Film Persona

  Federico Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits" It is not completely shocking that Federico Fellini couldn't follow up the masterpieces of " La Dolce Vita " and " 8 1/2 " with another masterpiece. His 1965 film " Juliet of the Spirits " is no masterpiece, but I should posit that it is no spring chicken either. I merely say this because it is incomparable to its predecessors. However, what " Juliet of the Spirits " does offer to its viewer is an engaging experience nonetheless.  The film stars Fellini's wife and muse Giulietta, as Giulietta (Juliet in the English translation), an upper-class housewife who begins to suspect that her emotionally distant husband is having an affair. During these spits of anxious wondering, she begins to have dreams and fantasies that blur the line between reality and her subconscious. She starts tapping into these fantasies, ultimately leading her to a greater self-awareness, and eventually, indepe...

  Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" After completing his trilogy on God's silence with " Through a Glass Darkly ," " Winter's Light ," and " The Silence ," Ingmar Bergman reached a point of stagnation. While he was completing these pieces on existentialism, French filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Resnais were making works of post-modernism. They were re-inventing the language of cinema and filmmakers all across the globe were following suite. With his next project, Bergman abandoned his more stoic, traditional, existential pieces and decided to post-modernize his work. When Godard made " Breathless ," he reinterpreted the relationship between the viewer and the subjects in the film. More specifically, he interjected himself, the director, into that relationship. In traditional cinema, the viewer observed the subjects interacting in a constructed context. What Godard did was remind the viewer of this constructed context and...

  Ingmar Bergman's "The Silence" There's something very bemusing about Ingmar Bergman's 1963 film " The Silence ." Based on the title, along with the notion that it is the final installment in a trilogy of films centered around 'the absence of God,' I went in believing that it would be emotionally devastated. What I received instead was confusion. Typically, this is a turn off for people. Not I. Confusion, as long as it doesn't signify a convolution in the plot, allows me to enjoy the film on an emotionally deeper level. Despite not completely understanding " The Silence ," I was enthralled by it.  Because the film was released in a post-" Hiroshima Mon Amour ," post-" L'Avventura " world, Bergman gets to craft something with a bit of modernity. By this, I mean the 'plot' is a bit more like the anti-plots found in an Antonioni film.  Two sisters, one with a 10-year-old son, arrive at a hotel in a fict...

  John Huston's "The Misfits" If there's one notable aspect about John Huston's 1961 film " The Misfits ," it's the notion that it was the final film appearances of both its leading stars, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Other than this piece of melancholic trivia, there is not much left to get interested over about this film. I am not that much of a John Huston enthusiast. " The Maltese Falcon " and " The Treasures of the Sierra Madre " are the only two films of any worth so far in his filmography. I had hoped " The Misfits " could alleviate this Huston malady of mine. Alas, it was of no avail. Written by Marilyn Monroe's then-husband, Arthur Miller, " The Misfits " centers on a newly divorced woman (played by Monroe) who becomes entangled in the lives of three men, an aging cowboy, a mechanic, and a quiet rodeo rider (Clark Gable, Eli Wallach, and Montgomery Clift respectively).  While I do recognize the ...

  Youssef Chahine's "Cairo Station" Egyptian audiences weren't quite ready for the social commentary that came from Youssef Chahine's 1958 film " Cairo Station ." This is precisely why the film did poorly in its homeland. However, throughout the decades, film appreciators have been kind to " Cairo Station ." Its deeper-than-melodrama subtext is precisely what makes it stand out in the echelons of both Egyptian cinema and global cinema.  The film centers on Qinawi, played by Chahine himself. Qinawi is a homeless, disabled newspaper peddler at Cairo Station. Qinawi, who keeps cut-outs of half-naked women in the shack that he sleeps in, is deeply sexually frustrated and mentally unstable. He becomes obsessed with Hannuma, a beautiful drink vendor. After she rejects his offer for marriage, Qinawi unravels and starts to behave violently.  Perhaps one of the reasons for Egyptian audiences' discomfort is due to the dark and evil behavior of its pr...

  Satyajit Ray's "Apur Sansar" " Apur Sansar " marks the final installment in Satyajit Ray's film trilogy centered around the character of Apu. Its global success, along with its preceding films " Pather Panchali " and " Aparajito " made Ray a recognized and respected filmmaker. He would go on to have a prolific career in cinema, but it was the Apu trilogy that is forever recognized as a changing moment in Indian cinema. " Apur Sansar " continues the story of Apu, who is now an unemployed graduate living in Calcutta. Apu struggles to write a novel while being unable to make rent. While attending a marriage ceremony with his friend, Pulu, Apu ends up marrying the bride, Aparna, instead. Aparna moves to Calcutta with Apu, where the two end up happy together. However, after a tragedy, Apu must decide what to do with his life. I can't help but feel that one cannot understand the full impact of the film without the weighted conte...

  Andrzej Wajda's "Kanal" There are certain times during a standard war film when one questions the validity of certain scenes or outlandish occurrences. Would these things have really happened? Or is this plot device for dramatic effect? If you ever wondered that about Andrzej Wajda's 1957 film " Kanal ," let me just stop you right there. " Kanal " centers on a group of Polish resistance fighters who get trapped in the last remaining refuse by the Nazis. After being cornered, they are forced into the underground sewers, where the toxic fumes from excrement, urine, and chemicals slowly starts to kill them. On top of this grueling way to die, the fumes send them into a delirium. The only choice remains is: should one keep fighting for the possibility of escaping? Or should one climb back up and face execution by the Nazis? This choice presents an unwinnable scenario for its characters. Die in excrement or die by the hands of the dreaded Nazis? Symbo...