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Niceland

What is the purpose of life?

Niceland is a quirkly little film that takes us on a search for meaning. It’s a simple story constructed out of complex characters. Set in a vaguely Scandanavian city and with an international cast with a range of accents but pretty much all in English (with English subtitles). All this results in a film that is set in a place that seems to be a strange hybrid that allows broader points to be made about consumer society. The good thing is that director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson wisely chooses to focus on the personal stories rather than the social commentary. The main characters are mentally challenged, but it’s never explored or explained in any detail… it’s about the people and how they relate to each other. I loved the characters and the answer to their problems is quite obvious from the beginning, but we watch as everyone tries to make things much more complicated than they are. It may not be for everyone, but I found it sweet and refreshing.

October 17, 2005 aff2005, film, niceland, review

The Dying Gaul

Take the million, write something else.

I don’t know what it is, but it seems that if Patricia Clarkson is in a film, there is a strong possibility that I’ll like it. She’s one of the main actors in The Dying Gaul and she delivers another layered and nuanced performance. The Dying Gaul is based on a play by Craig Lucas and the film is also his film directing debut. It’s an impressive debut and while the film has the focused characterization and simple locations of a play, it’s very cinematic and I think that I’d like the film more than the play. The film is gorgeous with wonderful performances all around. It’s a complicated, noirish story that doesn’t lapse into formula. I’m glad that I knew very little about the film as it moved around in interesting and surprising ways.
The film revolves around a screenwriter played by Peter Sarsgaard. The writer is offered a deal to have his script developed by a studio executive played by Campbell Scott. The only catch is that the writer has to change the character based on his lover to a woman. I thought that the film was about this moral dilemma, but that only kicks things off. We watch as the power shifts between the characters in unexpected ways. It was gripping and surprising and I loved how it told the story visually. Most people will see it on DVD which is a shame since it’s a beautiful film to see in a theatre.

October 11, 2005 aff2005, dyinggaul, film, review

Presence and Absence

I haven’t been here for a long time. My plan was to write a lot during the Atlantic Film Festival, but I didn’t. I wrote more in my Moleskine than online, and I’m thinking that in the long run it will be better, since I’ll have more thoughtful writing here than rushing to put something up quickly.
It’s interesting that I was able to keep posting a bit on 43things and 43places, and Flickr which have lower barriers to contribute. So I haven’t disappeared online completely, but just changed where I am. Maybe podcasting will make it easier or posting from a cell phone… maybe next year, but now I’m still text and image based, so I’ll keep doing that. So things will start up here again soon and I’ll go back to my notebook and start posting more here. There’s a lot to write about and many great films to see, so thanks for reading this and see you all soon.

October 9, 2005 bitdepth, blogging

Niceland

The Dying Gaul

Presence and Absence

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