| alkytrio666 |
04-27-2009 10:45 AM |
Repulsion (1965)
A film made essential via Catherine Deneuve's intensely deteriorative performance and Polanski's patient touch. As he has proven throughout his career, Polanski is the master of the slow-burn, always careful not to prematurely answer too many questions or spring too many surprises; instead, he sprinkles his touches throughout his films so that his audience is anxious for them at all times. This film is often categorized as "surrealist", but I don't think a descriptor like that fits. The film, instead, is realism through the eyes of a nightmare's victim, and no matter how jarring or disturbing a sequence might appear, its existance is logical to this poor girl's repressive life. A stunning character study and a daring sexual journey.
Wild Strawberries (1957)
A gentle but critical look at the reflections of an old man as he waits for death. Bergman has a great love for Dr. Borg, a character who is so fleshed out he must be modeled after the filmmaker's own soul. Through dreams and memories- often a delightful combination of the two of them- we feel as though we've grown beside this man his entire life, and when we gaze at past relationships and guilts it is as though we have seen them before and are now looking at them with Borg in a new light; it is as though we are just as obligated to accept these memories as bygone experiences just as he is. The cinematography is gorgeous and the camera moves with an otherwordly grace. Though this is a film so early in a career, it has the seeming wisdom of a life-long philosopher.
Videodrome (1983)
Not only a bizarre trip but a scathing indictment of entertainment itself, and one that rings frighteningly prophetic today. Like 'Network', this film dissects the boundaries that are constantly being pushed by audience cravings and greedy producers by overexaggerating them; where 'Network' worked as biting satire, Cronenberg uses horror and science-fiction genre tools to turn his view on the future of media into a nightmare. There are several key elements that make the film work- perhaps the most important one is James Woods. Cronenberg's films often call for brain-dead, dry, even dull central characters; while this is usually for the enhancement of the screenplay, the actors he often casts range from boring to atrocious. Woods fills this part perfectly- his natural charisma and charm immediately grap our attention and care, but he is also not afraid to be used as a tool, a machine, a monster. The quick pace and expert special effects make this an essential Cronenberg movie, and one of his masterworks.
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