Film Persona

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's "A Matter of Life and Death" In 1946, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger continued their impressive streak of great films in the 1940s with " A Matter of Life and Death ." Although it was not the first technicolor film they would make together (1943's " The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp " being the sole technicolor collaboration between the two), many praised " A Matter of Life and Death " for its glorious and starkly beautiful technicolor visuals.  The story centers on a British airman who cheats death by surviving a fighter crash he was supposed to die in. While living out his remaining 'borrowed' time, he pleads with a figure from the afterlife to allow him to remain on Earth, as he has just fallen in love with an American servicewoman.  Although I was a bit bored by the story, I found the visuals to be incredible, especially the scenes involving the 'afterlife.' I know thi...

  William Wyler's "The Best Years of Our Lives" At the time of the film's release in 1946, " The Best Years of Our Lives " was hailed as William Wyler's masterpiece, on top of being considered one of the great American pictures made that decade. It was even popular amongst audiences who made the film the greatest box office success since the monolithic " Gone with the Wind " 7 years prior.  " The Best Years of Our Lives " centers on three differently ranked American servicemen as they attempt to reacclimated to the changing landscape of American culture upon returning from World War II.  They deal with a changing culture, trying to re-establish themselves in the family unit they left behind, and newfound trauma and disabilities they may have.  Going into this film, I was thoroughly excited as I had heard so many great things. While I did enjoy the film and think it was a worthwhile watch, I found myself disengaged, especially in the b...

  Maurice Cloche's "Monsieur Vincent" Centering on the life of 17th century priest Vincent de Paul, Maurice Cloche's 1947 French film " Monsieur Vincent " is a great biographical picture of an iconic man. Vincent de Paul, known historically as the priest who revolutionized the state of ministry in his time, focused all his time and efforts to serving the poor. The film demonstrates these efforts by Paul and ruminates on the state of class and our own sense of humanity. Perhaps this is a bad analogy, but I find " Monsieur Vincent " to be somewhat of a prototype to 'spiritual' films to come later. While watching, I felt that it resembled Bunuel's 1959 film " Nazarin ," Andrei Rublev's " Andrei Rublev ," and perhaps even the works of Robert Bresson, like 1951's " Diary of a Country Priest ." However, because " Monsieur Vincent " acts as a prototype to these films, it doesn't quite have th...

  Luigi Zampa's "To Live in Peace" Luigi Zampa's 1947 Italian neo-realist film " To Live in Peace " is a comedy-drama war film that centers on a family attempting to shelter and hide two American soldiers during the end of the Second World War. The family just want "to live in peace," as per the film's title, and want nothing to do with the war. But, the war comes to them and forces them into precarious situations where they must act regardless. Although the film has a lot of emotion, there is plenty of comedy in the film. Particularly, the scene in which the German and American soldier get drunk and parade the streets screaming that the war is over. These comedic parts were not as interesting to me and felt like more of a detractor from the heart of the story. Otherwise, I very much enjoyed this film and felt it was a nice entry into the new bucket of Italian films emerging from the post-war era. It is a bit of a smaller film and not as mighty...

  Marcell Jankovics' "Son of the White Mare" Telling the story of an ancient mythological Hungarian folktale, 1981's " Son of a White Mare " is a masterclass in visual animation by Marcell Jankovics. It is a thrilling picture that is perhaps the greatest use of animated images in the history of film. I found the visual psychedelic experience quite thrilling. The ancient fantasy folktale was neither here nor there, but it was the perfect story for such a unique and creative visual story. As much as I turn away from animated film, " Son of the White Mare " is perhaps the most stunning use of animation I've ever seen.

  Claude Autant-Lara's "Devil in the Flesh" Set during the backdrop of World War I, Claude Autant-Lara's 1947 film " Devil in the Flesh " details a romantic affair between a hospital nurse and a 17-year-old young boy. The couple's primary concern is the fiancé of the woman who is away fighting in the war and his inevitable return. Although the film doesn't concern itself with anything rooted in thematic relevance, I still found myself utterly engaged with this messy and tricky relationship. By the film's end, I was utterly devastated by the film's tragedy and the coming apart of a relationship, despite the bittersweet circumstances that surround it. Like I said, the film doesn't really relate to anything other than its own inherent story to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and emotionally connected the whole way.   

  David Lean's "Great Expectations" After the war, David Lean adapted two of Charles Dickens most famous novels. The first, released in 1946, was Dickens 1861 novel " Great Expectations ." Centering on a young orphan boy who finds himself in the fortunate circumstances of becoming a noble gentleman, the film was praised by critics and audiences for effectively rendering the classic Dickens novel to cinematic terms.  On a personal level, I had never read the Dickens novel. This was my first experience with this specific story. While there were some intriguing elements, I found the story and thereby the film itself to be rather boring. In fact, I fell asleep during it. While this is not an indicator of the objective quality of a work, it determines the personal likability with such a film. To that extend, I didn't like this film very much and was very underwhelmed.