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filmedbutnotforgotten Blog

  • Death And The Maiden

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    Death_and_the_maidenlisten to the podcast

     

    Year: 1994

    Writer: Ariel Dorfman (play & screenplay), Rafael Yglesias (screenplay)

    Director: Roman Polanski

    Budget: ?

    Gross: $2,104,000 (USA)

    Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist.  when people think about roman polanski it is usually those films that come to mind (those and the whole underage sex, exiled to europe thing).  however, when i think polanski, Death And The Maiden   is usually first and foremost in my head.  those three other films are great and he has made a few others as well, but i can argue that, for me, Death And The Maiden is maybe my favorite of them all (or at least tied with Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby which i loved).

    set in an unnamed south american country, sigourney weaver's character (paulina escobar) is living with her husband (stuart wilson), a high profile attorney.  one day, because of a storm, he is forced to get a lift home from a helpful citizen (ben kingsley).  however, when paulina hears the man's voice she thinks he sounds like the doctor who had raped and tortured her under the old fascist regime...

    the film is based on the play by co-screenwriter ariel dorfman and it has been brought to the screen brilliantly by polanski.  the film feels like a play just without the audience and open sets.  i really like it when a film can go so minimalist on sets and basically stage the whole thing in one room or house and make it work.  we are used to that with plays, but with movies the audience seems to expect more because more can be done.  however, sometimes less is more, which is the case here.  95% of the film takes place in the escobar's home with mostly candles for light and the storm outside. 

    the film is intense and claustrophobic as paulina tries to get the truth out of him and her husband tries to play mediator between her and the law, not sure if she is right or just traumatized.  the film doesn't make it easy for you to decide either.  what you think is true one minute can make you completely unsure the next.  the use of music is also great as shubert's Death And The Maiden becomes a supporting player in the film.

    Death And The Maiden is definitely one of Polanski's least known movies, but it is without question one of his best.


    Originally posted on:filmed but not forgotten

  • La Moustache

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    Under discussion:

    The Moustache  (2005)

    i have talked a lot lately, especially in reference to 2 crappy movies i saw recently (Jumper & Vantage Point) about films that have a good idea/premise but nothing else.  these movies are easy to pitch and they sound good, but the filmmakers forget that one gimmick or cool idea cant sustain a whole film without a solid story, characters, etc.. around it.  that brings us to La Moustache.  a movie with, not only a good idea, but a lot of interesting stuff around it.

    La Moustache is the story of a man who shaves off his mustache and no one notices.  there ya go, thats it. personally i thought this sounded like a great idea, although to some of you it might just seem to simple or silly. however, simple and silly are not words i think anyone could use to describe this film after watching it.

    this is emmanuel carrere's film.  not only did she write the novel which the film is based on, but she also wrote the screenplay, directed it and stared in it as the moustache man's wife.

    although the premise is simple the story and the turns the film takes are anything but.  One thing i read after having seen the film called is kafkaesque and that really struck a chord with me.  imagine all the ways a film could go that starts off with a guy shaving his moustache and no one noticing?  i bet the way you just thought of isn't the way this film goes.  and to be honest, i've just watched the movie and i'm not sure how it goes.  let me rephrase that.  i know how it goes, but i'm not sure what it all means.  this is one of those films that if you watch it with 4 friends, you would all perhaps have a different interpretation of the ending and what actually happened.

    so why do i like this film is i don't completely know what it all means?  well, i enjoyed the ride and the various interpretations that i came up with and read from other people after seeing the film just made it more interesting.

    this is emmanuel carrere's film.  not only did she write the novel which the film is based on, but she also wrote the screenplay, directed it and stared in it as the moustache man's wife.  however, i did read somewhere (ya i did a lot of reading after watching this film) that even she doesn't have a concrete idea of what it all means. what i can tell you is that La Moustache is a film worth seeing, besides that you wil have to see for yourself.


 

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