Some more

Margot at the Wedding: 10/10

Noah Baumbach totally goes Rohmer, but unlike Rohmer, Baumbach doesn't take his time. He has a lot of stories to tell, a lot of emotions to convey, and a lot of insight to insinuate. This is an extremely complex, tight to the edge drama. Each moment is indispensable in adding a dimension to the characters, who react to these moments with naturalness rarely seen in contemporary cinema. Discipline and lessons learned from the best of Nouvelle Vague have paid off. A note on the cinematography: it is very dark, using mostly natural light. I have no idea how this movie would look in home theatre. In any case, Harris Savides proves himself again to be one of the supreme technicians of our time. Even if Baumbach keeps resting on his laurels, he will always be remembered as someone who brings out the most delicate dimensions of human behavior without expressing them through ostentatious quirkiness.

Short Cuts: 4/10

It seems that Altman is so used to telling a story through network narratives that he feels compelled to use the structure whenever he films anything. On the surface, everything looks fluid and profound. Considering the amount of work that needs to be done in the editing room, this is utterly uneconomical filmmaking. It pans and zooms to show off impressive details, but they contain no depth. The omnipresent eye glances past everybody without showing any interest in anybody. Perhaps everyone is so superficial that there is virtually no emotional insight. The melodrama is loud, absurd, and inconsequential. We can definitely blame the poorly written source materials, but Altman didn't have to spend all that effort and waste all those celluloids.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles: 9/10

Let's be serious: this is one of the most entertaining movies ever made. Three hours and a quarter fly by as though they were never there. Life unfolds before us, in the most genuine and sincere fashion. For the lack of a better adjective, "mesmerizing" is how I would describe each moment. You could call it mundane, fastidious, pointless - but this is life as it is, and cinema at its utmost honesty. Minus half a star for the ending. Surely it means something in the context, but let's say, if Hou Hsiao Hsien made the movie, he wouldn't have condoned such a superficial act.

I'm Not There: 8/10

Uneven as it is, this film contains the best I've ever seen in any filmmaker's attempt to duplicate a master's most glorious moments. If the entire film were built on the Cate Blanchett episode, then the film would be a masterpiece. Still, the intertwining of various styles, techniques, and homages is unabashedly Godardian, complete with sounds of gunshots matching a rapid succession of images. Todd Haynes seems more interested in displaying his optimal understanding and appreciation of film history than investing enduring insight into the characters.