Pandora’s Box

46. Die Büchse Der Pandora (Pandora’s Box)
Directed by G. W. Pabst
Germany, 1929
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Ally
First viewing

Synopsis:

Lulu (Louise Brooks) is the mistress of middle-aged newspaper tycoon Dr. Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner). She lives in an expensive apartment in which she entertains a variety of gentlemen.

Ludwig tells her that he intends to end their relationships so that he may marry his fiancée Charlotte but, when Charlotte catches the pair together, Ludwig agrees to do the honorable thing and marry Lulu instead. However, Lulu’s lively and promiscuous behaviour continues once they are married, which sends Ludwig into a jealous rage…

And that’s just the first half!

Essential Scene:

Allow me to set the scene…

Lulu has invited many of her former (and not-so-former) lovers to the wedding reception. She dances brazenly with Countess Geschwitz (Alice Roberts) — possibly the first overtly lesbian character in cinema — until Ludwig intervenes. Later he finds two of Lulu’s drunken “old friends” in her bedroom and chases them out with a pistol. When Ludwig returns to the bedroom, he finds his own son Alwa (Francis Lederer) resting his head in Lulu’s lap, having confessed his own desire for her.

This final indignity causes Ludwig to snap; you can tell because he does the Kubrick Stare (see above). He ejects Alwa from the room and then confronts Lulu, who is undressing gaily in front of the mirror.

He threatens her with the pistol. She backs away, intimidated. He persists.

Ludwig: [title card] Kill yourself, so you don’t make me a murderer as well!

He forces the gun into Lulu’s hand. They struggle and the gun eventually fires.

Ludwig is at the receiving end.

Thoughts:

The appeal of Pandora’s Box owes a lot to Louise Brooks. I had seen plenty of photographs of her — m’colleague likes to bombard me with them until I collapse in a gibbering heap — but in motion she possesses what I can only describe as eye magnets. The cinematography is beautifully smoky and sensuous too but, were she not so irresistible, the entire premise of the film would be laughable.

Well, it still is somewhat questionable. The film is divided into nine acts; the sheer amount of stuff that happens gave me plot fatigue, and many of the events are either ambiguous or contradictory. Ludwig is destroyed by jealousy because of Lulu’s promiscuity, despite knowing exactly what she’s like and even warning others about her! Why’d you marry her then, you fool?!

Also, the denouement in which Lulu is reduced to prostitution (and ~ SPOILER ALERT ~ murdered by her first client Jack the Ripper) seems tautological, considering her “kept woman” status at the start of the film rather insinuates prostitution.

However, the screen presence of Louise Brooks made me watch every frame gladly. No wonder she’s a true icon of cinema.

Mon Oncle

337. Mon Oncle (My Uncle)
Directed by Jacques Tati
1958, France
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Ally
Approx. third viewing

Synopsis:

Monsieur and Madame Arpel (Jean-Pierre Zola and Adrienne Servantie) live in an ultra-modern house in a shiny new suburb of Paris. The Arpels’ obsession with modernity and social status distances them from their young son Gérard (Alain Bécourt), who has more fun with his lovably awkward uncle, Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati).

Essential Scene:

Monsieur Hulot is bamboozled by a cupboard

Monsieur Hulot struggles with the Arpels’ futuristic kitchen. He cannot open the cupboard doors, unaware that they’re automated. When he unwittingly activates the sensor, the doors spring open noisily and startle him. A jug falls from the cupboard. That’s odd… it bounces!

Monsieur Hulot and the bouncing jug

After bouncing the jug several times, Hulot decides to test the bounciness of the cupboard’s other contents. He takes a cup and drops it. It lands with the unmistakable sound of shattering glass.

Thoughts:

Mon Oncle is the second film in Tati’s trilogy of Monsieur Hulot masterpieces*. It contrasts the rustic charm of the earlier Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953) with the themes of absurd architecture and modern alienation upon which Tati expanded in Play Time (1967).

Monsieur Hulot is at home in old Paris. A collection of friendly French stereotypes happily go about their daily business. Children play pranks on unsuspecting adults, a street sweeper constantly avoids work by chatting to passersby, et cetera. The gags in these sections are based largely on human nature.

The stepping stone ballet

In contrast, the modern architecture of the Arpel house forces people into bizarre behaviours. The sleek furniture proves impossible to actually sit in. A curved garden path causes people to turn in opposite directions as they try to greet each other. Stepping stones transform a garden stroll into an awkward dance, and eventually lead Hulot straight into a pond. Madame Arpel dresses as a nurse, complete with surgical gloves, to prepare a simple boiled egg.

Automated housekeeping

At the heart of this contrast is young Gérard. The cold, empty house drives him to despondency, and he is unable to bond with his parents. His father offers him a beautifully-engineered toy train; Gérard is more amused by a simple jumping jack from his uncle. In one especially poignant moment, Gérard hears the sound of a vacuum cleaner and runs excitedly into the house expecting to see his mother, only to find an a robotic hoover in an otherwise empty room. He eventually connects with his father over an unintentional prank, but not before Monsieur Hulot — a bad influence — has been sent away.

The paradox of Jacques Tati is that, while his humour was rooted in mime and his themes were frequently nostalgic, his filmmaking was innovative. As is typical of Tati’s work, Mon Oncle is presented almost entirely in long shots, allowing one’s eye to roam the frame in search of jokes, guided by sound effects if necessary. Repeated viewings are rewarded, allowing different details to come to the fore.

As with music, translating the appeal of pure visual comedy into writing is impossible — “like dancing about architecture,” as the old quote goes. (Although, rather aptly, much of Mon Oncle will have you laughing about architecture.) Anyway, you’ll just have to trust me when I say this film is, as well as poignant and stimulating, very funny. I cannot recommend it enough.

*Monsieur Hulot appeared a fourth time, in the not-a-masterpiece-but-still-quite-good Trafic (1971).

This Is Spinal Tap

714. This Is Spinal Tap
Directed by Rob Reiner
USA, 1984
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Rachel
Roughly third viewing

Synopsis:

A mock-rockumentary following the British heavy metal band Spinal Tap on what proves to be a rather eventful tour.

Essential Scene:

The band’s lead guitarist, Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), plays a beautiful piece of music on a piano, as the documentary’s director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) looks on.

Marty: It’s very pretty.

Nigel: Yeah I like it. I’ve been fooling around with it for a few months now, it’s very delicate.

Marty: It’s a bit of a departure from the kind of thing you normally play.

Nigel: Yeah well it’s part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I’m doing in D minor, which I always find is the saddest of all keys, really. I don’t know why but people weep instantly when you play it.

[Nigel harmonizes along with the piano]

Nigel: Baaaaaa, baaa.. That’s the horn part.

Marty: It’s very pretty.

Nigel: You know, just simple lines intertwining, you know, very much like – I’m really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it’s sort of in between those, really. It’s like a Mach piece, really. It’s sort of…

Marty: What do you call this?

Nigel: Well, this piece is called “Lick My Love Pump.”

Thoughts

My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo
I’d like to sink her with my pink torpedo

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about bum cakes, my girl’s got ’em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?

~ “Big Bottom” by Spinal Tap

First we had Don’t Look Back. Then we had Let It Be. Then came This Is Spinal Tap. What do you mean you’ve never heard of Spinal Tap? The hot licks of Nigel Tufnel? The face melting vocals of David St. Hubbins?

Okay, I’ll stop it now…

Spinal Tap was so believable as a documentary that viewers were complaining that, although they enjoyed the film, they had never heard of the band. In a strange twist, that would probably happen to Spinal Tap even if they had been a real band.

Anyone who has been involved in the music industry or been on tour in some shape or form will know that the film is almost painfully authentic. Terrible venues, relationship troubles, buggered-up hotel bookings and tiny pieces of bread.

The beauty of Spinal Tap is the lead actors (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) really do have great musical abilities, as well as being able to write/improvise memorable and hilarious set pieces — all whilst impressively nailing English accents.

Definitely a film to revisit often!

David St. Hubbins: I believe virtually everything I read, and I think that is what makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn’t believe anything.

The Mirror

581. Zerkalo (The Mirror)
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
USSR, 1975
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Ally
First viewing

Synopsis:

A loosely autobiographical work comprising the childhood memories of director Andrei Tarkovsky, poems written and recited by his father Arseny Tarkovsky, apparent dream sequences and newsreel footage, all presented in a non-linear fashion.

The film depicts Alexei in childhood and adulthood. Young Alexei (Ignat Daniltsev) watches a burning barn near his childhood home. He attends rifle training and irritates the instructor. His mother (Margarita Terekhova) is seen working as a proofreader at a printing press.

Adult Alexei disagrees with his ex-wife (also played by Terekhova) about the custody of their child Ignat (also played by Daniltsev). Ignat leafs through a book which we later see young Alexei had stolen on the day his father returned from the war. In a dream sequence, the mother is seen levitating over a bed.

Thoughts:

The films of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky are more like environments than entertainments. It’s often said they’re too long, but that’s missing the point: He uses length and depth to slow us down, to edge us out of the velocity of our lives, to enter a zone of reverie and meditation. When he allows a sequence to continue for what seems like an unreasonable length, we have a choice. We can be bored, or we can use the interlude as an opportunity to consolidate what has gone before, and process it in terms of our own reflections.

~ Roger Ebert, in his review of Solaris

I have experienced Tarkovsky’s deliberate, meditative style before, having enjoyed his mysterious and atmospheric science-fiction film Stalker. That film is indeed an “environment” — a desolate yet compelling one. That did not prepare me for The Mirror, which abandons traditional narrative altogether and thoroughly alienated me.

The cinematography is undeniably beautiful, and there are some memorable images — the levitating mother, for example. But thanks to the non-linear structure, I often found myself confused as to who the characters were and their relationships to each other. This wasn’t helped by the fact that both Margarita Terekhova and Ignat Daniltsev play multiple roles.

Oh I see, the characters mirror each other! That’s… interesting?

I feel bad starting the New Year with a bemused shrug of a review, but there you go. Perhaps I was simply not in the right mood to receive the film. Or perhaps it’s just not for me.

Sherlock, Jr.

23. Sherlock, Jr.
Directed by Buster Keaton
USA, 1924
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Rachel
Umpteenth viewing

 

Synopsis:

A young projectionist and wannabe detective, known only as The Boy, is framed for robbery by a love rival. The Boy’s girlfriend believes that he really has stolen her father’s watch, and she and her family reject him. When The Boy fails to catch the real culprit, he returns to work broken-hearted and falls asleep while a film is being shown.

The Boy then dreams that he steps into the film and becomes Sherlock Jr: the world’s greatest detective, who has been hired to solve the case of the missing pearls. He sees the same people and has a very familiar case — will he do better in his subconscious?

Essential Scene:

As most characters are unnamed, I’m referencing some characters by using the name of the actor portraying them.

With a handsome air of competence and suavity, the crime-crushing criminologist has arrived at the scene of the crime. The ‘villains’ (Ward Crane and Erwin Connelly) have set up various traps for our hero. If Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton) sits on a chair, an axe will come down on him from the wall. If he accepts the host’s hospitality, he will be poisoned by his drink. But the best trap of all is a bomb in the form of a snooker ball.

He avoids the axe by not sitting down. He drinks the wrong, un-poisoned, drink. So they challenge him to a game of pool. While Sherlock’s back is turned, Connelly switches the number 13 ball. The bomb-ball goes onto the pool table and the safe 13 ball goes into a box, which is near the pool table. But little does Connelly know that Sherlock is watching him in the mirror.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crane and Connelly run out of the room sharpish as Sherlock‘s shot sends the balls flying in all directions. Every ball moves — apart from number 13. Sherlock plays incredible shot after incredible shot. Connelly looks on in despair as the 13 ball stays completely still, with every shot missing it by millimetres. At one point, the cue ball curves around the 13 ball.

Connelly looks at the next shot Sherlock has to make. This must be it. One ball left. 13 must be pocketed, right? Wrong. Sherlock manages to send the cue ball flying OVER number 13.

Sherlock calls for Crane. He points at the table for Crane to make a shot. Crane aims for a safe ball and runs out the room as fast as a cheetah, as Sherlock’s next shot sends the cue ball leaping around the table.

One ball left again. This is definitely it. Sherlock hits the 13 ball. The ball is pocketed. He walks away. What? Did the bomb not work?

Connelly checks the box containing the safe 13 ball. The box is empty. The balls were switched. If the safe 13 ball was just played, where’s the bomb?

Sherlock leaves the house. He takes the bomb-ball out of his pocket and examines it. And nearly drops it. Well, he’s only human…

Thoughts:

Buster Keaton had a rule that his comedy had to be plausible. No matter how unlikely, the gag had to be able to happen in real life. He stopped doing what he called “impossible gags” when he started to do feature films, because he thought the audience wanted to believe what they were seeing. The only time he broke this self-imposed rule was when he created a dream sequence. As much as I love his other films, I wish he broke this rule more often. Keaton’s knowledge of vaudeville tricks and camera technology screamed for more films like this.

The surrealistic, other-worldly air of Sherlock Jr makes it so magical. The ability to step into a film.  Mirrors that aren’t really there. A grown man jumping into a briefcase. The action sequences and stunts that make Sherlock look like a prototype for James Bond.

You really cannot predict what will happen next.

And yet, the more realistic elements add to it perfectly. The sexual tension between The Boy and his girlfriend as they struggle to just hold hands and end up surprising themselves at their tenacity towards that simple action. The Boy’s effort to come up with just three dollars to buy The Girl some chocolates, and having to settle for a cheaper box.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a perfect film. I haven’t known it for long — I only discovered it just over a year ago. I watched open mouthed without realising I was that amazed until I started to get face-ache. I didn’t think silent film could be like this. I was a fool; Sherlock Jr couldn’t be anything but silent. It is proof that silent film truly is an art form.

—

Reviewed by Ally
Umpteenth viewing

Essential Scene:

The Boy (Buster Keaton), dejected after being falsely accused of theft and rejected by The Girl (Kathryn McGuire), returns to his job at the cinema. He falls asleep in the projection room and begins to dream.

His ghostly dream-self leaves his sleeping body and observes the film being projected, only to see the characters replaced by their real life equivalents. Upon seeing his love rival (Ward Crane) attempting to seduce The Girl on-screen, The Boy takes action and, in a magical moment, steps into the film he has been viewing.

However, he becomes victim to a hyperactive editor. The scenery changes constantly around him. The Boy tries to walk down the stairs, but finds himself stepping off a stool instead. He goes to sit on the stool, only to be placed in the middle of the street with nothing to sit on. He tries to walk down the street, but suddenly he’s walking towards the edge of a cliff. He must contend with jungles, deserts, snowscapes and tempestuous seas before he can finally join the film as Sherlock Jr.

Echoes of this scene can be spotted in works as varied as Duck Amuck and The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Thoughts:

Sherlock Jr is a surreal epic in under 45 minutes. Buster Keaton manages to cram so much into just five reels, it boggles the mind. Not a second is wasted, from small-scale gags involving lost dollar bills or poisoned drinks, to a nailbiting sequence in which Keaton unwittingly rides the handlebars of an unmanned motorcycle. The cycle miraculously dodges perilous obstacles, clearing an oncoming train and driving along a collapsing bridge before he finally realises the driver has fallen off. These stunts were genuinely performed by Keaton. He only once used a stunt double (for a pole vaulting trick in College), and he would frequently even stand in for the other actors. Throughout his career, he risked his life countless times for the sake of a laugh. Years after filming Sherlock Jr, he would discover that one stunt fractured his neck – that very take is in the finished film.

Keaton had a rule that all his gags must be physically possible, no matter how spectacular. The gimmick of a dream sequence allows him for once to break that rule, which gives Sherlock Jr a magical, ethereal quality. The Boy dreams himself into another film, allowing him to live vicariously through cinema. He performs stunning feats of physical and mental dexterity, defeats the villains and, of course, gets the girl.

The potentially hyperactive film is held together by Keaton’s conviction. His quiet, deadpan screen persona portrays more emotion than all the mugging and cloying sentimentality in the world. He never asks for the sympathy of the audience, and that is precisely how he earns it. The action sequences are infused with genuine energy – although the material is funny, he doesn’t simply “play it for laughs.” When he runs from his pursuers, it’s not a joke; it’s a thrilling chase that just happens to be funny too. This makes Keaton’s films more accessible to modern audiences too, bypassing the overstated performances and boistrous violence that marks a lot of silent comedy.

Forrest Gump

869. Forrest Gump
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
USA, 1994
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Rachel
First viewing

Synopsis:

Forrest Gump sits on a bench in a busy town and tells his life story to whomever is sitting next to him. Despite being rather simple, Forrest has had some incredible successes and has been present at many of America’s historic moments. But all that matters to Forrest is his childhood best friend Jenny, and the friends he has made during his unique life.

Essential Scene:

Forrest is part of the “All America” football team, which is granted the honour of meeting President John F. Kennedy. (Kennedy and Forrest meet thanks to a very clever combination of old footage and CGI.)

Forrest: [voice-over] Now, the really good thing about meeting the President of the United States is the food. They put you in this little room with just about anything you’d want to eat or drink. But since, number one, I wasn’t hungry, but thirsty, and number two, they was free, I must have drank me about fifteen Dr Peppers.

One by one, the team meet and shake hands with the President. Forrest hops about uncomfortably from leg to leg.

JFK: Congratulations, how does it feel to be an All-American?

Man 1: It’s an honour, sir.

JFK: Congratulations, how does it feel to be an All-American?

Man 2: Very good, sir.

JFK: Congratulations, how does it feel to be an All-American?

Man 3: Very good, sir.

JFK: Congratulations. How do you feel?

Forrest: I gotta pee.

JFK: [laughs] I believe he said he has to “go pee.”

Forrest: [voice-over] Some time later, for no particular reason, somebody shot that nice young President when he was in his car. And a few years after that, somebody shot his little brother too, only he was in a hotel kitchen. It must be hard being brothers. I wouldn’t know.

Thoughts:

Forrest: I’m not a smart man… but I know what love is.

There has been some debate over whether Forrest Gump is an advertisement for conservatism. Forrest’s love interest Jenny fails at life when she goes down the hippy route; with its drugs and unprotected sex. Meanwhile, Forrest has good turn after good turn after playing sports for his college, serving in Vietnam and avoiding the vices that trapped Jenny.

I‘m still torn over this debate. I think Forrest Gump rises above politics. Forrest is neither for or against the Black Panthers when he meets them. He isn’t taken in by the numerous presidents that he meets over the years. Social politics has no meaning to him. Like Chauncey Gardiner in Being There, Forrest Gump has very simple wants, needs and loves.

He may not be intelligent, but he has his own personal sense right and wrong, he has a lot of love in his heart, and he will never knowingly hurt another person. He treats everyone as an equal, and is dedicated to anyone who treats him with kindness.

Then again, Forrest is someone who doesn’t question and automatically goes down the conservative path his upbringing gave him — which seems to reward him greatly. But his humanity and distinctiveness is what gave him success, not necessarily his straight-laced approach.

However you look at it, Forrest Gump is a magical example of the journey of life. Okay, we most probably won’t have a life like Forrest’s; but if we take a minute to look back at how things fitted in and how people appeared, it’s pretty fascinating. If you haven’t taken a pensive moment to think about such things, this film will make you do so. It’s a little schmaltzy but… I forgive it.

Top Hat

93. Top Hat
Directed by Mark Sandrich
USA, 1935
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Ally
Umpteenth viewing

Synopsis:

American dancer Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is in London, starring in the latest show by producer Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). Jerry meets Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) after disturbing her sleep with some late-night tap dancing. Their budding romance is disrupted by a case of mistaken identities. Jerry and Horace follow Dale to Venice and attempt to straighten things out, with the assistance of Horace’s invaluable manservant Bates (Eric Blore). Features songs by Irving Berlin.

Essential Scene:

During a thunderstorm, Dale takes shelter in a bandstand. Jerry joins her, having been restlessly pursuing her since their first meeting the previous night. He sings Irving Berlin’s “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?” to Dale, her emerging smile suggesting she is warming to him.

The weather is frightening,
The thunder and lightning
Seem to be having their way,
But as far as I’m concerned, it’s a lovely day.
The turn in the weather
Will keep us together,
So I can honestly say
That as far as I’m concerned, it’s a lovely day,
And everything’s okay.

Isn’t this a lovely day to be caught in the rain?
You were going on your way, now you’ve got to remain.
Just as you were going, leaving me all at sea,
The clouds broke, they broke and oh what a break for me.

I can see the sun up high, though we’re caught in a storm.
I can see where you and I could be cozy and warm.
Let the rain pitter-patter but it really doesn’t matter if the skies are grey.
Long as I can be with you, it’s a lovely day.

Jerry whistles the first line of the melody. Dale responds by whistling the second. The pair begin to dance. Dale mimicks Jerry’s every move, at first mockingly. They seem to be sizing each other up, as Jerry attempts more difficult moves which Dale continues to match.

The tempo of the music increases. Eventually Jerry and Dale are dancing in each other’s arms, spinning around the bandstand with reckless abandon.

They finish the dance sitting cross-legged on the floor. They shake hands out of mutual respect and admiration. It’s hard to know whether this final gesture is in character, or whether Fred and Ginger were congratulating each other on one of the finest dances of their careers.

Art Tatum plays “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?”

Just because…

Thoughts:

There’s not much I don’t like about Top Hat. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are on top form as dancers and entertainers, the songs by Irving Berlin are perfect and the supporting cast is hilarious. Sure, the plot is a soufflé-light farce which could unravel if the characters would simply refer to each other by name, but the scenes between musical numbers are overflowing with delightfully funny lines. For example, Horace tries to ask Bates for advice regarding Jerry’s girl troubles:

Horace: Mr. Travers is in trouble. He has practically put his foot right into a hornets’ nest.

Bates: But hornets’ nests grow on trees, sir.

Horace: Never mind that. We have got to do something.

Bates: What about rubbing it with butter, sir?

Horace: You blasted fool, you can’t rub a girl with butter!

Bates: My sister got into a hornets’ nest and we rubbed HER with butter, sir!

Horace: That’s the wrong treatment, you should’ve used mud — Never mind that!

My one complaint is that, compared to the other classic songs, “The Piccolino” falls rather flat — I can understand why Fred didn’t want to sing it and palmed off the vocal duties to Ginger. But it’s a small lull in an otherwise great film.

(I only hope the film is digitally restored and presented on blu-ray disc soon, because the picture quality of the current DVD is one of the worst in my collection!)

Ninotchka

129. Ninotchka
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
USA, 1939
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Rachel
Approx. third viewing

Synopsis:

Three Bolsheviks are sent to Paris by the Soviet Government to sell the jewels of a Grand Duchess (Ina Claire). When it is clear the men are spending more time partying with French maids than securing the sale, the Government send stern female envoy Nina Ivanovna “Ninotchka” Yakushova (Greta Garbo) to oversee the situation.

Soon after her arrival, Ninotchka meets the quintessential bourgeois, Count Leon d’Algout (Melvyn Douglas), who is rallying on behalf of the Grand Duchess. When Leon and Ninotchka fall in love, she finds herself going against her communist ideals for the first time in her life.

Essential Scene:

Leon has joined Ninotchka at a restaurant, knowing she was there. He decides to try to make her laugh.

Leon: Do you like Scotch stories?

Ninotchka: Never heard one.

Leon: Well, here. Two Scotchmen met on the street. And I don’t know the name of the street. It doesn’t matter anyway. One’s name was McGillicuddy and the other one’s name was McIntosh. McGillicuddy said to McIntosh, “Hello Mr McGillicuddy.” And McGillicuddy… McIntosh said to McGillicuddy, “Hello Mr. McIn…McGillicuddy!” Then McGillicuddy said to McIntosh, “How’s Mrs. McIntosh?” and McIntosh said to McGillicuddy, “How’s Mrs. McGillicuddy?” —

Ninotchka: I wish they’d never met.

Leon: So do I.

Leon tries another joke. Nothing. Not giving up, he tries another.

Leon: I’ll give you one more chance. Here goes. When I first heard this joke, I laughed myself sick.

A group of men at a nearby table turn to listen.

Leon: Here it goes. A man comes into a restaurant. He sits down at the table and he says, “Waiter, bring me a cup of coffee without cream.” Five minutes later, the waiter comes back and says, “I’m sorry sir, we have no cream. Can it be without milk?”

The group of men laugh hysterically. Ninotchka remains stone-faced.

Leon: Not funny, huh?

Ninotchka: No.

Leon: Well, it is funny! Everybody else thought it was funny! Maybe you didn’t get the point. I’ll tell it to you again. A man comes into a restaurant. Did you get that?

Ninotchka: Yes.

Leon: All right. He sits down at the table and he says to the waiter… Did you get that?

Ninotchka: Yes.

Leon: It isn’t funny so far, but wait a minute. He says to the waiter, “Waiter, bring me a cup of coffee.” Five minutes later, the waiter comes back and says, “I’m sorry sir, we’re all out of coffee.” Oh no, no you’ve got me all mixed up now…

He says, “Waiter, bring me a cup of coffee without cream.” Five minutes later, the waiter comes back and says, “I’m sorry, sir, we have no cream. Can it be a glass of milk?” — Oh, you have no sense of humour.

[Moves his chair back]

None whatsoever.

[Starts to lean his chair back]

Not a grain of humour in you. There’s not a laugh in you. Everybody else laughs at that but not you.

Leon’s chair tips backwards and he falls into a table beside him. The whole restaurant, including Ninotchka, bursts out laughing.

Garbo Laughs!

Thoughts:

Ninotchka: Why do you want to carry my bags?

Porter: That is my business.

Ninotchka: That’s no business. That’s social injustice.

Porter: That depends on the tip.

Ninotchka is a modern woman. She acknowledges that sexual attraction and sexual intercourse are natural and normal. She is intelligent and has a firm grasp of the communist doctrine in which she believes with unwavering loyalty. She even served in the army.

But her personality changes at quite an alarming speed. She arrives as a monosyllabic, distant person and suddenly thaws out to become a much warmer person, purely because she has fallen in love. She starts to see the downsides of her beloved country. Whether she actually does change her mind completely about communist Russia is a matter for debate.

Despite the slightly far-fetched transformation, I love this film. The quick and rather dramatic change is needed because the overall statement regarding communism is bigger than Ninotchka herself. The subject is very daring and the film was indeed banned in the Soviet Union.

Although best known for her dramatic roles, Greta Garbo is absolutely ideal for this film. She delivers her early lines in a deliciously deadpan manner that has an air of dry, laconic humour. Just brilliant. And Melvyn Douglas is a joy too!

Five Easy Pieces

509. Five Easy Pieces
Directed by Bob Rafelson
USA, 1970
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Ally
Second viewing

Synopsis:

Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) was raised in a well-off musical family but now leads a blue-collar life, working in a California oil field and living with his ditzy but devoted girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black). When Bobby learns from his sister Partita (Lois Smith) that their father is seriously ill, he returns grudgingly to the family home in Washington. Rayette travels with him but initially stays in a motel at Bobby’s request. When she eventually comes to the Dupea household, Bobby’s two contrasting worlds clash and it becomes clear that he is comfortable in neither one.

Essential Scene:

Bobby tries to reconcile with his father, who has suffered two strokes and is no longer able to communicate. He takes his father out in his wheelchair, stopping in a quiet area overlooking the sea. Bobby kneels to talk, initially fidgeting awkwardly.

I don’t know if you’d be particularly interested in hearing anything about me. My life, I mean. Most of it doesn’t add up to much… that I could relate as a way of life that you’d approve of. I move around a lot. Not because I’m looking for anything really, but because I’m getting away from things that get bad if I stay. Auspicious beginnings, you know what I mean?

His father looks at him, apparently comprehending, but his face is impossible to read.

I’m trying to imagine your half of this conversation. My feeling is, I don’t know, that if you could talk, we wouldn’t be talking. That’s pretty much the way it got to be before I left.

Are you all right?

I don’t know what to say.

Bobby sobs as he talks.

Tita suggested that we try to, I don’t know… I think she feels that we’ve got some understanding to reach. She totally denies the fact that we were never that comfortable with one another to begin with.

The best that I can do is apologize. We both know that I was never really that good at it anyway. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.

Thoughts:

Bobby Dupea is a man destined to search in vain for a place to belong. The five easy pieces of the title — piano works by Mozart, Chopin and Bach — represent his musical upbringing, contrasted by the relatively unsophisticated Tammy Wynette songs Rayette insists on playing in their new home.

He feels suffocated by the merest hint of commitment and is prone to insulting and hurting the people who care for him. Sometimes you can see his point — such as when he castigates a pompous party guest — while other times he comes across as an insufferable arsehole. But I’ll give him one thing; he’s never dull.

The Silence of the Lambs

837. The Silence of the Lambs
Directed by Jonathan Demme
USA, 1991
IMDB | allmovie

Reviewed by Rachel
First viewing

Synopsis:

Serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) has been kidnapping, killing and skinning women for his own sadistic pleasures. His latest kidnap victim is the daughter of a Senator. The FBI send young agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to talk to ex-psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in an attempt to understand Buffalo Bill’s mindset and personality. Clarice’s meetings with Lecter start to resemble psychiatric sessions as he insists on Clarice sharing her personal stories in exchange for his information and professional opinions on Buffalo Bill.

Essential Scene:

At the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Clarice prepares to go down a short corridor containing a handful of prison cells. Her destination is a chair at the end of the corridor, which is in front of Hannibal Lecter’s cell. Lecter hasn’t yet been introduced but he is already infamous to us:

Insane. Monster.

Clarice stays to the right, steering clear of the cells. Each prisoner is more sinister than the last. One smiles. One glares. The prisoner in the cell next to Lecter’s jumps around like an animal and whispers breathlessly:

“I can smell your c*nt!”

How bad must Lecter be if this disgusting man’s cell has the lesser security?

The camera and Clarice turn to face Lecter’s cell. Rather than bars, Lecter is behind a big pane of glass with small air-holes neatly dotted at the top and bottom.

Lecter is standing in the middle of his cell. Perfect posture. Open and friendly face. Slicked back hair.

Dr. Lecter: Good morning.

Thoughts:

Recently I reviewed The Night of the Hunter, in which Reverend Harry Powell got away with murder on several occasions because nobody would suspect a kindly priest. Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter’s ability to appear genteel, intelligent and calm is similarly sinister. Terrifying adjectives are used to describe Lecter, and his insane persona is built up so dramatically that it is a confusing shock when we see a well-groomed mature gentleman.

The power of Lecter is that, despite the extreme measures the prison has taken to keep him under wraps, he is still powerfully manipulative. The impression is that he could easily convince someone to let him out. His own expert knowledge of the human mind meant that he could not only kill, but he could work out his victim’s deepest fears and neuroses. Despite his calmness, he could do more damage than each of the raving lunatics with whom he shares a prison wing.

It was a wise choice, however, to make Lecter the secondary serial killer. It was not him the police were after, which allowed the writers to bring out his character in one-to-one sessions with FBI agent Clarice Starling. It was also wise because it allowed the film to showcase another type of psychopath in Buffalo Bill. Psychopaths do indeed come in all shapes, sizes and guises.

Anyone could be a psychopath. Even one who reviews 1,001 films… [she grinned]

(That’s a joke, don’t take me to court!)