arndt-pawelczik
Joined Oct 2010
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arndt-pawelczik's rating
I have always been in two minds about Fellini. I love LA STRADA, because it has heart, but dislike the later (1970+) films precisely for their lack of it. So before visiting Fellini's birthplace Rimini this summer I thought I"d give AMARCORD a go, Fellini's memoir of his childhood years spent there. This one ought to have heart, surely.
Well, it doesn't. It is as superficial and shallow as the director's other late films. We see a panorama of caricatured characters, all very obviously driven by lust. Both adults and adolescents seem to think of nothing but sex, the boys touch themselves constantly and the local priest admonishes them for it just as often. One female character (the "she-wolf") does nothing but prowl the town looking for men. Another one is really little more than a pair of huge breasts. That the adolescent Federico saw the world this way is not surprising. That a grown-up Fellini reverted to this primitive state rather than reflect a little more profoundly about his youth is disappointing.
Another comment here very astutely compares AMARCORD to PORKY'S and AMERICAN PIE. I would add THE BENNY HILL SHOW to that list.
Well, it doesn't. It is as superficial and shallow as the director's other late films. We see a panorama of caricatured characters, all very obviously driven by lust. Both adults and adolescents seem to think of nothing but sex, the boys touch themselves constantly and the local priest admonishes them for it just as often. One female character (the "she-wolf") does nothing but prowl the town looking for men. Another one is really little more than a pair of huge breasts. That the adolescent Federico saw the world this way is not surprising. That a grown-up Fellini reverted to this primitive state rather than reflect a little more profoundly about his youth is disappointing.
Another comment here very astutely compares AMARCORD to PORKY'S and AMERICAN PIE. I would add THE BENNY HILL SHOW to that list.
With the 1921 'Scherben', director Lupu Pick made the first Kammerspielfilm - chamber film - a film in which a small ensemble of actors acts in a confined space. 'Scherben' made do with one intertitle. Three years later, 'Sylvester' - a film in the same genre - dispensed with them altogether.
It is one hour before midnight on New Year's Eve. In a town, the upcoming New Year's Eve is being celebrated in a lively atmosphere. We see hustle and bustle on the streets, in the ballroom of a fashionable hotel and in a pub. In the back room of the pub, the landlord's (Eugen Klöpfer) wife (Edith Posca) prepares the food and looks after her baby. The landlord's old mother (Frida Richard) appears at the door. It soon becomes clear that the two women do not get on well.
They briefly keep their mutual contempt in check for the sake of the landlord, but then it erupts with full force. The mother does not forgive the wife for taking her son away from her. The young woman asks her husband to throw his mother out. He does not. Now she wants to leave herself. He holds her back. A veritable tug-of-war ensues for the favour of the landlord, who is obviously overwhelmed.
As in 'Scherben', we witness a petty bourgeois tragedy that would normally remain hidden from us. In the earlier film, the events take place in a remote railway keeper's cottage in the deep snow, whereas in 'Sylvester' only thin walls separate the boisterous revellers from the tragic events. Monstrous things happen in our midst, but our lives go on unaffected.
This is emphasised by the parallel montage of New Year's Eve celebrations on the street, in the ballroom and in the pub with the events in the back room, that runs through the film. The universality of this statement is also attested to in 'Sylvester' by repeated shots of ocean waves that crash against the shore as a symbol of eternity in contrast to fleeting human events.
These stylistic devices are certainly not subtle, but they are ennobled by the masterful camerawork in the exterior shots (Guido Seeber), the magnificent buildings (Klaus Richter) and the performance of the main actors. The performance of Edith Posca, the director's wife who already played the female lead in 'Scherben', deserves special mention.
'Sylvester' is in the tradition of 19th century bourgeois realism with its often pessimistic view of human affairs within the confines of convention. However, the contrast between the tragic events and the exuberant celebrations allows the audience to decide for themselves whether the glass is half full or half empty.
It is one hour before midnight on New Year's Eve. In a town, the upcoming New Year's Eve is being celebrated in a lively atmosphere. We see hustle and bustle on the streets, in the ballroom of a fashionable hotel and in a pub. In the back room of the pub, the landlord's (Eugen Klöpfer) wife (Edith Posca) prepares the food and looks after her baby. The landlord's old mother (Frida Richard) appears at the door. It soon becomes clear that the two women do not get on well.
They briefly keep their mutual contempt in check for the sake of the landlord, but then it erupts with full force. The mother does not forgive the wife for taking her son away from her. The young woman asks her husband to throw his mother out. He does not. Now she wants to leave herself. He holds her back. A veritable tug-of-war ensues for the favour of the landlord, who is obviously overwhelmed.
As in 'Scherben', we witness a petty bourgeois tragedy that would normally remain hidden from us. In the earlier film, the events take place in a remote railway keeper's cottage in the deep snow, whereas in 'Sylvester' only thin walls separate the boisterous revellers from the tragic events. Monstrous things happen in our midst, but our lives go on unaffected.
This is emphasised by the parallel montage of New Year's Eve celebrations on the street, in the ballroom and in the pub with the events in the back room, that runs through the film. The universality of this statement is also attested to in 'Sylvester' by repeated shots of ocean waves that crash against the shore as a symbol of eternity in contrast to fleeting human events.
These stylistic devices are certainly not subtle, but they are ennobled by the masterful camerawork in the exterior shots (Guido Seeber), the magnificent buildings (Klaus Richter) and the performance of the main actors. The performance of Edith Posca, the director's wife who already played the female lead in 'Scherben', deserves special mention.
'Sylvester' is in the tradition of 19th century bourgeois realism with its often pessimistic view of human affairs within the confines of convention. However, the contrast between the tragic events and the exuberant celebrations allows the audience to decide for themselves whether the glass is half full or half empty.
I enjoyed watching "The Boy and the Heron", even though I did not really understand what was going on. The backdrop paintings are as gorgeous as always in Studio Ghibli films, as is the soundtrack. The characters are fun and interesting. Overall this film has been crafted with the utmost care to be something beautiful and enjoyable. The plot, however, is all over the place. With "Spirited Away" I was similarly entranced and confused. There I put my puzzlement down to not knowing the background to Japanese mythology and tales. Maybe it was the same with "The Boy and the Heron". Generally there is jusst too much going on. Murderous parakeets? Really?
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