Film Persona

  Mike Nichols's "The Graduate" My most recent excursion into Mike Nichols's " The Graduate " is a far different experience than when I first watched the film over a decade ago. I watched the film when I was in my late teens/early 20s and felt a kinship with the passivity and disconnect felt by Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock. However, as I enter my mid-30s, I no longer feel as emotionally connected to the character. In fact, I am far more critical and perturbed by Benjamin this go-around. For those that don't know, " The Graduate " centers on a college graduate, Benjamin, who returns to his parents' home in Pasadena to spend the summer until he can decide what to do with his life. Drifting by in a malaise, Benjamin spends his summer drifting in the pool. Oh, and having an affair with Mrs. Robinson, the married neighbor who is twice his age. After spending many nights with Mrs. Robinson, Benjamin falls in love with her daughter, Elai...

  Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Oedipus Rex" By 1967, many European filmmakers fully transitioned to full-color films, as the technology had now become more accessible. Pier Paolo Pasolini, the controversial Italian filmmaker, decided to make his first color film an adaption of Sophocles' " Oedipus Rex ." He decided to make his adaptation heavy stylized, infusing it with a sense of otherworldly-ness. The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 1967 Venice Film Festival and is still considered a critical piece of Pasolini's oeuvre.  Pasolini's " Oedipus Rex " is a straight book-to-film adaptation, even containing the original dialogue of Sophocles' play. Its central character, Oedipus, is abandoned as a child and found by the King and Queen of Corinth Polybus, where he is raised as their own. After being told a prophecy that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus leaves him to avoid his fate. After killing a king from ...

  Bo Widerberg's "Elvira Madigan" There are many things to consider about Bo Widerberg's 1967 film " Elvira Madigan ." Firstly, it is based on the true, yet tragic, story of circus performer Elvira Madigan and her relationship with Swedish nobleman Sixten Sparre. Secondly, the film's cinematography - full color - looks like a painting in every single frame. It is perhaps one of the most crisp and visually beautiful films I've seen in a while. Elvira Madigan, the stage name of tightrope walker Hedvig Jensen, runs away with Swedish llieutenant Sixten Sparre in the Danish countryside. Elvira leaves behind her parents and circus act while Sixten leaves behind his wife and three children. He also is now a deserter of the Swedish army. The couple live in romantic bliss away from the pressures and hassles of society by sneaking around the countryside and staying in hotels and inns. However, their idyllic summer away from society slowly begins to grow sour a...

  Stuart Rosenberg's "Cool Hand Luke" There is something overtly charming about the 1967 Hollywood film " Cool Hand Luke ." Perhaps because the central character, Luke, is so damn charming. Beyond its charm, the film surprisingly became a touchstone of its era - a film that stood out amongst the stale products being churned out by Hollywood. Even more so, it had allegorical touches - clearly anti-establishment and nodding to the emerging opposition to the ongoing war in Vietnam.  The film stars the incomparable Paul Newman as Luke, a decorated World War II veteran sentenced to two years on a chain gang after drunkenly destroying parking meters. In the gang, Luke refuses to observe orders, albeit always with a cool and sly demeanor. After gaining the respect of the other prisoners, Luke makes several escape attempts and is eventually beaten and broken down by the authoritative staff.  At the time of the film's release, anti-establishment was a spreading senti...

  Luchino Visconti's "The Stranger" Going into Luchino Visconti's rendition of the 1942 Albert Camus novel " The Stranger, " I was already trepidatious. Having read Camus's novel and watched the 2025 Francois Ozon adaptation, I have been fully immersed in the story. What a story it is. However, Visconti's rendition didn't strike well with me, and left me feeling as though the artist didn't quite understand the work he was adapting.  Visconti takes the text and literalizes it. In doing so, he creates a hollow reenactment of the novel. It doesn't feel as though the story understands what it is supposed to be. It feels as though the filmmakers are simply recounting the literal events as they unfold in the novel without fully understanding and expressing the more abstract and philosophical grasp.

  Stanley Kramer's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" With civil rights and racial tensions heating up in the 1960s, Hollywood made an effort to reflect the state of social life in America. One such example of a film is 1967's " Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ." Starring Sidney Poitier, Katharine Houghton, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn, the film centers around a mixed-raced couple introducing their partners to their parents for the first time. The film is a far cry from Poitier's " In the Heat of the Night " from the same year. Outright, even dangerous, racists aren't the issue here. Rather, its the fear of public perception by progressive parents. The dramatic differences between these two films require their respective genre and approach to the subject matter. In this case, the trepidation of the characters must be ironed out through consistent discussion and consideration (whereas the former mostly deals in action).  For the mos...