Dishonored (1931)

A prostitute is offered the job of spy.

Visually exhuberant pulpish tale of bygone eras. Amusingly delirious, and no doubt liable to cause some giggling, especially at the raptures of the lead in her piano sessions. (8th position in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1931.)

Rating: 53

Platinum Blonde (1931)

A reporter marries a rich woman, even though her family disapproves of it. The financial disparity between men and woman generates some conflict; there is also a clash of lifestyles.

Quite entertaining. This film is quite in tune with Hollywood's ideology of that era, which associates wealth with artificiality and ultimately considers it an obstacle to happiness. It's a hypocritical view, of course, since most directors and stars were very rich. Well, maybe it's not exactly like that, and the point is not wealth but work. That is, it looks down on people who do not work for a living. In any case the plot's development is very articulate; the audience, which was mostly working and middle class, was sure to identify and thus have a good time. On another angle, the film is perhaps about the transition from non-fiction (here in the form of journalism) to fiction (the hero is writing a play). As a journalist he damages (by exposing them) the lives of people who are strangers to him; as a playwright he feeds on himself and those near him. Eventually it evolves into a fusion of his life and the fiction he is writing.

The hero in this film forgoes a stunning beauty for an uglier woman, a phenomenon which already occurred in The Public Enemy. The uglier woman is played by the same actress in both movies.

(This is number 7 in Dale Thomajan's top ten of 1931.)

Rating: 60

Little Caesar (1931)

The rise and fall of a gangster. Armed robbery is his business. His pal wants out, his dream is to be a dancer and get married.

Powerful criminal drama, and an interesting gaze into the roots of authoritarianism. And 'Rico' is actually a nice guy when compared to the likes of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler (to mention only those who were on top or rising at the time this film was released). (Number 6 in Dale Thomajan's Top Ten of 1931.)

Rating: 73
(Number 5 in my List of Favorites of 1931.)

Une catastrophe (2008)

An old one-liner by the filmmaker is illustrated and fragmented into a poem of sorts.

It's all very "beautiful" but ultimately bullshit. And to think his subsequent film is a tribute to a guy whose worldview was the exact opposite of this...

Maldita Coincidência (1979)

An abandoned house is inhabited by assorted marginals. Garbage accumulates.

The truth about the hippie, Brazilian version. The inoperance of the left. The house a metaphor for the country. (What's with all the cross-dressing though?)

Rating: 31

The Unholy Three (1930)

I had lots of trouble understanding the dialogue, but I'll make a go at reviewing it all the same. This remake of the 1925 film is well made and there is an obvious advantage in watching a film where the characters can actually be heard instead of being seen moving their lips and then being followed by an intertitle. That being said, it's hard to say which is the better film. This talkie has also been improved in plot, mostly in the courtroom sequence and in the ending, which are more intelligently devised here. However, I am a tiny little bit inclined towards the silent version, which somehow has an aesthetic appeal all its own.
(Number 9 on Dale Thomajan's Top Nine for 1930.)

Rating: 53

The Unholy Three (1925)

Three circus performers -- a ventriloquist, a strong man, and a dwarf -- team up in a robbery scam. The ventriloquist's pickpocket girlfriend is also with them. Their base of operations is a bird shop which they run, the ventriloquist in old woman's drag, and the dwarf in baby's disguise.

Really, 20s' cinema was all imagination and no realism. This film must be the epitome of that. Earles must be about twice the size of a baby, but so what? Chaney's traits aren't exactly feminine, but, again, who cares? The outrageous premise (certain details of which I am not giving away) actually adds to the film's appeal, to a certain extent. And it is well made, so I wouldn't say it isn't a valid viewing experience.

Rating: 54

Mädchen in Uniform (1931)

Titles in English-speaking countries: Maedchen in Uniform, Girls in Uniform, Maidens in Uniform.

A girl who has lost her mother is sent to a boarding school. Like most girls in there, she falls in love with Miss von Bernburg, a teacher. This causes troubles for both of them.

Exquisite recreation of life in a boarding school in the early 20th century. Although the plot feels like a bowdlerization (and reportedly it is), it is sufficiently coherent to allow a feel of the teenage angst it is supposed to convey. It is interesting to analyse the film by present moral and legal standards. In a modern-day school Miss Bernburg would probably be eventually denounced for sexual abuse of minors and would certainly be fired and probably sued. But in the 30s it seems that mouth-kissing between women had a very contingent status. In here, it is perfectly ambiguous: it points simultaneously toward simple affection and toward eroticism (if there were no such ambiguity the film would make little sense); in Morocco there is a similar ambiguity, because 'Jolly' is performing while dressed as a man -- but that scene bears little relation to the rest of the plot, in my opinion (although an anonymous reviewer on TV Guide has pointed out the interesting contrast between 'Jolly''s virile manners -- which, however, I don't think exists outside of that cabaret performance -- and 'Brown''s effeminate ones); on the other hand, in Min and Bill, two women kiss on the mouth during a wedding ceremony and there is not a hint of anything erotic. Mädchen in Uniform is a very rewarding aesthetic experience. Number 3 in Dale Thomajan's Top Ten of 1931.

Rating: 77
(Number 4 in my list of favorites of 1931.)

The Public Enemy (1931)

The life of an American outlaw during Prohibition.

It's an almost perfect film and great fun. The characters' psychology is very subtly structured, much more so than in so many semi-caricatural (but interesting in their own way) films such as Scarface, White Heat, etc. For instance, the main character's fascination with the 'Gwen Allen' character is perhaps a symptom of a neurosis (he already has a girlfriend who is nicer and prettier than Gwen). His best friend Matt too, is perfectly characterized as the simple, naturally submissive guy. And so on. The film has some very weird aspects. One of them, the fact that the ugliest female character is showcased as a sex symbol, is, like I said earlier, perhaps accounted for by psychological issues of the main character, but his pal drools over her too, so I don't know. I think it is probably an example of how beauty standards of that time were different from today's. The other weird thing in the movie is that the police seems to be strangely inoperative. When Tom is in the hospital, for instance, there is no mention of him facing a murder charge. (The Public Enemy occupies the second position in Dale Thomajan's Top Ten Films of 1931.)

Rating: 83
(Third in my list of Best Movies of 1931.)

The Locket (2002) (TV)

This is about a young man who gets a job at a home for the elderly. He befriends one of the old ladies who live there, and they share their life problems.

The characters in this behave like they lived in the 19th century. I suppose in the U.S. there is an audience for this, and they live in the 19th century as well. The author of the novel it was based on has reportedly been taught important things by a reasonably rich person, first about life and being a rich person, and, five years later, about other things, you know, womanly things.

Rating: 30

The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron (2003) (TV)

Based on the experiences of an employee at the firm that went down in 2001, for accounting fraud.

Well-made. Saw it with Italian dubbing, did not get all the dialogue.

Rating: 50

Min and Bill (1930)

Min is the owner of small hotel at a dock area. One of her guests is Bill, a fisherman. Min raises Nancy since her mother took off. Nancy works all day and has never gone to school. The police one day comes to inspect her condition and demands that she go to school. They offer to place her with a well-to-do family.

Well-made melodrama, with several memorable sequences. Although the plot is not exactly realistic, and leans toward sentimentality, the film is very realistic in ambience and mise-en-scene.

It's number 8 in Dale Thomajan's Top Nine for 1930.
Rating: 55 [I should see it again sometime, for a better understanding of the dialogue.]

Rain or Shine (1930)

A circus manager is in love with the circus owner, whom he promised to take care of when her father died. She is in love with another fellow. The circus is very close to bankruptcy. They stop at the town where the circus owner's sweetheart's family lives.

Entertaining throughout. What surprised me most was to see a kind of humor in some sequences which is similar to the Marx Brothers'. There are some thrilling action bits too.
(Number 5 in Dale Thomajan's Top Nine for 1930.)

Rating: 60

Her Man (1930)

Set in Havana, it tells of a prostitute's tense relationship with her pimp, and her love for a sailor.

This is a satisfying film as a whole, with several memorable sequences. A murder committed by the pimp in which we only see the dead body after a series of events is especially brilliant. The technical accomplishments of the camerawork are worthy of note, especially for a film this old and with an apparently minuscule budget. I remember a long traveling shot following a woman through crowded streets; also a waiter carrying a tray through a crowded barroom (it follows the tray from above). Its pre-code frankness is a valuable asset. I should see it again for a better understanding of the dialogue, though.
(Dale Thomajan's 3rd entry on his top nine list for 1930.)
Rating: 65

A Suprema Felicidade (2010)

Coming-of-age story about a boy growing up in Rio de Janeiro in the 40s and 50s. His parents are always fighting and he develops a bond with his maternal grandfather.

Operatic and excessive, with some terrible performances and several scenes which would benefit enormously from a reshooting (maybe even a rewriting in some), but on the other hand with a few impressive sequences, mostly set in low-class whorehouses or bars (the one in a square full of prostitutes in broad daylight is really amazing). There is a strange tension between its ostensibly nostalgic tone and the fact that the 'grandfather' character is himself nostalgic for a yet older era (the 10s). There are some fine performances in small roles that contrast with the not-so-good ones from most leading players; among these fine supporting players are: Maria Luísa Mendonça, César Cardadeiro (a Léaud lookalike, playing 'Cabeção'), Tammy di Calafiori, and Michel Joelsas.

Rating: 40