A true thing, poorly expressed, becomes a lie.
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Long Day's Journey into Night 2018
"Anytime I saw her, I knew I was in a dream again. And once you know you're dreaming it's an out of body experience. Sometimes you float upwards. In my dreams I would always wonder if my body were made of hydrogen. If so, then my memories must be made of stone."
This opening quote sums up the whole movie.
While it may at times be slow and incomprehensible, it's a real poetic force.
The whole experience is like a…
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Parthenope 2024
A meditation on beauty and youth. Meditation being the best word because it's as empty as the head of a trained yogi.
Italian maximalism setting its sights on a woman so beautiful her radiance is a distraction and hinderance to all around her. But in the long tradition of the muse, Parthenope herself is woefully underwritten and explored.
There are moments for sure. Moments. Gary Oldman's John Cheever: "I don't want to steal a second of your youth". The bizarre…
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Arrival 2016
It is a film that at its core feels at odds with itself in the most stunning way. A massive, world-shattering problem tackled on the intimate scale of language. The Heptapod ship itself like a floating diorama.
It owes debts to two films/masters from what I can tell on this rewatch. Close encounters of the Third Kind, and Alain Resnais, specifically the exploration of memory as non-linear. And they are more closely linked than you think.
Finally, the fact that…
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Civil War 2024
I'm still divided on where I fall on this film. While it does feel like a warning of a potential future, it often feels at odds with itself. The ambiguity drew me in but also left me with more questions than satisfying answers. It has a strong message about the power of images and their potential as propaganda, as well as how violence can be simultaneously cathartic and horrific. While it feels like Garland is presenting a future for the audience…
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