Film Persona

  Pietro Germi's "Seduced and Abandoned" In the era of the Italian-style comedy, Pietro Germi rose above the rest as a master of the genre. After his phenomenal 1961 film " Divorce Italian Style ," he continued to master the form with " Seduced and Abandoned ." A belly-laughing critique of Sicilian social customs, " Seduced and Abandoned " is a whirlwind comedy full of hijinks and satire. The film stars Stefania Sandrelli as Agnese, who has a brief affair with with her sister's fiancé, Peppino. After her traditional parents discover this, her father embarks on a farcical journey to protect his family's reputation by convincing Peppino to marry Agnese. There are, of course, complications. The film is told in typical Italian-style comedy fashion, with absurd complications to the story and bellowing hijinks. To me, " Seduced and Abandoned " demonstrates a comfortability the genre has within itself. It ventures away from the rea...

  Martin Ritt's "Hud" By the 1960s, the Western genre had become far more of entertainment concept meant to placate the masses. There were numerous films still, but even more television series. The market was overrun with Westerns. So, when a subversive and more introspective Western like " Hud " comes around, it really stands out above the rest.  Starring the iconic Paul Newman, 1963's " Hud " centers on Hud - a morally bankrupt ranch-hand on his aging father's Texas cattle ranch. After it is discovered that their cattle all has foot-and-mouth disease, Hud's father is tasked with liquidating them - bringing an end to his life's work. Hud's selfishness and brazen disregard for tradition and honor causes domestic issues abound. What's interesting about this particular Western is how the 'society' that normally invades the traditional Western landscape happens from within. Hud himself represents this new societal change, n...

  Satyajit Ray's "The Big City" Based on a novel by Narendranath Mitra, Satyajit Ray's 1963 film " The Big City " centers on a conservative middle-class Bangali family shaken up by one of its women taking a job in the city. Taking place in the early 1950s, the film reflects upon the growing economic and social taking place and how it affects modern Indian social dynamics and roles.  Satyajit Ray is typically interested in the domestic life of Indian families and how that domesticity is directly related to social, political, and economic change. With " The Big City ," he explores how economic necessity creates the new world dynamics, as women in the workplace break the mold of conservative structures. Even more so, our protagonist - Arati - begins to grow in confidence as she becomes the primary earner of her household. This confidence boost disrupts the patriarchal mindset of the family members, as well as eventually the patriarchal mechanism of in...

  Lindsay Anderson's "This Sporting Life" Although a commercial failure upon its release, Lindsay Anderson's 1963 film " This Sporting Life " went on to become one of the standards of the British 'kitchen sink dramas.' The film stars Richard Harris as Frank, a bitter young coal miner who finally makes it in a local rugby league. The problem, however, is that he continues to be the heel of his own life, as his disposition pushes everyone around him away. My admiration for the film extends to the brilliant frustration both towards our protagonist as well as his inability to gain any respect or better life. It's not unfamiliar for the protagonist of a British kitchen sink drama to be unlikeable. In fact, it probably wouldn't be a kitchen sink drama without one. However, the external circumstances revolving around economic disparity and existential meaninglessness is what drives the unlikeable behavior of the protagonist.  When our protagonist - ...

  Elem Klimov's "Welcome, No Trespassing" I am far more familiar with Elem Klimov as the director behind the 1985 masterpiece " Come and See ." With his 1964 film " Welcome, No Trespassing ," we see a completely tonal opposite, transforming the hellscape and terror of the former into the more playful and whimsically pointed latter. The film centers on a group of children at a Soviet Young Pioneer camp attempting to hide the expelled Kostya from the tyrannical administrator, Dynin. The concentration on children and their fight against strict rules and oppressive adults is a common thematic scenario throughout films. " Welcome, No Trespassing " seems to borrow the same cinematic 'spirit of play' as Jean Vigo's " Zero for Conduct ," which also takes free expressionist liberties with visual cues, like exaggerative sequences that indicate a subjective viewpoint of the children.  The message of both the visual components and t...

  Youssef Chahine's "Saladin the Victorious" After the global success of his 1958 film " Cairo Station ," Youssef Chahine was given an enormous budget for a film centering on the iconic Kurdish commander who protected Jerusalem against the Crusaders during the 3rd Crusades. Filmed in color, " Saladin the Victorious " is a three hour epic detailing Saladin's heroic efforts against King Richard, the Lionhearted. Although the film is riddled with historical inaccuracies, it went on to be one of the most important Arabic films of all time. The film also seems to emulate the modern political circumstances happening in the Middle East at the time of its release (1963). Many have noted that the depiction of Saladin mirrors Gamal Abdel Nasser, who took power over Egypt shortly after its revolution in 1952. The Arabs fighting against the crusaders are representative of the modern Arabs fighting against European imperialism.  Under King Richard, the Crusader...

  Elia Kazan's "America, America" Although " America, America " is a bit of a propagandic and nationalistic film by its end, there is still a semblance of true belief in its confines. Written and directed by the controversial Elia Kazan, and adapted from his very own novel, " America, America " tells the story of a young boy determined to get to America from Turkey. Coming from economic desolate means, he stops at nothing to secure passage, even if it means morally denigrating himself. While the whirlwind story is ultimately captivating, the final note seems to embody the notion that getting to America will automatically make you rich. Despite this silly final note, the protagonist's determination to get the 'American Dream' is worthwhile given the contextual circumstances. The drive towards a haven of grace is what truly propels the story forward and brings forth its dramatic points. 

  Ermanno Olmi's "The Fiancés" There's something very unique about the films of Ermanno Olmi. It's even stranger given the notion that they are Italian films, as Italians film are often full of kinetic energy - bouncy and exaggerative. The films of Olmi, on the other hand, are more akin to the works of Michelangelo Antonioni, slower and arid. His 1963 film, " The Fiancés ," adheres to this dry, aimless quality.  The film centers on a factory welder named Giovanni, who has been offered a job in Sicily with the prospect of a promotion. He accepts the offer and leaves behind his fiancé, Liliana, for eight months. However, the days and nights in Sicily are lonely and hollow. The expectations of the job are not what he expected, either.  The intention behind Olmi's film seems not too dissimilar from an Antonioni feature. However, Olmi has added the classic element of economic disparity to the equation, which is a far more familiar theme in Italian cinema....

  John Sturges's "The Great Escape" Considered an American classic, John Sturges's 1963 film " The Great Escape " has heavy commercial appeal. Pulling the layers underneath will not satisfy anyone searching for human depth, especially given the film's context. However, if one throws out the need for dimensionality or depth and simply views this as the commercial vehicle it is, it does its job adequately. The film centers on a group of Allied POWs attempting to escape the confines of a new camp in Germany. With almost 3 hours of runtime, we spend most of it with the POWs in the camp - getting to know them so that we have an emotional attachment to them by the time their dangerous escape comes. The last 45 minutes or so is their planned escape, told in exhilarating and suspenseful fashion. Despite spending ample time with these fellows, I found it hard to connect to them. They are not fully fleshed out characters and seem to only be character traits in hum...

  Louis Malle's "The Fire Within" The first thing I noticed while watching Louis Malle's 1963 film " The Fire Within " was it's lack of music or soundtrack. Aesthetic choice perhaps. After all, Malle is an engineer of the Nouvelle Vague movement. It's safe to assume that some creative liberties were to be used. However, " The Fire Within " was far from the typical style that Nouvelle Vague had become known for. The film centers on Alain, a rehabilitating alcoholic who vows to kill himself by the end of the week. He is separated from his wife, Dorothy, who is living in New York, while he rehabilitates in a clinic. After leaving the clinic, he meets up with various former friends and associates. None of them are able to convince him that life is worth living, however. To entrench our character's story with the malaise of his own emptiness, Malle really makes the atmosphere as dry as possible. The story plods along without any kinetic ener...

  Kon Ichikawa's "An Actor's Revenge" Based on the 1934 novel by Otokichi Mikami, the 1963 film " An Actor's Revenge"  centers on a Kabuki actor in late Edo Japan who seeks revenge on those responsible for his parent's death. The novel had been adapted to the screen numerous times before, the first time by Teinosuke Kinugasa in 1935. Coincidentally, the lead role in both the 1935 version and the 1963 version were both played by Kazuo Hasegawa.  The basic story elements work well and are structured in a dramatic and engaging way. However, there is a bit of excess to the film that makes it feel somewhat bloated. A more stripped down version could have sufficed. However, one positive aspects from this perceived bloat is that the climatic final reckoning feels more weighted.  Overall, I liked the film. However, there was some aspect of it that was missing for me. I'm unsure of what that is, but it felt incomplete as a dramatic piece.

  Robert Wise's "The Haunting" Adapted from the 1959 novel " The Haunting of Hill House " by Shirley Jackson, the 1963 Robert Wise directed " The Haunting " centers on a group of paranormal investigators who spend the week at a haunted house. Although the film is meant as a horror film, it leans more into the branches of the psychological horror than tactile horror. That being said, the film remains a classic of the genre. I, however, was very uninspired by the film. Firstly, whether it was the original Jackson novel that is to blame for this or the screenwriter, but I believe that much of the film doesn't quite make sense tonally. Plot-wise and structurally, it couldn't be more coherently simple. However, the insufferability of the protagonist renders all other plot points unfeasible. I simply could not get past the protagonist's lack of psychological coherence and the lack of logic in the remaining relationships they build throughout the ...