petersmovieposters-36377
Joined Aug 2018
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petersmovieposters-36377's rating
I'm definitely not in the target demographic for A Girl Named Willow but I thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless as I'm always up for a good magical fantasy movie, and, while not earth shattering, it really is an easy watch. I was reminded of the '50s and '60s Disney live action films which were simple affairs yet could keep the adults watching as well as the younger kids - and director Mike Marzuk makes it work here.
Characters are all bone stock but the actors make them believable in the context of the bone stock story, but in this case there's a comfort in this modern fairy tale that is not grim in the least. It's really an old school family film that is a very refreshing and a nice cinematic palate cleanser. Every now and then that's just the ticket.
Characters are all bone stock but the actors make them believable in the context of the bone stock story, but in this case there's a comfort in this modern fairy tale that is not grim in the least. It's really an old school family film that is a very refreshing and a nice cinematic palate cleanser. Every now and then that's just the ticket.
G. W. Pabst's second film after the end of the war, Geheimnisvolle Tiefe (aka Mysterious Shadows) is a fine showcase for the master's talents that only suffers from a lackluster script that somewhat holds the production back from greatness.
Set in a time that could be from any point in the era, although pointedly no references to the war seem to indicate that this was truly intended as escapist entertainment, the story revolves around the journey of a young bride-to-be, the lovely Ilse Werner, who is lured away from her inventor husband by the ultra-rich industrialist who desperately wants his latest invention. Unfortunately for him, the inventor, Paul Hubschmid bends towards doing things for the greater good of mankind versus making piles of money for 'I want it all' capitalists so stealing his fiance is the best the robber baron can do. Ilse's slow realization that maybe there's more to life than empty riches drives the main plot.
Where the film excels is in Pabst's mastery of visuals. Exemplary cinematography by Hans Schneeberger (a collaborator with Dr. Fanck) and Helmuth Ashley is outstanding, as is the overall mise en scene. There's a hint of those mountain movies about it although it's more under the mountain movies as the inventor's scary hobby is caving for archaeological relics. It's an interesting view into post-War German film that is really trying to break from the past while leaning into a better future.
Set in a time that could be from any point in the era, although pointedly no references to the war seem to indicate that this was truly intended as escapist entertainment, the story revolves around the journey of a young bride-to-be, the lovely Ilse Werner, who is lured away from her inventor husband by the ultra-rich industrialist who desperately wants his latest invention. Unfortunately for him, the inventor, Paul Hubschmid bends towards doing things for the greater good of mankind versus making piles of money for 'I want it all' capitalists so stealing his fiance is the best the robber baron can do. Ilse's slow realization that maybe there's more to life than empty riches drives the main plot.
Where the film excels is in Pabst's mastery of visuals. Exemplary cinematography by Hans Schneeberger (a collaborator with Dr. Fanck) and Helmuth Ashley is outstanding, as is the overall mise en scene. There's a hint of those mountain movies about it although it's more under the mountain movies as the inventor's scary hobby is caving for archaeological relics. It's an interesting view into post-War German film that is really trying to break from the past while leaning into a better future.
While it seems currently out of fashion, at one point there was a cinema that was perfectly content to be "art" (for lack of a better term) rather than emphasizing any story or character development so it seems a bit unfair to try to rate those against their more conventional peers, and Tristan et Iseult certainly falls into the former category. Perfectly embodying that late '60s, early '70s avant garde aesthetic, director Yvan Lagrange channels Andy Warhol via Derek Jarman in this telling of the story of medieval star-crossed lovers.
Yet this is not the story ol' Dick Wagner would recognize although the operatic layer is certainly there, however musically it has more in common with a solo album from a drugged out kraut rock artist produced by the ABBA team than anything out of Bayreuth. Comprised primarily of Deeply Meaningful scenes where the actors stare Deeply Meaningfully into the camera or off into space the pacing is slow, despite being just over an hour long. I suspect even Andy would have told Lagrange to pick up the tempo but, of course, that would have sucked the Deep Meanings out of his creation.
One could overlook the pretentiousness as that's expected in films like this but what must be acknowledged are the comically inept 'fight' scenes between the various knights who bare a shocking resemblance to The Knights Who Say Ni. The sword play looks like it was choreographed by 5 year olds on a sugar bender. I mean, I do get it, yes, it was all bloody butchery in the bad old days but be warned, you're going to be subjected to animal gore. A lot of animal gore. It seems impossible that the Pythons did not see this at one point and use it as inspiration for The Holy Grail.
Yet this is not the story ol' Dick Wagner would recognize although the operatic layer is certainly there, however musically it has more in common with a solo album from a drugged out kraut rock artist produced by the ABBA team than anything out of Bayreuth. Comprised primarily of Deeply Meaningful scenes where the actors stare Deeply Meaningfully into the camera or off into space the pacing is slow, despite being just over an hour long. I suspect even Andy would have told Lagrange to pick up the tempo but, of course, that would have sucked the Deep Meanings out of his creation.
One could overlook the pretentiousness as that's expected in films like this but what must be acknowledged are the comically inept 'fight' scenes between the various knights who bare a shocking resemblance to The Knights Who Say Ni. The sword play looks like it was choreographed by 5 year olds on a sugar bender. I mean, I do get it, yes, it was all bloody butchery in the bad old days but be warned, you're going to be subjected to animal gore. A lot of animal gore. It seems impossible that the Pythons did not see this at one point and use it as inspiration for The Holy Grail.