directed by: elio petri
genres: drama, satire
lists: foreign film oscar winners
traces: z, american psycho, salo
fascinating film that is a precursor to 'american psycho' in satirical tone and subject matter. opens on a man murdering a young woman, then gradually reveals that the man is the chief inspector of the police - and he has committed this crime as a test of his government's willingness to accuse their own, despite having risen to obscenely high levels of power. what he discovers by playing this game is far more disturbing than the actual murder committed. like 'american psycho,' the film is ultimately about the abuse of absolute power. what begins as a cat and mouse game twists into panicked situations where the inspector plants more and more evidence to incriminate himself, eventually realizing that not even a confession will compel the 'authorities' to take action against him. cut from the same cloth as 'Z' (1969).
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Kid (1921)
directed by: charles chaplin
genres: sentimental, silent, comedy
lists: imdb top 250
traces: mr. bean, mr. hulot's holiday, forbidden games, mon oncle,
charlie chaplin writes, directs, produces, composes the music, and stars in this film described in the opening title as 'a picture with a smile, and perhaps a tear' - which pretty succinctly describes the blatant emotional manipulation that chaplin loves to engage in. the story is of a chaplin's iconic 'tramp' stumbling upon an abandoned baby, his relationship with the child and the eventual reunification with the kid's mother.
what's clear in this film as well as chaplin's other works is how his skill as an orchestrator informs all aspects of his art. his mastery of timing (both comic and dramatic) is expressed in the precision of the onscreen action and the excellent musical score, which doesn't feel dated at all.
be sure to watch a new transfer - the picture quality is stunning, and played at the proper frame rate so the characters don't seem to jerk and dart around in classic silent movie style.
chaplin's influence in film history is most directly traced to any great performer of silent physical comedy: rowan atkinson (mr. bean), jacques tati (mr. hulot's holiday, mon oncle, playtime). the specific influence of 'the kid' can be seen in other films that use innocent orphaned cherubic faces to wring maximum emotional weight from a story, like oliver, monsters inc., and even forbidden games.
genres: sentimental, silent, comedy
lists: imdb top 250
traces: mr. bean, mr. hulot's holiday, forbidden games, mon oncle,
charlie chaplin writes, directs, produces, composes the music, and stars in this film described in the opening title as 'a picture with a smile, and perhaps a tear' - which pretty succinctly describes the blatant emotional manipulation that chaplin loves to engage in. the story is of a chaplin's iconic 'tramp' stumbling upon an abandoned baby, his relationship with the child and the eventual reunification with the kid's mother.
what's clear in this film as well as chaplin's other works is how his skill as an orchestrator informs all aspects of his art. his mastery of timing (both comic and dramatic) is expressed in the precision of the onscreen action and the excellent musical score, which doesn't feel dated at all.
be sure to watch a new transfer - the picture quality is stunning, and played at the proper frame rate so the characters don't seem to jerk and dart around in classic silent movie style.
chaplin's influence in film history is most directly traced to any great performer of silent physical comedy: rowan atkinson (mr. bean), jacques tati (mr. hulot's holiday, mon oncle, playtime). the specific influence of 'the kid' can be seen in other films that use innocent orphaned cherubic faces to wring maximum emotional weight from a story, like oliver, monsters inc., and even forbidden games.
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