Roslindale Monogatari

Susana (Luis Bunuel, 1951) A lovely but very naughty young woman (Rosita Quintana) escapes from a reformatory and insinuates her way into the bosom of a well-to-do family (owners of a ranch and farm). She entices the ranch's overseer, the rancher's son and then the rancher himself. Only the family's elderly housekeeper distrusts her -- and even the rancher's wife disregards her warnings. Nothing extraordinary plot-wise, but Quintana sizzles. A good looking and entertaining, but surprisingly conventional Bunuel film. Les trois couronnes du matelot / Three Crowns of the Sailor (Raoul Ruiz, 1983) Another very strange film by Ruiz. A somewhat scary student intent on fleeing the rather sinister town he is in, encounters a sailor who promises to help him escape if he listens to the sailor's long and rambling story thoughout the night -- and gives him three Danish crowns in the morning. Sort of a wandering dutchman tale, involving a rather unusual freighter that travels ...

Asakusa no hi / Lights of Asakusa (Yasujiro Shimazu, 1937) An astonishing blend of East and West, just before the point when militant nationalism began frowning seriously on (non-German) Western influences. Heart throb (both as singer and actor) Ken Uehara is an opera singer in Tokyo, who models himself (offstage) on Gary Cooper (in dress - and in deed). He is loved by the young proprietress of a shooting gallery around the corner from the opera house (Yoshiko Tsubouchi) -- but is in love with one of his fellow singers (Mieko Takamine). When her wicked relatives connive at selling her off to a wealthy mob boss (with the aid of the opera company's prima donna, played by Haruko Sugimura), he and a friend (a foreign painter) go to her rescue. Shimazu does not seem to have been as stylistically audacious as his colleagues, mostly he demonstrates an excellent grasp of contemporary Hollywood style. Still, his pacing is very good and the performances are quite engaging. The young Su...

Subida al cielo / Mexican Bus Ride / Ascent to Heaven (Luis Buñuel, 1952) Nazarín (Luis Buñuel, 1959) Mexican Bus Ride is the first Bunuel film I've seen that can (arguably) be called minor. Entertaining, with a few bits of amusing weirdness mixed in -- but minor. Like Hiroshi Shimizu in Arigato-san ( Mr. Thank You ), this mainly involves a rural bus trip -- but Shimizu's film (from the early 40s) is a much more remarkable affair (paradoxically because Shimizu found no need to spice the proceedings up with "dramatic" events). Nazarin is in a whole other class -- clearly in Bunuel's top tier (and, thus, in the top tier of all movies ever made). Francisco Rabal is superb as the well-intentioned, but stubborn Father Nazario -- who insists on trying to live and behave like Jesus (rather than like a "proper" Mexican Catholic priest). His virtuous intentions sometimes lead to positive results, but often precipitate disaster instead. A complex film ab...

They Drive by Night (Raoul Walsh, 1940) As usual for early-ish Walsh, an excellent film overall. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart made a fairly convincing set of brothers, trying to stay afloat as independent truck drivers. Ann Sheridan was quite decent as a young waitress who catches the eye of Raft (and vice versa). Ida Lupino was generally fine as the black widow-esque spouse of a more prosperous friend of the two brothers (who ran a trucking business -- and wanted them to work for him -- played by the redoubtable Alan Hale). The script (based on a book by the just-deceased A. I. Bezzerides) is also good. Only a couple of niggles -- the use of a whizzing clock to show passage of time seemed pretty trite -- even for a 1940 film) and Ida Lupino's climactic court scene didn't quite work (was it script, direction, acting? or some combination?). Ce jour-là / That Day (Raoul Ruiz, 2003) Reviewed a few weeks back -- but watched with a bigger audience. Most of whom were quite ...

Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia / Curse of the Golden Flower (ZHANG Yimou, 2006) One viewing was insufficient to assess this -- the most visually opulent film ever made by Zhang Yimou -- but I may not get a shot at another viewing until the DVD eventually appears. Based on my first viewing, though, I liked this film -- a lot. The most impressive aspects of this tale of incest and betrayal in 10th Century China (based on CAO Yu's classic play Thunderstorm) were the cinematography (by ZHAO Xiaoding) and GONG Li's lead performance as the oppressed and resentful (and scheming) wife of the suave but utterly treacherous emperor (CHOW Yun-fat). LIU Ye as Crown Prince Xiang also turned in a remarkable performance. Really though, there were no weak links in terms of acting. This is probably ZY's darkest film (in mood) since Raise the Red Lantern -- and I found it quite unsettling to watch (and reflect upon). It is quite reminiscent of a Jacobean revenge tragedy, but with an ev...