La Pianiste

It's been a long time since I've watched a movie that inspired such strong emotions in me to be disgusted and intrigued at the same time. To be covering my eyes and wanting to scream "Nooo!!", but curiously expecting what will happen next.

Apart from the amazing music throughout the whole movie, the extraordinary performance by all of the actors, the artistic scenery and camera angles, there is Haneke's mastery. The mastery of knowing how to shoot the face expression, of how long to make a scene last, of when to cut the scene and leave us wondering.

Even though the movie is made according to the book "La Pianiste" by the Nobel laureate Elfriede Jellinek, in my opinion no other director would be able to make that transfer from paper to screen more convincingly.

The main theme the book and the movie explore is the domination-submission relation. All of the characters are dominating at one point of the movie and are then submissive in other circumstances. It captures perfectly the reactions of the characters. How does the other part behave and react when one is dominating and how when one is submissive. Isn't love a game of submission and domination? Aren't all relations we form during our lifetime in one manner just a reflection of our position of dominating or submitting? Isn't the most essential relation of the individual and the society a relation of submission on the part of the individual?

Erika is firstly oppressed by the society which condemns the individuals like her. That is, individuals that do not conform to the general rules of socially acceptable behavior. She has to act strict and righteous in order to conceal all of her frustrations, sexual and non-sexual.

Then, there is the relation with her mother. Jellinek said that the character is based on her mother, and I am sure she is a representation of many other mothers, who are dominant and submissive at the same time. One moment inducing pity and the next hatred.

Finally, the relation with her lover. Benoît Magimel is really wonderful to watch as he goes through all the different stages of submission-domination. First, the woman is domineering, setting all the rules and having the power to command the boy, who being in love and younger is immediately put in that position. But, what can the woman expect when expressing her most hidden secrets, when completely opening herself to the man she begins to love? Only to concede her position of dominance and become completely vulnerable and in the hands of the man who now knows "the real" her. The boy doesn't immediately assume the dominating position, or isn't immediately aware of the change in their relation. When he becomes aware he is completely changed. Makes you wonder if it's not the exact same thing that happens in every love relation. The role of persuader changes gradually, and it's only after that we notice it.

I love movies that tackle so many different levels of the relations we form between us and the changes they provoke in our characters. I don't really know how come I haven't seen this movie earlier, but then again, I'm glad I didn't.
   

Like Crazy

I watched Like Crazy yesterday before I went to sleep. I thought it would just be another chick-flick and I would fall asleep in the middle of the film. Oh, how wrong was I!

It was one of those real-and-depressing movies that would just make you wonder about your life, relationships, and attitudes.

In short, it's a story about an American boy and an English girl that fall in love at university in LA. She violates her visa permit and once in England she isn't allowed to go back to America. So they must figure (or not) out what they would do to keep their love alive.

And that's where the trouble begins. They were happy together, they had some unforgettable memories, but are they real? First she was a student abroad, then he came to visit her on vacation in England.. and rightfully said he didn't feel a part of her life, like he was on vacation.

The question being tackled here is whether this kind of relationships can really work in the "real" everyday life. Surely, one can't be the same while on vacation and at home, having everyday problems, errands, and troubles. One can not be carefree all the time. That's what really screws us up. We live in those happy careless memories once lived with a person we cared about, we obsess with them expecting them to happen again, while remaining ignorant to the fact that people change, and that it would never be like that again. While living and reliving those moments in our head we neglect the persons that are by our side, just for the fact that they will never be that perfect as the person in our head. And everything IS more beautiful in our head.

The ending is always the most difficult part in this kind of movies. The director chose to leave this one open. We see just a hint of what might happen, but then we are left to make our own ending. Optimists would say that they'll stay together, they will overcome all the problems, see a professional help if needed (I read that in one forum, would have never came to my mind) etc. The pessimists (like me) would say that they grew apart, that once the idea of actually being together has become reality, they figured they grew apart, they were different persons now, that too much has happened in between for them to be careless and happy as they once were, etc.

It's really depressing, but then again, it's reality. Real love and passion rarely endures all life. Or maybe I'm just a pessimist..

I read this great interview with the director. It explains a lot of the natural feeling of the movie.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

We all, more or less, know (I hope!) the story about Dorian Gray, the young man who sold his soul to the devil to have his eternal youth, and his picture where his old age and sins show. 

I set myself to read this classic, even though I much more prefer reading modern literature, and I downloaded the movie so I would watch it afterwards.

I was surprised of now much I enjoyed the book, and I'm sorry to say it was not the case with the movie (with Colin Firth, who after watching A Single Man really disappointed me).

Oscar Wilde is a real master in sarcasm and irony, truths and philosophies of life, human relations.. which can not be authentically depicted in a movie.

So, I recommend: Do not watch the movie, read the book, it's only 250 pages!

Here are some quotations:

"...I can't explain. When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvelous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it. When I leave town now I never tell my people where I am going. If I did, I should lose all my pleasure. It is a silly habit, I daresay, but somehow it seems to bring a great deal of romance into one's life." - Basil Hallward to Lord Henry, introducing Dorian Grey for the first time

"Always! That is a dreadful word. It makes me shudder when I hear it. Women are so fond of using it. They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever. It is a meaningless word, too. The only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer." - Lord Henry to Dorian  

"Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes." - Lord Henry

"Pleasure is the only thing worth having a theory about. But I am afraid I cannot claim my theory as my own. It belongs to Nature, not to me. Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval. When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." - Lord Henry

"When a woman marries again it is because she detested her first husband. When a man marries again, it is because he adored his first wife. Women try their luck; men risk theirs." - Lord Henry

"Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy. To be popular one must be a mediocrity." - Lord Henry

"Like the painting of a sorrow,
A face without a heart."

The Prestige

My No. 1 movie of all time is Memento. I think it's innovative, unique, creative, intriguing, captivating.. Any adjective you can think of attributing to a movie you like I would easily apply to Memento.

I was curious to see something else from Christopher Nolan and having watched Insomnia (which I didn't like very much) and being very sceptical about Batman movies the choice had to be The Prestige.



I was attracted by the great casting: Hugh Jackman (who according to me is the best looking actor at the moment), Christian Bale (loved him in The American Psycho), Scarlett Johansson (one of the best young actresses), Michael Caine (no explanation needed) and David Bowie (amazing!!). So, given the cast I was expecting a lot from this movie, ignoring even its duration of more than 2 hours.
After having watched it I can only say that all of my expectations were fulfilled. All of the actors perfect for the role, a great story which keeps your eyes glued to the screen not wanting to miss even one second, amazing twist making you guess all the way through the movie, and the scenery moody and evocative, easily transporting you into the time period.

I am not going to explain what the movie is about here, you can easily read it here. I will just say that you should watch this movie, you won't regret the 2 hours you spend.

.. And after you've seen it, if you are wondering about the song in the end, here it is, amazingly performed by Thom Yorke: