Canhenha

Lars Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark" is one of the most beautiful films I've seen in recent years. Though it divided a lot of the critics and public, which called the film "manipulative" and "over-dramatic", I believe this is a film that makes perfect sense in the oeuvre that Von Trier has been creating over the years (and as far as I am concerned is one of his best films, with "Europa", "Breaking the Waves" and "Dogville"). The acting, particularly by Bjork is painfully real and simultaneously magical - she manages to express the fear that her character feels but also the magic (which she imbues in the music numbers). The film manages to balance two different components extremely well: on one side the realistic side of the daily life of the characters, inside the factory (which is also highlighted by the cinematography - digital video at it's best) and the wonderful musical numbers choreographed by Vincent Patterson. The music is simply beautiful and you can truly see the artistry of Bjork and her co-producer Mark Bell at work here - the music starts from sounds that are present in the environment where she is (the factory, the railway). This is a film that I highly recommend, for it's sheer beauty and artistry.

I saw "Melinda and Melinda" recently and I think the title that I posted states the feeling that I had from watching it: it's an accomplished and well done film, but it doesn't add much to the work of Woody Allen. I've been a fan of Woddy Allen since my teens and unlike many comments that I've read that states he hasn't done a good film since "Crimes and Misdemeanors", in 1989, I believe that from his latest output the weakest has been "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion". The 90's saw an incredible amount of masterpieces by the master - "Alice", "Husbands and Wives", "Everyone says I love You", "Deconstructing Harry", and even those not mentioned (like "Shadows and Fog", "Bullets over Broadway", "Mighty Aphrodite", "Celebrity", "Sweet and Lowdon"), were all accomplished works that stand in his body of work. "Melinda and Melinda" ends up being a return to all the themes that Woody Allen has focused on his work: the difficulty of relationships, how tragic and comic sides of life can happen simultaneously, but in this case he takes them in two separate lines (at times it feels like watching "September" and "Everyone ..." simultaneously). The film ends up recycling some situations that Allen has previously probed with a lot more meaning, but you can't help smiling and enjoying this film. The actors, particularly Radha Mitchel excel in their roles. This proves that the universe of the director isn't worn out - he's just finding new ways of presenting it, and even though you may feel this one isn't the peak, it shows that the path is leading up to it.

Constantine is another of the current trend of adapting all comic book characters to the screen. The funny thing about adapting comic books is the fact that most of the times the characters come out as dense as a piece of paper (which reminds the terrible "Batman and Robin", by Joel Schumacher or "Daredevil" by Mark Steven Johnson). Sometimes however you actually have an adventure film, that boasts a great look and also something besides image trickery ("Batman" by Tim Burton is the best example, for there you have characters with some density, motivations, inner conflicts). "Constantine" is a good example of an entertaining film, that doesn't have much pretensions and therefore it's results are quite decent. I personally did not know the comic, and nor do I feel the need to: I went to see the film for it's own merits and I judge it on those premises alone. Francis Lawrence the director has the visual flair of a video-clip director, but without being excessive (Tony Scott and Michael Bay are names that always comes to mind in that department). The look of the film is beautiful, thanks to Philippe Rousselot the french director of photography (he was responsible for "Interview with the Vampire" and "Henry and June"), and the acting is actually not as bad as one might have anticipated. Keanu Reeves manages to infuse some credibility to his part, more so than he has done in so many previous incarnations of his (the most terrible that comes to mind is "Bram Stoker's Dracula" by Francis Coppola). His performance isn't great, but it isn't terrible. The always wonderful Tilda Swinton doesn't have much screen time, but her beauty and talent are on full display when she does appear. Rachel Weisz has an underwritten role as the lady in distress - as a detective I was expecting another kind of character, but her performance is just plain (far from her riskier side in "The Shape of Things" by Neil LaBute). This film ends up being a good entertainment for two hours. It's well written and it's visually engrossing. These days, that's more than you can say about a lot of films on the theaters. Go see it!