"We can't rewind, we've gone too far..."

I meant to do all sorts of writing about the films I'd seen recently, including the last two assigned for Intro to Film last semester, The Fountain and The Prestige (which the students were to compare to BladeRunner), but then somehow never managed to actually do so. Daniel, it turns out, did, before I had seen either. I would just add to his review of The Fountain that I, unlike any of the friends with whom I saw the film, thought it was actually pretty impressive--that it fell short of its (rather staggering) ambitions, but at least succeeded in giving the audience something new, thoughtful, and beautiful, if a bit uneven. I also cried an embarrassing amount, the most I had at a film since Brokeback Mountain.

In the same post he mentioned Stranger Than Fiction, which Bryant and I watched at the cheap theater* last weekend and which I did enjoy quite a lot, although I thought the "Christmas movie" ending went a little saccharine. The ending before that ending, on the other hand, was pretty brilliant and made me think of Hegel/Bataille... sigh. I found the film to be an unusual and highly enjoyable combination of genuinely original subject matter; clever, witty humor; and philosophical thought-provocation--although I will complain that I couldn't quite believe the bakery and Bryant I both had our doubts about the female protagonist's believability.

Oh, and briefly, while we were in Boise, we also watched The Illusionist, which neither Bryant nor I found to be as well-done as The Prestige--despite the fact that Bryant actually had the latter figured out early on, and that I love Edward Norton--and ultimately disappointing. Basically, they cheated.

Here are a few of my favorite "films" that you probably haven't heard of, but are worth checking out for a fun time. They are short, and Italian!



Nek, Almeno Stavolta
Cesare Cremonini, Maggese
Piotta, La Grande Onda
Daniele Silvestri, Saliro'

*Actually, we have several theaters where one can see a film for a dollar or two. I guess that's the trade-off for weeks of air temperature** highs in the single digits.

**To distinguish from the windchill--which last night was -35.