Some notes

Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003)



This was another film I watched at my wife's request. Blasphemous as it may be, I've never been much a fan of Burton's work, or at least what little of it I've seen. Still, Big Fish was a fine enough movie, with a wonderful cast and an appropriately fantastical ambiance. The story was hackneyed and predictable, and the general theme, that we should accept our loved ones as they are, was simple enough to not be lost on the general audience, I suppose. For me, probably the most interesting aspect was the casting of a Scotsman and a Mancunian to play the younger and older versions, rtespectively, of an American southerner.

Weeping Meadow (Theo Angelopoulos, 2004)



A work of massive scale and breathtaking, almost heartbreaking beauty. It's only flaw (for me) was the difficulty I had in achieving any sense of empathy or understanding of the characters. Perhaps this wasn't Angelopoulos' intention; it's hard to say. Maybe if I knew more about Greek history... What's certain, however, is that this film boasts some of the most stunning visuals and one of the loveliest soundtracks of any film I've ever seen. This is definitely one I need to see again.

Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)



Now this is a film everyone should see. Rare is it that I would declare a film a masterpiece after having seen only 30 minutes or so of it, but after the first half-hour I was confident that Haneke had pulled it off, that he had finally realized his full potential after several mis-steps and close-but-no-cigars. By the end this was abundantly clear. This is really the film that brings it all together for him, a stunning work of visual brilliance, thematic genius, and yes, even edge of the seat quality suspense. (one of the reasons Caché works so well is that it's massively entertaining as well as being just plain brilliant.) I should probably write at length on this later; a paragraph or two does it a great disservice. But by all means, see this film as soon as you can. Go to whatever lengths it requires. You will not be dissapointed by this, one of the handful of genuine cinematic masterpieces of the 21st century.