We currently watch so many films that occasionally we do forget that we’ve already watched something. This is one of those times. Neither my wife nor myself could remember watching this but it seemed familiar as we started watching it. Oddly enough, I do definitely remember watching the earlier and better known Lost in Beijing by the same director and also starring Fan Bingbing. Still, this must have been before I started writing about films extensively and I like to think that my ability to properly evaluate and appreciate cinema has improved since then so rewatching it was fine.
So this is another classic that I never got around to properly watching before this. As my wife noted, even if you don’t know this film you definitely will know the score by Ennio Morricone, iconic as it is. This film is officially the final part of the so-called Dollars trilogy directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood. But this is by far the most famous and successful of the three and it’s not as if continuity matters so I picked it to watch first. I definitely will get around to watching at least the first film at some point however.
Every time I feel like I’m getting a handle on world cinema I am chagrined to discover how much I have yet to learn. This was a recommendation by our cinephile friend. It’s made by Hong Sang-soo, an independent South Korean filmmaker who has been around for a while but this is the first time I’ve seen his work.
So this one made it onto the best of lists of a few critics and was even a recommendation by my cinephile friend. Heck, it was even recommended by LYN members, a popular Malaysian English-language forum, though that is a rather dubious mark of honor. I don’t recognize the name of its writer / director Taylor Sheridan but I do recognize the MCU film stars. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are of course obvious but it also stars Jon Bernthal who plays the Punisher on television.
My wife added this to her want list ages ago as she is familiar with the novel it is based on. However it is little known outside of China and proved to be impossible to find. I only found it when I discovered a YouTube channel that seemingly specializes in very old Chinese films. It’s pretty odd to consider what is or isn’t allowed on YouTube at times but these films are so little watched that I doubt it’s much of an issue.
This is the second in the series of films that my wife picked out about senescence and its debilitating effects on the mind in particular. I believe that On Golden Pond was a much more prominent work than Away From Her, featuring as it does a star-studded cast. I find myself embarrassed that while it is the more traditional and even more sentimental film, I actually like it more due to how well-rounded it is and the excellent performances.
So this is one of those big deal films that are impossible to ignore. Kathryn Bigelow is one of the most important female directors in Hollywood and seems to have made adapting important events like this a cornerstone of her career. Personally I’m not a fan though. Her films are well made and hard hitting certainly but there’s something off about them in their intent and perhaps their governing philosophy. Sadly Detroit feels that a continuation of that pattern to me.
