It's undeniable that Waters dialed down his audacity in the 90s. That's not an inherently bad thing, and this shift in tone works for films like Cry-Baby and Pecker which, for all their Waters weirdness, are unabashedly wholesome films. But it doesn't work for Cecil B. Demented, where the premise demands a more acerbic approach.
I'm not normally one to quote Peter Bradshaw, but he sums up my issues with the film succinctly: "Nothing in this film comes close to…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
This film has many virtues. The performances and the camerawork are exceptional. It makes intelligent use of its setting, juxtaposing its sordid milieu with the blandly appealing tourist attractions that surround them. And it has several really memorable scenes, like the bravura sequence with the banister and that heartbreaking shot at the recording booth.
Plenty of other people are willing to extol those virtues in detail. I'd rather focus on one particular scene that seems to split viewers: the ending.…
Like any Miyazaki film, this one overflows with visual splendor and nonstop inventiveness, but the emotional core of the film is abandoned early on.
The first act is a rich, leisurely observation of childhood loss and change. As events take a turn toward the fantastical, it initially amplifies these feelings by casting them in a strange light, blurring reality with memories and dreams. But by the time we cross fully into another world, the film loses track of its emotional…
I knew this was newly finished and released, but I did not fully realize that I was catching the world premiere of this film when I watched it at the SSIFF. Valeria Sarmiento was in attendance; unfortunately my Spanish isn't very advanced, so I didn't stick around for the talkback after the screening.
The film itself is a fascinating experience, like watching history spring to life before your eyes. I suppose you could say that of any film (a la…
