Change Your Image
clockworkblueorange
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)
The dark side of modern humanity.
Hermetic in more than one way for someone who does not have the keys to decipher the work, the cinema of Panos Cosmatos is a cinema of alchemist (as is his other film, the excellent Mandy). Here is the civilizational darkness of humanity that is synthesized in Beyond the Black Rainbow. The pyramid representing the ascent to the sky, the term "Upside Down" refers to the superimposition of another pyramid that points to the ground (you can use monochrome or color to find the center). It's nice, but what's the point? And well to understand that after each ascent, it has a fall (which is found in nature itself with the sinusoid of the wave and pulsation in nature) and that the vision of truth finds it, always in the center, the only point that allows to see the overall situation. Ok if you want to tell me certain, but what does it have to do with the film?
Panos Cosmatos uses the sacred deer/deer in its essence, he uses symbolism on absolutely every aspect of the film to offer the greatest alchemy of the meaning of his work. Great, but is this movie what it is? Well if you understand it may not leave you indifferent but it will not teach you much more, on the other hand if you do not really understand it and you are only on its first degree, namely simply its history, it will be a little strange, slow, weird, fascinating and it is quite normal: Another more general film about the rise of an alchemist uses similar patterns, it is the sacred mountain of Alejandro Jodorowsky and it will appear to you, be on top of the weird.
So is it good or not? Well you have to see it if you are curious and if you have already seen it, here is the spoiler part which contains some keys to understand its meaning:
A young man, opens a mental aid center in the 60s-70s, to experience mental manipulation in all its forms. Therefore it becomes a sect that pursues a hidden ideal, behind the search for the truth of our world, the worst of manipulation emerges, namely the transcendence of men of power: enjoyment and eternal life. To satisfy this ultimate goal of self-centeredness, this founder sacrificed all those like including all generations to come.
We are the eve of 1984 (hello Orwell), the year 1983 in the film, and we see the results of the modern world: A temple of control, where women are slaves, a son seems to govern the complex, manipulative doctor who uses feelings and sensations to achieve the result. This son who is thought to be the instigator also reveals to be exploited to the marrow, sacrificed to nothingness by the founding father, become a monster who dresses as human. Because yes to achieve its goal, the founder has born a generation of human awakened through chaos. Telepathic child obtained at the price of the sacrifice of the generation of the son. This new generation, represented by the girl, is a child able to change the world, but it is nevertheless kept captive to take its essence, its power and its strength: its blood. So under control, the founder this fed to have eternal life and enjoyment, became junky behind the walls of the complex. He uses his son as a valet and executioner to take his dope. All the technology is used in this direction to keep the new generation under the weight of the electromagnetic waves of the pyramid, diverted from its first sense of elevation (up) to be an instrument of control (down).
Welcome to the reality of 2010 (hello 2023), but the moment when this mechanism will collapse on itself is approaching, because at the end of its life, the founder is about to lose his life, the son will then fully assume his condition of their monster. The new generation then finds an unexpected path to free themselves, life always finds a path and it is precisely this chaos that allows it. Chaos is that moment when the rules fall and nature takes back these rights, the old man dies, his son who should have killed his monster father finds himself aimless and plunges into the most filthy cowardice by destroying all the rest (including his mother) in its final transformation. He denies all these rules that were imposed on him, leaving the temple abandoned, now he is running outside like a wild beast to attack innocent people, the only thing he knows how to do, desperately seeking the new generation to feast on it. But very quickly, there is nothing against this young girl, isu of this generation of telepath, her innocence having remained intact to make the most of it to feed the founders, she remains free and can use these powers without the pressure of control. She then kills her monster father on the spot. Because if the child is a young girl it is not by chance, this is the ultimate prisoner in our society of patriarchal control.
All this does not exist, all this does not exist, should not have existed... And yet at the dawn of this new world, the child is about to come into contact with the world, the rest... Of the world. Who are they? Those who do not know yet, that monsters exist. The future? As with every upside down cycle, chaos remains unpredictable and natural, even if a telepathic child has just spoken to you through this film, what you must remember is that monster exites and that he is in each of us. It always appears in our cowardice, our greatest strength lies in our willingness to oppose it and fight it with all these forces. You have to know how to kill it, before it's too late. So you now have the keys to change the world. Change it, because monsters exist in everything in this world, and knowing it, remains the only hope to fight it.
You have arrived behind the black rainbow, you are now awake and you would not be afraid of it because you now know that monsters exist. (PS You can now look at the sacred mountain if it is not yet done)
The Whale (2022)
Get out of dogma to face reality: When America is on the verge of a heart attack.
Magnificent jewel of Darren Aronofsky, The Whale is both remarkably simple in its purpose and its realization, while being of a subtle and rare richness in its themes as in its symbolisms. It is a small film that hides a great film, even a very big film, simple, racy, obvious.
To the obvious image of the incredible comeback of Brendan Fraser whose playing is impressively accurate, it is a real pleasure to find him even if, as a grotesque catalyst of the metaphor of the film itself, Yes, it has grown, and although it has grown and it is certainly very afraid of being judged for it, it will be even bigger, it will be huge, deformed, playing the role of a repugnant and grotesque obese. His appearance is then that of a disabled monster, who is also homosexual, presented from the beginning by the first scene of the film, disgusting, disgusting, horrible and in an instant, we are thrown without any possible detour into the daily life of this character: This distrust of appearances and clichés. Knowing how to judge beyond appearances, the first degree is obvious and even if yes, it is part of the message, it has much more to understand in "The Whale".
Personally, I found the film stripping, furiously brilliant and quite in the image of the cinema of Aronofsky, so I will share my analysis because yes, this very great film, does not just talk about an obese at the heart of the best ways and beyond its title which is both the subject and not the subject, here the opposites coexist in the best way to illustrate the mountain that hides the forest.
I will try to explain my point of view in the simplest way, but it will not be able to do so without a large spoiler portion:
Spoiler "On"
Let's start with the obvious, this writing is the synthesis of Moby Dick, who sends the meta message of the film: This book makes me think of my own life.
Here we are talking about modern America with a big A as the main character, not dealing with the extremes of physical violence, but with passive and psychological violence. Somehow this reminds me of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", which must also be read as the "metamorphosis". We will dive together into the belly of this whale that has devoured the world to the point of being on the verge of a heart attack. Under this prism, we can discover an internal dialogue between the different facets of his personalities, all multiple, all separated from each other by their need for love, both egoistic but also utopian, they are all abandoned since their break in communication: America is a fragmented country for so long to dare to face the truth. All these characters are doomed without this family reunion that takes stock, all are lost and like a mirror of our modern world, cinema offers them here a possibility: redemption by truth, which becomes an incredible meta-catalyst for the viewer. The whale hides something other than the evidence of appearance, it even hides the evidence of its purpose, with its first degree.
"Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick tells of his life at sea. At first, narrator Ishmael is in a small coastal town, sharing his bed with a certain Queequeg. Together they go to church and then they board the ship of the pirate "Ahab" who is missing a leg and who dreams of killing a whale named Moby Dick who is white. Throughout the book Ahab faces trials. He dedicated his life to killing this whale. It's sad because Moby Dick doesn't feel anything and doesn't know that Ahab is stalking her. She's just a poor big beast. I feel sorry for Ahab, because he thinks that his life will be better if he kills this whale but in reality it will not help him at all. I was sad to read this book and touched by the characters.
I felt so sad when I read these boring chapters that portray whales because I knew the author was trying to distract us from his poor story for a short time. This book reminds me of my own life and makes me happy for my..."
The film, the title, the subject, the main character, the writing, all give meaning to what must appear as evidence to kill the evidence and at the same time recall the evidence: see beyond appearances. That I think everyone will understand. But he also means, this story is a metaphor in itself, that of appearances and the danger it represents, the fear of our appearance and the gaze of others... Kills us and plunges our environment into darkness.
A single set, the house in the image of the abandonment of the character, lost somewhere in the darkness tinted with point of light, like oil lamps in a port battered by the storm. Gallery of the first characters in order of appearance around Charlie:
- The young American, Thomas, who grew up in the dogma of a sect (religion), on the run to save himself and try to apply principles that clash with the reality of what he was taught, it represents the manipulable innocence that seeks to liberate through its values.
- Asian woman Liz is a prisoner who has become the guardian of the situation, the ultimate Stockholm syndrome of immigration. This character is the most lost, uprooted and lacking lair, she seeks to regain control of his life, friend, she heals him in memory of his brother, but revenge, she is complicit in his degradation, devoted to the best and for the worst, no longer making the difference. Troubling thing that supports the syndrome: she is adopted from the founding couple of the religious dogma that devoured her brother.
- The main character, Charlie, intelligent and sensitive, spends his time apologizing. He apologizes for trying not to lie, to be himself and to become himself: A person overflowing with love who accepted his homosexuality without thinking, blinded by love but who has precisely, lost control of his love, destroying his environment to become a monster in the eyes of others and himself.
All are lost, all have lost control, all are adrift.
The context: It is when the end of the world/ the end of the character, the one fiction represented by the dogma, the other real represented by the character, that the truth will come out. 7 days, as in the dogma of creation/ 7 days to change the world. Then a gap on "the outside" says real, not as harmless as it seems: here we talk about the American elections, Donald Trump given favorite. The other dogma, that of society: political, facing the social reality. It is here, in my opinion, that the clue to this powerful message shows the heart and the mirror of the film: The United States are lost in their contradictions and by dint of manipulation on themselves, are sure to die. You will also notice that every time the TV is turned on, we will be in front of this election and "it is not a coincidence at all" except once we will have a small ad/ joke not devoid of cynicism.
"Her daughter, Ellie, comes back on her father's call." It represents the new generation liberated by its intellect but in suffering, the one that tries from the beginning not to reproduce the "pattern" responsible for the decay of all the others. It is the true new generation (Thomas being a product of the old); Ellie confronts reality, confronts it, plays, manipulates it in all its forms openly while destroying it instantly, She denounces manipulation by proving to people that they are manipulable. It is the light that shows us that we are weak and lost in our own social dogmas because of our denial of ourselves. She strives to have none, to find the truth, whatever the means: photos, networks, aggressiveness, spontaneity, rebellion, intelligence, everything is a tool to denounce manipulation to reveal the truth. She listens to everything, attentively, it is a struggle and to be impartial she is alone, and like any abandoned human being she suffers as much as she forgets nothing. She heals, who wants to be healed, he reminds us that to heal one must have the will.
A message to break division: counter the syndrome of transmission of the executioner: "You are a great girl". We must no longer humiliate ourselves, others and our children. We must break the circle of dogmatism of submission, take trust with honesty, watch over one another, not give up. There is only this condition that one finds peace, represented by the trinity.
Spoiler "Off"
I finished, I hope this interpretation will have you more, I personally found this film so strong and poignant, which finally says a lot about our world like almost every Aronofsky film. He does not simply draw up a state of affairs but gives the keys to come out of it grown. In my opinion, it may be the greatest director of our time. An exceptional artist who signs once again with the Whale, a masterpiece all this in his simplest camera, only a set and some characters, he will touch in his soul all the people who dare to dive into his story.
X (2022)
A good little horror movie on Saturday night, but not much more.
X or the revival of chainsaw massacre, produced by the famous studio A24, announced a sulphurous horror film and that will be little be re-inventing codes that truly changed the horror cinema of the 80s. It is ultimately nothing, on the contrary and on this point it is a little disappointment, nothing will be really surprising despite a really successful atmosphere, with in the background the image of the couple that breaks in front of these women who claim their sexual freedom. But unfortunately the purpose of the film, remains very surface, clean to what offers a beautiful plastic that still holds breath.
The characters suffer from a real lack of development to truly stand out. Of all this there remains however a very pleasant moment insofar as we appreciate the film for what it is: A better teen film than usual. It's really a shame that the film misses its subject a little because of lack of audacity which is quite ironic in the end when we remember its title. In itself it remains all the same, a real, good little horror movie of Saturday night.
Le passé (2013)
Unspeakable past
The past is a very successful film if you go through the first hour that can be a little long, made of unspoken and look away at a vision of memories less obvious than the idea that you can make of it, because each interpretation is full of complex and sometimes heavy feelings. For this reason, this work is even more successful, because if the starting situation is fun to discover but one does not delay to be bored to see, to be somewhat impatient with the image of this latent tension between the characters.
Then comes the real poignant revelation, bathed in realism by the complexity of a situation terribly difficult to state aloud as its tragedy is human. All the actors occupy the space beautifully in this subtle and masterful realization. We follow in turns each character in their visions and interpretations, making finally accessible, this famous past with multiple facets making any interaction between the characters, difficult at first.
Surprising in its positioning and devoid of judgment, the film touches with accuracy each one of the characters, offering a new look allowing finally, a redemption becoming more saving. In the end, Asghar Farhadi gives us a poignant and meaningful work, which stands as a true cinematographic success devoid of any excessive pretension but full of sincerity.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
It's not Kubrick, but it's not that bad.
What a strange and chilling feeling to return to the universe of Shining, a work so emblematic in our little hearts of cinephile continuing to fascinate analysts of the 7th art for my greatest pleasure. Doctor Sleep is somewhere between the dissonances of Stephen King's book and the incredible film experience of the great Stanley Kubrick. Well let's be realistic right away, we are far, see very far from the realization of the master. But we must give Mike Flanagan beautiful ideas of realization often beautiful or destabilizing.
Fortunately the story, true thread of King's work, hold here very well the road and personally kept me in suspense: Dan (or Danny) become adult is played by an Evan McGregor on the edge of the rout, in a rather disturbing evolution of the character see a little simplistic and caricaturist. The heart of the film aims to deepen the famous power of the Shining whose Dan surveys new areas of shadows between possession and intrusion of "the spirit", a power that constantly tends to destroy every being who uses it. Thus preferring to flee part of his destiny, poor Dan drowns in alcohol to no longer suffer the consequences and traumas of such a burden.
Frankly, I found the ideas rather good overall even if the new characters really have nothing significant (the antagonists for example remain a little simplistic and cruelly lacking development while this is surely the aspect of the most interesting story). The atmosphere remains light years away from the dazzling Shining and we feel the desire to make the film accessible... More restful nervously, which I think is his biggest flaw. The realization on the other hand does not demerit at times and distills real sequences (the night flight, incredible) mixed with subtle reminders, gradually reaching its goal: We gently forget the original, (special mention to the interview). This is clearly the bias and it is true that it does not work so badly.
The evolution of the character of Dan leading the title to take all its meaning, a good surprise and a moment of rocking where I finally managed to let myself be carried to the point of obscuring the original film... Until the final freezing, which surprise, brings us back with a loop that somehow restores the connection with the book. The comparison remains unattainable despite all the goodwill of the project where some strange choices remain, such as the fact of returning certain sequences without really sticking to the original (digital vs film, it may have been done too badly or too expensive). In short, we do not really know what to think of it since there are new scenes of dialogue everywhere that they do not have the desired depth.
In the end, Doctor Sleep is often too wise and too classic in its approach, it is even downright bland at times but fortunately, it remains a real good surprise in the realization and in the story that hangs frontally on the consequences of this immense power. A nice suite that falls rather well on its legs but lacks a little panache to really make an impression.
Twixt (2011)
Twist x Twist
Ah good old Francis Ford Coppola, an indisputable cinematic genius even if I have not seen all of his work, the latest for me is «Cotton club» which I found very successful on the form and the characters but which displeased me a little on the background with its theatrical happy end. Maybe that was the intention? Finally it is a little the opposite with the Godfathers or his incredible timeless adaptation of Dracula and of course the striking originality of Apocalypse Now that I love, the latter also surely offered his time, the best investigation of the egocentric psyche of crazy Americans of war, worship and domination. And Coppola is also undeniably a genius who has a sense of the sublime and experimentation, all in an ever more fascinating staging.
I have not yet discovered this famous Tetro and now I come across Twixt that evokes me just by its title: Twist x Twist (multiplier coefficient). Interesting and then it talks about vampire and just for the memory of Dracula, difficult to resist so I jump the step without thinking. It must be said that since its release, I have heard a little everything and its opposite: cheap, daube, genius, slow, not terrible, failed, visionary... Well it announces the color, this film is not like the others, perfect! Let's dive into what very quickly resembles a Francis Ford Coppola Stephen King version.
So what's Twixt talking about?
Once upon a time, an alcoholic writer of fantasy novels whose career seems to be mired in a real cul de sac, like the small town where he just arrived: Swann Valley. Played by Val Kilmer, Hall Baltimore was to what it seems a rather known author but in dry loss in recent years, here she is alone to promote her latest book on witches and searches with his car and his small road map, The local bookstore for signing. Very quickly a resident tells him that here, the only place where we sell books is at the hardware store: A whole symbol! Both sure the vision of the book in deep America, as the author's vision of himself at that time. Because yes it is indeed of this that it will be question in "Twixt": of symbolism nested on itself, a real metaphor of the exorcism. We pass a strange bell tower with seven dials, all indicating a different time...
Arrived at port, it is therefore between the radius screwdriver and hammers that Hall tries as well as possible to interest the rare customers on his work. He quickly finds himself facing the old sheriff of the city who seems more interested in a small romantic collaboration than for the dedication, indeed he also writes fantastic stories and he has many ideas including one about vampires. Hall is not very hot, until the sheriff tells him about a corpse in his morgue, that of a girl found with a stake planted in the torax. In front of the Sheriff's instance and the lack of fan in the hardware store, Hall finally agreed to come and see the corpse. After this introduction, Hall returns to his hotel and at the reception he learns that Edgar Allan Poe in person (One of the fathers who inspired modern literary fantasy) stayed in another hotel in the now abandoned city.
Hall decides to go there and in front of this relic of a troubled past (we will learn later that terrible murders took place in this place), Hall on the porch finds a plaque commemorating the passage of Edgar Allan Poe. He drinks with him spiritually by pouring his drink on the plate which is similar to blood that on the stone prefiguring the theme of the return to life, which necessarily reminds Dracula. This is the other dimension of Twixt: A meta story before the time. On those, Hall returns to his hotel and argues with his wife in videoconference about the fact that they no longer have a roundabout, to the point that to hold she offers to sell the books closest to her bookstore. This irritates Hall who refuses, his wife also irritates because after a while it will be necessary to find a solution.
Here, now the picture is laid and it is at this precise moment, when the novelist/ coppola/ artist feels completely cornered that the story opens the door of his brilliant concept: While Hall uses a small glass to drown this reality as pathetic as sordid, the bell tower sounds (you know the one with several dials seen at the beginning) attracting his attention, the frame tilts gently and Hall walks suddenly in this village at night which seems to have a new face, almost another world, a world of dream and fantasy: the world of creation and imagination.
If some spectator finds this part much more beautiful and attractive compared to the vision of reality, which is not very well filmed and quite ugly, it is not a coincidence.
Spoiler "On"
So, there are so many symbols in the film that I can't quote them all without writing something too heavy, but the main symbolism remains very clear: the real world is ugly and unfortunately we live in it, fortunately it is possible to leave in the world of dreams, sublimated, an inverted reflection that allows to question everything including, even. It is the terrain of the possible and the best versions of us but also of the worst.
It is by venturing into the darkest fantasies of our soul that each person always tries to bring back a piece of this world with him, a world that seems to hold a truth. Here the author tries to write it in reality for his novel. But this path also offers the possibility to come back better because here, the judgment of others has no place: We are always alone with us even in our dreams, our interpretations and our fantasies, the subconscious makes its own cinema with its own puppets, its own actors.
And bim, we take it in the face, it is the power of the story of Coppola, in this dressing as bizarre as little the human being himself. In my opinion, Twixt is certainly a self-analysis of the author but not only. It reflects man as a director and creator but also the spectator. Everyone is concerned, but this message will ultimately be accessible, as often, only to people who have the reflection to make the story act on itself and make it, I give it to you in a thousand, the same.
I explain, here is how it works in detail: Two worlds, the ugly real and the dream. The bell tower is the crossing of worlds, real and imaginary worlds that this mix to make us lose the notion of time, as in dreams, imagination or cinema. The echo of one acts on the other constantly, with for example: The dead girl refers to the reality of murdered girl, who refers to Hall's daughter who died in an accident, who refers to the real death of Coppola's real son in reality. This is the most obvious link but which sums up so well the constant ping pong of the soul to speak to itself in this small puppet theater.
All is double: The hotel is double, the characters of the real hotel that is found in the abandoned hotel, the girl is a vampire who is reborn, messenger of the fantasy of the story of the hotel that speaks of child massacre (and therefore always ultimately of his son). Another character, the religious (surely the double young sheriff who surely killed the girl in reality), who turns out to be the fanatic he denounces by killing the children of what is prefigured as a refuge, It's an echo of the loss of control of that priest and sheriff, who would rather slaughter everyone than lose control. He acts in opposition to the message he conveys with his so-called religion/law, which echoes every human being in the message: who does not solve his own problems and fears, will be afraid of losing control and will end badly in doing evil.
In front of these innocent images where the color red often returns, the girl leads Hall in her escape to a yellow lantern: the sun, the link with our reality (opposition day/night, real/imaginary) then has her fantasized guide: Edgar Allan Poe. It is he, the only one whom he respects with all his soul, who can have his confidence to guide him to his own exorcism. They then sail together in this fantastic universe, the only one that will allow him to become better. And it is only by becoming a better version of himself, by forgiving himself but while looking reality in the face, on his responsibility that he can become again himself a man and an accomplished artist. Obviously all this happens in the reflection of water echo much stronger than would be a mirror: All is ripple, deformation. The message repeats this, and takes several meanings: It is also in this flight that one condemns it to the wandering. In contrast, to face each other is to become better. And it is here, on this piece of digital film, much harder than film, that Coppola destroys his greatest evil: the ego, while showing his journey to the viewer hoping that he can do the same.
Spoiler "off"
Not bad, is it? Well I passed on some details, it has the story of Flamingo (the flamingo) and vampires, the final with the return to the morgue, the houses of the pigeons, in short even if everything is useful and fascinating to analyze, touching on paternalism and the pandora's box of taboos, you can easily get lost, like dreams... But it's up to you to have fun with it! What a master stroke!
Twixt or not?
So it's certain that for someone who arrives and is waiting for a classic vampire film first degree, it will definitely be the cold shower, but for someone who likes to look for answers like the character and who takes the time to notice the constant echoes of the story with all its meta dimension, he will see something else.
Personally you can imagine, I loved it, even if at first, I am a little reproached for having made these last inscriptions at the end that tells what happens to his novel, the story and some characters (because suddenly, without it, we could say that we did not really know what was real and imaginary) but finally, with hindsight I find that choosing the camps of reality remains much more consistent with its message. In short, even with a small budget Coppola shoots real bullets.
Bis ans Ende der Welt (1991)
Or how your dreams can take hold of you
To the end of the world a film that has certain qualities, such as its sets, costumes or even its casting but also terrible flaws such as its length and these scriptwriting inconsistencies. The work of Wim Wenders which is similar to the future of the past can be summarized in two parts, which almost amounts to saying that he has two films in one: The first lasts two and a half hours and tells us the life of Claire and the encounters over the chance, Wandering aimlessly in a 1999 imagined in 1990, while a nuclear satellite threatens to crash on Earth.
In this part, the common thread is the hidden part between Claire and this hitchhiker visibly hunted by the Americans and whose head is put on price: Trevor. Claire completely fell in love with this man and now she's chasing him around the world. The narrative structure oscillates between road movie and spy film without ever succeeding either. The characters are without flavor or depth and occupy the role of function to advance a story that seems to go nowhere in the image of Claire.
Everyone follows Claire, Claire follows Trevor and even if symbolically it's fun, on paper, this part is especially annoying to look at and even seems, very surprising from the director of Ailes du désirs or Paris Texas which are both masterpieces. The vision of this 1999 remains interesting and in the middle of a certain number of obsolete technology, the film just sometimes hits the image of the GPS, or the European currency, but never offers true development of its universe and social upheavals caused by the arrival of these technologies.
So yes, we do have some video calls here and there, but who rarely uses the video and what it could actually bring. We are just taken from character to character, from encounter to encounter, without ever seeking real credibility, without effort in the dialogues, in the game or in the realization to keep us in halves. This part looks like a patchwork of slide on U2 background (apparently in 1990 U2 was the future), where the characters spend their time finding themselves as if by magic, However, there comes a time when computing with the tracing of transactions finally find an appreciable logic, or even the small valve on the last concert of the Stones, but all this is ultimately quite meagre.
There remains this camera of the future that will allow to show these images to blind people, barely visible in this part, index of what will be the second part. So precisely, you have to clearly spend these two hours and a half to see clearly (I think you understood the game of track) because the second part, this second film just behind, is absolutely exciting even if it still remains a bit wobbly at rare moments. In this part, yes the characters are finally treated correctly and the newcomers are even really exciting.
So "attention spoiler: In this part we discover the parents of Trevor who is actually Sam who reveals the real stakes of this camera of the future and his terrible prediction about our loss of meaning, our blindness and our isolation. Under the backdrop of a planetary radioactive threat (indeed the nuclear satellite is destroyed by the Americans against the opinion of the whole world) All our characters find in this community among Australian aborigines, hidden between rock and cave to shelter from radiation. Here we learn that Sam's father, is the inventor of this camera and that he had to run away and this hidden with his blind wife so as not to have this work stolen by the Americans.
Sam had to take back the invention of his father to the American (hence the bounty on his head) and took advantage of it to take pictures of his family scattered around the world to bring his images to his father to show to his mother. And it is in this true paradise lost, root of our origins that the mastery of the Wim Wenders returns to the front of the stage on all points and if there are still some gaps in coherence, One forgives all or almost all of the author so much the discovery proves to be the heart in the image of an alchemical work terribly ahead of its time. It's simple, here you will discover metaphorical iphones before your eyes and their terrible damage before their time. Indeed this miracle technology that seems to restore sight to the blind seems to become a metaphor for the last traces of humanity after having caused its own destruction when, incredible twist, the technology is soon diverted to open the most private of our sanctuaries, this one of dreams. By opening the door of our subconscious and therefore of humanity to record its contents, man folds in a terrible way on himself, destroyed by his ego"
This part is simply fantastic and largely foreshadows influences that are reminiscent of Evangelion for this aspect of the synchronization between the brain cortex with a computer or Minority Report for its intrusion into the brains of another the image of the precog (strange coincidence for example to find Max Von Sydon in scientist without limit).
Here I will let you discover the power of the message, which I think will mark you for life, because as a result, yes technology and these future dangers are finally treated in the fairest of ways. Which makes me say in the end that yes, to the end of the world is a founding film but terribly imperfect, which of course rather falls these legs. He gives us a message so powerful and so far ahead of his time that we have to earn it. For this you will have to follow humanity to the end of the world and finally discover what it hides beyond.
Nightbreed (1990)
Cabal, or the merry Freakshow.
Directed by Clive Barker to whom we owe Hellraiser in particular, Cabal is a joyous brothel with which we will have to be lenient (and there is David Cronenberg who plays the bad guy and that's pretty crazy!). After a rather intriguing beginning that suggests a nightmarish world that cohabits with our own, it turns out that the film is often much more surprising in the treatment of the rest of his story. On this point, I think one must be in the right frame of mind to appreciate it, there is a strong originality, especially for the time and those, despite its many defects. Yes because everything is far from being successful in Cabal, especially the kind of switch between the second see, the third part that sinks towards the sometimes grotesque gloubiboulga, sometimes incoherent but extremely enjoyable in the image of its final pyrotechnic. However, the message we are given is interesting in more ways than one, starting with the fact that the bad guys are not always the ones we believe.
So in the main, the beginning is very catchy and looks like a classic and dark horror movie, or we start to have trouble discerning the true from the false, like the main character, and it actually makes you think of hellraiser. The mystery plays with our expectations and it's catchy, we start to fantasize a bit about the paths that the film traces and we expect something deep enough then... Surprise. Here we are in the second part at the edge of this crypt, we understand that the terrifying and repulsive creatures are well alive beings with a real sensitivity and drive to their condition. A new universe this reveals to us where we are invited to join these creatures, to understand them and to live among them in this true refugee city. In this part things are really original and very successful, we ask more and more questions and really until then, we say cool, why not.
And then comes the third part, or there, exit the depth place to the merry mess. So it is quite spectacular and it is the case to say, of the finesse of the story we go through all the possible clichés of the good as the bad. It's surprising to the end and even if the end really leaves a taste of unfinished so much the film started things that it doesn't finish, I really enjoyed this part. She ends up turning the tide and that was the goal of the film for me, that of being a full-fledged experience well ahead of its time: A kind of fusion-tribute between the classic horror and the blockbuster message.
It's uninhibited, messy but incredible, like the universe he reveals to us that shatters all our shots by playing with it.
In short, a really good surprise for those looking for a horrific fantasy film that goes off the beaten track, I think that Guillermo Del Torro must have greatly appreciated this proposal because ultimately, his cinema draws heavily on these themes.
The Lighthouse (2019)
It's all about interpretation.
Between shadow and light this hides the truth, turned in black and white to best illustrate this subject, the lighthouse is an absolutely exciting and disturbing work on the true fundamental nature of man. When I say man, it is not about humanity but about the male himself, who in the image of this lighthouse, phallic symbol par excellence brings light: orgasm. In his search for the truth, man is constantly lost in the meanderings of his mind, in his fears, fears and phobias. He therefore distorts his unconscious reality in the midst of these few moments of light and consciousness. In the image, the narrative and the realization are interwoven to best represent this omnipresent mixture between the real and the unreal of his mind. In this sense the subtle realisation will not leave the spectator indifferent, constantly obliging to unravel what is indemelable, namely the true of the false.
The obsession that revolves around giant phallus is full of fantasies highlighting its true nature. Let's start at the beginning, you will not come across any other male face than that of our two protagonists, whose physical resemblance is not obvious at first sight but yet present if we analyze their features. No doubt that we are facing the same character and besides, this idea of an imaginary character is even clearly defined around a dialogue between the two protagonists which says a lot about what is happening here. Man is a lost creature, in the image of this islet, prisoner of the eddies of life confronted with the terrible condition of its environment and the eddies of the waves of the universe whose signs he ceaselessly seeks to interpret. Yet he is directly responsible for these own storms in the image of this growing fatigue for his own survival and in the face of his own impotence and with the killing of the seagull: what he cannot control, namely the living other than himself.
But the film is often much richer in the illustration of the fantasies proper to his nature, so man takes seriously for his rank here: coward, liar, unstable, moody, he looks for all the excuses for this fleeing himself and when he finds himself in the impasse, he drowns (here in alcohol) to forget the world and his own responsibilities. He can even in these extremes come to murder to better hide his own cowardice even if it means changing his identity. Yes, things are happening in The Lighthouse, where the analysis is extremely well mastered, fascinating in many respects in it transpires in the background and the form, a film sum, a masterpiece absolutely mastered from end to end, a powerful and disturbing experience for a well-informed cinephile who grasps the subject but remains highly hermetic to the average spectator.