A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

So, it's documented that I haven't been the biggest fan of Cassavetes, but I have to say that I loved a Women Under the Influence.I don't know if it's because I've been reading more about his work and have a better understanding of his style, or if it's just that it's that good. But, I really loved the film.

There were a few times that I actually forgot I was watching a movie, and felt genuine concern for Mabel and her family. This is probably due to Cassavetes cinema verite style, but mostly, I think, due to Gena Rowlands' excellent performance. She's very very crazy, yet completely endearing and relatable to the viewer. When you first meet her, you wonder "oh, does she really know this guy at the bar?" and you slowly begin to realize that she's not completely right in the head. The sympathy garnered towards her is not a result of her simply being mentally ill, but because you grow to care for her because of her personality, and yeah, it just so happens that she's on the verge of a breakdown.

Though, I have to say, I really disliked her character's husband, Nick. Probably more good acting & direction again. But, I really think that he's just as 'crazy' as Mabel is, even moreso. He's got an extremely violent temper, and seems to get extremely mad at everyone around him for no particular reason. He just came off as a real asshole, to me, and I can't really see how they ended up together.

And then, when Mabel comes back home 6 months later, you wonder immediately if she's going to be any different than before. Due to Cassavetes' steady hand and Rowlands' incredibly nuanced performance, you're still not sure if she's 'cured' for quite a while, simply because Mabel is trying her best to hide it, to be normal. However, her personality overrides her soon enough as she begins to act the same way as before. Despite her best intentions, she just can't be normal. The end/credits scene is fantastic, as it shows Nick and Mabel getting along perfectly, cleaning up the dining room after dinner, and you have to wonder, how much better do they get along without actually communicating?

Opening Night (1977)

I didn't like Opening Night nearly as much as A Woman, but it's still a pretty good film. The biggest flaws it has are an over-long running time, a plot that isn't that compelling, and some strange character moments that pulled me out of the film, just because I found I couldn't really relate to them as much.

Opening Night is a very theatrical film, both in its subject and in its execution. The performances all feel very stage-y and melodramatic in parts, but are all very good overall, especially Rowlands again.

In terms of themes, Opening Night deals a lot with grief and guilt, as well as growing old. Myrtle rebels against the play as written by Sarah because Sarah herself is old. She sees herself as the young girl that was killed, young, energetic and passionate. However, in the end, she's simply too drunk to rebel and she does the play the best that she can. Or has she really hit an epiphany, and come to terms with her own life?

Youth of the Beast (1963)

Youth of the Beast is my first Seijun Suzuki film, and I'm pretty impressed so far. It's not an amazing film, nor is it incredibly deep. But, it's wholly entertaining and richly satisfying. Suzuki's style is cool, the same style that his lead characters have adopted. The whole world and the music that goes along with it is light and jazzy, but never fails to turn nasty at a moment's notice.

I really enjoyed learning Jo's backstory halfway through the film. I mean, I just KNEW there had to be a bigger reason why he was going after these two gangs. And of course the big twist caught me a little by surprise at the end.

The film has quite a few noir-inspired touches, as well. Especially its treatment of women, ESPECIALLY at the end. She may not be a blonde, by she's as icy as any of Hitchcock's women. In fact, Suzuki reminds me a bit of a Japanese Peckinpah. Both disliked the studio system, and were eventually outcast by it themselves. Both seem use violence and sexism as metaphors, while being tagged as violent and sexist themselves. But, I'd probably have to see more of both of their work to be sure.

Faust (1926)

Faust is one of F.W. Murnau's silent classics. The story of Faust is kind of alien to me, so I can't say how well it was adapted for the film. But, this is a great film, either way.

The look of the film, mostly the set design, is incredible, especially for its time. There's not a moment in the film that doesn't feel completely real, despite its obvious supernatural setting. The mood and atmosphere established in the film are really top-notch. It's funny that, even though it was made 80 years ago, modern films still can't come close to it in that respect. There are so many unforgettable images in Faust, especially when Mephisto envelops the city with the plague, wow.

Emil Jannings' performance is great in the film. He plays Mephisto as he should be played, a smarmy, manipulative bastid. In fact, it took me a while to realize it, but Mephisto is actually the main character of the film. Faust, he's very selfish and arrogant. He starts out wanting to save his villagers, but then loses focus quickly when he's tempted with youth and beautiful women. Whereas Mephisto, he makes no bones about it, and Jannings' face is so expressive, so animated, that you're drawn to him.

La Commare Secca (1962)

I've yet to see a Bertolucci film, so La Commare Secca as my first, as well as being the first he made. I wasn't totally impressed with the movie, but it's still pretty good. I think the plot is very bare, and doesn't really do much to hold interest. I understand that the story of the film isn't so much that he prostitute was murdered, but that Bertolucci was trying to show what all the other people were doing the same day, trying to give us a glimpse into the daily life of those who happened to be in the same place at the same time.

In fact, we're not even told much about the murder until long into the film. We see her body, suggestively, at the beginning of the film, and each character touches briefly upon what happened while they're being interrogated, but we don't learn much about what sets the story off until close to the end. I was expecting it to play out a lot more like Rashomon, but Bertolucci isn't interested in exploring the nature of truth like in Rashomon, he's far more interested in learning about the events surrounding the murder, and maybe we'll solve the mystery eventually. Right off, we know that the characters aren't telling the police everything they know, as the young man tells them he had a meeting with priests to discuss a potential job, yet we see him off trying to mug people in the park. Nonetheless, the audience is seeing what's happened, which is, for the most part, nothing substantial at all, and definitely not related to the murder, nor incriminating.

I wonder if Lars Von Trier wasn't inspired by the opening shots of the prostitute's body lying dead on the bank of the river, with papers flying all about. In his debut, Element of Crime, the plot starts out with a young women's murder. Conveniently, she sold lottery tickets, which have all since been swept up by the wind, and now float through the air, swirling around the characters as they investigate the murder. It just seems pretty similar to me, even if Von Trier's homage wasn't entirely conscious.