slowcando

First saw this randomly on TV in the early-00's and from the beginning decided to match Corso's drinking. I dimly remember enjoying the movie! About a decade later watched it again, sober. Oh, very good. Understood it all: nice puzzle-solving mysteries among the dark shenanigans. Rated it a strong 8/10 on here.

Now, a third viewing ranks it to my esteemed favourites: the 9/10+ Club (77 from 1164 titles to date). This time, really appreciating the film-making: the build-up is beautifully-paced. The camera always doing what is needed. Effective score. Intelligently-told story. Strong cast. Depp's Corso feels quite real, he's neither hero nor anti-hero. Just an underground book dealer who's seemingly stumbled into a grand plot. The ending sticks the landing, in my view (despite it appearing in some 'Worst Ending Ever' lists).

The only weak bit was Corso's one bit of physical combat action. That didn't quite convince, tho' the tail-end of it was meaningful, in terms of his character development.

Purposefully not mentioning any plot details as you should see this as blind as possible. The Ninth Gate is highly-recommended if you enjoy dark occult mystery-thrillers like Eyes Wide Shut, Rosemary's Baby, From Hell etc.

Note: I watched this on the somewhat-dated DVD Release. Still immensely enjoyed it. My next viewing must be a remastered Bluray or equivalent, so - LCF-willing - I'll happily wait another ten years for that.

I sometimes like to broaden my film-horizons and seek something far removed from my usual tastes. A spanish flamenco-musical is quite far out for me! The director has a solid rep in world-cinema circles, this Carmen of his got the plaudits back then. So perhaps worth a watch for the cinephile-curious?

Well...almost. There is one outstanding scene around the half-hour mark: a stirring flamenco song&dance rendition set in a tobacco factory....except the scene plays in a nondescript training hall, just like the entire movie save for a couple of short bedroom scenes.

I can appreciate the skills of the actors who clearly have musical chops, and the passion of the film-makers who succeeded in making - to my layman eyes & ears - an authentic spanish-flamenco experience. However there isn't much else here: the story & character of Carmen isn't explored deeply enough, the attempts at surrealism too mild and the sets are too plain. The camera does a fine job finding the angles and shadows, but for me to recommend this as a worthwhile piece of world cinema it needed more.

An easy recommend if you like flamenco. For anyone else, I recommend hunting down at least the 'tobacco factory dance' scene, perhaps a search for "La tabacalera. Fragmento de Carmen" might yield something. Fantastic energy.

...and that makes Gandhi a must-see for any passionate followers of cinema. Ben Kingsley absolutely melds into the role (confirmed when watching real interview clips of Gandhi). It's fitting Kingsley's father came from the same region as the man he portrays, which offsets the sometimes-controversially-perceived make-up he had applied...

Aside from the superlative performance, we get a very skilled biography of a very unique historical figure, in an era when Great Britain still ruled a big chunk of the world. Fascinating stuff, expertly written and filmed. It was never dull or plodding, the 3-hour runtime flew by. Interesting history lesson. Fittingly soundtracked.

However Gandhi isn't quite up to the level of - say - Lawrence of Arabia. Attenborough's effort plays it too safe: Gandhi himself is portrayed as saintly and effectively flawless. The direction - despite big budget, countless extras and endless vistas - never quite reaches the artistic heights of Lean's Lawrence. We do get consistently strong cinematography, however no singular memorable shots like Lean's heatwaved silhouette horserider approaching the well, for example. Furthermore, the British - for all their flaws - were in reality somewhat more nuanced and fair-minded than is displayed here (the horrific Dyer-led massacre and aftermath notwithstanding). The decision to allow India's independence was also glossed over too swiftly, tho' in a 190-runtime there is only so much to pack in.

These issues aren't deal-breakers: it's still a very strong film. While not as universal a recommend as the spectacular Lawrence of Arabia, Gandhi is absolutely worth seeing for Ben Kingsley, solid production and for the notable history lesson.