Arsenic and old lace - **

Arsenic and old lace **

Dirigida por Frank Capra — 1944 — Estados Unidos — 118 min — Blanco y Negro
Warner Bros. (Frank Capra; productor)

Un crítico de teatro se entera en su día de bodas que sus tías son unas maniáticas homicidas, y que la insanidad corre en su familia.

Desternillante comedia de enredos, con guión de los gemelos Epstein, y una dinámica dramática que alcanza niveles de paroxismo, sobre todo en el desenlace del film. Las manifiestas gesticulaciones de su protagonista revelan la edad del film, y el exceso de golpes tópicos le resta al todo narrativo, sin embargo, estamos sin duda ante una de las mejores comedias de su época y estilo.

Contribuciones cinematográficas significativas: Fotografía (Sol Polito); Guión (Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein);

Dances with wolves - ****

Dances with wolves * * * *

Drama. Orion. 1990.
D: Kevin Costner.
P: Kevin Costner, Jim Wilson.

“Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military”.

Languid and romantic film that centers in the journey of a man towards the border of the North American west, and to the world of the Indian-Americans, on the verge of disappearing by effect of the civil war that whips to the country, and the improbable interpersonal relation that binds him to them. The riotous sensitivity of the director meets with the moderation of a well designed, accomplished production; all gestures are carried out beautifully, resulting in an epic that resonates powerfully as spectacle, drama and human plea. Its emotional integrity is doubtless; so are its abilities. With dialogues in native language (Sioux and Pawnee). Composer John Barry focused the narrative from the interior of the central personage, portraying also the geographic panorama of the North American west; his noble, simple and eloquent music became one of the more famous film scores of all time, and one of his great artistic triumphs.

SPC: Direction; Music (John Barry); Production; Cinematography (Dean Semler); Screenplay (Michael Blake); Acting (Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene)

Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan

Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan

Comedy. Fox. 2006.
D: Larry Charles.
P: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach.
84 minutes.

“Kazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world. With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson”.

A group of crude, plain stupid parody sketches treated as a topic character comedy. It’s built around its protagonist and his interactions -some improvised, some not- with the new world surrounding him. Audience empathy required for the film to be of any interest. Because it doesn’t have any.

Significant production contribution: None.

Jackass Number Two

Jackass Number Two

Comedy. MTV. 2006.
D: Jeff Tremaine.
P: Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine.
95 minutes

“Chris Pontius, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, and the whole crew return to the screen to raise the stakes higher than ever before”.

Another mix of masoquism, male nudity and prank jokes, on a higher pitch than the homonimous TV show. Only for fans.

Significant production contribution: None.

Shortbus - *

Shortbus *

Drama. ThinkFilm, Fortissimo. 2006.
D: John Cameron Mitchell.
P: Howard Gertler, Tim Perell, John Cameron Mitchell.
101 minutes

“A group of New Yorkers get caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality”.

Ambitious but failed independent production candidly investigating a group of urban characters for issues like identity, romance, sex, and pursuit of happiness. Worthy for the frankness of its portrayal of sex, which reports an energy that permeates the whole film.

Significant production contribution: Songs (Scott Matthew)

Last days - **

Last days * *

Drama. Picturehouse, HBO. 2005.
D: Gus Van Sant.
P: Dany Wolf.
97 minutes.

“The last days in the life of a rock star”.

The most recent among the elliptical, naturalist narrative experiments of its director, with a plot loosely based on the death of famous singer Kurt Cobain. In Roscharch-like fashion, it muses about religion, death, art, and the surroundings of its character, purposefully avoiding narrative conventions. It requires the active participation of its audience.

Significant production contribution: Sound (Leslie Schatz)