Film Persona

  Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" It's very difficult to separate Werner Herzog's 1982 film " Fizcarraldo " from its behind-the-scenes troubles. In fact, these troubles are detailed in the making-of documentary " Burden of Dreams ," released in the same year. However, I believe that this is perhaps the only film in which knowing the behind-the-scenes troubles improves the thematic point within the film itself.  The film centers on an Irish immigrant living in Peru in the late 19th century who dreams of building his own opera house in the country. Due to the rapid rubber boom, he has an opportunity to seize rubber trees in the Peruvian Amazon that is untouched by industrialists. After buying a boat, he hatches a plan to sail the Pachitea River and carry his boat over a ridge into the Ucayali River, where the untouched trees are. Along the way, he encounters local natives willing to assist the European.  Now. On to the 'behind-the-scenes' ...

  Mikio Naruse's "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" Although he would go on to make a batch of films over the next seven years, Mikio Naruse's final great work of note is his 1960 film " When a Woman Ascends the Stairs ." He reteams with frequent acting collaborator Hideko Takamine, who was an acting force in Japan at the time. Centering on a woman trying to assert her independence in a male-dominated landscape, " When a Woman Ascends the Stairs " is a perfect encapsulation of the female-centric stories that Japanese filmmakers like Naruse and the late Kenji Mizoguchi were known for. It centers on Keiko, also affectionately called 'mama,' a young widow approaching 30 who works as a hostess at a bar in Ginza. She has reached a turning point in her life where she must decide whether she wants to gather funds to open her own bar or marry. However, it becomes clear that her only path forward is through the approval and support of a men, who hold...

  Kim Ki-Young's "The Housemaid" After hearing nothing but praise from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Bong Joon Ho about the 1960 Korean film, " The Housemaid ," I went in fully expecting an underrated masterwork. While there were elements of the film that were deeply intriguing, I felt as though the film seems to fall apart in the end. There is quite literally a nod and wink into camera and a note about not letting 'younger women' occupy your mind in the last moments, wrapping its theme into a packaged and somewhat eye-rolling final sentiment.  The film centers on a happy family who, after moving into a house for the first time, decide to hire a maid for upkeep. However, the maid proves more than they bargained for after she sleeps with the husband and blackmails the family. Things get even weirder from there. While I do admire how ultra-bizarre the series of events start to get, there is a certain level of absurdism that doesn't quite work. I...

  Francois Truffaut's "The Story of Adele H." Had I not known that Francois Truffaut's 1975 film " The Story of Adele H. " were based on a factual biographical account, I would have never conceived it to be so. The story of the film is a total whirlwind of single-minded insanity. And yet, the seeming madness of the central character is viewed through a romantic lens, making her journey and her state of mind almost noble.  It centers on Adele Hugo, the second daughter of Victor Hugo, and the very real account of her pursuit of Lieutenant Albert Pinson - a British officer stationed in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the American Civil War. She is rejected by the Lieutenant every step of the way. However, she endlessly pursues him and even sabotages his military standing and potential engagements. By the end of the film, she has lost sanity and must be taken back to France and her father. I found " The Story of Adele H. " to be a very strange film. There ...

  Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" Although Michael Powell would go on to direct films for the next two decades, his last great work is probably widely considered to be 1960's " Peeping Tom ." Bearing similar themes to Alfred Hitchcock's " Psycho " from the same year, " Peeping Tom " has an unnerving central protagonist that serial murders due to a having a tormented childhood. Both films deal in voyeurism, as well.  It centers on Mark Lewis, who finds women to film on his portable motion picture camera. He films their deaths and keeps the film for himself. After falling in love with the woman who lives downstairs, he decides that change is possible for him. However, his sick perversions begin to close in around him. My stance on this film might be a bit controversial, given its lauded nature. But, I feel that the film shows real promise in the first half until ultimately unravelling into something more silly and eye-rolling. While much...

Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu, the Vampyre" There is a paragraph in Roger Ebert's review of the 1979 film " Nosferatu, the Vampyre " which notes how most audiences and critics don't recognize Werner Herzog's beautiful images, as his themes are often an overshadowing force. With this film, Ebert notes, audiences can finally appreciate the compositional mastery Herzog has to offer. This doesn't mean " Nosferatu, the Vamprye " is lacking in depth thematically. But, the beauty of the visual images certainly is in the forefront. The plot of the film is directly a remake of the classic 1922 Murnau original film. Even more so, he fuses it with Stoker's original " Dracula " concept (which Murnau's film shameless stole from). A vampire named Dracula buys up new real estate in the town of Wismar, bringing with him plague and death. Lucy, the wife of the real estate agent who sold him the property, must entrap Dracula to end the mad...

  Masaki Kobayashi's "The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer" The third and final installment of Masaki Kobayashi's " The Human Condition " series, 1961's " A Soldier's Prayer " finds our pacifist protagonist reaching his lowest depths. The Japanese forces have now been shattered and Kaji is left abandoned to the treacheries of a dangerous warzone. Kobayashi certainly doesn't wrap up his trilogy into a nice little bow. Nor does this story call for. This makes " A Soldier's Prayer " and the entire trilogy as a whole, a dark tragedy. While I felt energized by the trilogy's first installment, I was very beaten down by the time the trilogy came to a conclusion. Not thematically beaten down, I simply felt the act of continuing with the story was proving to be cumbersome. The thematic point of the film series is iterated from the get-go, making the incredible length of the project feel tiresome.  I do understand the...

  Werner Herzog's "Stroszek" When one first ventures into the filmography of famed German filmmaker Werner Herzog, there are many films that pop out as 'iconic' or even 'notable.' However, sitting down to watch his 1977 film " Stroszek " was the first time I had ever heard of the film. The tragedy of this is that it should be more widely considered as one of his best work. It centers on Bruno, an alcoholic street performer down on his luck in West Berlin. After receiving harsh treatment, he is convinced by his prostitute friend Eva to move to America. Bruno's elderly neighbor reaches out to his family member to find them places to live and work. After the three of them move to Wisconsin, they buy a trailer house and start a new life. However, Bruno begins to regret this decision over time. I am unsure is this was intentional of Herzog's part, but I found the film to be about the myth of the American dream. Clearly, the foundational struct...

  Claude Chabrol's "Le Boucher" After watching Claude Chabrol's 1970 film " Le Boucher ," (along with some of his previous efforts - " Le Beau Serge " and " Les Cousins ") I always becomes so swept away by his ability to pull you into an intimate relationship, only to twist that relationship into a swirling array of directions. However, I can never seem to get a grasp on Chabrol's themes. They arise and fall as simultaneously as our perspectives shift and change. Chabrol is a master at undermining a perceived tone and an expected result. " Le Boucher " centers on a school teacher named Helene, who befriends the local butcher. As their relationship grows more intimate, the town begins to have a string of unsolved murders. Once Helene learns the truth, things grow dire.  I won't give away the details of the film's finale, but it behooves me to say that it made the entire film worthwhile. There were moments throughout w...

  Koreyoshi Kurahara's "Intimidation" If anyone is interested in a film that it tight, thrilling, and short-and-sweet, Koreyoshi Kurahara's 1960 film " Intimidation " is just for you. Labelled as a 'noir,' the film details the complex situation involving a bank manager being blackmailed and the underling caught in the crossfires. The incredibly short hour-length runtime makes the film feel very bite-sized, but that doesn't mean it doesn't pack a punch. I do think I somewhat agree what the 'noir' status in that each character seems to be a bad actor. Corruption is a major theme in the film and Kurahara demonstrates the level the average citizen is willing to go to corrupt themselves to gain and acquire something. There are certainly other films that perform these themes in a grander way, but " Intimidation " certainly cuts right to the point.

  Andrei Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev" There is one particular sequence in the 1966 Andrei Tarkovsky film " Andrei Rublev " in which the titular painter is unable to start painting a church. I too feel unable to start the task of writing about " Andrei Rublev ." It is a colossus film that could be discussed at length in many different varieties. However, I will attempt to 'paint the wall,' as it were. " Andrei Rublev " is a historical, biographical account of the life of famed Russian painter, Andre Rublev. The film is broken up into 8 chapters, along with a prologue and an epilogue. Through these chapters, Rublev struggles with painting, witnesses the full scope of horrors humanity has to offer, speaks with friends and ghosts about the nature of divinity, and comes to conclusions about his purpose in life. All in all, the film is simply Tarkovsky himself musing on the nature of humanity's purpose and what art means in all of that. ...