Though Woody Allen is immortalized for his witty
and acerbic comedy-dramas, and to a lesser extent for his lighter comedies, he
also made a few austere, ultra-serious dramas inspired by works of his idol
Ingmar Bergman. However, but for a few exceptions like Crimes & Misdemeanors and Interiors,
they – most notably September and Another Woman – have been met with
critical disdain, which is unfortunate methinks. The film begins with Marion
Post (Gena Rowlands), a successful middle-aged New York professor of
philosophy, taking sabbatical leave in order to write a book. She rents an
apartment in order to do so in peace, but, thanks to thin walls, ends up eves-dropping
to the sessions of a psychiatrist next door. The ones featuring a depressed and
suicidal lady (Mia Farrow) particularly get her hooked – so much so that they
make her revisit her own failures and disappointments, and a much delayed
attempt at reconciling with them. She realizes that a number of those she
considered as close actually despise her, that her seemingly loving husband
(Ian Holm) has moved quite apart, and that she is continues to harbor feelings
for the man (Gene Hackman) whose love she had turned down. What emerged, thus,
was a disconcerting and disconsolate chronicle of personal and familial
dysfunction beneath the veneer of success, happiness and stability among the
upper class. The degree of psychoanalysis in regular conversations was tad
distracting, but it was possible to overlook them in this otherwise brilliantly
enacted film. The host of cinematic devices, though seemingly derivative, was
put to potent use – particularly a vividly portrayed dream sequence featuring
the various actors in Marion’s life.
Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Marital Drama/Urban Drama
Language: English
Country: US
Yoshida’s Affair
in the Snow was, in many ways, a complementary and companion piece to his
excellent earlier film Woman of the Lake
– not just tonally and stylistically, but thematically too. In both cases the
protagonist, in her own ways, rebelled against her status quo; but, while in
the latter she moved onto an uncharted territory, here she moved back to an
older one. Yuriko (Mariko Okada), an alluring lady working in an upscale beauty
salon, is in a turbulent affair with the younger Akira (Yukio Ninagawa). His
extreme jealousy, mood swings, possessiveness and perversion, coupled with in
deep existential dilemma, compel her to call of their affair. But, as she hops
city to resolve a personal issue, she takes the help of Isao (Kazuo Imai), her
soft-spoken former lover who she had left, ironically, because of his inadequacy.
Unable to let her go and his jealousy further stoked, he follows her, and as
the three, each delicately poised with the other, travel to a snowy town, an
interesting ménage à trois ensues which made for psychologically engaging
viewing. Role reversals occurred as the narrative progressed, which eventually
led the film to its strangely tragic and wonderfully concocted finale. The film
was tad inconsistent in terms of narrative progression and content building,
and Yukio’s performance seemed like a sore thumb. But, Yoshida’s beautiful muse
Okada gave a compelling turn, brilliantly counterpointing the two men in her
life and the ensuing ironies. The film’s most memorable aspects,
however, would be its brilliant expressionistic photography with its visually
arresting chiaroscuro lighting, and the accompanying melancholic score on a loop.
Director: Yoshishige Yoshida
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Romantic Drama
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan
A year after he travelled to US with his gang of
outsiders with Leningrad Cowboys Go America, Kaurismaki travelled to the London with I Hired A Contract Killer. Made in the same year as the The Match Factory Girl, the wonderful final
chapter in his ‘Proletariat Trilogy’,
this droll and darkly comic film provided a wry look into the life of a man
who, initially, has nothing to lose, only for it to reverse with ironic
consequences. Henri Boulanger (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a lonely, morose civil
servant who leads a drab, mirthless existence. His monochrome life, however,
comes crashing down when he suddenly loses his job. He takes the hilarious
decision of hiring a killer to bump himself off when his attempts at suicide
end in failure. But, ironically, he experiences human companionship, and
eventually love, with a flower-girl (Margi Clarke) – possibly for the first
time in his life – soon after he does that. And hence, instead of awaiting
death, he must now flee for his life – more so because the underground location
where he had spent his last penny to hire a contract killer is now a heap of
bricks. Meanwhile, a laconic, balding, middle-aged hitman (Kenneth Colley),
whose life isn’t any less gloomy, is now hunting him. Aki marvelously blended
existential themes and caustic socio-political observations with dry humour and
absurdist plot developments, with the character arc of the protagonist highly reminiscent
of the superb Shadows in Paradise. French
icon Léaud gave a deadpan performance as the oddball protagonist, and was
nicely accompanied by tonally apt cinematography and fine, albeit minimally
used, music.
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Genre: Comedy/Black Comedy/Existential Comedy/Romance
Language: English
Country: Finland
Bergman made Hour of the Wolf and Shame in the same
year, and even cast two of his favourite actors, viz. Max von Sydow and Liv
Ullmann, in the lead roles for both; yet the two films couldn’t be any more
different from one another – be it tonally, stylistically or thematically. In
fact this powerful indictment against the tragedy or futility of war was
possibly the Swedish Master’s sole venture in this particular genre of cinema.
Jan (Sydow) and Eva (Ullmann) are simple folks and a happily married couple.
But there are certain strong differences between the two in terms of their
personalities, natures and attitudes, and they become intensely stark and reach irreconcilable
proportions when they suddenly find themselves in the middle of a rampaging
war. Bergman didn’t take any ideological sides in terms of the opposing political
forces; rather, his intent here was to strip war to its essentially primordial
nature, and portray how it brings out the primitive beasts within us otherwise cloaked
in the veneer of civility. Jan’s devastating transformation when survival instinct
kicks in, and Eva’s realization of that, which, at a subconscious level, she
was probably always aware of, made for a disconcerting, heart-wrenching and
psychologically arresting watch. Both Sydow, in another stand-in for the
auteur, and the ethereal Ullmann gave fabulous, deeply layered performances;
Gunnar Bjornstrand, too, was good in his brief but important role as a
mild-natured war criminal. Shot in elegant black-and-whites, the otherwise
simplicity of its narrative style, the directness of content and the profundity
of its theme made this one of his most accessible films, but a memorable one
nonetheless.
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Genre: Drama/War Drama/Psychological Drama/Marriage Drama
Language: Swedish
Country: Sweden
The Sacrifice,
the seventh, and sadly final, work of Andei Tarkovsky, remains a profound and
engrossing masterpiece. The film was quite Bergman-esque both thematically and
tonally, accentuated by the fact that it was made in Swedish, was
cinematographed by Sven Nykvist, and had Erland Josephson in the lead role.
But, in the end it was a deeply personal statement for Tarkovsky, more so with
its theme of spiritual and existential crises, and disquieting observations on
the irrationality of human behavior at the so-called ‘moment of truth’. Set
within a span of 24 hours, the story is hinges on a fateful get-together in a
remote island to celebrate the birthday of Alexander (Josephson), a wealthy
middle-aged intellectual. The people present include his emotionally vulnerable
wife (Susan Fleetwood), his teenage daughter, his kid son, the family doctor, a
local postman, and the house servants. The film’s tone was brooding and austere
right from the bravura 9 ½ minute opening shot, and goes devastatingly
downhill, ending with deep tragedy, upon the news of an imminent war that might
annihilate them all. Alexander, despite his loquacious and pensive nature,
seemed a reasonable person. But, in one of the most spellbinding sequences in
film history, when he carries out his promise of sacrificing all if war is
averted, by putting fire to a piece of cloth that, shot in an audacious single
take, slowly ends up engulfing his beautiful house, its sure to leave an
unforgettable impression on all. Nykvist's work, with the transition
from vibrant colours to drab gray and back which was reminiscent of Stalker, and the glorious outdoor vistas,
was breathtaking as well.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Religious Drama
Language: Swedish
Country: Sweden
