lauri3

Roy Anderssons "Du Levande" is not totally original as it is counter piece to Anderssons previous movie "Sånger från andra våningen". Still the movie has aura of total originality. Some conventions of movie making are still thrown away: most of the actors look nothing like what you would expect in movie and the shots take long time. Most of the time camera doesn't move but people move around it. The shots start from somewhere and many times the scenery builds up in amazing proportions. W.G. Sebald comes to mind in literature with same technique. Because of the time invested in every shot the suspension is really high in many of the scenes. There is a story and isn't - it is left for viewer to build up in his or her own mind. This movie is positive. It is determined not to see this all in negative way and at the same time will not pass the social injustices. One of the messages I got from it was that maybe all failures and accidents are not fatal after all. Great movie.

Zodiac is second of two movies I have seen directed by David Fincher. As "Seven" has been on of my favorite movies my expectations were reasonably high while regarding Zodiac.

Zodiac follows series of murders, the publicity they stir, their investigations and the characters moving in the middle of their circumstances. The pace is slow and two and half hours are spent.

The aesthetics seem to play main part. Cinematography is careful, the sets and production are well thought through all the way. Esthetics seem to miss the heart of the movie. When suddenly the buildup of skyscraper is shown in fast forward it never becomes apparent why this had to be shown. The soundtrack seems to try wok as some kind of periodical of 1960's and seventies but it never becomes apparent why these songs had to be played. They as the cinematography do not seem to serve the movie.

Script tries to hold together wide variety of facts, happenings and long time-line. Either script fails to point essential ingredients, catalysts and shake those into surprising, relieving or revealing reactions or / and actors are not able to portrait those in their performances.

In either case the movie feels like a lot of surface and not a lot of substance.