In what seems like a splurge of cinematic experience, but really is only a correction, Nadia and I have watched three very different movies in the last week. None of them leap off the page of the movie mainstream, and thankfully so.
Woody Allen's Whatever Works, explores very little new territory in the Allensphere, with the themes of love, mortality, the meaning of life and so forth being given yet another outing. Navel-gazing aside (some have argued that this is the sum total of Allen's concerns), the script has enough zing and the characters enough quirkiness to make the movie entertaining. Larry David competently plays the 'Woody' character, adding an element of malice to the obligatory neurotic Allen persona.
Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon is the last in the series of extended vignettes of Tokyo, this one set in 1962. With a similar texture and cinematic feel to Tokyo Story (see April 8, 2011) the movie explores the changes occuring in post-war Japan, the decline of family obligation and subsequent isolation of an aging generation. Sad, beautiful, occasionally funny, this is a film that draws the viewer in. The invitation is subtle and allows us to become a part of ebb and flow life of the character's lives. Hollywood, take note.
The Visitor is a palliative for those afflicted with the (irrational) fear that they will be swamped by illegal aliens. Beautifully cast, well-scripted, The Visitor operates within that sphere of ambiguity that makes it possible for us to see that 'the other' is as vulnerable as we are. The ending leaves open a number of possibilities, and admirably refuses to resolve the plot in the usual manner.
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