Second viewing; first viewed on December 25, 1990
The captain of a whaling ship is obsessed with killing the whale which ate his leg.
One of the marvels of re-watching certain movies is the recollection of one's previous admiration for them and the acknowledgement of how it contrasts with one's present, cooler appraisal. In the case of Moby Dick, there is further marvel as one cannot understand how certain books came to become such icons of culture -- true, one has not read them, but still, does one have to? The word which comes to mind when it comes to Moby Dick and its basic concept is 'juvenile'. This is a word which does not implie absolute negativity. There is much fun to be had with juvenile stuff. But it does pose a limitation to a work's scope and appeal. The best parts of this movie have to do with extra-plot elements, e.g. the depiction of whaling and the life of whalers, both at sea and ashore. And yet, I am sure that what I liked most at my first viewing was precisely what I now scoff at, especially Captain Ahab. I find it interesting to examine John Huston's inner motivation to make this movie in the light of his personality as depicted in the movie White Hunter, Black Heart.
Rating: 69 (down from 84)
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Saturday, December 16, 2017
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
Second viewing; first viewing with original English audio. Colorized copy (not recommended). Previously viewed on May 1, 1996.
A writer of detective novels hears from a police officer about the death of an international crook named Dimitrios, and starts investigating his life for a book. Another man is also looking for Dimitrios and approaches the writer with a proposition.
An interesting film with very enduring themes. Christopher Mulrooney has departed from this world but his well written film notes are still there for everyone to read, and he has written a good one about this movie. He mentions, as related films, The Third Man and Mr. Arkadin. There is also The Usual Suspects, more recently, which he perhaps did not know about, or did not care for. He has noticed that betrayal is an important theme. I, on the other hand, have a slightly different take on this film. In my view, it is about place and mobility. The superficial aspects of the plot involve traveling, but this is not the central point, or perhaps is just a reflection of the central point, which for me is one's place in the world. As it turns out, most people are quite content with their place, and lead stable lives. A few individuals, however, seem to have been born out of place, and will do anything to achieve the place where they feel they would belong. In the case of this movie, only two characters seem to fit that description: Dimitrios, of course, and Anna Bulic, the beautiful wife of a petty official. The inevitable conclusion one arrives at is that, while there will always be those ambitious individuals, the world would turn into a destructive chaos if the majority of men were like them. In fact, human nature seems to favor conformism, as a rule, and that is not so bad. Jorge Luis Borges, the writer, had a special fondness for this movie, and it is possible to draw a parallel with some of his writings, for instance, Theme of the Traitor and the Hero, and Three Versions of Judas, not to mention his early collection of stories Universal History of Infamy.
Rating: 66 (up from 59)
A writer of detective novels hears from a police officer about the death of an international crook named Dimitrios, and starts investigating his life for a book. Another man is also looking for Dimitrios and approaches the writer with a proposition.
An interesting film with very enduring themes. Christopher Mulrooney has departed from this world but his well written film notes are still there for everyone to read, and he has written a good one about this movie. He mentions, as related films, The Third Man and Mr. Arkadin. There is also The Usual Suspects, more recently, which he perhaps did not know about, or did not care for. He has noticed that betrayal is an important theme. I, on the other hand, have a slightly different take on this film. In my view, it is about place and mobility. The superficial aspects of the plot involve traveling, but this is not the central point, or perhaps is just a reflection of the central point, which for me is one's place in the world. As it turns out, most people are quite content with their place, and lead stable lives. A few individuals, however, seem to have been born out of place, and will do anything to achieve the place where they feel they would belong. In the case of this movie, only two characters seem to fit that description: Dimitrios, of course, and Anna Bulic, the beautiful wife of a petty official. The inevitable conclusion one arrives at is that, while there will always be those ambitious individuals, the world would turn into a destructive chaos if the majority of men were like them. In fact, human nature seems to favor conformism, as a rule, and that is not so bad. Jorge Luis Borges, the writer, had a special fondness for this movie, and it is possible to draw a parallel with some of his writings, for instance, Theme of the Traitor and the Hero, and Three Versions of Judas, not to mention his early collection of stories Universal History of Infamy.
Rating: 66 (up from 59)
Friday, December 15, 2017
24 Horas de Sonho (1941)
A woman constantly tries to kill herself due to her alleged bad luck in life. In one of those occasions, she befriends a cab driver who thinks he will bring her good luck. She wins a radio contest and decides to live "24 dream hours" and then have another go at suicide. She checks in at a posh hotel full of rich refugees from Europe. She takes the identity of one Baroness of the High Towers. A hotel employee passing up as a millionaire tries to seduce her, and she falls in love with him. There is a jewel robber at the hotel, with whom she gets entangled. A relative of the real Baroness comes to visit her and says he will bequeath her a fortune. The radio station tries to locate her and hire her as a permanent attraction.
A sort of screwball comedy from Brazil, with touches of black humor. The style is very simple-minded, but not altogether devoid of charm. The actors are mostly good, which is something I am not used to when it comes to Brazilian films. Mostly watchable as a historical curiosity.
Rating: 33
A sort of screwball comedy from Brazil, with touches of black humor. The style is very simple-minded, but not altogether devoid of charm. The actors are mostly good, which is something I am not used to when it comes to Brazilian films. Mostly watchable as a historical curiosity.
Rating: 33
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