So, here’s my next part of comments on the short stories. First of all, this is going to be a series of comments with quite a lot of parts, I suppose, because I have now also procured the Cinema 16 European Shortfilms (US version). 7 of the 16 films on the US version actually are the same as on the european, but that still leaves me – quick calculation XD – 9 films I can look forward to! It seems the US version is a mix of the “British Shortfilms” and the “European Shortfilms” with quite an emphasis on the british part. As for myself, I seriously doubt that this is a representative collection – I highly doubt that the british film scene is so much better than the french, or italian, or german, or the scandinavian.
Fridge by Peter Mullan
This english is so lovely, awww! Even besides that I really liked this film somehow, the characters are so likeable in their own way and I really am a sucker of portraits of the ‘outsiders’ of the society and this one is extraordinarily good in my opinion. So… beautiful. I love how the title gets blended in at the very end of the film (I just have a preference for that, there’s no specific reason), I love the subtle sociocriticism and the natural way the actors play their roles.
Il Giorno della Prima di Close-up by Nanni Moretti
Italian films! Really, they talk all the time, isn’t it? XXXD Somehow this exactly is what I have expected… that’s prejudices for you. But the constant talking of the protagonist simply is beautiful. And this guy even is such a… Woody Allen character somehow, hahaha. I felt so sorry for him, and this film definitely was a great look into the film industry, my my.
Gisèle Kérozène by Jan Kounen
I should listen to the commentary track of this film. I suspect that “Gisèle Kérozène” is the name of the director’s ex-girlfriend (or -boyfriend for that matter) who dumped him and this is his revenge for him/her. Sure, I acknowledge that there is a certain originality to this, but it makes no sense to me and I find it truly ugly. What an affront to my beautiful Grande Ar(s)ch(e) de la Défense. XD
Härlig är jorden by Roy Andersson
At first, I thought I have no idea what this film is about, really no idea at all. But slowly I am getting an idea and it seems this is nothing but the director’s way of portraying mankind (or the way we ignore the cruelty of mankind, I suppose). This is another one of those examples of why I think that short films are the best – they are able to convey so much and so many powerful and interesting things into such a small frame, so poignant.
Apparently this short story is very highly acclaimed and I suppose I also understand why, but I am actually rather neutral about this. I do think that this film is extraordinarily good somehow, but top 10 best short films ever? That’s a bit too much.
Koncert zyczen by Krzysztof Kieslowski
I’m cheating on the order a little bit, I know. But this is the last one I’m going to see today and I really wanted to see the Kieslowski – although I put the Decalogue on hold, I’m still quite a fan of what I have seen by him so far. This story is – as expected – rather calm and simple, with the great direction of a Kieslowski. There isn’t much to say about it, except that it’s very much his style and as such very pleasant for my eyes. I do admit that I kind of expected a little bit more though.
L’Homme sans Tête by Juan Solanas
This film was just plain beautiful. The dancing, the atmosphere, this whole world (that made me think of a mix of Katsuhiro Otomo and Miyazaki XD) and of course the end of the story were just so sweet. Of course it’s somewhat cheesy, but who cares? It’s nice to see something like this for a change. Finally, I love how the head that fit the protagonist the most was the black head – that was so beautiful and brilliant.
Nocturne by Lars von Trier
I admit that this film did not make sense to me at all, really not at all. When I don’t understand something, I obviously also can’t really rate it, so “Nocturne” is ranked between the films that I found actually good – and the ones I found rather bad. At least atmosphere and acting are absolutely great in this short film after all. I am definitely a slightly blind fan of the likes of Kieslowski, Godard of Emo-Lars. In consequence, I suppose I am a little bit biased towards their creations.
I think finally it’s going to be 5 parts of reviews for these short films (one more for the european edition and 2 for the US version).
Sadly, I realized that I forgot about most of the films in Ten Minutes Older. Two years ago, I wasn’t as ready for artsiness as today, it seems. I also love how I thought Godard would be the kind of person who makes meaningful films – how wrong I was! Hahaha.