Cinematic Ceremony

Jean-Luc Godard - Le Mépris (1963)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:14:00 +0000

To me, it always required certain accumulation of knowledge on art to approach Godard cinema which is made up of movies that cannot be seen and understood as a duck takes to water, but movies that required me to read a lot after watching them, to explore what I have missed. Not so far-back, just four years ago, I made the decision to pursue a master degree in the city of Lyon, a decision which was well affected by my love of cinema. Lyon was the city where 'cinema' was pioneered by the invention of the device called Cinématographe (see the Lumière brothers). There I got embarked upon the filmography of Jean-Luc Godard with the first DVD I borrowed from the Lyon Municipal Library: À bout de souffle. At the end of my courses, in the evenings, while I was living and breathing Godard starting from his first short films to his feature-length films, Pierrot Le Fou wouldn't portray me any better at those times. For I always postpone to consume things that I fall for, I didn't even notice that a four-year passed since I last watched a Godard movie. Having recently seen Le Mépris (Contempt) (1963), I wanted to have some notes on a Godard film on this blog.

Godard sineması benim için yaklaşılması sanat üzerine bilgi ve birikim isteyen, öyle bir çırpıda izlenip anlaşılacak çerez filmlerden oluşmadığı için filmi izledikten sonra acaba neler kaçırdım deyip günlerce o film üzerine okuduğum filmlerden oluşur. Çok değil dört sene kadar once sinema aşkıyla Master için Lyon kentini (sinemanın ilk kez Sinematograf adli aygıt ile keşfedildiği şehir bkz: Lumière kardeşler) seçmemle beraber filmografisine Lyon Kütüphanesi’nden aldığım À bout de souffle ile siftah yaptım. Ders çıkışı Godard’la yatıp Godard’la kalktığım odamda ilk kısa filmlerinden , uzun metraj filmlerini sırayla tüketirken Pierrot Le Fou benim o zamanki halimi daha iyi tasfir edemezdi. Çok beğendiğim şeyleri tüketmeyi sona ertelediğimden bir dört senenin geçtiğini farketmedim bile. Le Mépris’i izleyince bu blog’da bir Godard filmi incelemesi bulunsun istedim.

Le Mépris is a movie within a movie and the first big-budget film of Godard who had been making his movies far-off from commercial concerns. The movie is an adaptation of the book named Il Disprezzo (Contempt) of Alberto Moravia's. The dilemma of "the art or the money?" is being told through the dissolution of the marriage of the screenwriter Javal Paul (Michel Piccoli) who is in the eve of accepting a project that will bring a lot of money and keep his beautiful wife Camille (Brigitte Bardot) happy. Paul is hired by the American producer Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance), to write the screenplay of the film adapted from Homer's Odyssey and will be directed by Fritz Lang (playing himself in the movie). Prokosch takes an aversion to the artistic approach of Lang's to the film, and desires the film to be away from those elements and close to his views.

Le Mépris film içinde bir film ve ticari kaygıdan bağımsız film yapan Godard’ın ilk büyük bütçeli filmi. Film Alberto Moravia’nin Il Disprezzo (Küçümseme) isimli kitabından bir uyarlama. Senaryo yazarlığı yapan Paul Javal’ın (Michel Piccoli) güzel eşi Camille’i (Brigitte Bardot) mutlu etmek için çok para getirecek bir projeyi kabul etme aşamasında kaldığı "sanat mı, para mı" ikilemini çiftin dağılma arefesindeki evlilikleri üzerinden anlatır. Paul Amerikan film yapımcısı Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) tarafından, Fritz Lang’ın (filmde kendisini oynuyor) yöneteceği Homer’ın Odyssey kitabının senaryo uyarlamasını yapması için işe alınır. Prokosch Lang’ın filme olan artistik yaklaşımını sevmemekte, filmin bu öğelerden uzak, kendi görüşlerine yakın olmasını istemektedir.

Apparently, it was easy for Fritz Lang to accept the invitation to take a part in Godard's film since he admired Godard cinema. Lang plays himself in the film, a director that does not make concessions in his art. Godard, through Lang, puts across the degeneration in the movie making art, as well as the intellectual narration that received a blow to make money and yielded its place to the shallow narrative. Godard, in a way, criticizes Hollywood cinema here.

Fritz Lang’ın, Godard’ın filmde oynama davetini kabul etmesi kolay olmuş, çünkü kendisi Godard sinemasının hayranlarındanmış. Lang filmde kendini canlandırıyor, sanatından ödün vermeyen bir yönetmeni. Godard onun üzerinden sinema sanatının yozlaşmasını, para için yapılan sanatta(!) entellektüel anlatımın darbe almasını ve yerini genelin kabul ettiği sığ anlatıma bırakmasını konu alıyor. Godard bir bakıma Hollywood sinemasını eleştirmekte burada.

While Paul is content of the job that he accepted to please his wife by earning more money, he is also in a dilemma, for he put aside his art. As Lang hints at the cruel world ruled by the money, he becomes more and more irresolute about the project. On the other hand, Camille begins to have contempt towards him and she cannot explain the reason. Perhaps, the way that Paul ignored Prokosch's interest to his wife has an effect on her feelings. Camille can not explain this, and says to Paul: "I despise you for being unable to say no. I find you meek!"

Paul para kazanıp eşini daha da mutlu etmek için kabul ettiği bu işten bir yandan memnunken, bir yandan da sanatını kenara attığı için bir ikilem arasındadır. Lang’ın da paranın sözünün geçtiğini söylediği bu acımasız dünyadan söz etmesiyle iyice ikileme düşer. Diğer yandan Camille, eşine bu durum karşısında nedenini açıklayamadığı bir küçümseme beslemeye başlar, bunda belki de Paul’un bu ikilem içerisinde gidip gelirken Prokosch’un eşine karşı olan ilgisini dikkate almaması vardır. Camille bunu açıklayamaz ve Paul’a şöyle söyler: "Seni hayır diyemediğin için küçük görüyorum. Seni ezik buluyorum!".

Le Mépris is a film where Godard's frankly expressed his artistic concerns in parallel to the story of a failing marriage. While Paul is faced with the risk to sell and disregard his art, the situation between him and his wife is not so different than between him and his art. Is it Paul to be despised, or is he the one to be understood?

Le Mépris Godard’ın sanatsal kaygılarını açıkça dile getirdiği, bu kaygıları çöken bir evliliğe paralel anlattığı bir filmdir. Paul sanatını satmak, ayaklar altına almak riski ile karşı karşıya iken aynı zamanda eşi ile olan durum da sanatıyla olan durumdan farksız değildir. Küçümsenmesi gereken Paul mudur, yoksa onu anlamaya mı çalışmalıdır?

Le Mépris is shot with a wide-angle camera, full with camera movements, inebriates the one with a visual feast of colors. Lasting up to half an hour in the middle of the film, the apartment scene where the couple's positions relative to the items in the room (status, columns, et.) are thought ingeniously in such a way that Godard doesn't only calls upon the dialogs for the narration, but also strengthens it with visual elements. He symbolizes the couple's breaking relationship with the objects that intervene between them.

Le Mépris geniş açı kamera ile çekilmiş, kamera hareketleriyle dolu, renklerin insanın başını döndürdüğü harika bir görsel şölen. Filmin orta yerinde bir yarım saat kadar süren apartman sahnesinde çiftin kameranın görüş alanı içerisindeki pozisyonları, apartmanın öğeleriyle (heykel, kolon, vs.) öyle bir konumlanmış ki, Godard hikayeyi geliştirmekte sadece diyaloğu kullanmamış, fakat anlatımı görsel öğelerle de pekiştirmiş. Çiftin kopma noktasına gelen ilişkilerini, aralarına giren eşyalar ile simgelemiş.

Godard is a filmmaker who loves metaphors. During a long scene where Lang and Paul are talking about the scenario of Odyssey, Paul relates Penelope with Camille and tries tries to understand the story through his wife. Odyssey is used as a metaphor to contribute to the narrative. Since I didn't read the book (Il Disprezzo), I am not sure if it is Godard or Alberto Moravia that fictionalized this, but it is known that Godard likes these kind of connotations, relating art with another form of idea/art. Maybe that's why, when the film production company requested to put forward Bardot's naked body in the film, Godard didn't refuse, but agreed, since it will contribute to the story. For the audience that watches the film to see Bardot's naked body, it will connotate that Godard was torn between the producers' demands to sell the movie and making his own art.

in three words: multi-layered, intellectual, eclectic

Godard metaforları seven bir yönetmen. Lang’ın ve Paul’un Odyssey’in senaryosu üzerine sohbet ettikleri uzun sahnede Penelope’yi Camille ile ilişkilendiren Paul, hikayeyi eşinin üzerinden ele alarak kavramaya çalışmaktadır. Burada Odyssey bir metafor olarak hikayeye katkıda bulunması için kullanılmıştır. Bunu Godard mı, kitabın yazarı Alberto Moravia mı kurguladı, kitabı okumadığım için bilemiyorum, fakat Godard’ın bu gibi çağrışımları, sanatı sanatla ilişkilendirmeye çalışması bilinen bir şey. Belki de bu yüzden Godard, prodüksiyon şirketinin isteği üzerine Bardot’un çıplak vücudunun filmde öne çıkacak kereler bulunmasını hikayeye katkıda bulunduğu için kabul etti. Zira filmi Bardot için izleyenler Godard’ın filmi satmak için prodüktörün istekleri ve kendi sanatı arasında kalmış olduğuna çağrışım yapabilir.

üç kelime ile: çok katmanlı, entellektüel, derleyen

Andrzej Wajda - Katyn (2007)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:59:00 +0000

Andrzrej Wajda

Is there any of you who haven't heard of Wajda? who haven't seen any of his films? An intellectual with a good understanding and assimilation of his country couldn't have described it this beautifully. Wajda's films handle the history and the people of Poland; they touch the political and social evolution of this country after the 2nd World War. That is to say, the subjects of Wajda's films are sensitive. In Katyn (2007), Wajda reveals his country's tragic historical facts that he was personally involved, but he postponed to portray it for many years due to political reasons.

Wajda’yı tanımayanınız var mı? Bir Wajda filmi izlemeyeniniz? Ülkesini bu kadar iyi anlayan, sindiren bir entellektüel bir bu kadar da güzel anlatabilir. Polonya tarihini, insanını işler Wajda filmleri; 2. Dünyaşı’ndan çıkan ülkesinin politik ve sosyal evrimine dokunur. Yani konuları hassastır Wajda filmlerinin. Katyn’de Wajda politik sebeplerden yıllardır ertelediği, kişisel olarak da kendisinin de içinde bulunduğu trajik bir tarihi gerçeği gözler önüne seriyor.

Poland got out from the sovereignty of the Communist regime in 1989. While Katyn, the brutal massacre, took its place in history, it was not, of course, possible to make a movie on this subject in Poland until 1989. Wajda's father was murdered in the massacre too. Growing up during the war, having lost his father, seeing his mother's pain and the pain of the people of his country, Wajda obviously didn't have an easy childhood.

Polonya 1989 yılında komunist rejimin dağılmasıyla Sovyet egemenliğinden çıkmış. Katyn de vahşi bir katliam olarak tarihe geçerken pek tabi ki bu konu üzerine film yapmak Polonya’da 1989’a kadar mümkün olmamış. Wajda’nın babası da bu katliamda hayatını kaybetmiş. Savaş yıllarında büyümüş, babasını kaybetmiş, annesinin acısını, ülkesinin insanlarının acısını görerek büyüdüğü bir çocukluğu olmuş Wajda’nın.

I cannot deny that it was troubling to watch Katyn. The movie shakes you from the beginning till the end. The testimony of the endless suffering of the film doesn't know its ending. Piece by piece, it manifests the intersecting, common stories of people, albeit different from each other, and the suffering that is related to the entire nation. The film starts with the images of Poland in 1939, where the Polish people are running away from the occupation of enemy soldiers. While everybody is heading away from the battle field, one woman is moving towards it: she is going to the prisoner camp of the enemy where her husband is...

Katyn’i izlerken çok sıkıntı çektiğimi saklamayacağım. Film sizi başından sonuna kadar çalkalıyor. Filmin yaşanan acılara şahitliği bitmek bilmiyor, parça parça bir şekilde hikayeleri kesişen insanların birbirinden farklı da olsa ortak olan, tüm ulusu ilgilendiren acılarını ortaya koyuyor. 1939 yılında savaş isgali altındaki Polonya halkının düşman askerinden kaçarkenki görüntüleriyle başlıyor film. Herkes bir tarafa doğru giderken sadece bir kadın, kızının elinden tutarak kimsenin gitmediği bir yöne doğru ilerlemektedir: kocasının esir alındığı düşman kampına…

Her husband is put aboard a train, the train sets off to an unknown destination. The only thing that consoles her is the fact that her husband is alive. She prays for his return, while believing that being a prisoner is better than being dead.

Kocası bir trene bindirilir, tren bilinmeyen bir yöne doğru yola çıkar. Kendini avuttuğu tek şey en azından kocasının hayatta olmasıdır. Ne de olsa ölmüş olmasından çok daha iyi olduğunu düşünerek savaş esiri kocasını beklemeye devam eder.

However, the truth comes to light much later after the end of the war. While the Russian and German governments accuse each other, Polish people know the truth and try to face it. However, no one can talk about it, since Poland is still under the occupation of Russia that is responsible for this atrocity. Thus, the subject is shelved as a taboo.

Gerçek su yüzüne savaş bittikten çok daha sonra çıkacaktır. Rusya ve Almanya hükümetleri birbirlerini suçlarken Polonya halkı gerçeği bilmekte ve yüzleşmeye çalışmaktadır. Fakat kimse bu konuyu konuşamaz, çünkü Polonya halen bu acımasızlığın sorumlusu olan düşmanın işgali altındadır, ve konu bir tabu olarak rafa kaldırılır.

The movie is full of details. For example, at one part, while Russian troops were tearing the Polish flag which consists of a red and white strip, one of the Russian soldiers rolled the white part of the flag as socks to his feet, while another soldier hang back the red part as a Soviet flag.

Film detaylarla dolu. Mesela bir yerinde düşman askerlerinin bir tren istasyonunda kırmızı ve beyaz şeritten oluşan Polonya bayrağını yırtıp beyaz tarafını çorap olarak kullanmak için ayagına sararken kırmızı tarafını Sovyet bayrağı olarak direğe geri asar.

The actors' performance is excellent. I don't think they left much work to the director. Their performances were genuine as if they were feeling the story inside as if they lived those moments themselves. They seem perfectly aware that they were representing the sad event in their history.

Oyunculuk performansı normalin çok üstünde ve bence yönetmene fazla da iş bırakmamışlar. Aktörler filmi, hikayeyi içlerinde hissederek, resmen yaşayarak anlatmışlar. Kendi halklarının hüzünlü tarihini anlattıklarının farkındalar.

One of the good things of watching a movie from a DVD is that sometimes there are additional contents showing how the movies were filmed. This time, they have included a one-hour interview with Wajda in the DVD. There, Wajda tells us why it took a such a long time for him to start shooting Katyn, and that it felt like a duty for him. "Shall I have told the movie from the perspective of my mother, or from the perspective of my father. Which actors should have taken part in it, which scenarists should I have worked with...all of these were question marks to me, and I wanted everything to be exactly as I wanted, because it was my movie." he says. After thinking for a long time Wajda decides that his film should be about "the massacre and the lie".

in three words: revealing, stunning, memorable

Filmi DVD’den izlemenin güzel yanlarından biri de zaman zaman filmin yanına ekledikleri, filmin nasıl çekildiğini anlatan kısa videolar. Wajda’nın bir saatlik röportajına da yer verilmiş DVD’de. Wajda filmi çekmeye neden bu kadar geç baslayabildiğini, fakat bu filmin onun için bir zorunluluk olduğunu anlatıyor. “Filmi annemin bakış açısıyla mi, yoksa babamın bakış açısıyla mı anlatmalıydım, ya da hangi oyuncular olmalı, hangi senaristlerle çalışmalıydım… bunlarin hepsi benim için soru işaretiydi ve her şeyin tam istedigim gibi olmasını istedim, çünkü bu benim filmimdi” diyor. Wajda uzun bir süre düşündükten sonra filminin “katliam ve yalan” üzerinde durmasına karar vermiş.

üç kelimeyle: açığa çıkaran, sersemletici, akılda kalıcı

Andrzrej Wajda in the set of Katyn

Little Fugitive (1953)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:58:00 +0000

To tell the truth, when I saw the text "This movie has been a source of inspiration for John Cassavetes' and Martin Scorsese's first films" at the back of the DVD that I borrowed from the library, I wasn't expecting the movie to be that good, and I had no idea on how significant place it has, not only for Cassavetes and Scorsese, but for the history of cinema.

Doğrusu kütüphaneden arkasındaki "John Cassavetes ve Martin Scorsese’nin ilk filmlerine esin kaynağı olmuştur" yazısını görünce aldığım bu filmin umduğumdan çok daha iyi çıkacagını ve sadece Cassavetes ve Scorsese için değil, sinema tarihinde önemli bir yeri olduğunu bilmiyordum.

Little Fugitive (1953) has a minimalistic scenario. It tells what had happened to a seven-year-old little brother (Joey) during one day. When their mother entrusts him to his older brother for one day and leaves them to take care of their ill grandmother, a friendly, simple but honest independent film comes out. Joey's brother and his friends decide to make a joke to Joey, so that the little hindrance would leave them alone, but the joke backfires and seven-year-old Joey reckons that he accidentally killed his brother, throws himself on the streets and runs away. What a tragedy for a seven-year-old! :) and that's where the whole story begins.

Minimalistik bir senaryosu var Little Fugitive’in. Yedi yaşındaki küçük erkek kardeşin (Joey) bir gün boyunca başından geçenleri anlatıyor. Anneleri Joey’i bir günlüğüne kendisinden birkaç yaş büyük abisine emanet edip hasta anneanneleri ile ilgilenmeye gidince ortaya böyle samimi, basit ama dürüst bir bağımsız film çıkıyor. Joey’in abisi ve arkadasları ‘ayakbağı’ Joey onları biraz rahat bıraksın diye minik bir şaka yapmaya kalkınca, şaka kaka oluyor ve yedi yaşındaki Joey abisini kazara öldürdüğünü düşünerek kendini sokaklara atıyor ve kaçıyor. Yedi yaşındaki bir çocuk için ne büyük trajedi! :) Tüm hikaye de işte burada başlıyor.

Joey, taking the money left by her mother, throws himself to Coney Island, probably the only place that he's been taken to away from his house. A place where all little kids are itching to go. Surrounded by funfairs, parks, playing fields, innocent Joey spends time forgetting his suffering (!).

Joey annesinin eve biraktigi parayı da alarak soluğu belki de bugüne kadar evinden uzakta gittiği tek yer olan Coney Island’da alıyor. Minik çocukların gitmeye can attığı, rüyalarını süsleyen lunaparklar, oyun alanları ile dolu olan bu yerde Joey masumane bir şekilde çilesini(!) de unutarak vakit geçirmeye başlıyor.

The film's credibility (or sincerity is more like it, because the movie doesn't have any concern for credibility) is due to the little actor. The film doesn't have a message to give, nor a doctrine, but we should give this little actor (Richie Andrusco) his due. He takes us into Joey's world and lets us see things through his eyes while forgetting ourselves.

Filmin inandırıcılığı (ya da içtenliği demek daha doğru olur, çünkü film inandırıcılık kaygısı gütmüyor) minik aktörden kaynaklanıyor. Filmin vermeye çalıştığı bir mesaj, bir öğreti yok; fakat bizi Joey’nin kendi dünyasına katarak olanları kendimizi unutarak onun gözünden izlememizi saglayan bu minik aktörün (Richie Andrusco) hakkını vermeliyiz.

The movie is written and directed by Abrashkin Raymond (known as "Ray Ashley"), and photography-origin couple Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin. Therefore, more than the rating worries, the film is concern with photographic aspects (see the rain scene). Remarkable thing about the film is that Engel adopted shooting with a hand-held camera which was a trend started by famous photographer Paul Strand who also introduced Engel the photography. Being a movie shot by a hand-held camera in 1950s, Little Fugitive is a pioneer in the cinema history. In this way, Engel captured the scenes while the surrounding people were unaware and in their natural habitats. Can't we say that Little Fugitive has a documentary quality which reflects the state of Coney Island in the 1950s?

Film Raymond Abrashkin ("Ray Ashley" olarak biliniyor), ve fotografçılık kökenli çift Morris Engel ve Ruth Orkin tarafından yazılıp çevrilmiş. Bundan dolayı ki filmde begenilme kaygısından çok, fotografik bir kaygı var (bkz. yağmur sahnesi). Filmin kayda değer yanı da Engel’i fotografçılık ile taniştıran ünlü fotoğrafçı Paul Strand’in başlattığı el kamerası ile çekimin Engel tarafından benimsenmesi olmuş. 1950 sinemasında el kamerası ile çekilen bir film olması dolayısıyla da sinemanın ilklerinden Little Fugitive. Bu sayede Engel bir çok sahneyi etraftaki insanlara farkettirmeden doğal ortamlarında çekmiş. Bu nedenle Coney Island’ın 1950’lerdeki halini yansıtan bir belgesel niteliğini de taşıyor diyemez miyiz ?

Little Fugitive also greatly influenced the French New Wave. We understand that from Truffaut's saying "If Little Fugitive did not come, our New Wave couldn't exist". If we dig a bit more, when you watch the film, you will notice the similarities between the scenarios of Little Fugitive and Godard's film Au Bout de Souffle (Breathless (1960)). With some similarities between some scenes and the script, Truffaut's Les 400 Coups (The 400 Blows (1959)) has also some inspirational breeze of Little Fugitive.

I've also learned from the DVD extras of the film that according to some historians, Little Fugitive is accepted as America's first independent feature film. It's a title that belongs to John Cassavetes' film Shadow (1959), however Little Fugitive has been shot seven years prior to that film.

in three words: friendly, natural, non-greed

Fransız Yeni Dalga akımını da büyük ölçüde etkilemis bir film Little Fugitive. Bunu Truffaut’nun “Eger Little Fugitive olmasaydı, bizim Yeni Dalga’mız varolamazdı” demesinden de anlıyoruz. Hatta biraz daha deşersek, filmi izlediğinizde Godard’ın Au Bout de Souffle‘u (Breathless (1960))ile Little Fugitive arasındaki senaryo benzerliklerini farkedebilirsiniz. Bazı sahneler ve yine senaryodaki benzerliklerden de Truffaut’nun Les 400 Coups’sunda da (The 400 Blows (1959)) filmden esintiler var.

Bir de DVD’deki ekstralardan öğrendiğime gore bazı sinema tarihçileri filmin Amerika’nın ilk bağımsız filmi olduğunu söylüyor. John Cassavetes’in Shadow filmine ait olan bir ünvan but, fakat Little Fugitive ondan yedi yıl daha önce çekilmiş.

Üç kelimeyle: samimi, dogal, hırsı olmayan

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 13:45:00 +0000

I watched this one a while ago, having been fascinated with the movie, I read all the reviews out there and couldn't stop but write my own. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) is a haunting psychological drama/thriller that makes you feel like something is about to happen throughout the movie. It studies something not new, but not emphasized in cinema. The relationship between a mother and a son has been a subject to movies, but not that sort. We Need to Talk About Kevin takes this relationship from the beginning : from an un-born Kevin and his pregnant mother, to terrible brutal series of events that are to come later.

Bu filmi izleyeli bayağı oldu aslında, filmden bir o kadar etkilenmiş, netteki film yorumlarını üşenmeyip okumuş biri olarak kendi yorumumu yazmadan duramadım. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) (Türkiye'de "Kevin Hakkında Konuşmalıyız" adıyla vizyona girdi) film boyunca sizde her an bir şey olacakmış izlenimi uyandıran, insanın aklına musallat olan bir psikolojik drama/gerilim filmi. Yeni bir seyi incelemiyor film, fakat vurgulanmayan şeylere dokunuyor. Bir anne ve oğul arasındaki ilişki sinemaya konu olagelmiştir, fakat bu türlü değil. We Need to Talk About Kevin bu ilişkiyi en başından ele alıyor: henüz doğmamiş bir Kevin ve ona hamile annesinden başlayıp korkunç bir vahşetin olduğu olaylar dizisine doğru götürüyor hikayeyi.

Tilda Swinton put all the skills she has to this film, I think. She was stunning as performing Kevin's mother Eva, a shocked woman, trying to understand what she did wrong and save the situation, however things get out of her control. Was Kevin born knowing the fact that he was an unwanted baby, is all his evilness coming from that, why is that magic compassionate, affectionate connection never established between Kevin and his mother, is this Eva's bad fate?...

Tilda Swinton bu film için sahip olduğu tüm yeteneği ortaya koymuş sanırım. Şaşkına dönmüş, neyi yanliş yaptığını anlamaya ve durumu kontrol altına almaya çalışan kadını canlandırdığı Kevin'in annesi rolünde çarpıcı idi. Kevin istenmeyen bir çocuk olduğunu bilerek mi doğmuştur, tüm şeytanlığı bundan mı kaynaklanmaktadır, Kevin ile annesi arasında neden o şefkatli, sevgi dolu bağ bir türlü oluşmamıştır, bu Eva'nın kara yazısı mıdır?...

We saw a lot of movies where a son becomes the devil because of his parents engaging violence in child care. However, what if a child is born with a devil character, whereas mother is willing to supply all the care and love? This storyline and the advanced acting performances of the movie make it compulsive to watch albeit to its disturbing scenes. The movie is full with flashbacks. At the beginning, you don't quite understand what the movie is up to. Then, it doesn't take so long to understand that the inevitable events are awaiting.

Bir oğlan çocuğunun ailesinden gördüğü şiddet dolayısıyla şeytana dönüstüğü filmleri çok gördük. Ancak, ya bu çocuk annesinin tüm ilgi ve şefkat verme isteğine rağmen çoktan bir şeytan karakteri taşıyorsa? Bu ana tema ve üst düzey oyunculuk performansları, rahatsız edici sahnelere rağmen filmi izlemeye zorunlu kılıyor insanı. Film geri dönüşlerle dolu. İlk başta ne olduğunu pek anlamıyorsunuz. Fakat filmin kaçınılmaz olaylar dizisine gebe olduğunu anlamak çok uzun sürmüyor.

The movie is full with rich scenes which push the artistic side of the movie high. Storytelling and the editing is perfect. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) is a nightmare kinda movie that exposes you the things that you don't want to know about, the hardest moments of a mum, the complexity of the situation, the psychological feud that one cannot control...

Film, artistik açıdan çıtayı yükselten zengin sahneler ile dolu. Hikaye anlatımı ve kurgu mükemmel. Size hakkında bilmek istemediğiniz şeyleri, bir annenin en zor anlarını, durumun karmaşıklığını, kontrol edilemeyen bir psikolojik kavgayı gösteren kabus gibi bir film We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).

In the mean time, let me mention about this years' Academy Award nominations and winners. As you'll know, Meryl Steep got the Best Actress award (and her third Oscar at the same time). With all my respect to Meryl Steep, we all love her and what a fantastic acceptance speech that was, I didn't quite get why Tilda Swinton was not in the nominees. Even tho I'm not a fan of her, she put a great performance, one of her best, as Eva, the mother of Kevin. The movie is disturbing, that's right. Academy doesn't like such disturbing movies, but then why is the Academy Awards the most prestigious and the most credited ceremony of all? I find the Academy very unrepresentative sometimes, prejudiced time to time and suspect its ability to cultivate high art...

Bu arada, biraz da bu yılın Oscar aday ve kazananlarından bahsedeyim. Bildiğiniz gibi, Meryl Steep En İyi Kadın Oyuncu ödülünü aldı (bu aynı zamanda üçüncü Oscar'ı kendisinin). Meryl Steep'e saygım sonsuz, hepimiz seviyoruz onu, ne şahane bir ödül kabul konusması yaptı öyle, fakat Tilda Swinton'ın aday gösterilmemiş olmasını hala anlamış değilim. Kendisine pek fazla bir hayranlığım olmasa dahi, Kevin'in annesi Eva rolünde olağanüstü bir performans sergilemiş, en iyi performanslarından diyebiliriz. Filmin biraz rahatsız edici bir film olduğu doğru. Akademi de rahatsız edici filmleri pek sevmiyor, peki o zaman neden Akademi en prestijli ve en itibarlı ödül törenlerinden biri? Ben, bazen Akademiyi pek temsil edici bulmuyorum, zaman zaman önyargılı bence, ve sanatta çıtayı yükseltme kabiliyetinden de şüpheliyim...

Les Petits Mouchoirs (2010)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 28 May 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) (2010) is about secrets within close friends that we ignore to see and sweep under the rag.

Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) (2010) halı altina süpürdüğümüz, görmezden geldiğimiz, bilmek-duymak istemediğimiz arkadaslar arasındaki sırlar üzerine bir film.

François Cluzet

Marion Cotillard

It is the third feature film of Guillaume Canet. You may remember him as an actor in the famous French movie Jeux d’Enfants (Love Me If You Dare) (2003), he performed with Marion Cotillard there; or from the movie Joyeux Noël (2005). Les Petits Mouchoirs is also a personal movie of Canet where he gathered around his close friends and gave them roles. There are famous French actors among them, such as François Cluzet, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Dujardin, Oscar awarded Marion Cotillard and Benoît Magimel.

Yönetmen koltuğuna oturan Guillaume Canet’nin de üçüncü uzun metraj filmi. Kendisini oyuncu olarak Jeux d’enfants (Love Me If You Dare) (2003) filminden hatırlarsınız belki, Marion Cotillard ile oynamıştı; ya da Joyeux Noël filminden. Les Petits Mouchoirs biraz da, Canet’nin yakin arkadaslarını bir araya getirdiği kisisel bir film. Bu isimler arasında fransız sinemasının ünlü oyuncularından François Cluzet, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Dujardin, Oscarli Marion Cotillard ve Benoît Magimel var.

In the movie, a ten or so tightly-knit friends are passing through a period that they have never experienced upon a bad accident that one of their friends had. It is about their unwillingness to see the truth and hiding behind the white lies. They, instead, will choose to believe that their friend’s situation is alright and decide to leave to a pre-planned vacation that they have each year altogether. During this holiday, the secrets about each character will be revealed and as audience, we will witness to their confessions to each other.

Film, on kadar yakın arkadaşın daha önce tecrübe etmedikleri bir dönemden geçmeleri ve içlerinden bir arkadaşlarının başına gelen kötü bir trafik kazasının ardından gerçekleri görmek istememeleri, beyaz yalanlara sığınmaları üzerine. Bu süreçte arkadaşlarının iyi durumda olduğuna inanarak (inanmak isteyerek) beraber tatile çıkan grubu bir dizi kişisel imtihan beklemekte. 

Gilles Lellouche

The acting that impressed me the most was of Gilles Lellouche. We unfortunately don’t see Oscar awarded Jean Dujardin much in the movie due to his character, however Lellouche knows how to show off himself in many other well-known French actors. I saw him previously in Paris (2008) and found him outstanding there too.

Oyunculuğundan en çok etkilendiğim oyuncu kesinlikle Gilles Lellouche oldu. Oscar ödüllü Jean Dujardin’i ne yazik ki rolü dolayısıyla pek fazla göremiyoruz filmde; lakin Lellouche filmdeki oyuncular içinde kendini öne çikarmayı basarmış. Daha önce Paris (2008) filminde izlemiştim ve yine çok beğenmiştim.

Les Petits Mouchoirs is not one of the top French movies that you will watch, but definitely one of the most intense ones. Canet knows how to focus on each individual character and shows us some peak moments of them where they confess their personal problems to each other, or even to themselves. The fact that they are lost in your own ego will come out to the surface at the end of the film. The concepts and limits of friendship and honesty are explored over the characters during the film. How much we remember each other in difficult times and how much we understand each other are the questions of the movie. Though some drama is awaiting our characters, I should add that there are very funny moments that give you good laugh.

Les Petits Mouchoirs görebileceğiniz en iyi Fransiz filmlerinden biriolmasa da, kesinlikle en yoğun sahnelerin olduğu filmlerden biri. Canet her bir karaktere nasıl konsantre olacağını biliyor ve kişisel problemlerini birbirlerine, hatta kendilerine itiraf ettikleri uç anlara götürüyor. Kendi bencillikleri içinde kayboldukları gerçegi filmin sonlarına dogru su yüzüne çıkıyor. Arkadaslık, dürüstlük kavramlarını ve sınırlarını karakter üzerinden seyirciyle birlikte keşfe çıkıyor film. Zor zamanlarda birbirimizi ne kadar hatırladığımızı, anladığımızı sorguluyor. Karakterleri sonunda bir drama beklese de, bir çok eğlenceli sahnenin sizi gülmeye zorladigini da eklemek gerek.

Billy Wilder - Sunset Blvd. (1950)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:09:00 +0000

Sunset Blvd. (1950), written and directed by successful director Billy Wilder, is based on the story of a Hollywood screenwriter and a Hollywood star who is forgotten in the transition from silent movies to the sound cinema. The screenwriter Joe Gills, performed by William Holden, has been experiencing financial problems. While he is fleeing from the people that he owes money, his story intersects with Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Norma is an actress who was on the pinnacle of fame during the silent movie era, but then, Hollywood had forgotten about her and left her aside. Fortunately, she doesn't have financial problems and lives her life in a luxury estate that she owns, and Gills has enough reasons to accept her offer to work on the scenario that she wrote.

Sunset Blvd. (1950) usta yönetmen Billy Wilder'ın yazıp yönettiği, sessiz filmlerden sesli sinemaya geçişte unutulmaya yüz tutmuş bir Hollywood yıldızını ve bir Hollywood senaristini konu alıyor. William Holden'ın canlandırdığı senarist, Joe Gills, maddi sorunlar yaşamaktadır. Borçlu olduğu insanlardan kaçarken hikayesi Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) ile kesişir. Norma sessiz sinema döneminde şöhretin doruğuna çıkmış bir oyuncudur, fakat sonrasında, Hollywood onu bir kenarda unutmuştur. Neyseki Norma maddi sorunlar yaşamaktadir, kendisine ait malikanesinde lüks içinde bir hayat sürmektedir, ve Gills'in onun senaryosu üzerinde çalışma teklifini kabul etmesi için bir çok nedeni vardır.

The film sheds light to the true face of Hollywood film industry: intrigues, backstage politics, forgotten stars, complexes, hypocrisy and betrayals. Even if it's a 1950 film, it approaches with a realistic view to the film industry where people struggles in the conflicts of gaining fame and fighting to retain it; and it still exists today. In brief, it tells us that the spotlights, albeit painful, one day might die away.

Film Hollywood'un gerçek yüzüne, entrikaları, sahne arkası politikaları, unutulmaya yüz tutmuş yıldızları, kompleksleri, iki yüzlülükleri ve ihanetleriyle Hollywood'un bilinmeyen yüzüne ışık tutuyor. 1950 yapımı dahi olsa, sinema sektöründe bugün de varolan, şöhreti yakalamak ve kaybetmemek uğruna verilen savaşları gerçekçi bir bakış ile anlatıyor. Kısacası, spot ışıklarının, acı da olsa, bir gün sönebilecegini söylüyor bize film.

The film consists of three main characters: Hollywood star Norma Desmond, screenwriter Gills and butler Max. Only in the late moments of the film, we learn the fact that Max is not there by chance, but that he has his own story. Norma character, who is portrayed by Gloria Swanson, raises the level of the movie, I think. She delivers a wonderful acting performance with Norma Desmond that it took its place among the most memorable characters in the film history. She brought Norma Desmond into existence. She even makes you believe that she played herself in the movie...

Film üç ana karakterden oluşuyor: Hollywood yıldızı Norma Desmond, senarist Gills ve uşak Max. Filmin ancak çok ilerleyen dakikalarında Max'ın tesadüfen orada bulunmadığını, aslında onun da bir hikayesi olduğunu öğreniyoruz. Norma karakterini canlandıran Gloria Swanson filmin çıtasını yükselten öğe bence. O kadar şahane bir oyunculuk sergiliyor ki, canlandırdığı Norma Desmond karakteri film tarihinin unutulmaz karakterleri arasinda yerini almış bile. Norma Desmond'ı gerçekten varediyor Gloria Swanson, hatta kendisini oynadığını bile düşündürüyor size...

Screenwriter Gills, all of a sudden, finds himself as a servant of Norma Desmond who is surrendered to her ego, who confuses the dream and the reality, who ignores and doesn't want to see the facts of life. But the intrigue doesn't end here, actually it starts here, and drifts us towards the inevitable incident that is clearly shown at the beginning of the movie.

Senarist Gills kendini bir anda egosuna teslim olmuş, hayali ve gerçeği birbirine karıştıran, gerçekleri görmezden gelen, görmek istemeyen Norma Desmond'ın uşağı olarak buluveriyor kendini. Fakat entrika burada bitmiyor, aslında burada başlıyor, ve bizi filmin başında da açıkça gösterdiği kaçınılmaz olaya doğru sürüklüyor.

The street Sunset Boulevard, which gave its name to the movie, is known since the beginning of Hollywood film industry, 1910s and where the first film studio was opened.

Filmin adını aldığı Sunset Bulvarı Hollywood film endüstrisinin basladığı 1910'lu yıllardan beri bilinen ve ilk film stüdyosunun açıldığı bulvarın adı.

Billy Wilder is one of the directors that I never get bored of watching his movies. He is also one of the frequenters of Academy Awards. Besides numerous nominations, he received the Best Director (2 times), the Best Film and the Best Original Screenplay (3 times) Academy Award.

If you want to see a masterpiece that mocks with Hollywood and takes down its mask, don't miss this film!

Billy Wilder, filmlerini her zaman hiç sıkılmadan izlediğim yönetmenlerden. Akademi Ödülleri'nin vazgeçilmez müdavimlerinden aynı zamanda. Sayısız ödüle aday gösterilmesinin yaninda Akademi Ödülleri'nde En Iyi Yönetmen (2 kere), En İyi Film ve En İyi Özgün Senaryo (3 kere) Ödüllerini almış

Hollywood ile alay eden, maskesini düşüren bir başyapıt görmek istiyorsaniz kaçırmayın!

Dardenne Brothers - Le Gamin au Vélo (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I have never seen a Dardenne Brothers movie before, this was the first, but I've decided to watch soon the other Dardenne Brothers movies that are waiting aside. Le Gamin au Vélo (The Kid with a Bike) is far away from exaggeration, a realistic, emotionally charged, saddening film. It shared the Grand Prix in 2011 Cannes Film Festival with Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time Anatolia.

Daha önce hiç Dardenne Kardeşler filmi izlememiştim, bu ilk oldu. Ama diğer filmlerini de çok bekletmeden izlemeye karar verdim. Le Gamin au Vélo (The Kid with a Bike) abartıdan çok uzak, gerçekçi, duygu yüklü, iç burkan bir film. 2011 Cannes Film Festival'inde Büyük Ödül'ü Nuri Bilge Ceylan'ın Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da'sıyla paylaştı.

The movie leaves us alone with a desolated child: Cyril. He is not getting tired for a moment, trying to understand the world of adults, looks to the life with the purity of a child. Cyril is very simple hearted, but has been convicted to lovelessness by his father. He is desolated. His father is a man that doesn't even carry the maturity of Cyril.

Film bizi terk edilmis bir çocugun yalnızlıyla başbaşa bırakıyor: Cyril, yılmıyor, büyüklerin dünyasını anlamaya çalışıyor, bir çocuk saflığıyla hayata bakıyor. Cyril çok temiz kalpli, ama babası tarafindan sevgisizliğe mahkum edilmiş, terkedilmiş. Babası deseniz Cyril'in olgunluğunu bile taşımayan bir adam.

Cyril can be considered, in a sense, "lucky". Samantha (performed by Cecile de France), who lives in the neighbourhood, protects him. She takes him from the orphanage, where he's left by his father, and hosts him at her place during the weekends. She becomes his window to the outside world. Being unprotected and desolated, Cyril is dragged to other dangers in the streets. He is traveling around with his bike all the day. Cyril is looking for someone, someone who can love him, who can care him...

Cyril bir bakıma "şanslı" sayılabilecek bir durumda. Çevrede oturan Samantha (Cecile de France) onu bir bakıma himayesi altına alıyor. Babasının tarafından konduğu yetimhaneden onu haftasonları alıp kendi evinde konuk ediyor, dış dünyaya açılan penceresi oluyor bir bakıma. Korumasızlığı veterk edilmişliği onu sokaklarda başka tehlikelere sürüklüyor. Tüm gün boyunca bisikletiyle oradan oraya dolaşıyor. Cyril birini arıyor, onu sevecek, koruyacak...

The movie also became a good occasion for the discovery of a young actor: Thomas Doret. I think the power to keep this movie strong was the choice of this little actor. If another actor was chosen, it feels like the movie will end up as another movie. Thomas Doret was apparently the fifth kid that Dardenne Brothers saw during the casting of the movie. When the simplified version of the first scene of the movie is given to him, Thomas expertly carries out his role. Dardenne Brothers immediately realize that they found Cyril. Thomas is definitely qualifies his character. He wraps himself in the character, the movie comes into existence with him.

Film minik bir aktörün keşfine de vesile olmuş: Thomas Doret. Filmi ayaklarının üzerinde tutacak güç bence bu aktörün seçiminde kilitleniyor, yani baskası olsa sanki film başka bir film olup çıkacak. Thomas Doret, Dardenne Kardeşler'in oyuncu seçimlerinde gördükleri 5. çocukmuş. Filmin ilk sahnesinin basitlestirilmiş halini eline vermişler, Thomas altından ustalıkla kalkmış. Dardenne Kardeşler, Cyril'i bulduklarini anlamiş. Thomas kesinlikle karakterin hakkını veriyor. Karakterin içine giriyor, film onunla vücut buluyor.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's both writing and shooting styles have started to get much stronger. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, as he has also expressed, contains the most dialogues within his filmography. I think it is at the same time his darkest film. Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a photography-based director, so he is very attentive during the process of filming. Afterall his attention in this film has already been awarded at the Cannes Film Festival by the Grand Prix.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan'ın hem kalemi hem de kareleri daha da güzelleşmeye başladı. Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da kendisinin de ifade ettiği gibi dialoğun en çok bulunduğu filmi. Sanıyorum en karanlık filmi de aynı zamanda. Nuri Bilge Ceylan fotoğrafçılık kökenli, o yüzden çekimlerindeki özenden bahsetmiyorum bile. Fakat Cannes Festivali'nden Jüri Büyük Ödülü ile (Grand Prix) dönmüş bir filmden bahsettigimizi de hatırlatmak isterim.

In the film, we are dragged, without a clue about what is going on, in the middle of the night in a deserted Anatolian plateau from one side to another, following a police car, a gendarmerie jeep and a car that carries a prosecutor. There is a criminal and they altogether look for 'something' in the hills of the Anatolian steppes, something that only the criminal knows where it is. Only in the late moments of the film, we learn both what the crime is and what they have been looking for. The interesting side of the film, we're not only revealing the crime, but also lighting up the pasts of the characters, and discovering the facts in their backgrounds that even they, themselves, do not know.

Filmde bir süre bir polis arabası, bir jandarma jipi ve içinde bir savcının bulunduğu arabayla ıssız anadolu yaylalarında gece vakti bir oyana bir bu yana ne olduğunu bilmeden dolasiyoruz. Ortada bir suçlu ve bozkır tepelerde aranan, bir tek suçlunun nerede olduğunu bildiği bir şey var; ama hem ne aradığımızı, hem de suçun ne olduğunu filmin çok ilerleyen dakikalarında öğreniyoruz. Filmin ilginç yanı, sadece suçu aydınlatmıyoruz, aynı zamanda karakterlerin geçmişlerine ışık tutuyoruz, onların bile bilmedikleri gerçekleri keşfediyoruz.

Dialogues are plenty, but they are not insignificant. I think, Nuri Bilge Ceylan is well acquainted with Anatolian people. Here, he draws a picture of it through the doctor-patient, supervisor-officer, criminal-polis relations. The Anatolian people that live the silence not as an obligation, but as something ordinary, pleased with the conditions, but at the same time, grumbling about them... Trading upon request, cheating, sulking to people, regrets, gossips, flattering someone also play leading roles as well as the actors. All the characters are written with attention to represent the lives in Anatolia.

Diyaloglar bol, ama boş değil. Nuri Bilge Ceylan Anadolu insanını çok iyi tanıyor bence. Burada doktor-hasta, amir-memur, suçlu-polis ilişkileri üzerinden Anadolu insanının resmini çiziyor. Sessizliği bir mecburiyet gibi değil, olağan bir şeymis gibi yaşayan, halinden memnun oldugu kadar da şikayetçi Anadolu insanı... Rica ile iş yaptırmalar, aldatmalar, insanlara küsmeler, pişmanlıklar, dedikodular, yağ çekmeler de karakterler kadar başrol oynuyor filmde. Karakterlerin herbiri Anadolu'daki yaşamı gözler önüne serebilmek için özenle yazılmış.

Film is a little longer than expected: two and a half hours, but it was not at all boring to me. I guess because I like slow movies (but I'm not talking about the slowness of Kim-Ki-Duk here ;)).

Film biraz alışılandan uzun: 2 buçuk saat, fakat beni hiç sıkmadı. Sanıyorum yavaş filmleri sevdiğim için (Kim- Ki-Duk yavaşlığı da değil ama bahsettiğim ;)).

Nuri Bilge Ceylan successfully handles the suspect genre, and closes the movie with an interesting end, without alleviating the curiosity of the audience throughout this long movie. If slow movies do not bore you, you should definitely give this a try. Especially if you like Tarkovski, Çehov and Gogol; and if you want to know more about Anatolia.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan polisiye türünün de altından başarıyla kalkıyor, bu uzun film süresince merakı dindirmeden ilginç bir sonla bitiriyor filmi. Yavaş filmlerden sıkılmam derseniz, kesinlikle izlemelisiniz! Özellikle Tarkovski, Çehov ve Gogol sevenler, Anadolu üzerine daha çok bilgi sahibi olmak isteyenler kaçırmasın.

8 Femmes (2002)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:35:00 +0000

8 Femmes (8 Women) is a theatrical comedy, a musical french drama directed by François Ozon. I've seen it today and had so much fun while watching it. As it's evident from its title, there are nothing but eight women acting in the movie (and a man whom we can see just his back). These eight women are coming together for a Christmas of 1950s and the fun, suspicious murder mystery starts :)

Catherine Deneuve (Gaby - the victim's wife)

François Ozon takes a mysterious Hitchcockian story and enriches it with a great show of delightful acting and theatrical comedy. A rich husband is murdered! A snow storm has closed the roads and they are stucked in a big cottage. The killer is one of them! They are trying to find out who did it.

Fanny Ardant (Pierrette - the victim's sister)

This movie has everything. What does it have ? It has a over-pretentious cast of famous french actresses: Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart and Danielle Darrieux. What else ? Drama, comedy, singing&dancing, lots of suspense&suspicion, murder, betrayal, lies, sexuality, lesbianism, seduction, elegance...

Emmanuelle Béart (Louise - the new chambermaid)

8 Femmes is a hilarious suspense movie with comedy and drama tones and the legendary, faboulous french actresses. Definitely deserves to be spent 2 hours of your weekend, so prepare your popcorn and settle down on your couch :)

Danielle Darrieux (Mamy - the mother of Gaby and Augustine)

Firmine Richard (Madame Chanel - the cook)

Isabelle Huppert (Augustine - Gaby's sister)

Virginie Ledoyen (Suzon - the victim's eldest daughter)

Ludivine Sagnier (Catherine - the victim's youngest daughter)

Love in Another Language (2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:29:00 +0000

This time I’m going to make a review of a recent Turkish movie “Love in Another Language” (Başka Dilde Aşk). I enjoyed very much watching this film in terms of its natural performances and its unusual story. Love in Another Language is the first long footage of director Ilksen Başarir. She also wrote the story of the film together with the leading actor Mert Fırat.

The story is based on a relationship as it can be deducted from its name. However, this story is a little different then usual. I’m so happy to see that some people touch sensitive subjects of the society. I think, especially in a country like Turkey, where there are more than 3 million physically disabled people (the exact number is not even known), handling the delicate subjects in an attentive way will raise the awareness of the society. In this sense, I really appreciate the movie.

The story is centered on a relationship of a newly-met couple Onur (Mert Fırat) and Zeynep (Saadet Işıl Aksoy). Onur is deaf. When Zeynep discovers it, first she hesitates for a second and then jumps into his arms saying that she found the perfect man – one who cannot talk back. But, later on, she asks herself “Without talking, I wonder if we can communicate…”.

The fact that Zeynep works as a call center employee is another irony of the movie. While she struggles communicating with people on the phone who can express themselves by talking, the movie shows us that a person who cannot hear and talk will listen better and express himself better without talking…In this movie, the psychology of deafness is handled in a poetic love story.

The movie got lots of national and international awards. The young actors are performing their roles spotlessly. The story is served without exageration, the shots are given in a minimalist way with a modern, exciting romance story. And I fell in love with another movie...

Taxi Driver (1976)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:15:00 +0000

My list of Martin Scorsese movies that I've seen so far is composed of the his recent ones: Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006) and Shutter Island (2010) (What a shame! I know...) I finally took the first step to see his previous movies and watched Taxi Driver. And, the performance of Robert de Niro blowed my mind. I'm not a Robert de Niro fun tho. But he plays the social outcast, an obsessed taxi driver tremendously good!

Taxi Driver is a character study of a lonely man, Travis (Robert de Niro), who struggles to fit in the society.

Travis is a Vietnam war veteran trying to realign himself back into society and develops a paranoid way of understanding and reacting to the outside world.

The dialogues of the movie are rich. Especially, the parts where Travis writes to his diary telling about what has been happening and how he sees things around him give us an understanding of his perspective.

There is also Jodie Foster in the movie. Her parts 'literally' amazed me. At that time, she was just 13 years old and acting as a 12 year-old prostitude in the movie. Apparently, she's been subjected to psychological tests in order to see if she can carry this role without being traumatized. She is another Natalie Portman issue of film industry, I suppose.

The movie takes us to the back streets of New York with a story of an isolated taxi driver, Travis, who works during night shifts in New York. The camera is stucked with him and makes us to see his 24 hours: we see him driving during the night shifts; we see him writing to his diary when he gets home; we see him crashing into a woman and initiates to ask her out; we see how badly broken he is when things do not go as he expects and turning into a violent, obsessed personality.

If you want to see guns, prostitudes, drug dealers, violence, politics, assassins in one movie and Robert de Niro with a mohawk, Jodie Foster as a prostitude, that should be Taxi Driver.

Travis: The days go on and on... they don't end. All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention, I believe that one should become a person like other people.

Darren Aronofsky - The Wrestler (2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:07:00 +0000

The Wrestler is a Darren Aronofsky movie, one of the fascinating directors with movies like Requiem for a Dream (2000), Pi (1998) and Black Swan (2010).

The Wrestler might be thought as similar to Black Swan. In both movies, you find yourself in the world of the main characters who work as performers, one is a wrestler and the other is a ballet dancer (the lowest and highest arts as some might consider). Generally, Aronofsky movies are about the destructive nature of obsession and extreme effects of those obsessions. He talks about the perversion, the loss of control...If you've seen some of his movies, you might know that he likes to follow the character from the behind with a handheld camera (I love it! it's like you're in the scene). It is still the case in The Wrestler too.During the movie, we witness to the life of a wrestler, what he does in his daily life, (as in Black Swan): daily trainings, regular visits to hairdressers and tanning salons...Mickey Rourke is performing the leading character in the film, Randy the Ram, a life-time wrestler who had the peak of his fame 20 years ago, still wrestling, now to make a living, because it is the only thing that he can do best! He is trying to entertain the crowds and seem gigantic and unbeatable to his funs, as his job requiresHowever, Aronofsky points his camera to the inner side of this character and takes off his 'tough-guy' mask. Under his huge physique, we see a lonely, old boy living isolated from others.. wife is gone.. daughter hates him.. no friends around.. noone really touches him.. Maybe he didn't notice it when he was the hero of the wrestling rings 20 years ago. Maybe he didn't notice that it happened this way. But however hard it is, he questions it, even attempts to change it...Apart from the story of the movie, what was really touching for me was the performance of Mickey Rourke. It was truly fascinating !!! sublime !! perfect person for the role!
To my idea, without Mickey Rourke in the movie, the movie might be an ordinary wrestling movie. But Rourke had already what Aronofsky was looking for. If you read about his life story, you might see that he had a life very similar to 'Randy the Ram' character in the movie. He lost his wife, his fame; lived lonely for years; did wrestling for a while...

Mickey Rourke (source)

about Mickey Rourke: I've first seen Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2 (i know, it's too late :)), but I can say he is in the right role here, as in Iron Man 2. He is the charismatic, tough guy throughout his wrestling costume and the sentimental, old, lonely guy in his personal life.The Wrestler is a very serious, sentimental, sad movie, it's not a secret... It's obvious from its first scene where the main character (Mickey Rourke) sits alone in the dressing room after his match.
And it is also my favorite Aronofsky so far !

My favorite Hitchcocks – Family Plot (1976)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Family Plot is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies alongside Rear Window (1954) and The Birds (1963). It is the last and the 56th movie of the director. It includes all the Hitchcockian themes in it as well as different cinematographic touches.

Hitchcock movies are famous for their suspense, murder, thriller and humor themes; mystical characters, wrongful accusations; chic women, handsome and rich guys.... Even though there are mystical characters and storyline, it is generally obvious who is the bad or the good character in the story from its beginning. Stories are generally simple and the scripts are really well thought out and wittily written. Criminals are generally rich and clever. Innocents are accused and they try to prove their innocence. Suspense keeps its rhythm throughout the movie and some secrets are given to the audience by showing something that the character didn’t see. Hitchcock movies always keep their excitement and never bore you (at least me :)).

The different approach in Family Plot is the major surprise of the good/bad character predictions at the beginning of the movie. Strangely, it draws two unrelated couple stories by switching from one couple to the other at the beginning. You know that these two stories are going to merge somehow, but you can’t guess how. The surprise is that it makes an opening with the bad couple (that’s what you think) and it starts to tell a totally unrelated story of the other couple who also seems to be doing bad things. That little twist in the story makes it unguessable who is going to do bad things to the other and you don’t know which couple represents the bad side of the story.

One of the scenes that I like most in Hitchcock movies is the car scenes (in almost all his movies, you might see one). The shots from the front window f the cars are so common. At that time of cinema techniques, the car scenes were shot in the studios. After shooting the background scene, the characters were pretending to drive a car in the studio and turning the steering wheel accordingly. In Family Plot, there is one car scene which I really like and a long one. It’s pretty good synchronized with its background; you enjoy very much of the cinema techniques of the time (very funny sometimes and obviously spent some time to shoot) and it's one of the masterful Hitchcock scenes!

editor’s note: If you’ve never seen a Hitchcock movie before, I highly suggest you to start with "Rear Window" or "Vertigo" or "North by Northwest" or "Psycho" to get a quick idea of his movie style ;) And if you like it, go for "Marnie", "Torn Curtain", "The Birds", "Frenzy", "Family Plot"...

"I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach."
-Alfred Hitchcock

Once (2006)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:55:00 +0000

A movie for its music, to the ones who already love it ;)

Once shows us how one can shoot a very nice, touching movie with a nice story, a hand-held camera and a low-budget. The main characters are an Irish street musician (Glen Hansard, who is a musician in real life too) and a Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová). These two sad and broken characters meet in Dublin streets and get through a nice, soaring story. The movie stops talking, it sings and you’re lost in the melody.I saw Once at a film festival with my music lover friend, having heard about the movie but without an expectation. At the end of it, we just loved the soundtrack. Then, after having chance to visit Dublin streets (love there btw!!), inhale some Irish air and getting lost in beautiful Irish landscapes, I watched it again with my boyfriend. If there is something I like about movies, I love seeing the city that I’ve been as the set of the movie. During my second experience with the movie, I was rather like “oh yeahhh, we passed that street one hour ago!!” :)

Btw, Dublin has a particular atmosphere as a city. Vivid and gloomy at the same time. Lovely and calm… Livable! Back to the movie, the story seems very simple and sounds like there can’t be a hit movie following this story. The performances are so amateur, but so improvised and sincere. The main male character, Glen Hansard is a long-time musician in real life, playing in the famous Irish band, The Frames . The director, John Carney was also playing in this band formerly ('91-'93), but then he starts to shoot music videos and low-budget movies.

The songs are the chief pieces of the game, and others are the pawns.

It shows us how success will follow by being sincere and more success will follow with such a splendid, heart-breaking soundtrack ;) e.g. Academy Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, Grammy nomination… The duo (Hansard and Irglová) formed a band called The Swell Season (love its name!) right after the movie success. They also covered Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (such lyrics and melody!).

This is a precious musical album movie. You should go for it or, least you can, check the soundtrack!

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You'll made it now

Il Conformista (1970)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:52:00 +0000

Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1970 movie, The Conformist, is like going to a museum and watching the paintings of stylish imaginations, delightful representations. The movie itself has a large palette of themes from love to murder; sexuality to morality; melancholy to psychological disorder; loyalty to violence; lesbianism to homosexuality...

The shots of Il Conformista is a collective-artistic work of the director Bertolucci and the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. The camera angles, storytelling through diaphragm changes during the shot, all the colors, décor, costumes...everything is a deliberately designed piece of art in Il Conformista.
We watch a young Italian man, right before the fall of fascist Mussolini regime, devoted to the fascist party. He is charged with an assassination of a professor and he is ambitious to fulfill this mission. Through the flashbacks in the movie, we learn the dark stories of his past. We watch his trials to seem as a normal citizen and as a healthy young man, as if he loves, as if he feels a commitment to his beliefs, to the party, to his mission... However, the images of his past hunts him down through his story and as it is in the name of the movie, he conforms to the situation and to his past...
The effects of the end of a political regime (the fascist government) can be seen at the confusions in human lives and at the psychology of people.
Jean-Louis Trintignant performs the main character. I've seen him in a 1966 movie, Un Homme et Une Femme, directed by Claude Lelouch (you can find the movie review of Un Homme et Une Femme in my previous posts). When you see the difference between the character in that movie and in Il Conformista, you become certain that Trintignant is a brilliant actor!
After watching the movie, while I was reading, I learned that both Bertolucci and Storaro (cinematographer) were 29 years old at the shooting time of the movie. However, the movie seems much of an experienced artist work to tell the truth. The use of colors and camera angles are PERFECT.
The movie doesn't disobey the popular story concept of its era (1960s-70s), as it can be seen in all European filmography of that time. This period movies were generally one main man centered gangster-political movies and the main guys were usually in trouble, guilty and center of attraction of women... Jean-Claude Brialy's, Jean-Paul Belmondo's became famous during these years.
You can also notice Godard New Wave effects in the movie. There are no jump cuts maybe, but there are horizontally divided shots where there is movement and storytelling in both halves of the screen.
However, Il Conformista goes one step further than his period of movies by its stunning visual beauty; light and shadow harmony, colors, angles, focus adjustments; and at the end, you want to put these illusions into frames and hang on your wall :)

The Ninth Gate (1999)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:47:00 +0000

I really LOVE watching hollywoodian actors in Europe! And 'The Ninth Gate' is one of them. You will see Johnny Depp as a book dealer. One day, a wealthy book collector asks him to authenticate an ancient satanic book of him. For this, he has to visit the owners of the two other copies that reside in Europe. There the journey starts! He goes to Portugal and France to see the owners of the other books.

The story goes a little mysterious here; however I wish they didn’t use this song which interrupts the movie from time to time, mostly in the second half and takes the movie from seriousness to a comedy level, makes it look like a cheap thriller...

I find the story nice, photography not too bad (especially I enjoyed short Portuguese shots). However, the movie lasts two hours which is too long and loses its excitement through the end. Also, the special effects are not good at all.

Johnny Depp carries his character successfully; however I cannot say the same thing for Emmanuelle Seigner (wife of Roman Polanski). Maybe it is the language to blame that it seems bizarre when she speaks or maybe she tried to give a mystic side to the character that she performs…

Another good thing in the movie is Lena Olin. I admire her beauty and I think she’s one of the very successful actors. I’ve seen her in an '88 movie, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, along with Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche and in The Reader (2008). Her performances are fascinating and so realistic.

I love the scenes where Depp speaks in French. In one of them, he talks to a baker:

Depp : Nous cherchons la maison de Mme st-martin.
Baker : Le château vous voulez dire?
Depp : Où est le château?

or with a restaurant owner
Depp : Mme! (showing the address at the back of a cardpostal) C'est où ça?
:)
The Ninth Gate is one of those “cup of tea” movies, might go well at a boring snowy/rainy weekend when you don’t have anything to do, you can waste your two hours to see some holywoodians in Europe ;)

Coen Brothers - Fargo (1996)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Fargo is definitely one of my favorite movies. It’s a cult movie, one of everybody’s favorite. A crime-comedy of Coen Brothers, produced, written and directed by them. They are also within my favorite directors list. Even there is not much to say about their cinematography, after watching Fargo third time; I thought it is the right time to write about it.

Fargo is a combination of a great plot, memorable characters, nice soundtrack, exaggerated accents of North Dakota and Minnesota regions and snowy landscapes... The first part of the movie is like giving background information about the story: who is who, personalities of the characters, the cruel weather conditions of Minnesota and its freezing abandoned landscapes.

The second part of the movie, the part I love, starts with the appearance of Frances McDormand as the pregnant police officer who has to investigate the crimes.Frances McDormand is an astonishing actress and also got the Best Actress Academy Award for this role. She is also the wife of the director, Joel Coen. Once, when it is asked on how she got the role in this movie, she answers “The fact that I'm sleeping with the director may have something to do with it.” :) I saw her in other movies of Coen’s. In either way, she is a very successful character actress. She knows how to blend herself with the character realistically. Also, there is this consistency of the actors Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare. I can’t think of any better combination of these two actors to replace the two outlaw criminals.

Fargo doesn’t disappoint the usual expectations from a Coen movie. Everything, all of a sudden, goes in a terribly complicated way :)

And white images of the region saturate the screen with its melancholic and cruel music.

Fargo is a special, well written, well shot, virtually satisfying movie. Don’t miss it ! ;)

Rushmore (1998)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:55:00 +0000

If you are looking for an entertaining, refreshing, hilarious movie and if you want to be glad that you spend your time on it, I say you shouldn’t miss Rushmore ;)

Rushmore is another fantastic character study of Wes Anderson. If you haven’t met with his cinematography yet, you should try this movie first. There is this sharp and very colorful main character at the center of the movie, performed by Jason Schwartzman. You’ll remember Schwartzman in The Darjeeling Limited and Hotel Chevalier (both directed by Wes Anderson again) and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. He’s also cousins with Sofia Coppola and a musician, playing in a band called “Coconut Records” (check the songs 'West Coast' and 'Any Fun' !!! ;)).

There is also Bill Murray in this movie whom I admire in general and whom I think goes well in independent movies, in interesting, withdrawn, loser characters (like the one in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums and most of the Jim Jarmusch movies).

Rushmore is definitely one of my favorite independent movies now. Jason Schwartzman was only eighteen years old when he performed as the fifteen-year-old main character in this movie ('Max Fisher') which was his first acting performance! It is obvious that he got what Anderson was trying to give in this movie through this character 'Max'. Now, I feel like there is, somewhere, a person like him; it’s not a fiction, but a real story of 'Max' with an unending energy, curiosity, lots of emotion and looking for answers to his questions in adults’ world. Other than Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, supporting roles are very brilliant and well performed (Olivia Williams, Brian Cox...)

The soundtrack of the movie is very nice also. I love the part when "The Rolling Stones - I Am Waiting" and "Cat Stevens – Here Comes My Baby" appear at the background :)

Rushmore is a funny and a remarkable movie with a great screenplay, acting performance, soundtrack, imagination, decors and colors…

"When one man, for whatever the reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself." -Jacques Cousteau

Alejandro González Iñárritu - Amores Perros (2000)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:56:00 +0000

I've met Iñárritu’s cinematography through Babel (2006) and 21 Grams (2003) and I'm waiting impatiently for his Biutiful which will be in theatres this October (in France). However, I think Amores Perros will remain as my favorite. It’s a drama that captures you from its first scene and takes you deep to the dark sides of human nature. You want to stop the movie to breathe but you are sticked to your chair and make a journey to Mexican suburbs, see the violence, explore the unpleasant conditions of living, witness to disturbing bloody scenes and travel in real conditions of outskirts (not of a décor) with Iñárritu’s camera. Somehow, it appears as if it’s a sad documentary of a culture, of a group of individuals.

The film focuses on three lives that minimally linked to each other. The movie might have even been divided into three volumes, since it is a considerably long movie (two and a half hours) and sometimes losing its pace. However I think it would have been much boring, since this minimal overlapping gives the energy to the movie. The stories are heartbreaking, brutal, bloody and emotional. We see what people can do to earn money, how their characters can be corrupted and how they can even normalize killing other people to make a living.

I found the structure of storytelling very well thought. Even the movie is a bit long, nothing is irrelevant I think. It makes back and forward loopings but without confusion or losing its focus. On the contrary, those loopings show the links between the stories and takes you from one dramatic story to the other without shame, puts everything in a most realistic way. You suffer from the realism of its drama and violence; you are sad sometimes, swearing sometimes…

I really appreciate the movie for its spontaneous acting performance which includes Gael García Bernal (whom I believe grabbed the first attention in the film industry with this movie) and Emilio Echevarría (whom I adore adore adore in this movie. I should definitely see some other movies of him, but he was adorable in this character who run away from his past and abandoned by the society, trying to make a living in his squat and companying with his dogs).The movie completes itself with its remarkable Gustavo Santaolalla music whom I like a lot. (He made the soundtracks of 21 grams, Babel and The Motorcycle Diaries too. Babel is one of my favorite movie soundtracks.) Even if you don't watch the movie, you should check the track “Tema Amores Perros” of him. Adorable!
As a brief, Amores Perros is hurtful and serious. I’m not saying you need extra courage to watch this movie but you should keep in your mind that this movie touches your extreme fragile feelings and takes you from one end of sensation to the other, shakes you through its story... I can say, this movie bitches with you.

The Lives of Others

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:28:00 +0000

A 2006 German movie (original name: Das Leben der Anderen) and director’s (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) first feature film. von Donnersmarck was 33 years old when he shot this excellent movie. He wrote the scenario himself also. The movie took best foreign language film in 2007 that it really deserves. The time is the fall of East Germany. 5 years before the fall of Berlin Wall. A person loses his faith to the state and his ideology is changing, as the ideas are changing all over the state.

We see how art creates an effect on people and change them in a positive way during the strict times. The film captures you from the beginning and you feel inside in the sequence of events till the end of the movie. The emotional sides of characters are well drawn and their inner struggles have been touched intensively.Various changes take place in their personality, also in the country. Regime change, conflicts in the country and difficulties of being an artist under the surveillance of art are provided as the reasons for the actions of the characters in the movie. It includes a drama, love, politics, improbity and humanity in its storyline.A must see movie. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen ever, from its storyline to well textured character, from its cinematography to its decors and matching story with the historical reality. I think film’s greatest strength is the acting. It is so powerful and encompasses you to the story.After reading all around about the movie, I noticed that one of the main characters, Ülrich Mühe (an astonishing actor, but unfortunately died one year after the movie release), had a similar betrayal event in his life while he was living in East Berlin.

Monmarte 15-40

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:04:00 +0000

Un homme et une femme (1966) – Claude Lelouch

A beautiful classic French movie with a lovely paysage at the background which reminds me one of my lovely trips there, to Deauville and Honfleur.It makes itself one of my favorite French movies with its photography changing from black-and-white to colors and to very beautiful sepia-tones (even the reason is that shooting a black-and-white movie was much cheaper back then). It’s also the first movie of Claude Lelouch that I’ve seen. It’s especially very famous with its memorable song and shot with a little budget. Its rich photography makes it even more successful when you think that it is a 1960s movie. It’s a classical French love story with two widows that meet by chance (or by fate if you call it) in one of the nicest French town Deauville. The movie has a remarkable acting besides its photography. The main actors are adorable Anouk Aimée and handsome Jean-Louis Trigenant. Some scenes make you to think that they didn’t have a script but they created the scene spontaneously. It’s not an abandoned-to-pure-romantism Worth to see if you miss to see old romantic French-love-story movies. There is also a sequel of the movie that I haven’t seen yet but will see soon. It’s shot after 20 years later with a name “Un homme et une femme, 20 ans déjà” and casting again Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trigenant.

Into the wild (2007)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:26:00 +0000

A Sean Pean movie. Adaptation of a real story. Was really famous when it was on the theatre if you have heard about it at that time. Chris, a young university graduate, questions his life and tries to find a meaning but he can't. Grown up in an unhappy family and had a problematic childhood with her sister where parents do not communicate but fight. Even seems to have a strong self-conscious and mighty young guy to others, a fragile kid inside and following his graduation, he decides to run away from everything and live the life in its most natural form. He simply wants to go to basics, into the woodlands, into the wildness of nature.

What I liked about his story, he has kinda reminded me myself, that even I never hit myself on the roads for two years heading to Alaska, me too I wanted to leave everything, everyone, the already written plot of my personality seen by others, the comedy that we were playing around without having any motivation but desperately trying to find one… In that sense, I understand what Chris wanted to do with his life. I like the story for its being a real life story.

Even during the whole movie, many times you find yourself saying “ok dude all those wild stuff you’re doing there, they are fun ok but come on, leaving everything without knowing what you are heading to. And come on, there are people who wants to be in your feet in this hard world”, when you think again, you see a Chris that was lonely in his life, fell out with people and offended to his family, created a world with his favorite road books (Henri David Thoreau, Jack London, Tolstoy…) and living there trying to be happy.Talking about movie, I think it’s clear that it wouldn’t have made an echo if it wasn’t a real story. The photography of movie was really successful, landscapes of America, canyons, deserts and forests were glorious. I found main actor (Emile Hirsch) pretty successful too. If you are only intending to see a youth defying the nature, I don’t suggest the movie. However, if you want to understand him, not to question his thoughtless actions but join his survival and listen to its perfect soundtrack, you shouldn’t miss that movie.

"I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one."

A brilliant movie of Guy Ritchie: Revolver

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:04:00 +0000

A Guy Ritchie style movie that you can find in Revolver: gangsters, guns, gamblers money flow, thefts, white powder... If you already like his style, you will love every second of it (like me). Jason Statham, main actor of Guy Ritchie (played in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch) is the center character of the movie.

I really like his acting and he suits to these genres of movies with his impressive, narrator voice. In Revolver, he’s playing a gambler who is coming out of the prison with a desire of revenge from gangsters who caused him to go to prison ("nothing hurts more than humiliation and a little money loss".). However, things are getting complicated with his release from the prison and he finds himself in a high pace game with two ‘loan sharks’ asking for all of his money and in return, protect him from gangsters. He doesn’t have anything to lose since he will die in three days from a mysterious sickness (!).

There are other smartly created characters in Revolver. Despite the story is losing its points sometimes and creates question in the mind, it’s no far away being a classic Guy Ritchie movie. You watch the effects of passed-alone-seven-years of prison on our main character when he constantly talks by himself (and that’s where I enjoyed the movie). The music tracks are also very well chosen, fit to their scene (varies from classical to electronic music).

Three things (scenes) I liked about Revolver: When the main character picks up a note on the floor, a shootout scene starts and you will enjoy the camera movements which enrich action in the scene without much performance. Secondly, the chess scene and the transition in between the shots while the players make move and camera angles make you enjoy the visuality. And thirdly, the animated cartoon scenes switching from Chinese underworld boss and his gang mates when the boss learns that they ripped off by the other gangsters.

"First rule of business, protect your investment, -Etiquette of the Banker 1775 "

Stanley Kubrick – Full Metal Jacket (1987)

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:19:00 +0000

Another masterpiece of Kubrick’s. I have seen three cult movies of Kubrick’s before Full Metal Jacket. They were Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon. I admired all of them. Barry Lyndon for its photographical beauty (shot in Ireland btw); Eyes Wide Shut for its mysterious story and unforgettable images shot with care and effort; and A Clockwork Orange for its courageous view to human nature and being an opening to similar stories in the film industry and in the media.

Full Metal Jacket is a war movie with questions of Kubrick in the mind to the meaning and purpose of war. In this tragicomic story, one finds himself asking the question "why the hell are we fighting for?" In the following of the movie, you see how the soldiers are dehumanized and empty-brained. The movie can be thought as two parts, in the first part a group of new recruits, right before being sent to the Vietnam War, are (so-called) disciplined in a training camp and taught how to obey to their superior ("-Sir, yes sir!") by a psychologically-sick instructor and also how to talk with their rifles.

Then, in the second part of the movie, the troops are sent to the field and we watch several scenes of these miserable soldiers during the war and the effects of the war on their psychology. In between these two parts, there is a connection scene (that I liked for its song choice and funny dialogs :)) with a Vietnamese prostitute who comes next to two soldiers who just arrived to Vietnam and sitting outside of a café, asking with a broken English "-You have girlfriend Vietnam, -You like party? -me so horny"... :) I couldn’t stop myself watching this scene several times with my boyfriend because of its funny script but also it was a nice transition from the training camp to the war field and showing how unexpected things will happen to those having-no-idea-what-the-war-is soldiers and how miserable they are. worth to watch movie!

editor’s note: Stanley Kubrick is famous by his perfectionist style of shooting each scene in a pure care until he gets what he photographically wants. As far as I know, in Eyes Wide Shut, he shot a scene 127 times until he sees what he wants.

I miss Ireland now

noreply@blogger.com (Betül) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:31:00 +0000

I’ve seen Waiting for Dublin, a 2007 movie. The story and script is not fascinating, nor the directing (but I’m not gonna talk about them). Even it’s a 2007, makes you think that it was shot in 1985 or so. It passes in an Irish village (on the side of Ireland) at the time of the end of second world war. It was just very nice to see some traditional Irish life style, natural beauty of Irish landscapes, Irish breakfast and happily-dancing-singing people.

It reminded me the days that I spent in Ireland and nice memories. I like the pictures in the movie. There are many outside shots which let you to have an idea of the Irish landscape and weather. It’s a very beautiful country and lovely people (not smiling often but they are nice indeed:)) No wonder why Daniel-Day Lewis chose a country house in the middle of Wicklow mountains to spend his life.

No wonder where he’s getting his life-time inspiration. I decided to go to Ireland in the future for a nice holiday in the country side and to travel a bit in this beautiful country. (P.S. I just want to take attention to the main actor there: Andrew Keegan, a good actor, should be seen in a bit more serious movies too)