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nirvana_83
Reviews
Marie Antoinette (2006)
interesting perspective on Marie Antoinette but a bit ahistoric
I watched the movie this spring in Paris and was frankly a bit disappointed, although there were some things about the movie that I did like.
What I like about the movie is it's new take on Marie Antoinette's life in Versailles. I found it interesting how the movie sought to portray her life from her perspective, as in a young Austrian girl being thrust into the complicated and pompous court life of Versailles and feeling lost and overwhelmed in the middle of it all. From this perspective, Marie Antoinette is portrayed as a young woman like any other yearning for happiness, friendship, fun, and love, and being disappointed due to her somewhat reserved husband and all the intrigues going on at the Versailles court. For instance, I found that the scene where Kirsten Dunst is shown partying with her court friends and watching the sunset together as capturing very well what it feels like to be young and have fun when hanging out with friends. The music and the scenes came together really well to capture the young lively energy that is associated with being young.
Even though the movie has drawn the most criticism for its ahistorical nature, the movie capturers well that nothing has changed much in the past few centuries, and that young women have the same needs: to have fun, enjoy fashion, and yearn for love and affection. For instance, the sequences in the film that show all the Manolo Blahnik shows and Marie Antoinette's obsession with fashion reads like a contemporary music video documenting fashion and music.
The movie's soundtrack is definitely a gem for those fond of 80's and french classical music and I can't wait for the soundtrack! The movie's use of 80's tune also reminded me of the movie "plunkett and Maccleane" with iv Tyler, which managed to merge contemporary electronic music beautifully with costume drama.
As mentioned before, the movie unfortunately does lack a more well defined historical context, as Marie Anotinnette seems far removed from the social and political roots that resulted in the French revolution. Much of the era's historical happenings are put in the background although the these are tossed in once in a while.
Due to lack of more comprehensive historical consideration and context, Marie Anotinnette is portrayed a bit too sympathetically, as my impression is that Coppola wanted to portray her as an innocent young girl just thrown in the chaos that is the French revolution and having nothing to do with the revolution. Even though I am not all that familiar with French history, it is commonly known that Marie Anotinette's exuberant and lavish lifestyle was instrumental in stirring up dissatisfaction and unrest among the mob and peasants, which ultimately led to the French revolution.
my take on the film is: it's a fun movie for those looking for a lighthearted costume drama with cool music but not one for those looking for more serious historical context.
2046 (2004)
disappointing despite the beautiful aesthetics and music
I must say I was rather disappointed with 2046 despite its' beautiful music and cinematography. It seemed like the movie was put together in a rush and the some segments of the movie had no connection (some people may call this art-house or non-Hollywood), but for me, a good movie still needs some kind of overall story or connection between the different parts. Even though some scenes and settings are absolutely beautiful and remind you of the atmospheric rendering of In the Mood for Love, the lack of substance to the story definitely drew back from the power of 2046 on me as a viewer. In the last 20 minutes or so, the movie felt too dragged out and I really think some parts could be made more compact or just taken out. Therefore, watch the movie for its artistic quality and innovation but plot wise, don't expect to get the double satisfaction of artistic quality and a well written plot as with "In the Mood for Love".
Valmont (1989)
"Valmont" is better than "dangerous liason" in some ways
I just watched "Valmont" just now actually, and what can I say, I was really impressed with the film... I've seen "Dangerous Liason" so many times before, and it's always been one of my favorites, so maybe that's why I was a bit skeptical about "Valmont" as it started (for me it was overshadowed by "Dangerous Liason", but it was quick for me to be proven wrong...) The film was great, very interesting, because it provided different insight into the the story. Colin Firth (who I've fallen in love with ever since I watched "Bridget Jones' Diary, because he is one charming brit!) was dazzling as Valmont, and he managed to display another kind of Valmont, which John Malkovich wasn't, but he was great as well. Firth's Valmont was very charming and he has a passion and charisma to him that Malkovich lacked (he was overall rather "cool"), and what can i say? He just took my breath away again once again. Annette Bening (is that how u spell her name?) was also brilliant, and in the begining I was tricked into thinking that she was too nice for the part, but nope, she was evil as well, and maybe to some extent more evil that Glenn Close's portryal, because beneath all the nice and sweetness, beining was evil indeed! and Henry Thomas, he was extroidinary, and he did a great job! His potrayal of his character was so much better than Keanu Reeves (who can't act), and he made the movie interesting indeed. it was sad to see his innocence lost at the end though, what really disturbed me, because before he was such a loyal lover! sad, the loss of innocence, once it's gone, it never comes back...maybe "Valmont" is lacking in the sense that it failed to illustrate the importance of Madame de Tourvel, like "Dangerous Liason" did, but otherwise, Valmont is magnificent. passionate, fun, and definetly keeps you going!