Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet

I loved the idea of different directors seeing the same subject. The result is very irregular, but not in quality. Each piece individually is great, but you almost don't see a connection between them.

A mostly very recommendable collection of shorts by some of the most renowned arthouse directors. In DOGS HAVE NO HELL a man starts a new life with the woman he loves. Aki Kaurismäki delivers, as usual, grand melodrama in the most deadpan manner. Wonderful photography. Werner Herzog's documentary is his usual ethno-cliche crap: Modernization blows away the culture of a small hunter-gatherer group. Herzog mourns this but uses evolutionist-colonialist vocabulary like "tribe" and "stone age" - he obviously never realizes that his perspective overrates the power of Western culture in the same way as die-hard modernizers do. Embarrassing.

Jim Jarmusch's vignette about movie making combines a calm view of everyday situations with some subdued comedy. Quite unassuming and more complex and substantial in hindsight. Wim Wenders returns to his roots: 35 years after his early shorts we are once again in a car for almost the entire film and listen to rock music. Just this time we get an exciting plot, beautiful retro-psychedelic visuals and a poetic near-death moment: Wenders shows all his abilities.

Spike Lee reports irregularities of the last US-presidential election, quite frightening of course, beautifully shot, but a bit out of place here.

Chen Kaige's 100 FLOWERS HIDDEN DEEP gives us a little parable about the change of modern Beijing, which is a bit silly at first (and includes some awful computer animation), but has a further dimension: The worker's pantomime and the old man's effeminate gestures are stylistic devices from Peking Opera, an art form of the past, virtually surviving "hidden deep" in cinema.

But the one piece overshadowing all the others is Victor Erice's LIFELINE, a portrait of a peaceful afternoon in a Spanish village in 1940, with death and destruction always close at hand: Children play, farmhand reap dry grass, old men play cards, while a baby starts to bleed to death. The beauty and poetic power of the images and sounds is outstanding, only comparable to Tarkovsky (another director with a genuine feel for life on the countryside). Marvelous.

A dream come true for art-house film buffs, and anyone whose out looking for an interesting way to spend 90 minutes. This is perhaps one of the most amazing collection of short films. The secret lies in the vast variety of genre and style of the films. From pure eye-candy to dramatic documentaries. In a collection like this, there is no such thing as "out of place". I found all the films enjoyable and interesting. For me, the weakest segment was the Wim Wenders film. It felt like an episode of a made-for-TV mini-series-road-movie. Another let down was the Aki Kaurismaki segment, maybe it's because this was my first Kaurismaki experience, I didn't really "get it". The most powerful being Chen Kaige's nostalgiac reflection of the ever-changing city of Beijing.

The segments in order of preference: Chen Kaige, Werner Herzog, Victor Erice, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Wim Wenders, Aki Kaurismaki.

My preference could change after multiple viewings. I strongly recommend this collection to film-lovers. Can't wait to see the other collection: "The Cello"

This is a very interesting Short film compilation. Seven Directors are all trying to bring their view of time on canvas. Kaige Chen (segment "100 Flowers Hidden Deep") This is the story of an old man who returns to the city where he grew up. Even though things have changed he still sees the old neigbourhood (wooden Cabins, Trees...). Workers laugh at him, but then they see the place through his eyes... Not really touching, but I supose its a must see for architechure students.

Víctor Erice (segment "Lifeline")-B&W Scenes in a day (during WW2) on the Spanish countryside.

My personal favorite short of them all. Werner Herzog (segment "Ten Thousand Years Older") This one brings us in the Brazilian jungle. It documents the first encounters with an urban trial 20 years ago and shows what happend to them since. Makes you think... Jim Jarmusch (segment "Int. Trailer Night")-B&W We become wittnisess of a short 10 min break in the life of an actress (Chloe Sevigny) Jim Jarmusch proves once more that he is able to create extrodinary characters on canvas, even in the tight frame of 10 min.

Aki Kaurismäki (segment "Dogs Have No Hell") A man is releasd from prison he has 10 minutes to: get a wife, train, and quit his old job. Spike Lee (segment "We Wuz Robbed")-B&W Treats of the "democratic" election of Mr. Bush. very good! Wim Wenders (segment "Twelve Miles to Trona") A middle aged Man overdoses on a drug by accident. now he has to make it to Trona Hospital. suprisingly light for a Wenders but funny and entrtaining. Altogether I belive this is a fantastic Cinema experience! I can`t wait for the second compilation (Ten Minutes older: the chello) which is said to include Volker Schlöendorff, Claude Codard...

Has its ups and downs. Some good short films - Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders are especially good, and Jim Jarmusch is as sensitive and subtle as always. Some don't quite make the grade - Victor Erice's piece is irritating and self important, and Spike Lee's is quite interesting, but doesn't do well in the context of the films and in its ten minute space.

The anthology is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of any of these directors, or of art-house cinema in general, and if you don't mind stories with no real plot to speak of. Generally speaking, I prefer more versatile film anthologies like Paris Je T'aime and To Each His Cinema, which offer a wider range of styles.