The movie is very stylish, but no emotional depth is given to the protagonists. I think the director was influenced by too many different source materials (e.g., Hitchcock, Brideshead Revisited, The Talented Mr. Ripely, maybe even Parasite) that it doesn’t form a cohesive whole. Is the movie about class warfare or psychopathology or queerness or none of these things?
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The Seventh Seal 1957
We know that death is real, but we don't know if God is real. In my view, this is the central thesis of the film, which became more clear watching it for the second time. I do think that the jokes slightly ruin the more dramatic and philosophical elements of the film.
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Tokyo Story 1953
There is something so philosophical and poetic about Ozu's films. The slow pacing of "Tokyo Story" allows for the calm, unhurried evolution of its themes: the inevitable chasm between children and their parents; the loneliness of growing older; the contradictory disappointment and beauty of life. I can definitely see myself returning to this film every couple of years as I get older.
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Letter Never Sent 1960
As a work of the Khrushchev Thaw, this film straddles the contours of the state-approved art form of Socialist Realism along with minor, nuanced critiques of some of the inefficiencies in Soviet society. The film felt like two different films-- the first part was anticipatory, the second part was harrowing and devastating-- exploring the theme of man vs. nature in the Siberian wilderness. I'm slowly becoming a fan the film's cinematographer, Sergey Urusevsky, for his breathtakingly beautiful, and at times, arresting and unrestrained camerawork.
Note: If one is interested in other Soviet films set in Siberia, I would highly recommend Andrei Konchalovsky's "Siberiade" (1979).
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