Mourir d'aimer... (1971)

 English title: To Die of Love

In 1960s France, a female teacher enters into a romance with one of her high school students. His parents don't approve of the relationship, and throw the book at the teacher (not literally, of course, that would be too cruel!).

While apparently it is fairly faithful to the real events which inspired it, there is at least one minor detail which, in my opinion, makes an important difference: in real life the student was 16, but the actor who plays him was 21 at the time of filming (the woman, on the other hand, was younger than the actress who plays her, for what it's worth). So, film viewers do not get the real picture, no matter how factually precise the film is. Aside from this, it is a clearly biased film, and, to be quite frank, a somewhat tedious viewing experience.

Rating: 40

Total Recall (1990)

 Third viewing; previously viewed on January 2, 1991 and July 20, 2001.

A construction worker has recurring nightmares about Mars; he undergoes a memory implant procedure which goes wrong, and after which he is hunted by some agents linked with the Martian government.

Sci-fi action thriller with an imaginative plot and very vivid imagery with an emphasis on violence. It is an engaging film, albeit a slightly disturbing one; the leftwing orientation of its storyline contrasts with stylistic elements wich are more commonly associated with the Right. Christopher Mulrooney's short analysis calls it "Borgesian", presumably because of its parallels with Theme of the Traitor and the Hero.

Rating: 73 (up from 67)

Take a Hard Ride (1975)

 Here's the IMDB synopsis: "After selling his cattle in town, ranch owner Morgan unexpectedly dies, and his foreman Pike has to deliver the payroll to Sonora, despite the perilous journey during which he's followed by many shady characters who want the money."

Undistinguished Western whose only notable feature is its cinematography.

Rating: 16

The Survivors (1983)

Second viewing; previously viewed between 1983 and 1986.

The paths of two men cross in the same day they both lose their respective livelihoods. One of them is a calm, pragmatic man; the other is the opposite of that and decides to become a survivalist. To make matters worse, an assassin is out to get them because they could implicate him in a murder.

Passable satire of rightwing ideology which is slightly better in the first half than in the second.

Rating: 52 (unchanged)

Fontane Effi Briest (1974)

English title: Effi Briest.

A woman married to a man much older than her has an adulterous affair. The husband finds out about it years later.

This literary adaptation was filmed in a distanced way with lots of voiceover narration. It seems the filmmaker was trying to convey a sense of the protagonist's loneliness, and of the sterility of 19th-century bourgeois conventions. I'm not sure he was successful, though. Perhaps it would have been preferrable to let that effect emerge out of the situations themselves. Anyhow, although the result was curious and occasionally hilarious, the overall effect was of slight annoyance.

Rating: 45

Schindler's List (1993)

Second viewing; previously viewed on March 19, 1994.

The story of a man who employed Jews during World War II, thus saving their lives.

While perhaps not as great as I thought upon my initial viewing, this is definitely a well-made film, both in terms of writing and of realization. According to some pieces I've read, there are some historical inaccuracies in it, but I don't think they are enough to detract significantly from it.

Rating: 64 (down from 69)

Anna Karénina (1935)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on September 10, 2000.

In 19th century Russia, a married woman with a young son meets an officer and starts an affair with him. Since her husband will not give her a divorce, she faces a difficult decision.

The novel -- or its plot anyway -- is so well-known that it is perhaps futile to dwell on it; this concise adaptation is very well-filmed -- the ball sequence is a particularly remarkable highlight, well filmed and well staged. One curious aspect is that with every passing day this story becomes more dated, and yet interest from audiences lingers on, as successive adaptations attest to.

Rating: 64 (unchanged)

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on December 20, 1994.

Eugene is an inventor who is developing an automobile. He loves Isabel, who belongs to a traditional family, but she decides to marry someone else. Years later, both become widowed and try to rekindle their romance, but Isabel's son is against it.

Marvelously filmed period drama which was cruelly shortened by the producers. Also, the plot suffers from schematism in its attempt to make its characters and situations embody a historical transition. Despite all this, the end result is positive.

Rating: 67 (unchanged)

La salamandre (1971)

English title: The Salamander

Pierre, a journalist, accepts the job of producing a script for a drama about a real event. The subject is a young woman who was initially suspected of shooting at her uncle, but then was cleared for lack of witnesses. Paul, a writer, is summoned to collaborate with him in the scriptwriting. Pierre interviews the young woman while Paul tries to sketch a narrative without knowledge of the interviews.

Interesting examination of the journalistic process which is also a snapshot of European society at the time it was made. However, if you are concerned with plausibility, this film is not for you. For example, why didn't the police examine the rifle for fingerprints and Rosemonde's hand for powder? Anyway, it seems that using cold-blooded animal analogies for women deemed as outliers seemed to be in fashion around that time; e.g. there was also La truite (1964 novel, 1982 film). Both movies had blonde stars, perhaps for some reason.

Rating: 57

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on March 28, 1992.

A man (Cyrano) with a long nose is in love with a beautiful woman (Roxane), but is afraid of being rejected by her. She confides to him that she is in love with another man (Christian). Christian does not have a talent for rhetoric, and Cyrano offers to write love speeches for him.

The play superposes a layer of 19th century romanticism on a 17th century person. To make matters worse, the screenwriter, in one sequence, superposes yet another layer on the text, of 20th century feminism (when Roxane complains about women's subaltern role in society). The result of these anachronisms makes for a somewhat awkward text. To be fair, the first third, where one may still glimpse 17th century society, is excellent; the second third is still quite watchable, though it is obviously an ideological fabrication; the final third is where everything goes wrong, into irredeemably cringeworthy territory.

Rating: 58 (up from 49)

I crudeli (1967)

 English title: The Hellbenders

(English dub)

In the aftermath of the American Civil War, a Southern colonel and his sons massacre and rob a group of soldiers who were transporting money in order to destroy it. They hide the money in a coffin and pretend they are transporting a dead man; a woman they bring along poses as the widow.

Mostly mediocre Western. Near the end it improves a little, the high point of the movie being the sequence with the beggar.

Rating: 34

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on February 9, 1991.

The captain of a Soviet submarine scheduled to perform military exercises plans to defect to America along with the officers on board. The Americans detect its presence and fear it is planning an attack. Only one man guesses their real intention.

This is about a Soviet submarine captain and an American CIA man who admires him, and how they are punished in the end by turning blue. Now, seriously, the main faults of this film are several implausibilities in its plot's premises; also, the Soviet submarine in question possesses a nimbleness which is simply unbelievable, even supposing it is equipped with fictional technology. This is well filmed, well edited, and overall watchable, but not more than that.

Rating: 40 (down from 57)

Flash Gordon (1980)

Second viewing; previously viewed between December 18, 1980 and some unknown date in early 1981.

A young man and a young woman are forcibly taken by a scientist to another planet whose ruler is intent on destroying the Earth; the young man promotes a revolt in that planet to take its tyrant down.

Entertaining adventure with elaborate visuals, a frantic pace and a slightly tongue-in-cheek tone. One of the central ideas is that humans will become intellectually mature, but also endangered as a species, when they start fearing evil extraterrestrials.

Rating: 57 (up from 54)