Movie Update 21

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul


A German film that is somehow both very deliberately filmed and very quickly over. It tells the simple story of an older cleaning lady and a Moroccan immigrant laborer who find each other so nice that they decide to get married. They quickly realize the problems this causes when they are both ostracized and ignored by those they know, though the woman Emmi receives the brunt of the mistreatment. Eventually most people come to understand their relationship, though it happens just as it begins to splinter on its own. I really liked the plain way the movie was shot and acted, though it was a bit too sterile for me to really connect with any of it.

The Battleship Potemkin


I sort of assumed this movie would just be boring Bolshevik propaganda, but it's actually one of the most watchable silent dramas I've seen. It has a pretty short running time, and it tells the fairly interesting story of a battleship's crew rebelling against their horrible conditions, and the support they received from others. The sequence on the steps of Odessa is one of the most famous in film history, but it's far from the only memorable scene in the movie. It's just very well shot and edited together for something from the 20s, and unflinching in its depiction of their side of the story. Certainly something that can be enjoyed outside of film school.

The Manchurian Candidate


Partway through this original adaptation of the novel, I was sort of shocked by what I was seeing. An adequately filmed, mostly exciting fight scene in a movie from 1962! I had forgotten that From Russia with Love did the same thing only a year later and with better execution, but still, it was nice to see. It was just part of a pretty good political conspiracy thriller, featuring an elaborate plot by the Communists involving brainwashing of Americans who don't sound like Americans and manipulating dumb politicians. The story cuts a few corners to get where it needs to go, but ultimately it's a great, pretty early example of a darker sort of thriller that would eventually become more popular. Frank Sinatra didn't come off as a very good actor, but at least he had Janet Leigh to bounce off of.

Notorious


The other Alfred Hitchcock films I've seen to this point were either great or Psycho, so it was interesting to see something in between. Notorious didn't quite have the visceral thrills or shocking twists of some of his better work, but it's still a really well-done film, with some excellent sequences and one of his best casts. The most famous scenes involve a remarkable shot panning from the top of a stairway to a key in a woman's hand and a romantic moment that skirts regulations about the length of on-screen kisses allowed through a clever loophole, but the moments that struck me most were when its main characters were in the utmost danger while they were doing nothing but standing or walking calmly. With how bloody and loud movies tend to go these days to be exciting, it's fun to be reminded of how much Hitchcock could do with so little. Probably a really good second-tier movie for him.

Ronin

Yet another film I've seen a lot of before. For what it attempts to do, Ronin is pretty much a perfect action movie. Screw the gigantic CGI-fests of this decade, I'd rather watch this or a Bourne movie any day of the week. The plot is intelligent, the cast is strong, tension rises effectively before violent things start to go down, and the action itself is as exciting as anything. The shootouts aren't terribly elaborate, and despite Robert De Niro's endless talents as an actor he can't help but close his eyes with every shot he fires. But those gun fights are just a warm up for the real thrill of the movie - its car chases.

There are only two real chases in the film, but they're both excellent. Director John Frankenheimer had done them in the past, but I would bet this is the culmination of his talents in that area, if not any others. It's hard to say what makes a chase a success. There's some combination of speed, quick turns, danger, and the right editing that can make all the difference between a truly exciting scene and something that falls flat. Whatever the formula for a good chase, I could watch scenes that make the grade until the end of time. Not continually, though. I mean, a guy's gotta do stuff besides watch movies.

The rest of the movie besides just the chases is good, too. Everyone from the Irish gangsters behind the job to Sean Bean as the bumbling criminal who gets kicked out before he has a chance to really do anything manages to bring something to the table. De Niro and Jean Reno are the key protagonists through the whole thing, and they have a nice international friendship as they battle through betrayals from every direction and fight to get the case that everyone wants. Everything from the planning phase in the beginning through to the relatively downplayed but still interesting finale just works well. Good movie.