Month: October 2020

Revolver

Revolver is a 1973 movie directed by Sergio Sollima.

Revolver tells the story of Vito Cipriani, a jail warden whose wife is kidnapped. In order to save her, Vito has to unravel the layers of a crime syndicate and rely on a recently freed prisoner.

There’s a basic Eurocrime movie formula: an international actor duo confronts the rotten pillars of the “system”, a hippie element is introduced and wild car chases and shootouts ensue. Revolver doesn’t stray far from the blueprint, yet it transcends the genre, proving itself as a smart, stylish crime movie.

Revolver’s place as one of the best Eurocrime movies is predicated on an accomplished Spaghetti Western director in Sergio Sollima and two terrific leads in Fabio Testi and Oliver Reed.

Testi displays his usual charming and cynical qualities in portraying Milo Ruiz, a prisoner with murky underworld connections. Testi’s sardonic nature provides a counter to Reed’s intensity.

Reed is extraordinary – particularly as the movie progresses. He plays a hardened prison warden whose life is unraveled when his wife is kidnapped. Reed’s expressions of shock and rage are perfect for Eurocrime cameras – his intense eyes convey the desperation of his character.

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The Devils

The Devils is a 1971 movie directed by Ken Russell.

The Devils tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th century Priest who is accused of witchcraft by a sexually-repressed nun. Grandier’s persecution highlights the hysteria and hypocrisy rampant in the church at the time.

It’s possible that The Devils – a highly controversial movie in its time – is more infamous for what viewers were never allowed to see. There’s a sordid history that’s well worth a read that chronicles Russell’s frustrations with various ratings board – who essentially chopped up his movie.

The most controversial scene involves a group of crazed nuns simulating sexual acts on an effigy of Jesus while a priest pleasures himself. It’s the conclusion of a faux mass exorcism – events triggered by a visiting professional witch hunter, who has convinced the nuns to express their repressed demons.

It’s obvious deeply religious people would take offense with the portrayal of sex-craved nuns. However, the cutting of the scene is ironic given the movie’s context. The nuns’ behavior is triggered by priests who want to indict Grandier. Their acts are incredibly suggestive and sensational, presumably leading to the literal Rape of Christ.

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The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is a 1972 movie directed by Rainier Werner Fassbinder.

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant tells the story of a successful fashion designer who falls in love with a younger model. The relationship deteriorates and Petra finds her life unraveling.

Fassbinder’s brilliance lies in simplicity and execution. He precisely crafts a concise, but emotionally dense story that occurs in one space and features only five characters. The movie contains only a handful of dialogue-heavy scenes yet reveals the futility and darkness of love – a theme common in Fassbinder’s movies.

The acting is phenomenal. Margit Carstensen inhabits Petra, a sophisticated, successful woman who maintains a fetishistic command over her craft and life. She is equally domineering and vulnerable – a fascinating character study that Carstensen amplifies in both mournful and brutally vicious tones.

Petra lives with her assistant and fellow designer Marlene, played by Irm Hermann. Hermann is somber and silent – lingering like a timid shadow throughout the movie. She is submissive to Petra’s demands and absorbs increasing verbal abuse. Their relationship is indicative of sadomasochism, although it is never explicitly discussed.

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The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows is a 1959 movie directed by Francois Truffaut.

The 400 Blows tells the story of Antoine, a 14-year old who suddenly finds himself drifting through life. Disconnected from his family and friends, Antoine turns to lying and stealing and eventually finds himself in a juvenile detention center.

Truffaut’s first feature excels on several levels. There is immense beauty in the stark, honest environment that breeds Antoine’s angst. The look of the movie is gritty but gorgeous – even in its most confining spaces. The emotional nuances of the acting are superb – the child actors convey a rich depth of confused innocence while the adults project a vicious callousness.

Yet the lasting effect of The 400 Blows is heartbreak.

The movie’s most powerful moment is a split second reaction when Jean-Pierre Leaud’s Antoine is visited by his mother at a juvenile detention center. Antione’s mother, played by Claire Maurier, clinically reports that his father has “washed his hands of you.”

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The Tough Ones

The Tough Ones is a 1976 movie directed by Umberto Lenzi.

The Tough Ones, aka Roma a Mano Armata tells the story of Inspector Tanzi, a detective disillusioned with a legal system that is exploited by criminals. He pursues various members of a crime syndicate to exact justice.

Lenzi delivers a quintessential Poliziotteschi movie. Maurizio Merli plays the hard-boiled detective fed up with the system. Giampiero Albertini is Caputo, the loyal partner who meets a tragic fate. Arthur Kennedy is the crusty, bureaucratic Commissioner trying to reign in his maverick employee.

The Tough Ones is standard fare for the genre – but when the qualifications are erratic car chases, violent shootouts, killer clothes and endless sermons lifted from Dirty Harry, the movie delivers on all accounts.

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Keoma

Keoma is a 1976 movie directed by Enzo G. Castellari.

Keoma tells the story of a gunfighter who returns to his plague-ravaged hometown to battle his half-brothers and discover a meaning for his life. Franco Nero plays the title character – a half-breed former soldier attempting to find meaning in his nomadic existence.

In some respects, Keoma is a post-modern European Western – which is an oxymoron of sorts given the sub-genre’s genesis. Or at the least, Keoma represents the sunset on a wildly inventive, creatively pure era of movie making.

Either way, we get Franco Nero doing his best Jesus-esque, half-breed post-modern Hippie impersonation.

Nero plays a character very familiar to Western fans – the half-breed fighting for the respect of his family. Yet, the role feels unique given the actor’s background – particularly as Sergio Corbucci’s suave, selfish mercenary. In Keoma, Nero is an earthy, introspective fighter for the oppressed.

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The Wild One

The Wild One is a 1953 movie directed by Laslo Benedek.

The Wild One tells the story of Johnny, the leader of a rebel motorcycle gang. The bikers invade a small town and cause havoc, before the locals fight back – leading to an unfortunate end.

It’s hard to separate this movie from both its lead actor and the cultural impression forged by its release. While nostalgia may color this view, The Wild One is emblematic of 1950’s cinema and more specifically, classic teenage angst.

Marlon Brando became a pop culture icon and a symbol of rebellion, which unfortunately overshadows what is a terrific, nuanced acting performance.

In this sense, the movie’s most memorable line can be easily disposable: “What are you rebelling against? What do you got?” Underneath this dialogue is a storm of emotions, confusion and violence that Brando delicately represses.

Brando’s intensity is unrivaled but what’s also impressive is how he locks onto his character’s insecurity and mistrust of the world. When he fails to lessen any emotional attachments to Mary Murphy’s Kathie, he immediately acts to remove himself from the situation.

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Touki Bouki

Touki Bouki is a 1973 movie directed by Djibril Diop Mambety.

Touki Bouki or Journey of the Hyena tells the story of two Sengalese youth who want to leave their homeland for Paris. They scheme ways to raise money for their departure – which often appears more of a dream than reality.

A fascinating experiment of movie making, Touki Bouki is an irreverent, dreamy dissection of post-colonialism Senegal. While the characters seek Paris, the New Wave influence of Godard is already felt throughout the movie.

A delineation is immediately highlighted by the two leads – Magaye Niang’s Mory is a cowherd and Myriam Niang’s Ante a University student. Each is non-traditional – Mory is chastised for riding his bullhorn adorned motorcycle and Ante is villified for seeking education.

The opening scene dives further into this separation. A cow is brutally slaughtered – its arteries ripped open and drained into a pool of blood. It’s a wrenching scene but easily representative of Senegal’s rural, Colonial roots – the place and history Mory and Ante want to flee.

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Sorcerer

Sorcerer is a 1977 movie directed by William Friedkin.

Sorcerer tells the story of four men – all outcasts from society – who are tasked with transporting highly volatile nitroglycerin through the Latin American jungle.

There’s a tired cliche about Hollywood: they don’t make movies like this anymore. However, in the case of Sorcerer, it’s true. There is nothing extraordinary about this movie – but its simplicity, pacing, tension and authentic characters simply aren’t found that often.

Further, ideas of redemption and moral obligation aren’t dominant themes. We’re not given vast amounts of details regarding our characters. We know why they’re stuck in the jungle – and more importantly, we learn that their basic motivation is to escape.

At its core, Sorcerer is a classic man vs. nature story. The jungle is unforgiving and the nitroglycerin the men are transporting is highly unstable. However, given this backdrop – the men have to rely on their own ingenuity – an omnipresent character trait from the 1970’s and 1980’s that seems lost today.

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Barry Lyndon

Barry Lyndon is a 1975 movie directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Barry Lyndon tells the story of Redmond Barry, an Irish farm boy who seeks to climb the ladder of social nobility. Along the way, he serves as a soldier, a spy and a gambler before marrying into wealth. Eventually, he discovers the limits of his pursuits.

Purely for enjoyment, I listened to a few podcasts on Barry Lyndon – a movie that I found mostly entertaining. I was blown away by the disdain some in the movie community have towards this decadent period piece.

As an example – In case you like jaded film students discussing their hatred of film, take a listen:

KultureCast Podcast

Yet, even measured film critics seem to struggle with classifying this movie:

NY Times – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Barry Lyndon

The Guardian – Why It’s Time to Reassess Kubrick’s Coffee Table Movie

Roger Ebert – Technically Awesome, Emotionally Distant and Classically Kubrick

At its worst, Barry Lyndon demands patience from an audience. It’s a movie that doesn’t rush. Our main character is painfully dull and/or is vague in his intentions. At times, stretches of silence have to be interpreted as a reading of Thackeray’s novel – a text that not all are familiar with.

Yet, Kubrick presents a rich, decadent landscape of sensory details. Barry Lyndon is a gorgeous movie. It’s visually stunning – capturing both the brutality and splendor of war, along with the devastating effects incurred by the pursuit of social mobility.

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