Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Rev. Powell]

RESURRECTION (2025): We watch five illicit dreams of a "deliriant" rebel who continues to dream despite a futuristic ban on the practice. Bi Gan's epic anthology flows stylistically through the history of cinema, from silent expressionism through film noir all the way to millennial terror; some sections are dreamlike and others are straight dramas or magical realist parables, but all are enacted with luminous poetry and visual flair (including one of Gan's trademark ridiculously complex tracking shots). An event of a movie aimed squarely at deep cinephiles. 4.5/5.

[M.10rda]

L'ARGENT (1928):
Recently I mentioned that Dreyer's PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC was probably the greatest silent film, using the qualifier "probably" as of course I haven't seen every silent film and a vast number of such films are lost/unwatchable anyway, but I haven't seen one as good as POJOA and most I've seen don't come remotely close. However I remain open-minded thanks to occasional discoveries like 1928's L'ARGENT, a 3+ hour epic that easily laps most other silents in terms of cinematic storytelling and (if it had sound!) would rank respectably w/ the Best Picture nominees of any subsequent year. It's basically just like watching any movie from the 70s or 90s or the 21st century... only quieter.

In Italian "argent" means "silver" (hence the origin of Argentina) and in French it means "money". L'ARGENT is a French film and it's all about the filthy lucre. Nearly the entire long film takes place in an office or boardroom or on the floor of the French stock exchange - just one offer, deal, sale, trade, takeover, and double-cross after another. If you're a fan of "Succession" or "Industry" or WALL STREET, you will be able to keep up, more or less. Money has never made much sense to me (hence perhaps I don't have much of it) but I could still follow the broad strokes of the plot... but even more importantly (and like "Succession" and "Industry") L'ARGENT still works as Suspense Melodrama because it focuses vividly and thrillingly on a small handful of characters, and even if I didn't understand exactly what they were doing or exactly why, I still understood that they cared and they were excited and infuriated and devastated from twist to twist. The French intertitles do have English subtitles, though one's precise comprehension will still depend a bit on one's literacy of modern corporate markets, which (fortunately for less savvy viewers like me) seem to function today just like they did in 1928.

Two major factors make L'ARGENT succeed. One is the direction by Marcel L'Herbier. He shoots and edits everything like... well, like Scorsese would today (maybe a little better!). There are frequent short tracking shots that emphasize the action but also help underline the emotions of the characters. There are shot/reverse shots on close-ups of characters having long dialogues with only occasional dialogue intertitles. I can't read lips in French so I don't know what those characters are saying - and yet I know what those characters are saying, 'cause L'Herbier directs his actors and shoots his actors to capture all the intentions in their faces and in their physical gestures. The second factor is lead actor Pierre Alcover, who is onscreen about 90% of the time and thus is  indispensable to keeping the viewer focused and motivated. Alcover is decades ahead of his craft, giving a performance that would be less unusual in the late 20th century or today, but he's kind of breathtaking in the late 1920s. Alcover's monstrous "Saccard" is DeNiro as Al Capone, he's DeVito in OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY, he's James Gandolfini. The guy's amazing.

Brigitte Helm, who was figuratively and literally objectified in METROPOLIS, often complained that she only got to play hot young thing/damsel in distress roles. Although her character here is alluring to male characters and quite distressed, L'ARGENT gives her a lot to work with and she delivers a strong multi-dimensional performance. Antonin Artaud, playwright and creator of "Theatre of Cruelty" (the arts movement which paved the way for torture porn, alas), plays a supporting role here. (He is better showcased in POJOA, incidentally.) L'Herbier was considered an early master of Cinema by the likes of Renoir, Zulawski, and Jodorowsky. I haven't seen any of his other films...

4.5/5    ...But you bet I'm a-gonna' rectify that!

Oh PS the (brilliant) final scene is an indictment of global justice systems even today. Indeed some things never change.

[lester1/2jr]

The Woman In Black (1989) - Watched this based on Trevor's intriguing review. I usually watch movies with subtitles just so I don't miss anything, but I definitely needed them for this one. It's British and very "not for export" so it was challenging to follow some of the dialogue.

An insurance guy is sent out to assess a property way out on the marshes in England. When he gets there, it's clearly a haunted house situation. He struggles to do his mundane job while being subject to insane ghostly marsh yelling, paranormal pranks, and of course, the titular lady.

The whole thing felt like a metaphor for serving in a war, especially when he says to his boss "You sent me there because you were afraid". The ending, which is what I think inspired Trevor's avant garde looking review, is a wild and memorable one for sure. This was remade a while ago with Daniel Radcliffe in the main role. I might check that out.

4.5 /5 It's not a modern fancy horror thing with cute girls and gore and plot holes perfectly cleaned up, but for a TV movie from the 80's, it's pretty on point.