nchng
Joined Nov 2000
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nchng's rating
Have you ever seen a film shot with only two camera angles? That's about all you'll have to brag about after watching this.
For a film with this little camera movement, the bread and butter of the story must be in the chemistry of the characters, which unfortunately are given no depth. I find it hard to care about the plights of people who show up onscreen with neither introduction nor apparent relevance. Since the characters are always seated, you might try to extract (or abstract) some meaning from the way that they move or react to the dialogue, but you'll probably be distracted by the people driving by the window and waving at the camera. Either that or you'll have to look really hard, because one of the scenes occurs in almost complete darkness. Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about it too much, because even though the main character develops through her experiences, it doesn't matter, because subsequent character interactions are essentially identical! The dialogue is as static as the camera angles.
Which probably leaves you waiting for the payoff, the epiphany that wraps up an otherwise diluted and uninspired movie. When it comes though, don't expect to care.
It's not that I don't appreciate novel ways of storytelling, or the insight that is often afforded by films that differ from my own cultural perspective. However, it still has to follow a few basic rules - i.e. it must be remotely interesting. Whatever the cultural, ideological, philosophical or political background of the film, if I don't care and relate to the characters by the credits, I consider the film to be a failure.
1/10
For a film with this little camera movement, the bread and butter of the story must be in the chemistry of the characters, which unfortunately are given no depth. I find it hard to care about the plights of people who show up onscreen with neither introduction nor apparent relevance. Since the characters are always seated, you might try to extract (or abstract) some meaning from the way that they move or react to the dialogue, but you'll probably be distracted by the people driving by the window and waving at the camera. Either that or you'll have to look really hard, because one of the scenes occurs in almost complete darkness. Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about it too much, because even though the main character develops through her experiences, it doesn't matter, because subsequent character interactions are essentially identical! The dialogue is as static as the camera angles.
Which probably leaves you waiting for the payoff, the epiphany that wraps up an otherwise diluted and uninspired movie. When it comes though, don't expect to care.
It's not that I don't appreciate novel ways of storytelling, or the insight that is often afforded by films that differ from my own cultural perspective. However, it still has to follow a few basic rules - i.e. it must be remotely interesting. Whatever the cultural, ideological, philosophical or political background of the film, if I don't care and relate to the characters by the credits, I consider the film to be a failure.
1/10
Only once in a very long while does an excellent horror flick happen to be playing in that cinema that you swore was offering a horror flick when you paid that ticket price. More often that not, what you are offered is a special-effecstravagansa that's like that cold spaghetti you stuck your hand into at the carnival when you were a kid. It's sensuous, definitely horrible, but not really all that scary.
Then again, once in a while, someone like Amenabar demonstrates what we all knew as kids: Nothing bites in the dark like your own imagination! The atmosphere of "The Others" is, as you might expect, dark and cold, set upon the classic Lovecraftian tale of a tragically broken family trying to live in the past. The tone of the movie is established *very* quickly (there is no time wasted!) but allowed to mature more slowly as bit by bit we discover more about Grace, her family, and the mysterious servants. The tension rises slowly; "The Others" teases you with whispers and creaking doors, relying on the marvelous use of consecutively dark and bright rooms to generate a kind of confusion between the reality and nightmare that permeate the house.
Don't worry though, when "The Others" wants you to jump, you'll jump. My housemate was airborne, while I'd much more sensibly taken cover behind the seat in front of me. I haven't done that since my Dad took me to see "Misery" when I was twelve! The beauty is that it isn't usually the events themselves that are scary; Chainsaws, Baseball bats, and/or men hanging from the ceiling are notably absent. When you walk out of the theatre, you're not talking about inconsistencies, or how original the story was. You're just trying to convince your friends that you weren't just ducking under the seats to cower with the spilt popcorn!
Verdict: CGI gore and freak-a-minute junkies stay away. This film is testament to the power of dramatic tension in horror. 9/10
(I will admit that biblical tirades are getting tiring though)
Then again, once in a while, someone like Amenabar demonstrates what we all knew as kids: Nothing bites in the dark like your own imagination! The atmosphere of "The Others" is, as you might expect, dark and cold, set upon the classic Lovecraftian tale of a tragically broken family trying to live in the past. The tone of the movie is established *very* quickly (there is no time wasted!) but allowed to mature more slowly as bit by bit we discover more about Grace, her family, and the mysterious servants. The tension rises slowly; "The Others" teases you with whispers and creaking doors, relying on the marvelous use of consecutively dark and bright rooms to generate a kind of confusion between the reality and nightmare that permeate the house.
Don't worry though, when "The Others" wants you to jump, you'll jump. My housemate was airborne, while I'd much more sensibly taken cover behind the seat in front of me. I haven't done that since my Dad took me to see "Misery" when I was twelve! The beauty is that it isn't usually the events themselves that are scary; Chainsaws, Baseball bats, and/or men hanging from the ceiling are notably absent. When you walk out of the theatre, you're not talking about inconsistencies, or how original the story was. You're just trying to convince your friends that you weren't just ducking under the seats to cower with the spilt popcorn!
Verdict: CGI gore and freak-a-minute junkies stay away. This film is testament to the power of dramatic tension in horror. 9/10
(I will admit that biblical tirades are getting tiring though)
This film is a masterpiece.
The Thin Red Line is a dance between Poetry and Philosophy that has the courage to ask us to examine the scope of humanity, in a war set in Paradise. What you take away from this film is unequivocally yours. Yes, this is a long film. In return, you get the limits of human experience in its rawest, most visceral form. You see painted sunsets and swim in crystal water simply because we as humans revel in beauty, and you'll see blood pour from wounds because we're capable of that too. You may fail to notice, but you'll be spared Spielberg's Spiky Club O' Morals, and the subtlety associated with that. I promise you won't miss the indignity of seeing a fullscreen American flag waving over the remains of the universally dead.
See this movie. Stay to observe the tragic farce of dying at the top of a ridge from something as inglorious as dehydration, only to receive more than you can drink when they sprinkle the green grass over your grave. Stay for the look on John Cusack's face when he's risked his and other's lives to be told "You don't know what it feels like to be passed up.." If for nothing else, stay to see the one film that can pull off a scene with a woman on a swing without cliche.
Will you enjoy this movie? Maybe, maybe not, The Thin Red Line is definitely not a casual entertainment, but even if it counts for nothing, I consider this the best film of all time. 10/10
(.. did you notice the birdcage? :)
The Thin Red Line is a dance between Poetry and Philosophy that has the courage to ask us to examine the scope of humanity, in a war set in Paradise. What you take away from this film is unequivocally yours. Yes, this is a long film. In return, you get the limits of human experience in its rawest, most visceral form. You see painted sunsets and swim in crystal water simply because we as humans revel in beauty, and you'll see blood pour from wounds because we're capable of that too. You may fail to notice, but you'll be spared Spielberg's Spiky Club O' Morals, and the subtlety associated with that. I promise you won't miss the indignity of seeing a fullscreen American flag waving over the remains of the universally dead.
See this movie. Stay to observe the tragic farce of dying at the top of a ridge from something as inglorious as dehydration, only to receive more than you can drink when they sprinkle the green grass over your grave. Stay for the look on John Cusack's face when he's risked his and other's lives to be told "You don't know what it feels like to be passed up.." If for nothing else, stay to see the one film that can pull off a scene with a woman on a swing without cliche.
Will you enjoy this movie? Maybe, maybe not, The Thin Red Line is definitely not a casual entertainment, but even if it counts for nothing, I consider this the best film of all time. 10/10
(.. did you notice the birdcage? :)