Film Persona

  Abbas Kiarostami's "Where Is the Friend's House?" While watching Abbas Kiarostami's 1987 film " Where Is the Friend's House ," I felt myself inextricably transfixed to the story of a young boy looking for his friend's house. The plot of the film is relatively simple, and yet the mundanity of an everyday-type problem unravels into a more complex observation of Iran life.  The film centers on a young 8-year-old boy named Ahman, who goes to school with Reza, a friend of his. After watching his teacher chastise Reza for not writing down his assignment in his notebook, Ahman accidentally grabs Reza's notebook by mistake and takes it home with him. Adman pleads with his family to let him leave to return the notebook, but they are critical of him and tell him to do his homework and chores instead. Ahman leaves and spends the rest of the film frantically searching for Reza's house in the next village over. Like I said, the plot is relatively si

  Jean-Pierre Melville's "Les Enfants Terribles" After the rousing success of his 1949 film " La Silence de la Mer ," Jean-Pierre Melville caught the attention of famed poet, playwright, and filmmaker Jean Cocteau. Cocteau asked Melville to adapt his 1929 novel " Les Enfants Terribles ." The result, 1950's " Les Enfants Terribles " is a bizarre concoction of Melville's unique direction and Cocteau's inexplicable written word.  I won't go too much into the plot of the film, only to say that it centers on a brother and sister who have a very strange relationship with each other. There is so much tension, violence, love, and even passionate obsession between them. When they interact with several other characters who arrive into the story, they drag them through their various games and twisted relationship. I have to say that I did not enjoy this film. I can objectively see its merits, especially the bizarre quality that Cocteau a

  Max Ophuls' "The Earrings of Madame de..." While watching Max Ophuls' 1953 French film " The Earrings of Madame de... ," I was struck by how the film seems like a complete synthesis of all of Ophuls' most notable works. It had the very same theme and tone to his 1933 German film " Liebelei " while also mimicking some of his more recent French films " La Ronde " and " Le Plaisir ." While the former dealt with very similar plot devices revolving around lust and passion attempting to be contained by restricting upper class respectabilities, the latter films take this notion and analyses them further by removing the restriction of class and nationality into more universal concepts. What " The Earrings of Madame de... " does so well is essentially reiterate " Liebelei ," while also reinforcing the concepts of class and feminism. The film centers on the nameless "Madame de...," an aristocratic woman

  Preston Sturges' "Hail the Conquering Hero" 1944's " Hail the Conquering Hero " will be the very last film of Preston Sturges' that I will be watching and reviewing. It also happens to be the last film he ever produced with Paramount Pictures. Made and released during the middle of World War II, " Hail the Conquering Hero " is perhaps the most aptly and timely picture of Sturges' career.  The film centers on a young man named Woodrow afraid to tell his mother that he was not medically fit for the war. After a year of hiding away, a group of soldiers find him sulking in a bar and convince him to tell his mother that he has just returned from war after being medically discharged. After returning home, he and the group of soldiers are surprised to discover that the whole town has thrown a celebration for the 'conquering hero.' Even more so, they have elected Woodrow to be the new mayor. Stuck in the middle of the lie, the real soldie

  Otto Preminger's "Laura" Billy Wilder's " Double Indemnity " was released in the summer of 1944 and changed the landscape of the Hollywood film going forward. That fall, there would be an onslaught of film that attempted to replicate that 'noir'-ish formula, like Fritz Lang's mockish " The Woman in the Window ." Otto Preminger, an Austrian director, whom had yet to made a big splash in Hollywood, released a widely popular 'film noir' called " Laura ."  " Laura " centers on a detective investigating the death of a woman named Laura. Through his investigation, we meet a cast of characters and through flashbacks as told from their perspective, we get to know Laura and her relationship with these men. However, a twist in the story changes the very fabric of the investigation all together.  Although the film is labelled as a 'film noir,' I personally would rebuke that label all together. To me, there is

  Vincente Minnelli's "Cabin in the Sky" Vincente Minnelli's directorial debut, 1943's " Cabin in the Sky " is a very unique picture in that it contains a all-black cast. This obviously caused a lot of controversy, especially in the southern states. Despite racial tension over the film's release, it ended up making a profit for MGM in the amount of $587,000.  The film details the moral fight over a man's soul. Little Joe, a well-meaning gambler, gets killed over his gambling debts by a group of gangsters. Little Joe's soul is resurrected on the condition that he get one final chance to redeem his soul. The son of Satan and 'The General' make a wager over Joe's soul and play various games to tempt and/or redeem Joe. " Cabin in the Sky " is full of musical numbers, in typical Minnelli style. Although this film doesn't quite have the signature Minnelli flare, it is a great starting point for the soon illustrious filmmak

  Jean Gremillon's "Le Ciel est a Vous" The very last film I will be doing in my Jean Gremillion watch is his 1944 romantic drama, " Le Ciel est a Vous ." Gremillon was a director known for his subversive filmmaking, which was especially important during the war when that was greatly needed. However, with " Le Ciel est a Vous ," Gremillon strayed from his typical style into something more crowd-pleasing. The effect delivered, as it became Gremillon's most financially successful film. The film focuses on a married couple who have dreams of flying, the mechanic Pierre and his wife Therese. Eventually, the team are able to construct an aviator that Therese breaks a world record with. The story is about the love between the two characters and their joint dreams that they attempt to reach together. Overall, I very much enjoyed the film. I think that the climax of the film really pulls on your emotional center. I went from being devastated to overjoyed t

  Laurence Olivier's "Henry V" To me, Laurence Olivier's 1944 Shakespeare adaptation of " Henry V " has the same intentionality of Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film " Alexander Nevsky ." Both deal with noble kings preparing their nation for battle against an aggravator army. Both are meant to be used by their respective nation as a morale boost and an encouragement for the collective hope in defeating the Nazi invaders. Olivier's " Henry V ," partially commissioned by the British government, was "dedicated to the 'Commandos and Airborne Troops of Great Britain in the spirit of whose ancestors it has been humbly attempted to recapture."  Olivier's film starts off as a performance of the iconic play itself in 1600s London, as spectators watch the opening scenes of Shakespeare's play in the Globe Theater. However, the film soon transitions back to 1415 so that we the viewers may watch the full encompassing event of