Divorce Italian Style (1961)

I was expecting Divorce Italian Style to be uproariously funny. However, that's not the film's style, I found out. There are quite a bit of funny situations, but it's got far more plot than most comedies, which is a very good thing. Germi injects plenty of life into the film and, surprisingly, the cinematography, acting and soundtrack are all very well-done.

I seemed to think smaller things were funnier than the few gags there were. For example, I can't help laughing at the thought of a woman burying herself in the sand to relieve her arthritis. Also, the fact that some of the plot revolves around a screening of La Dolce Vita, which also stars Marcello Mastroianni, I found hilarious, just because I wonder how many people seeing the film understood the joke. But, then again, I'm sure on the film's original run, everybody remembered the controversy of La Dolce Vita.

I read Scorsese's essay on the film in the Criterion booklet, and he mentions how big an influence on Goodfellas this film was. Frankly, I didn't really see it. Though, he mentions the many different techniques Germi uses in the film. Maybe he used the voiceover and the overall style of the editing, influenced by this film? Otherwise, I don't really see the connection.

The Horse's Mouth (1958)

The Horse's Mouth was a great film. I was sure it'd be good, maybe even very good, but I certainly didn't expect it to be such a great piece of work. It seemed to be a labor of love for Alec Guinness, who adapted the screenplay from a novel and turned in an incredible performance in the lead role.

The film seeks to examine the fine line between genius and insanity. Yes, Jimson is hilarious, but he's also completely obsessed, and quite frightening in his maddening quest to realize his vision. There are a few great moments where Guinness allows Jimson to drop his combative exterior and reveal his soul. He laments his talents, which he considers long gone, and sometimes non-existant. He takes all criticism to heart, and lets it completely depress him, which only distills his madness even more.

The film itself is completely hilarious, mostly due to Guinness' performance in the lead. Watching him raise the pitch of his voice and wiggle his Adam's Apple to imitate the Dutchess of Blackpool is rofl-material, let me tell you. He's a crusty old man, perpetually grumpy and entirely unpredictable. Those around him can never trust him to be totally normal, to just sit there and talk, or to do his work. He's always wandering around, making offhand comments, causing all kinds of mayhem wherever he goes. He's a handful, that's for sure, but you can't help love the guy.

In the end, Jimson gains great respect from those who have helped him paint his masterpiece. Yet, respect isn't what he wants, not at all. He simply wants to realize his vision, to get the ideas from his head onto a grand canvas. It doesn't matter if the wall he paints on is soon demolished, as long as he was able to empty his mind out onto it first. He's completely satisfied at the end, and "finished" as he says. He's sailing onward, maybe off to find another idea to inspire him, or maybe simply to live in contentment, finally (though, his behavior towards a ship he passes seems to suggest the former).

Young Torless (1966)

Young Torless bored me in the beginning. Maybe because of the long stretches of dialogue, or the slow-building plot. Maybe it was because of the fact that all the kids are dressed identically, so it's hard to tell them apart at first. After a while, the plot emerged and the film really grew on me.

I really identified with Torless' plight in the film, as I think just about anybody would. It's often hard to maintain complacency in the face of brutality against your fellow man, especially schoolmate. Also, he writes in his journal, wondering if something is wrong with him because he finds disgusting what his fellow classmates find normal and amusing. I think that's something we all wonder when we see somebody harmed in any way, 'how can they do that?' and of course, in a large group, we begin to wonder if we're strange for thinking differently.

One thing that I didn't quite understand was the importance of the imaginary numbers. Early on in the film, a big deal is made of Torless not grasping the concept of imaginary numbers, and the theme of accepting what you don't understand is made quite clear in the film. However, I don't really see how it applies to the events of the film. Maybe you can apply anything to anything else, in the grand scheme, but I don't totally follow how it applies to Torless and the events surrounding him.

The score of the film is strange. In spots, it seems to be full of dissonance. At other points, when it's more normal-sounding, it still doesn't seem to match the events onscreen. As Torless runs in terror, we hear an upbeat trumpet tune. Maybe it's supposed to put the viewer off-balance a little. But, in a great move, Criterion found the original score for the film and put it on the DVD as an extra. It's presented separate from the film, with an intro by Schlondorff, and indexed into ten chapters, running about 13 minutes total. It's a great inclusion, and interesting to hear, as the rough quality of the instruments was meant to reflect on the roughness of the boys in the school.