The longest 97 minutes have ever felt. The first 40 minutes of this would have been cut down significantly had it been made later in the Coen Brothers’ career. The final ten minutes are a stark improvement but by no means enough to save the film overall.
It really comes down to a fundamental issue with how the scenes are constructed. They can be so aimless to a degree that it actively distracts from the strong cinematography and production design. …
Sing Sing is a film that successfully evokes and explores the complicated emotions that come with coping with, and finding purpose in the face of, imprisonment. The cinematography and soundtrack make meaningful contributions towards this effort, but the real power of this film is in the performances. The cast walk an impossible tightrope to avoid the cliches of the subject matter while still ensuring it gets the respect it deserves.
However, I think many viewers like me will wish there…
2023 saw many new films from acclaimed directors in, or pushing, their 80s. While wide ranging in tone and subject, they all reflected on that director’s work or life in some way that only 80 years can really allow one to do. Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and The Heron resonated with me the most of that bunch of films… until I stepped out of Perfect Days a few hours ago.
Perfect Days is one of those films that’s uniquely life…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
After reading IndieWire's feature with Toshio Suzuki, as well as learning that Studio Ghibli was recently acquired by Nippon TV, the layers of this film have crystalized into a more tangible form on second viewing. This film is more than Miyazaki processing the grief of his childhood that mirrors that of the protagonist. It's also him processing the loss of his mentor and Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, as well as processing the uncertainty of Ghibli's future.
The tower is Studio…
