mean a series of vignettes that are disconnected from an over-arching goal, i.e., something the protagonist is trying to achieve that makes up the "meat" of the story.
I watched "Persepolis" with a feeling of detached amusement, and general hopefulness that Marjane the cartoon character would at least grow into adulthood (which I already knew the real Marjane had managed, so no suspense there). And I certainly appreciated the insider's perspective on this piece of history. But ultimately, to tell an entire life story, one that encompasses weighty political and cultural current events lessons, is a lot to ask an audience to connect with emotionally.
(This is why many successful biopics -- "Capote" and "Schindler's List" come to mind -- focus on a discrete period of the subject's life and manage to convey with great feeling the challenges that person faced. Which may explain why, despite the narrative shortcomings I describe, the largely Iranian-American audience at the screening I attended seemed to love "Persepolis", having their own personal and emotional touchstone by which to connect to the film.)
I left the theater feeling better informed on several levels. But not really touched.
Valley of Flowers (2006)
Disjointed and disappointing: 3 movies in 1
Although I wouldn't go as far as the previous reviewer who ranked "Valley of Flowers" as low as "1", I too was very disappointed in a film that had so much going for it: great locations, beautiful cinematography and sound, and an obvious creative vision.
It's the latter that should have been reined in. What starts out as an epic fable (the mystery girl and the bandit) turns into a metaphysical morality tale (throw in the "Yeti" character) and then morphs into a sci-fi fantasy (let's leap ahead a few hundred years and cross Asia from India to Japan in the process). We are so invested in the first story -- the fable -- that the sudden leaps of genre leave us feeling cheated, as no credible emotional resolution for the characters is in sight. Somebody (you'd think the film's backers) would have said something to the writer/director in the development phase.
Apparently, no one was paying attention. With so much going for it, I left the screening at the IFFA in LA feeling so much talent and resources had been squandered. I haven't seen any other work from this director, but I hope that next time around he's able to sustain a story with an emotional arc without resorting to narrative acrobatics.