dragon-90

"Persona" is art house cinema defined! The loose plot centers on a Scandinavian-Freudian ego/id struggle going on simultaneously in two very complicated and classically beautiful Swedish women. One woman is an actress (played by famous Swedish actress Liv Ullman), in seclusion during a nervous breakdown, the other woman is her nurse (an explosive Bibi Anderson). The women bond into a volatile co-dependent relationship that has (at times very) vague lesbian (is it so controversial to say this?) undertones but is mostly expressed in long slow sequences of dialogue that escalate to volcanic displays of emotion.

What makes this movie such a great classic is the magnificent cinematography, and the innovative screen shots and cinematic effects used throughout the picture. Additionally, the original musical score is used to important effect and the editing and direction are flawless. The total visual effect of "Persona" is one of the best examples of cinema as "art". The clarity and composition of all the camera-work is simply superb. And don't let the plot summary fool you -- this is a hard film to describe -- there are plenty of surprises and it remains very modern to this day!

There is an odd sense of appealing disdain that overcomes you watching this movie. The storyline itself is really quite simple and the screenplay nothing special but the direction, by actor Danny DeVito, is excellent as is the entire production led by James L. Brooks. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas are perfect as the uber-successful couple – Oliver and Barbara Rose – at the pinnacle of Eighties success. He's the hotshot lawyer with political ambitions and she's a sought-after caterer (of course). Together they share a proto McMansion complete with giant walk-in closets, terrazzo floors, and live-in European housekeeper. But it is the house that becomes their undoing.

Bored and stereotypically hormonal, Barbara wants a divorce but Oliver won't give it to her easily because each wants the house. Their kids, grown and living away, resent both of them and only housekeeper Susan (Marianne Sagebrecht) really cares what happens to either of them. Little by little they descend hilariously into madness and ultimately neither of them win their prize.

Turner and Douglas pick up where they left off in "The Jewel and the Nile" and more precisely in "Romancing the Stone" and have an electric chemistry between them that makes even the most mundane line of dialogue funny if not witty. The viewer can't help but feel for both Roses yet find them equally repelling as they sink to their depths in the outrageous domestic warfare.

With plenty of surprises "War of the Roses" proves the old adage that nothing is sacred in love and war.

Incredibly powerful and sobering, "Requiem for a Dream" is one of strongest anti-drug movies ever made. The lives of four people, a mother and her only son, a beautiful artistic young woman, and a charming young man, are destroyed by addiction in a parable of illicit and licit drug use. This extraordinary film by young director (and co-writer) Darren Aronofsky shows how Americans crush their positive energies with chemical crutches be they heroin or little blue pills prescribed by a doctor.

Ellen Burstyn won an Academy Award (2000) for her performance of sad Sara Goldfarb who sinks deeper into delusion about being on her favorite infomercial TV program as she gets hooked on prescribed medications. Her son Harry (Jared Leto), his buddy Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), and girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) hope to get rich off just one more score but get hooked and watch helplessly as their lives disintegrate.

The direction is slick and arty with interesting visual effects that create a fast and furious pace that mirrors the drug rushes that sequence the film. In little over an hour and a half we witness a complete meltdown. The acting is superb from start to finish and even supporting roles such as Louise Lasser's Ada, Sara's long-suffering friend, add depth and dimension to this tragic tale. A must see but not for the faint-hearted and don't expect a typical Hollywood happy ending.