Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 12:09:46 +1000
From: hbone <hbone-AT-optonline.net>
Subject: Re: Postmodern Reflections - by the numbers


Eric,

Not perverse.  You're with the majority. Almodovar is a genius. He could do
great comedy in a morgue.  The women were, essentialy, brain-dead.  The male
protagonists were doomed; had no choice of love objects, were driven by
inner forces beyond their control.  When a movie "moves" us we identify with
the characters, to some extent.  I guess that was my problem.

The humor was there.  Tthe audience was extremely quiet, but chuckled at the
jokes.  The time for this long movie passed quickly.

I'm prejudiced against Holocaust movies.  I'm prejudiced by the kill-ratio
of tanks, missiles, planes and helicopters vs.suicide bombers.  Now the
Israelis  want a special gift of $12 billion from Uncle Sam.

I once saw an art exhibit of a partly burned book, and a story about a Greek
and a German woman who were close friends.  Both were children during WWII,
but the friendship eventually ruptured with recall of bombing and burning,
people jumping into the river to drown.  The friend bcame daughter of the
enemy.
I was moved.

I commented to a fellow-art student, a Jewish woman in her 50's.  She didn't
have the same feeling..  Said she'd seen and heard so much about the
Holocaust.

The Pianist has great reviews.  I might see it.

regards,
Hugh

> Hugh,
>
> Maybe I'm perverse, but "Talk to Her" didn't seem that sad to me. I
> loved all the bizarre twists and surprises that occurred; the shrinking
> lover was especially hilarious. For me, it was a movie strangely full of
> life and beauty and certainly one of the best I've seen this year.
>
> I also recommend "The Pianist" if you have seen it yet. I found this to
> be far more horrible than sad and very provocative in its refusal to
> simply paint the world as black and white.  Instead, it shows how
> members of the resistance can betray you and a guilty Nazi might even
> spare your life. At the same time the sadism of power and politics is
> vividly portrayed - there were some images I found very hard to watch
> and which now keep returning.  The dreamlike desolation of Warsaw is
> also very haunting.
>
> eric
>
>
>