LW-08854

Overall a pretty smartly written and interesting teen movie from 1983 that takes itself quite seriously. Tom Cruise plays an ambitious and flawed character who dreams of escaping his working class steelwork town using his sporting talent as his ticket out of there. Egos clash however between player and manager and the results create much of the films drama. Tom Cruise is pretty good in the role able to be charming, wrong headed, mature and immature. Its a pretty drab looking film but maybe that's the point. There is a love story and some social class commentary too and other characters to juggle, it is a bit stuffed. Generally the pacing is quite good, the final third does drag a bit though. All in all I like it though.

In many ways a frustrating movie, I understand there is a lot of subtext and that sometimes less is more but the slow unhurried pace of the movie and the static shots do give it a lack of umpth. I did like main character as this big gentle filmmaker and the exploration of village traditions and conflict. The theme of wanting to escape your present circumstances and be free is pretty central to the film. Everything is pretty much told through our protagonists eyes leaving you to feel in the blanks. It's also a nice looking movie too.

I feel like I have seen better Iranian movies but this one did keep me intrigued, while also frustrated too.

I was pretty impressed with this movie. For one thing Charlton Heson and David Niven have great chemistry together in this movie, one terrific moment has them facing down an angry mob. The costumes, the music, the production design, the epic scale of the film are all very impressive. It's also an interesting look at a Chinese society and government close to collapse under the weight of modernity, still clinging to a way of life it can't sustain. The fight sequences are very well done including a daring mission behind enemy lines, I equally enjoyed the calm steady stoicism of the besieged. There's a really lovely intimate scene in which Charlton Heston's character talks to a daughter about the death of her father solider. Its also a film which does make you feel the length of the siege, as though the characters really have been trapped many months.