Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie but since it was included in the ‘They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’ list, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have seen a few Soviet movies during the last months and they were usually all rather hard to digest. Indeed, with such Soviet propaganda features, the characters are not developed whatsoever, instead, they focus more on such concepts like, for example, the proletariat was/is a specific entity. However, this movie turned out to be even more difficult to decipher though. Seriously, even though I saw it just yesterday, I’m still not sure what it was all about. The best I can come up with was that they wanted to display the last years of the Russian empire and how WWI was basically the last drop launching the first revolts and basically the whole Russian revolution. As a result, you get a fairly negative view on WWI which was basically a useless war during which  the Russian soldiers were fighting some poor German soldiers who had more in common with them than with the Tsar and aristocrats who sent them to this bloodbath. There were also some interesting artistic choices. Indeed, even though there was some sound, it was never, let’s say, complete. For example, if someone would talk, that’s the only thing you would hear. Or when there would be some crowd scenes, you would hear only the clopping of the horses’ hooves. There were also some really unexpected funny moments when some characters would pull out their tongues or would wink at the camera. Anyway, to conclude, even though I didn’t feel much connection with the damned thing, it was still an interesting watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was starring Casey Affleck, I thought I might as well check it out. More than 10 years ago, Affleck’s directorial debut was the experimental and rather weird ‘I’m still Here’ starring his brother-in-law / best friend Joaquin Phoenix (I think they did loose contact since his divorce with Summer Phoenix though). Well, for his 2^nd directorial effort, he delivered here a decent post-apocalyptic thriller but, to be honest, not much more than that. Sure, the mood was not bad and Affleck did deliver another solid performance but, eventually, he didn’t do anything really new or interesting with the genre. There was also the issue that this project did feel like a ego-trip. Indeed, not only Affleck played the lead but he also produced, wrote and directed the damned thing. To make things worse, it didn’t help that his character was basically competing for the award of ‘Father of the Year’. Seriously, not only he had some mighty survival success but he was leading some philosophical debates with his 10 year old daughter and he was also able to tell some really cool bedtime stories. The funny thing is that some viewers were bothered that this movie did start with a 12 minute uncut opening scene about some bedtime story actually cooked up by Affleck himself but I thought it was a nice way to introduce this father and his daughter. All in all, the whole thing felt slightly pretentious but, even so, I always had a weak spot for such minimalist post-apocalyptic features (seriously, I think half of the movie was with this man and this kid roaming around in some woods) and Affleck is always a charismatic actor. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I’m usually not a huge fan of such vintage Westerns but since this one has a really solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. This movie is mostly famous for finally launching John Wayne’s career. In fact, Wayne had been around for quite a while already (he was already in his 30’s) but it was only after this movie that he became a massive movie star. It was also the real start of his partnership with John Ford, even if he did play in some minor parts in other movies directed by Ford before. This movie was also apparently a major inspiration for Orson Welles before he made ‘Citizen Kane’. Well, even though this movie is usually considered as a perfect example of textbook filmmaking, to be honest, I actually really struggled with the beginning scenes. Indeed, at a quick tempo, all the 9 characters were introduced and, to be honest, I had a hard time to figure out who was who and what the hell they were doing on this damned coach. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the version I saw on YouTube had some poor subtitles and maybe I should check it out again at some point. Anyway, from all the characters involved, even though I have to admit that John Wayne was indeed quite charismatic, I enjoyed above all Doc Boone played by a pitch-perfect Thomas Mitchell. Indeed, not only he was the most entertaining of the bunch, he was probably the most complex character as well. The funny thing is that the usual major complaint regarding this movie, the way it handled the Native Americans, didn’t bother me at all. Indeed, they were not the focus at all in this movie and since you didn’t know the motivation behind their actions, I think this depiction was actually fairly neutral and therefore acceptable. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I was wondering for how long this movie was in my queue. Well, apparently, I did add it more than 4 years ago so it was really time to watch the damned thing. Well, it was definitely an interesting watch and, at least, this movie was really educational. Indeed, I had seen already a couple of movies dealing with Nelson Mandela but it was actually the first one I saw which covered almost his whole life. So, only therefore, it was definitely worth watching. To be honest, I wish they did go deeper into who was Mandela really as a man though but I have to admit that I did appreciate how they displayed how his relationship evolved and was dissolved with Winnie Mandela. Indeed, in just a couple of scenes, they displayed that their relationship never stood a chance after living so long apart, even if they both shared the same beliefs and fighting spirit. Eventually, what I was mostly missing was that they never managed to explain how Mandela went to jail and, 27 years later, came out as one of the greatest leaders of the 20^th century. Basically, the way it was displayed in this movie, it's that it just happened but I think it was a missed opportunity to go deeper in this process because, among all the great things achieved by this great man, it was probably the most fascinating aspect. As a result, you might wonder if spending all these years in prison was not the best thing that happened to him since he became so much wiser in the process. Of course, that’s not what the makers tried to tell us here but they didn’t give us much else to chew on. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was definitely not a masterpiece, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you want to learn more about Nelson Mandela. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really dying to watch yet another version of the classic fairy tale but since this movie had a really strong reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I have to admit that it is indeed probably the best version I have seen, well, I still think that the story is/was rather boring though. Concerning the characters, it was pretty much the same. Sure, I have to admit that Jean Marais did manage to do a lot with the Beast but all the characters were, in my opinion, rather tedious. However, there is no denying that it was such a masterstroke to have a surrealist poet like Jean Cocteau to direct this classic fairy tale. Indeed, can you imagine if someone like David Lynch or Luis Buñuel would have been allowed to direct ‘Snow White’ or ‘Cinderella’? Well, it could have been brilliant but that’s actually what happened here. Indeed, instead of the usual sappy children story, here, Cocteau went for a completely  different vibe and the end-result was some kind of surreal gothic horror tale which was obviously really neat. Above all, the damned thing was visually quite amazing with some arms holding candelabras all over the place, some statues following you with their gaze and many other interesting visual stuff. Eventually, since everybody seemed to love the damned thing so much, I feel slightly bad that I didn’t care more about it, even if I really admired it. Maybe I should give it another try at some point, maybe I was too tired when I watched the damned thing. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t completely blow me away, I still agree that it must be the most definite version of this fairy tale and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since there was really some buzz around this movie for quite a while, I was eager to check it out. Well, it wasn’t an easy watch, that’s for sure. Indeed, by  now, we all know that the life of Marilyn Monroe A.K.A. Norma Jeane Baker was probably not so great after all but Andrew Dominik pushed this idea even further and gave us the bleakest vision on her life that you could possibly imagine. Basically, according to this movie, everything in her life was heavily traumatic, her childhood, her career, her stardom, her pregnancies, her romantic relationships,… Seriously, the damned thing was just relentless. The end-result was basically some kind of feverish nightmare but, unfortunately, the movie didn’t have much else to offer and the fact that it did last almost 3 hours probably didn’t help. The funny thing is that, after all this time, you don’t actually learn much about Monroe, except that her life really sucked from the very beginning until the very end. And, yet, even though the approach chosen to tell the story of this legendary pop icon actually backfired, the damned thing was still fascinating somehow. Indeed, as usual with Dominik, the directing was strong as he constantly mixed up the aspect ratios and moved back and forth between black-and-white and color. And, of course, Ana de Armas gave here a really strong performance. Sure, there was a debate because de Armas is actually Cuban but I think she looked just stunning and it went beyond that as she completely disappeared in this character. Anyway, to conclude, even though I understand why this movie didn’t get much love when it was released and I have to admit that it was rather exhausting to watch, I still think it was quite intriguing but if you are a big fan of Marilyn Monroe, I would actually advise to avoid it. 

Since this movie has a really solid reputation (it is included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list among other things), I was really eager to check it out. Well, from all the movies I have seen so far directed by Murnau, to be honest, it was the one that did impress me the least. It’s interesting because all the reviews I read afterwards were gushing about how this movie was above all a technical marvel. In fact, I find it rather hard to judge such an old movie on this aspect alone. Indeed, we have been so accustomed to see such  elaborate modern movies, I mean, visually speaking, and I tend to forget how difficult, even impossible, it was to come up with such striking visuals back then without the usual modern tricks and gadgets. Still, I have to admit that I was quite impressed by the superimposition of several images, it was just so clever and very well done, especially for the time period. So, sure,  it really did deserve all the praises it had received, at least, on a technical level, but, eventually, I just really struggled with the story though. At least, the beginning was intriguing. Indeed, in spite of the title, it was actually pretty bleak with this unnamed man plotting to kill his wife as suggested by his mistress. However, this plot was resolved rather quickly and, then, during the 2^nd act, you had this couple who suddenly were in love again doing some really random stuff in the city. Well, even if some of the scenes were a technical marvel, this couple was actually rather tedious to behold. On the other hand, I have to admit that the final act with this huge storm was quite spectacular but, all in all, to be honest, I just didn’t care much for this story. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t blow me away, it is another major classic van F.W. Murnau and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was starring Virginie Efira, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that, when I heard about this movie, I was assuming that it would be about a single woman raising a kid on her own in the 50’s and how she struggled with the social stigma involved with this situation. However, it was not at all what I expected. In fact, it is rather hard to describe this movie but it shows how intriguing the damned thing actually turned out to be. Indeed, even though the title might make you think that it is a love story, this romance was only the first half of this movie, the second half was something entirely different. On top of that, Virginie Efira delivered a solid performance and it was definitely no small feat to convincingly perform the same character through roughly 5 decades. Unfortunately, I wish that Niels Schneider's character would have been slightly more nuanced. Indeed, the guy turned out to be so awful, so evil even, you might wonder why Rachel would have been so in love for so long with him. As a result, it made her character looked like a naïve moron. Then, there was the whole incest thing who turned her life and the life of her daughter into some genuine nightmare and making this guy officially the worst dad ever. Well, I think the way they approached this topic was rather manipulative. On one hand, I could feel that something fishy was going on but, in my opinion, it was just too ambiguous. Indeed, how could you blame Rachel for trying to have her daughter spend some time with her biological father? However, as a result, it seemed that it was mostly her fault but since her kid seemed to be so thrilled to finally get acquainted with her father, it was not so easy to figure out. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t completely work, I have to admit that the damned thing was quite intense and it is actually definitely worth a look.