snewhous

Insatiability (Nienasycenie) is a novel that deserved a better adaptation than this one, which out of low production values and an excess of loyalty to the novel, is a tepid storyline that the random viewer might despise. However, this movie is certainly entertaining, and to a reader of a novel, it is an enjoyable way to re-hear the incredible story of "Insatiability."

Protagonist Genezip Kapen is 18 at the start of the movie and he quickly ascends to Bohemian circles of artists and philosophers who scream senseless philosophical quips at each other. We follow "Zip," or "Zipcio," through his journeys into sexual decadence, a military career, and other events. He encounters a rambling composer who's constantly at his piano, an aristocratic woman who is a sexual predator, an actress who tortures men mentally and physically, all while fears spread across post-World War I Central Europe that the "Chinese Flood" is invading, having proceeded West like a wall across the continent.

The novel in some ways eerily predicted Stalinism and Communist brainwashing. Witkiewicz even commit suicide in 1939, as the Soviet Union invaded Poland, some say as his fears came true. But the core story, of the complex interweaving European philosophies in that era, remains clear in the movie.

There are some key tonal shifts in character from the book that the movie omits, which is a disappointment. And again, it would be nice if it had been more creative and perhaps diverged from the book more. Also, if the production had a higher budget than a deadwood episode.

I recommend it, but be warned, there is graphic nudity, sex, BDSM scenes, even coprophagy, in this film.

Fresh-faced writer-director Rian Johnson does the unthinkable with his follow-up to 2005 cult hit "Brick," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt: he actually outdoes himself, by again creating a fantastical yet believable universe with cinematic fiction. "The Brothers Bloom" is as ambitious as second films get -- it's about everything and nothing, with a plot that takes its characters trotting across Europe in an era that could be 2010 but which at times seems more like 1810, as they contemplate the meaning of life and art.

This film would not have worked without its incredible cast. Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo throw themselves full-on into the story, Rachel Weisz is again at the top of the form as the dreamlike, beautiful and haunting Penelope; and the supporting cast from Rinko Kikuchi to Robbie Coltrane are also having lots of fun along the ride. The original soundtrack is beautiful; the photography is beautiful, dynamic, colorful and daring; what is there to complain about?

Actually, quite a bit. There are holes in the plot, certain logical inconsistencies, and a general feeling that the film has more "heart" than "head," if I can put it that way. It's a bit confusing and the plot can buck you if you're not careful. However, after a second viewing I found that the plot does make sense, if you pay attention; and if you'll let it get into your head, there are rewarding depths of profundity and meaning in the tiniest details. This is a film to be watched again and again.

That said, I found the film to be so enjoyable and so original that it earns a 10/10 despite its flaws -- like a brief hint of a plot with a supposed nemesis that goes absolutely nowhere (save in the deleted scenes). I would also like to comment that the DVD has the best behind- the-scenes featurette of any DVD I've seen; instead of a hodgepodge of scenes from the movie you just watched, it's sincere, fun fly-on-the- wall hand-held footage of the actors and crew hard at work. We can't wait to see what this wunderkind does with his next project, Looper, which "is set in a present-day world in which a group of hit men are sent their victims from the future."

I first heard about this movie from my parents, who said they were surprised by how raunchy the film was. I saw it and loved it, and didn't find it too dirty at all -- although the naked pictures with balloons were a bit weird. Say no more, you'll have to see the movie to get that reference. Julie Delpy, writing, directing, editing, and starring as lead Marion, is a great neurotic photographer in the spirit of a Woody Allen film, and Adam Goldberg, as Jack, is her neurotic interior designer boyfriend.

The film is simple in its plot, but I think Delpy's just so good she makes it look easy. After an anticlimactic romantic getaway in Venice, a frustrated Jack and Marion stop for 2 days in Paris before returning to New York. Right off the bat, the dialogue is fast and funny, with a hilarious scene with Jack encountering some American tourists from the heartland. Jack meets Delpy's eccentric family, her beautiful sister, and her artistic friends and many ex-boyfriends -- leading him into hilarious fits of jealousy.

Overall, the film is great fun and has a brain. Delpy strikes a good balance of showing the positives and negatives of her home country and the U.S. -- for example, the French are a classy, exciting people, but cab drivers make openly racist jokes -- it's still a slightly backwards place. Adam is a stereotypical New York guy -- half Jewish, half Catholic, with hipster tattoos all over his body, slightly whiny, but acerbically funny and cynical. In one scene, when Marion takes him on the Paris metro, he begins tensing up with fear, and starts talking about 9/11. It's a sensitive moment that people outside NYC wouldn't really understand. But then his fear manifests itself, when a creep on the train stares openly and lustfully at Marion. Jack tries to scare him off, gives up, and it ends up being a funny moment that scares away fear with laughter. Delpy's wonderful touch with these delicate moments makes the movie a winner, even though the ending feels like it could have gone either way and probably came off the editing room floor. A film this good doesn't need a better ending -- you kind of wish it just kept going.