Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by RGA (A) on September 08, 2005 at 19:59:49

In Reply to: The Constant Gardener: a pretty (don't read if you haven't seen) posted by tinear on September 8, 2005 at 17:00:08:

"Good entertainment, though, doesn't equal "art.""

So because you say it isn't art then it isn't? What University degree to do you hold or credential do you have that makes you sole arbiter of what ART is?

"Fiennes just doesn't emote very well, and this is really a love story."

Fiennes was playing an introvert not an extrovert -- guess you missed that.

"She also seemed a little young for the role, and some of the "liberal speech" parts were just plain embarrassing. She wasn't supposed to be a high school sophomore, for God's sake."

Which is why people were telling her to shut up and walked out on her while raving at Justin. It was embarrassing -- that was the point of the scene - where were you?

"Reisz appear a "saint," then morph to a tart, then back to a saint worked very well."

It's Weisz -- she wasn't portrayed as a tart. She was prepared to make a deal for what she wanted and not follow through.

"The scene wherein she was clutching the black baby was way out of line and seemed put in expressly to score points"

So if a black woman was dying you would could not see someone taking care of her child --- I'm surprised that you would think a humanitarian thing such as this especially from what tessa has been written as would do anything else?

"I didn't see any really major change in Fiennes to account for his actions at the end: he didn't seem that taken with his wife for most of the movie. Guys that are successful bureaucrats seemingly don't change that much without a powerful catalyst: I didn't SEE his feelings enough to understand his change."

Fiennes had a number of monumental moments of reflection on his marriage learning more about his wife than he ever had before -- the diary and later when he began to see things the way she saw things. And he was not a successful beurocrat he was a midlevel relatively nothing diplomat.

"The movie also seemed to just chug along without any buildup to a climax."

Agreed -- it doesn't follow the usual hollywood artificiality and therefore does not have the artificial climax!

"I must say that the technique of Meirreles made the viewer feel one was IN Africa, palpably. One would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the scenes of country after country in dire poverty--and to remember the faces of the people and children."

Really, I disagree -- Meireles was even handed showing that indeed many of these kids were happy -- yes a hard life - harder by Western families and screwed over by the west but he also showed the vibrancy and joy and hard work of these people.

The imposed imperialistic view that makes things more like America or Britain doesn't mean that things will be better -- for a film that has this message more to its core would be the recent Rabbit Proof Fence.

I agree that some of the visuals may be a mild distraction. Oh well nobody is gouing to see it the same way.