the front row is for people without dates
Have I mentioned that I'm developing an unhealthy (for my bank account) of going to see lots of movies?
When the last minute morning table making and the afternoon meeting was over, I hung out at the office for a few minutes and listened to the new Air CD while I walked up to the Harvard Exit to see The Dreamers. I don't really know much about movie making, but I get the sense that Bertolucci knows what he's doing with a camera. He does some nice things with mirrors, movement, shadows ,(and interspersed film references).
The story had House of Yes elements and some possibly unnecessary squicky stuff, but I thought it was good. Perhaps it is easier to accept because the film is populated by beautiful actors with great clothes. I've liked so many movies lately, maybe I'm just an easy sell? At the same time, I'm glad that I saw it by myself so that I didn't need to worry about other people's reactions.
I worked on my poster for a little bit at Victrola and tried to replenish my convergently empty personal care arsenal at Walgreens, but they were out of everything I wanted. Choosing new products is just too much mental effort; so I'll just go somewhere else tomorrow.
When the last minute morning table making and the afternoon meeting was over, I hung out at the office for a few minutes and listened to the new Air CD while I walked up to the Harvard Exit to see The Dreamers. I don't really know much about movie making, but I get the sense that Bertolucci knows what he's doing with a camera. He does some nice things with mirrors, movement, shadows ,(and interspersed film references).
The story had House of Yes elements and some possibly unnecessary squicky stuff, but I thought it was good. Perhaps it is easier to accept because the film is populated by beautiful actors with great clothes. I've liked so many movies lately, maybe I'm just an easy sell? At the same time, I'm glad that I saw it by myself so that I didn't need to worry about other people's reactions.
I worked on my poster for a little bit at Victrola and tried to replenish my convergently empty personal care arsenal at Walgreens, but they were out of everything I wanted. Choosing new products is just too much mental effort; so I'll just go somewhere else tomorrow.
This is the exact reason why I go to so many movies by myself. I hate the pressure of whether or not my friends will like whatever crazy movie I want to see that they've never heard of, so I just go alone. And I sort of love it because I can just think about the movie instead of having the whole "How did you like it? What was your favorite part?" conversation that everyone seems to want to have after a movie.
very late reply
the front row IS for people without dates
I thought the sex scenes weren't sexy, the message of the film was muddied (really, what was it? Something about political participation or the difference between the French and Americans? I could make something up but I would be making it up), and the incest thing has been done a lot better in other films (House of Yes exactly, that was a great film that was actually entertaining and funny, and sad).
Re: I forgot to respond to this...
As for the message, I think that Bertolucci was setting up a story about the insular quality of idealistic youth. The trio create their own over intellectualized world of themselves and film references which causes them to completely ignore the huge social movement happening outside their windows.
The acting wasn't perfect -- a few of the monologues were (intentionally?) embarrassingly in love with themselves (the thing about the lighter, the denunciation of communism) -- but I didn't really mind. Maybe I wasn't feeling critical when I watched it, but the whole thing worked for me. I thought that the ending was interesting in that it was reminiscent in sentiment, but not form, of the way In America eased the audience back into reality. I guess that I'm saying that the movie was aware that it was a movie. Or something.