lokier
Joined Jan 2003
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lokier's rating
Reviews4
lokier's rating
OK, so I get that this movie really wasn't about being scientific and it was more of a political/philosophical exploration but....
What a horrible science fiction film. I really think Armageddon was more scientifically accurate than this nonsense. Gravity is arbitrarily applied, and when it is, the actors make no efforts to look like they're in zero gravity.
Their amazing robots take forever to do the most menial tasks. And of course because 'robots are awesome' the filmmaker takes the time to make sure every second of a stupid little robot hand placing pool balls on a table is captured.
I got nothing against Joan Baez, but acoustic guitars in a sci fi movie? Seriously, the science part of this junk is absolutely horrible.
What a horrible science fiction film. I really think Armageddon was more scientifically accurate than this nonsense. Gravity is arbitrarily applied, and when it is, the actors make no efforts to look like they're in zero gravity.
Their amazing robots take forever to do the most menial tasks. And of course because 'robots are awesome' the filmmaker takes the time to make sure every second of a stupid little robot hand placing pool balls on a table is captured.
I got nothing against Joan Baez, but acoustic guitars in a sci fi movie? Seriously, the science part of this junk is absolutely horrible.
Nearly a decade before 400 blows comes Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados from Mexico. It involves a group of street punks who go around harassing the elderly, robbing the handicapped and generally running amok. At the same time, one of the kids yearns for his mother's affection, only to get sent to a work-camp/school instead. All the while, the town is trying to figure out who murdered a local teenager.
The film is a clear reaction/response to the Neorealist movement going on across the pond, with characters taken straight from the streets and dialog heavily filled with local language. I speak Spanish fluently and still found myself struggling to understand the dialect and slang of Mexico city teenagers. The complete authenticity of these kids will obviously influence later films like 400 blows, kids and City of God.
The camera-work is fairly straightforward. Despite being a Buñuel film, the narrative propels itself without too many twists, allowing characters to tell the story in a logical manner. At the same time, there is a considerably surrealist dream sequence which roots the film strictly into Buñuel's library.
Ultimately the film is extremely enjoyable, although much of the humor is lost in the subtitles and English language translation. The shock of the story still holds today and should leave viewers with a nice bitter taste at the end.
The film is a clear reaction/response to the Neorealist movement going on across the pond, with characters taken straight from the streets and dialog heavily filled with local language. I speak Spanish fluently and still found myself struggling to understand the dialect and slang of Mexico city teenagers. The complete authenticity of these kids will obviously influence later films like 400 blows, kids and City of God.
The camera-work is fairly straightforward. Despite being a Buñuel film, the narrative propels itself without too many twists, allowing characters to tell the story in a logical manner. At the same time, there is a considerably surrealist dream sequence which roots the film strictly into Buñuel's library.
Ultimately the film is extremely enjoyable, although much of the humor is lost in the subtitles and English language translation. The shock of the story still holds today and should leave viewers with a nice bitter taste at the end.
In Bonnie & Clyde style, Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) and his pack of thieves travel the Pacific Coast ripping off drugstores to maintain their high. Through their adventures we learn about Bob's technique, the police that are after them and the moral/philosophical issues surrounding junkiedom.
The cinematography of the film is great. Van Sant seems to try and put the camera into every possible crevice imaginable. At the same time, the Pacific landscape sets up great contrasts of natural and industrialized scenery.
Unfortunately, there is something extremely stiff about most of the performances. It seems as though everyone in the film was forced to strictly adhere to the script word's, comma's and all. In a scene where Matt Dillon talks to a rehab counselor, the viewer fells as though Dillon is acting to a mirror in his bedroom. Surprisingly, William S. Burroughs is one of the better actors in the film, playing an on again/off again 80-something junkie preacher. Although, I'm sure drug philosophy wasn't too much of a stretch for Burroughs.
In the end, this is one of the better criminal/junkie films out there. Expect Van Sant's boredom loving pacing and pay attention to a couple of shots that are eerily similar to later Tarantino-Aranofsky flicks.
The cinematography of the film is great. Van Sant seems to try and put the camera into every possible crevice imaginable. At the same time, the Pacific landscape sets up great contrasts of natural and industrialized scenery.
Unfortunately, there is something extremely stiff about most of the performances. It seems as though everyone in the film was forced to strictly adhere to the script word's, comma's and all. In a scene where Matt Dillon talks to a rehab counselor, the viewer fells as though Dillon is acting to a mirror in his bedroom. Surprisingly, William S. Burroughs is one of the better actors in the film, playing an on again/off again 80-something junkie preacher. Although, I'm sure drug philosophy wasn't too much of a stretch for Burroughs.
In the end, this is one of the better criminal/junkie films out there. Expect Van Sant's boredom loving pacing and pay attention to a couple of shots that are eerily similar to later Tarantino-Aranofsky flicks.