Four Unique Movies
I think it's time for a new segment that will become regular: Movie reviews. I love watching movies, and I try to catch both old and new ones when I can. In these posts I will try to stay away from the blockbusters, and rather focus on the hidden gems.
My selection for this post is: Amélie, Into the Wild, Pan's Labyrinth and Where the Wild Things Are. All these movies surprised me with the way the story is presented, by being original and by making an impact on me. They are presented here alphabetically.
Amélie
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain ("The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain") is a wonderful piece of art. Telling an intricate and humorous story with clever and creative editing. In the movie we meet Amélie, who one day decides to change other peoples life for the better. The movie really stands out from the crowd because of the characters, and its style. The characters are very believable, and you feel like you know them by the end.
This movie shows that romantic comedies can be very much more than what Hollywood releases every week. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it to everyone.
Into the Wild
Based on the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer about the adventures of Christopher McCandless, who took off on a life-changing journey after graduating from the university. I had heard about the book, and I was very surprised when I realized that what I assumed was a remarkable story was in fact a true story. After traveling for some time Christopher ends up in Alaska, where he struggles to survive.
The film portraits Christophers journey as the random walk through America that it was. He takes the alias Alexander Supertramp, and is slowly distancing himself from everyone he meets. In the end he faces Alaska. Christopher wrote in his diary:
Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.
- Alexander Supertramp, May 1992
Pan's Labyrinth
El Laberinto del Fauno, "The Faun's Labyrinth" literally, portraits a mixture of this world, during the Franquist repression in Spain, and a fantasy world where mysterious and sometimes scary creatures live. We meet a girl who realizes that she is chosen to rule the underworld, if only she can prove not to be mortal. She is given three tests by the faun who lives in a labyrinth. I really think you should all see this movie, it's just so cool.
Where the Wild Things Are
Based on an old children's book, Where the Wild Things Are is not a movie for the youngest. You might get that impression from the big fluffy monsters, but when you watch it you early get the impression that everything is not quite as cuddly as it seems. The young lead actor makes an great effort, and really comes through. The technology and production makes this fantasy world come alive.
Work on this movie started in the 80', but got canceled many times. The original 10 sentence story has undergone a heavy interpretation, but the feel of the story remains. The director, Spike Jonze, has gotten a great deal of attention for this movie, reaping acclaims such as:
Jonze unleashes his considerable creativity. The beasts are recognizable from Sendak's pages, but Jonze gives them names and distinct personalities that connect to aspects of Max's psyche and to the people he loves. Freud would adore this movie. They are vast, feathered, horned, clawed, beaked and definitely wild — irrational and dangerous, even when showing affection — and Jonze uses their threatening bulk as well as their capacity for cruelty to remind us that Max's taming of them is only temporary. For any child, it is near impossible to stay king of anything, even in fantasy.
—Mary Pols, Time magazine
I did not want to embed 4 movie trailers in this post, so I've chosen one. You can always watch the other trailers on YouTube (link in the info boxes). I think this trailer makes the movie look a little soft. It is based on a children's book, but it can at times be a little scary. Below the movie there is a poll, please take the time to answer it.
I wanted to try something new: a poll. Fell free to answer, and also leave a comment. Perhaps you've seen a good movie lately, and want to share it.
