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johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2021 list
Notes: Eventually, the Dutch master didnāt disappoint, at least, not me as it turned out to be a massive Verhoeven festival. Indeed, he went pretty much all the way with some over-the-top hallucinations, violence, blood, full frontal nudity and some good old sex. Seriously, even if probably not everything did work, the whole thing was still seriously intense. Eventually, he gave us all the various ways anyone at the time might approach religion (as a real vocation, as a capitalist enterprise, as a powerful political weapon, as a simple way to get fed or a way to escape a toxic household). What I enjoyed the most was how ambiguous Benedetta was until the very end. Indeed, was she some kind of con artist? A complete lunatic? Another sexually frustrated nun? An actual prophet who could communicate with God, somehow? Or maybe it was a combination of all this all together. Well, you wonāt get any easy answer which was the movieās biggest strength but also its weakness. Indeed, at the end, all the other charactersās thoughts, feelings and motivations were pretty clear but Benedetta remained an impenetrable wall which was slightly frustrating and, yet, it made her rather fascinating. I also think that the whole lesbian relationship was not very well linked with her religious āawakeningā. The best thing that I can think of was that, by being touched by Bartolomeaās love, she was then more able to get in touch with God? Or maybe, after all these years of sexual abstinence, it pretty much blew up her fragile mind? Anyway, even if it wasnāt flawless, Verhoeven delivered here another intense roller coaster.3 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Benedetta
“To be honest, I have to admit that I was slightly worried that Paul Verhoeven would come up with something rather sleazy. Well, eventually, the Dutch master didnāt disappoint, at least, not me as it turned out to be a massive Verhoeven festival. Indeed, he went pretty much all the way with some ov” read more
3 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Going in Style
“I wasnāt really expecting much from this flick but since there was a solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. In fact, since it was directed by Zach Braff, I should have been pretty excited by the damned thing since I really loved āGarden Stateā, his directorial debu” read more
3 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Ivan's Childhood
“To be honest, Iām rather clueless about Andrei Tarkovskyās work so I was really eager to check his directorial debut. First of all, I was lucky enough to find a Blue-ray box-set with 5 of his movies for a fairly cheap price and, with this first movie, I was really amazed by the impressive qualit” read more
3 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Even though it is usually considered as Tarkovskyās most accessible movie above all because it was the shortest one he made, to be honest, I still struggled to connect with this movie. Still, it was interesting that the directing was so different from what he did for āStalkerā (the only movie I saw before from this director). Indeed, there were some scenes in this movie which were actually quite lyrical, even surreal sometimes. Still, what was the damned thing all about? Was the main goal to show WWII from the Soviets point of view? In this case, it wasnāt really convincing since Ivan had contact with only a handful of soldiers but it was probably not what Tarkovsky was aiming for. This movie was probably more about the depiction of the impact warfare might have on such a young child like Ivan. Indeed, it was rather striking how, at same time, it gave him a sense of purpose in this completely chaotic world but also constantly traumatized him even more. In a similar fashion, even though the āgrown-upā soldiers found Ivanās involvement regrettable, you can sense that they actually liked to have him around as a simple distraction or because it was probably more satisfying or even soothing to take care of a young child instead of killing a bunch of random unknow guys and not getting yourself killed in the process.3 years, 6 months ago
Book Diary 2021
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1950's) list
Notes: It was the first movie I saw directed by Robert Bresson and, as I expected, his work turned out to be quite challenging. Indeed, Iām not surprised that Andrei Tarkovsky was a huge fan of Bressonās work and, to be honest, just like with Tarkovskyās work, I did struggle to feel a connection with this movie. Indeed, even though the main character keeps telling us his feelings and thoughts mostly when writing in his diary, I was never really sure what I should think regarding the events displayed in this movie. I mean, you could argue that they tried to display the contradictions between what this community was expecting from their new priest and what he was expected to do according to his religious dogma. However, this theory completely clashed with the fact that the main character was heavily ill through most of the duration and, as result, the whole thing was rather murky, at least, to me. Still, Bresson had such a raw and realistic directing style, it made the whole thing rather ostentatious but also quite spellbinding to behold. It is also interesting to note that Bresson used to make takes after takes so that the actors would basically forget that they were acting but, to be honest, even if the performances were intriguing, I didnāt think that they were super realistic. Still, Claude Laydu, in his first acting part, was actually really good.3 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
“Since I heard some pretty good things about this flick and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. It was also the first movie I saw directed by Robert Bresson and, as I expected, his work turned out to be quite challenging. Indeed, Iām not surprised that Andrei Tarko” read more
3 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: It was the first movie I saw directed by Robert Bresson and, as I expected, his work turned out to be quite challenging. Indeed, Iām not surprised that Andrei Tarkovsky was a huge fan of Bressonās work and, to be honest, just like with Tarkovskyās work, I did struggle to feel a connection with this movie. Indeed, even though the main character keeps telling us his feelings and thoughts mostly when writing in his diary, I was never really sure what I should think regarding the events displayed in this movie. I mean, you could argue that they tried to display the contradictions between what this community was expecting from their new priest and what he was expected to do according to his religious dogma. However, this theory completely clashed with the fact that the main character was heavily ill through most of the duration and, as result, the whole thing was rather murky, at least, to me. Still, Bresson had such a raw and realistic directing style, it made the whole thing rather ostentatious but also quite spellbinding to behold. It is also interesting to note that Bresson used to make takes after takes so that the actors would basically forget that they were acting but, to be honest, even if the performances were intriguing, I didnāt think that they were super realistic. Still, Claude Laydu, in his first acting part, was actually really good.3 years, 6 months ago