FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
A young filmmaker named David Holzman (L.M. Kit Carson) decides to “figure out his life” by creating a documentary of his everyday actions.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Documentary
• Satires and Spoofs

Review:
The inherent irony of this early mockumentary — a prescient forerunner of “reality TV”, YouTube, blogs, and all other forms of self-promotion through digital media — is that, in his attempt to lampoon the banality of everyday life, director Jim McBride ultimately creates a movie which is, in a word, boring. While there are some clever cinematic techniques and a few moments of levity (David being hit on by his lusty neighbor; David obsessing over the mysterious girl who lives across the street), ultimately it’s annoying to watch this narcissistic young man try to capture every moment of his humdrum existence on film — and when he films his naked sleeping girlfriend (Eileen Dietz) against her wishes, you’ll want to throttle him! Even at 74 minutes, this innovative yet uninteresting film — more effective in theory than in practice — is too long.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• A creative lampoon of “cinema verite”
  
• An effective depiction of filmmakers as narcissistic voyeurs
  
• Louise Levine as Holzman’s hilariously lusty, deep-voiced neighbor, “Sandra”
  
• Some clever cinematic techniques (such as the long, long traveling shot of elderly people sitting on benches in a park)
  

Must See?
Yes, but only for its place in cinematic history.

Categories

• Cult Movie
• Historically Relevant

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry

Synopsis:
A camera slowly zooms in on empty room while people come and go, ultimately ending on a photograph of waves.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Experimental Films

Review:
In this notorious minimalist film, director Michael Snow utilizes jump cuts, flashbacks, repeated shots, different film stock, filters, and other cinematic devices to create a technically innovative yet ultimately tedious piece of underground cinema. While watching what appears to be (but isn’t) a 45-minute single zoom shot, we are subjected to the sound of a single sine-wave, ranging from its lowest note (50 cycles per second) to its annoyingly shrill highest note (12,000 cycles per second). The film ends with a cloying play on words, as the camera focuses on a photograph of ocean waves. In honor of Peary’s no-holds-barred, highly personal approach to film criticism — and at the true risk of appearing gauche — I’ll admit I wish that Snow had bothered to incorporate a bit more interest into the narrative of this ground-breaking yet “difficult” film. Given the extreme amount of cinematic manipulation he uses, Snow can’t (or shouldn’t) legitimately argue that he was aiming for any kind of narrative purity. I dare you to watch this film — best seen as an experiment in form rather than a cohesive narrative — at home without touching the fast forward button on your remote control; but I won’t blame you if you do.

Note: To watch the entire film in 2.5 minutes, click here. It’ll be the fastest viewing of a GFTFF title you’ve ever experienced!

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• An original, if boring, piece of avant-garde film making.
  

Must See?
Yes, once, simply for its historical importance.

Categories

• Historically Relevant

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Media Arts Net Review

Synopsis:
Schoolteacher Theresa Dunn (Diane Keaton) cruises New York bars at night looking for sex and excitement, and finds herself in increasingly dangerous situations.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Character Studies
• Diane Keaton Films
• Richard Brooks Films
• Richard Gere Films
• Sexuality
• Teachers
• Tuesday Weld Films

Review:
Based on the real-life murder of 27-year-old schoolteacher Rosanne Quinn, this cinematic adaptation of Judith Rossner’s bestselling novel was released the same year as Woody Allen’s comedic paean to life and love in New York — Annie Hall (1977) — and features its Oscar-winning eponymous heroine (Diane Keaton) in a radically different role. As in Annie Hall and many other films of the time (i.e., Paul Mazursky’s An Unmarried Woman), Looking for Mr. Goodbar deals with single females exploring their sexuality during the heyday of women’s lib. Indeed, once she gives herself the opportunity to sleep with any and every man she sees, Theresa takes advantage of this to the nth degree — but ultimately it’s more painful than liberating to watch her encounters with a series of unbearably chauvinistic men, including her married professor (Alan Feinstein) and a jealous player (Richard Gere).

As several reviewers have pointed out (see links below), many elements of Looking for Mr. Goodbar‘s otherwise provocative screenplay are unnecessarily heavy-handed: Theresa’s conflicts with her Catholic parents come across as overbearingly Freudian, and the flashback scenes to Theresa’s traumatic childhood experiences with scoliosis are derivative. Plus, it’s distressing to watch a film in which you already know the gory outcome — the cumulative effect is one of watching a morality tale-cum-train wreck about the dangers of wanton sexual exploration. This is too bad, because Keaton’s daring performance as a woman unafraid of her own sexual cravings deserves a much more respectful treatment.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Diane Keaton as a rebellious schoolteacher living a double life
  
• A realistic, albeit cautionary, look at hedonism in the 1970s
  

Must See?
Yes. While it’s not an entirely successful film, Diane Keaton’s performance makes it must-see viewing at least once.

Categories

• Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Q Network Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
After taking on 16-year-old Eiko (Ayako Wakao) as an apprentice, geisha Miyoharu (Michiyo Kogure) and her new protege find their positions compromised by men (Seizaburo Kawazu and Kanji Koshiba) who demand more than geisha traditionally provide.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Feminism and Women’s Issues
• Japanese Films
• Kenzi Mizoguchi Films
• Mentors

Review:
Throughout his career, director Kenzi Mizoguchi exhibited an uncanny sympathy for the plight of women in male-dominated Japanese society. While his most famous works (The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu Monogatari, and Sansho the Bailiff) were historical dramas set in the distant past, Gion Bayashi — a staunchly realistic depiction of life for geisha in post-WWII Japan — is a notable exception; yet it fits clearly into his ongoing depiction of noble females who must cope with debasing situations. Most Americans became familiarized with the life of Japanese geisha — a term which translates roughly into “artisans” (not prostitutes) — either through Arthur Golden’s 1997 novel Memoirs of a Geisha or its disappointing 2005 cinematic adaptation by Rob Marshall. Marshall’s film is lush and beautiful yet ultimately empty, replacing Golden’s detailed evocation of life in a geisha house with an insipidly melodramatic story of unrequited love, and a romanticized view of female subjugation.

Fortunately, Mizoguchi makes no such mistake in his film. Time and again in Gion Bayashi, men (without a single exception) are shown exploiting geisha for any of numerous reasons: their personal sexual gratification (Kawazu nearly rapes the adolescent Eiko, while Koshiba calls Miyoharu “cold” for refusing his advances); to advance their business (“renting” the right geisha for one’s clients can help grease transactions); or for cold, hard cash (Eiko’s deadbeat dad refuses to help sponsor her training as a geisha, but comes begging for handouts once she’s successful). In addition, unlike in Memoirs, the geisha “sisters” in this film don’t develop cut-throat rivalries with one another; instead, they understand that camaraderie and empathy is what will help them survive. In perhaps the most interesting scene of the film, Miyoharu sits with Eiko after she has severely compromised their reputations by fighting back during an attempted rape by Kawazu (she bit his mouth so badly he was hospitalized for a month). Rather than chastising Eiko, however, Miyoharu admits that she would have done the same thing. Eventually, Miyoharu becomes a mother-figure of sorts to Eiko, attempting to protect her at all costs from the debasement geisha face in a modern world which no longer respects their work — and it is hard, difficult work — as a noble craft.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Michiyo Kogure’s sensitive performance as the noble Miyoharu
  
• Ayako Wakao as the willful young Eiko (a.k.a. “Miyue”)
  
• A fascinating, detailed look at life for geisha in post-WWII Japan
  
  

Must See?
Yes. Listed in the back of Peary’s book as a Personal Recommendation.

Categories

• Historically Relevant
• Important Director

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Review