The face you deserve
I appreciate MUBI and I am tempted to get their services for another month or so, but the truth is that I don’t think they can even remotely compare to Netflix. Now that I see the differences between Netflix, Hulu and MUBI, I come the following conclusion: a) I would pay for Netflix in a heartbeat because they have so many TV shows I like and actually make Arrested Development Season 4 become reality. I am also looking forward to House of Cards. b) I would never pay for Hulu because the fact that their films have commercial interruptions is horribly annoying. I’d be okay with a (longish) preview or some commercials at the beginning but I totally do not appreciate it when they ruin my viewing experience of the films. c) I strongly doubt I would pay for MUBI. Unless they come out with new and better films, I don’t think there will never be more than 5 or 6 films amongst the ones they are offering at any time, and from the library of about 900 films I ended up watching a few (except for “Killer Elite”, all the films from this year were from MUBI) and there are 28 films in my “to watch” list, a lot of which are either on Netflix or open source and therefore on Youtube. But that is not all. Their interface is stylish but does not work very well – you either have the choice between a small window and full screen, and even though there is supposed to be some sort of resume, it never works. The progress bar is laid over the (almost always ugly) subtitles and do not disappear reliably. On the technical level, MUBI is definitely the worst and I don’t understand.
The last technical problem was most annoying when I watched “The face you deserve”. My grasp of Portuguese is non-existent (in comparison, Italian or even Japanese are easier) and it was quite annoying to have to pause whenever that progress bar appeared again, for whatever reason. Well, it’s not like you really need the dialogue in the film. As for me, I have absolutely no idea what was going on. Words cannot describe my confusion about the film – I couldn’t even say what it was really about. Perhaps the storyline is just a little surreal and is not supposed to make any sense, or I was not concentrated enough to realize what was truly going on. I would be grateful for any explanation.
Strangely enough, however, I did not dislike the movie despite not understanding its content. This is not Antonioni or Tarkovsky, but there is something strangely beautiful about the film. Maybe it’s the vibrant colors, maybe it’s the carefully placed shots, maybe it’s the fantastic elements – something makes me want to look at what Miguel Gomes is doing. Even just watching the film as a succession of non-sensical scenes is strangely enjoyable because there are so many scenes I liked. For example, I enjoyed Marta’s song at the beginning, and all those childish elements in the dwarves’ story provoke delightfully nostalgic feelings in me. I am really curious about “Our beloved month of August” and “Tabu” now. I want Miguel Gomes to make something like “Copie conforme”, his strong imagination and vivid imagery seems perfect for a love story.
With that said, I realize that Oliveira is still alive! Impressive. If Woody Allen lives that long, I will never be able to see all of his films.
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