adidasss

Sigh...sure.

In a lonely place (1950) - Nicholas Ray - 7/10
Very good noir (although it's much less about murder mysteries than about abusive relationships). I suppose it could have gone up to 8 but I felt Grahame's character went through an odd change (from femme fatale to "battered wife") and the whole murder case seemed a little out of place/underdeveloped. I'm thinking it could hold up to repeated viewings though (especially on account of Bogart's performance and (I'd say) unusual choice of negative role).

Tokyo twilight (1957) - Yasujiro Ozu - 4/10
Started watching this about a year ago, fell asleep after about 40 minutes. Tried it again in the morning, started falling asleep again, but was determined to finish it because I can't stand to look at it collecting dust anymore. I took 3 breaks but I finally did it. Extremely slow paced (2h 20 min.), stiff acting, not a particularly interesting story, nothing particularly inventive in the directing or visuals and a pretty problematic message (as I saw it at least): single parents raise troubled children, therefore, it's best to give an abusive relationship another go than to risk raising a wayward child? Yah, I don't think so Mr. Ozu. I suppose it says something about the slow decay of traditionalist Japan but I don't really give a shit. :\

Pitfall (1962) - Hiroshi Teshigahara - 5/10
I guess I'm just not a fan of absurdist, abstract(ish?) cinema. I'm pretty sure I understand what it wanted to say, and appreciate all the technical aspects (and especially acting which, after the Ozu debacle, was a blessing), but I was still mostly uninterested. I'll watch his other stuff though...

Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Federico Fellini - 8/10
Obviously much closer to my kind of mentality/sensibilities. I liked La Strada better and thought it was much better suited for Masina's face and gesticulations (some of the clownishness was seeping out in Cabiria too which I could have gone without) but she's still pretty spectacular and carries the entire film really well. I love the host of street characters, the jocular/tragic street life and atmosphere of Fellini's Italy and particularly the ending. Definitely adding it to my collection.

The cranes are flying (1957) - Mikhail Kalatozov - 6/10
Ok, the first half hour of this one is extraordinary. I can't remember if I've ever seen any pre-1960s film which managed to show such incredible intimacy and genuine tenderness between a love couple. A lot of this is probably due to the casting, especially with Tatyana Samojlova who has a very Audrey Hepburn-like charm. But as soon as the boyfriend gets sent off to war the flow is lost, the characters start behaving oddly (I'm still trying to process why she married Mark) and the story is underdeveloped. In that sense it's kind of similar to Atonement which was brilliant until the shift to the front when it loses all its momentum. I would have preferred it had they kept the focus on their relationship (kept him alive perchance, which would have added all sorts of interesting complexities to the plot)...alas...:\

So yeah...:\

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“Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle.

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