Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I finally pumped myself up to see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Come to find out there was no need. In spite of the subject matter of a man with the condition of Locked-In syndrome, it is, overall, not a depressing movie. It makes you feel good about life, probably better than the Hollywood film The Bucket List.
It’s hard to rank films when one is fresh in your mind but this film put me on a high that I haven’t felt in recent viewings except for The Assassination of Jesse James & Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Julian Schnabel gets full credit for this success. I don’t know if there is a wrong note in the film. His previous film, Before Night Falls, became the film that would never end. This film moves at a very quick pace and the 112 minutes are up before you know it.
Casting is perfect. Mathieu Amalric is very good as the main character. (Johnny Depp was scheduled to play his part but had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts with Pirates. At least that film was good for something as I don’t think he would have been as good.) The very beautiful Marie-Josée Croze, who was in Munich with Amalric, is equally good as his speech therapist. Also outstanding are Emmanuelle Seigner, Isaach De Bankolé, Marina Hands, and two legendary figures: Max von Sydow & Jean-Pierre Cassel. Sadly Cassel died last April and this is one of his final film appearances.
The music cues are another high point. Sometimes people overrate music in film but Schnabel uses it perfectly to enhance the film without being redundant. He has an eclectic mix using established rock acts: Tom Waits, U2, & Velvet Underground. It is the most I’ve ever enjoyed Tom Waits in a soundtrack. The two most effective songs are the ones heard in the trailer: a Dirtbombs’ cover of Chains of Love and Don’t Kiss Me Goodbye sung by co-star Emmanuelle Seigner. There is also Charles Trenet singing La Mer and good use of music from other films: Lolita and Quatre Cents Coup. The latter appears at the right moment to evoke the French New Wave.
Julian Schnabel is probably a very odd person, check out his interview sequence in Sketches of Frank Gehry for confirmation, but he has put together one of the best films of the year.
Hot Chicks Born Today
Katey Sagal, 54, get past the Peg Bundy character and she's quite good looking
Dolly Parton, 62, another favorite from childhood, who wasn't fascinated by her two "attributes" back then
It’s hard to rank films when one is fresh in your mind but this film put me on a high that I haven’t felt in recent viewings except for The Assassination of Jesse James & Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Julian Schnabel gets full credit for this success. I don’t know if there is a wrong note in the film. His previous film, Before Night Falls, became the film that would never end. This film moves at a very quick pace and the 112 minutes are up before you know it.
Casting is perfect. Mathieu Amalric is very good as the main character. (Johnny Depp was scheduled to play his part but had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts with Pirates. At least that film was good for something as I don’t think he would have been as good.) The very beautiful Marie-Josée Croze, who was in Munich with Amalric, is equally good as his speech therapist. Also outstanding are Emmanuelle Seigner, Isaach De Bankolé, Marina Hands, and two legendary figures: Max von Sydow & Jean-Pierre Cassel. Sadly Cassel died last April and this is one of his final film appearances.
The music cues are another high point. Sometimes people overrate music in film but Schnabel uses it perfectly to enhance the film without being redundant. He has an eclectic mix using established rock acts: Tom Waits, U2, & Velvet Underground. It is the most I’ve ever enjoyed Tom Waits in a soundtrack. The two most effective songs are the ones heard in the trailer: a Dirtbombs’ cover of Chains of Love and Don’t Kiss Me Goodbye sung by co-star Emmanuelle Seigner. There is also Charles Trenet singing La Mer and good use of music from other films: Lolita and Quatre Cents Coup. The latter appears at the right moment to evoke the French New Wave.
Julian Schnabel is probably a very odd person, check out his interview sequence in Sketches of Frank Gehry for confirmation, but he has put together one of the best films of the year.
Hot Chicks Born Today
Katey Sagal, 54, get past the Peg Bundy character and she's quite good looking
Dolly Parton, 62, another favorite from childhood, who wasn't fascinated by her two "attributes" back then
Labels: FilmReview
# posted by ChrisR @ 1:00 AM 
