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'This film is an experiment in the cinematic communication of real events without the help of inter-titles, without the help of a story, without the help of theater. This experimental work aims at creating a truly international language of cinema based on its absolute separation from the language of theater and literature.'

This is the text we are presented with at the beginning of Dziga Vertov's "Man with a Movie Camera". For some it may seem like a warning, but for others it is an invitation to something wonderful. Here we have a film from 1929 this is more interesting and fascinating that many of the films today. It is not your typical film, it seems experimental but in a sense the film is a documentary. Although it took him four years to complete it Vertov said he intended the film to be a document of a day in the life of the city, and that is exactly what it is and a whole lot more. The film combines endless images of daily living in a way that gives us the very essence of life itself. From people to machinery to streets to buildings, Vertov creates a love letter to the world by using these images in a perfect montage. The film is pretty much guaranteed to be part of the syllabus of any film history class. This is due to the fact that it is a perfect lesson in how great images are made even better by masterful editing, how composition and juxtaposition can be used to evoke thoughts and emotions, and how less can often be more. I've watched this film many times and I am always amazed by it. Somehow it always feels new and vibrant, as if it were made yesterday. It is a film that has influenced generations of filmmakers and will probably influence countless more. It is a masterpiece and a true testament to the language of cinema and the power of film.

Note: The film is intended to be viewed with music. Vertov never wrote music for the film himself, but he left notes for guidance. Naturally, this has resulted in a variety of musical scores that can be found for the film. None are "official" but a few of the best are by The Cinematic Orchestra, Michael Nyman, and The Alloy Orchestra. You can find these and other versions on YouTube.

"Drive" is an action/crime film for those that have grown tired of the same repetitive stuff that keeps getting thrown at us. It is a quiet and thoughtful film, almost meditative. Ryan Gosling plays the Driver (his name is never mentioned in the film), a young man that works part time as a stunt driver and part time as a getaway driver. He decides to help out a neighbor and gets himself involved in more trouble than he expected. There are only a few action scenes, but they are incredibly well down. They are tense, exciting, and meticulously assembled sequences. The rest of the film is much slower paced but it works perfectly. It builds the characters and adds depth and an emotional element that other movies of the same genre lack. Gosling is superb as the Driver, his character is quiet and withheld but you can really sense the emotions he has bottled up inside. The film is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, whose previous film, "Valhalla Rising", played like an existential Viking saga. "Valhalla" was visually stunning to the point that it was mesmerizing to watch, but its incredibly slow pace and lack of emotion made it fall short of being really good. With "Drive" Refn has found the right blend of pacing, cinematic spectacle, and character study to create a smart, moody, beautiful, and intense film. If this is the kind of film that Refn has in store for us in the future, then the future looks very bright.

Okay, I'll admit it; Kate Winslet is my favorite actress of this generation. So, I might be a bit biased towards her, but I try not to be. Yes, she is incredibly beautiful, but she is also incredibly talented. She becomes the characters she portrays. I believed her as hopelessly romantic Marianne in "Sense and Sensibility", as insane Ophelia in "Hamlet", as quirky Clementine in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Now I believe her as cold yet passionate Hanna Schmitz, an older woman that has an affair with a much younger man while hiding dark secrets from him. Watching the film I believe Winslet is German, and I also believe she is capable of the crimes she is accused of in the film. She is sharp and cold in her encounters with other people, yet we still can sense warmth hidden inside. Winslet is absolutely brilliant in her portrayal and she finally won an Oscar for it. (She was nominated 5 times before her win, further proof of her abilities.) But I don't want to take away anything from the other actors. Ralph Fiennes is great as the older Michael, but it's David Kross that hold his own against Winslet. His portrayal of both the innocent and maturing Michael is truly great.

I've read some reviews that complain that this is just another Oscar baiting Holocaust movie. I'll agree that it does lack some of the emotional punch that other films had that year, perhaps this was something that was lost in the translation from the original book. But to discount this as just another Holocaust movie is not fair; it is a movie that poses complex questions about ourselves and about our secrets. We all have them and often we go out of our way to keep them. Do we hide them so that we can belong? Or do we hide them out of pure shame? In the film one character keeps a secret that hurts another, the other character keeps a secret that hurts them self. Why? And why did I care so much for someone that was so cruel? These are some interesting questions and the film left me wondering about human nature and why we do the things we do and feel the way we feel. I can always appreciate a film that makes me ponder such things.