smoothsoul

I'm shocked at the poor reviews people are giving this film. It's one of the smartest films of the 1980s. Ron Shelton is one heck of a writer, and it's probably the best film he's directed, too. Like Tootsie, this film is a throwback to 1930s literate screenplays -- Pauline Kael said this film reminded her of Preston Sturges. Perhaps people who don't like it want some sentimental rot like Field of Dreams, or more action like some other sports movie. But this is a romantic-comedy, and it's both romantic and very funny. (If only Costner had stuck to films like this...) It's one of the few films I can watch over and over. If you haven't seen this film, you've missed something beautiful.

Robert Altman made some of the best films America has put out, and this one is up there with McCabe and Mrs Miller and Nashville. Thieves Like Us is a startlingly beautiful film, so full of atmosphere it's scarily evocative. Poetry on celluloid. Check it out.

In truth I can hardly remember this picture - I saw it more than fifteen years ago at a film festival. But I remember being pretty impressed with it. It uses a kind of documentary realism to tell the story of the Baader-Meinhof gang in their German prison. It makes you wonder if the State should be able to take care of business in secret for the betterment of society -- in other words, it's a blistering indictment of State-sponsored terrorism. Polished, tight, absorbing and moving, it's well worth a look if you get the chance.