La Pointe Courte

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, La Pointe Courte is the story of a couple dealing with unhappiness as they try to salvage the relationship in a small fishing town. The film is a study of marriage and its downside as it is told through the life of a couple as well as various locals in the small fishing town. Starring Philippe Noiret and Silvia Monfort. La Pointe Courte is an enchanting yet hypnotic film from Agnes Varda.

While the film has a narrative that plays into the life of an estranged couple trying to save their marriage by spending a day at the hometown of husband. It’s a film that is more about a place near the Mediterranean in France known as La Pointe Courte and the people that live in this location. While Agnes Varda creates two very different stories within this small town in the span of an entire day as it relates to this estranged couple as well as the people in this town who are living their lives in squalor as they try to make a living. It’s a film that doesn’t have a conventional script though Varda would credit the people in the town as co-writers and co-directors in these different stories that involve all sorts of people ranging from fishermen, a young man courting a 16-year old girl, and a family coping with death.

Varda’s direction is definitely mesmerizing for the way she tells the story as it is infused with a lot of style. Not just in terms of her approach to close-ups and wide shots but also in maintaining something that feels real. Using that approach of cinema verite, Varda captures something that feels very ordinary such as what fishermen do in this small town despite its poor conditions as well as how they manage to find joy later in the day. Varda’s compositions towards the relationship of the couple is quite stylish with its compositions that include a few crane-inspired shots and some tracking shots as well. It plays into something that feels more like traditional cinema as opposed to the more stark yet gritty realism that Varda would show with the real people in the film. Yet Varda manages to find a balance between the two as it plays to a location that is removed from conventional society. Overall, Varda creates an engaging yet riveting film about various people living or vacationing at a small fishing town near the Mediterranean.

Cinematographers Paul Soulignac and Louis Stein do amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to capture not just the gritty realism of the locations and its sense of despair but also into some of the beauty of its parties and beaches. Editor Alain Resnais does excellent work with the editing with its stylish approach to transitions including a transition wipe as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the drama. Sound editor Robert Lion does nice work with the sound to capture the sparseness of the quieter moments along with the raucous moments at the jousting sequence. The film’s music by Pierre Barbaud is amazing as it’s very exuberant and upbeat to play into some of its humor and party atmosphere. Finally, there’s the performances of Pierre Noiret and Silvia Monfort as they bring a sense of restrained yet hypnotic approach to their role as the married couple trying to save their marriage as well as cope with their surroundings.

La Pointe Courte is a phenomenal film from Agnes Varda. It’s a film that manages to mix conventional storytelling with eerie realism as it’s told with such style and poignancy as it is one of key prototypes for what would become the French New Wave. In the end, La Pointe Courte is a ravishing film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

Zazie dans le metro

Based on the novel by Raymond Queneau, Zazie dans le metro (Zazie in the Metro) is the story of a young girl who arrives to the city of Paris under the care of her uncle where she would create all sorts of chaos in the span of a weekend. Directed by Louis Malle and screenplay by Malle and Jean-Paul Rappeneau, the film is an exploration into the world of a young girl who causes havoc in the city of Paris. Starring Catherine Demongeot and Philippe Noiret. Zazie dans le metro is an extremely nutty yet exhilarating film from Louis Malle.

The film is a simple story about a young girl who arrives in Paris to spend the weekend with her uncle where she turns the city upside down and more as all she wanted to do is ride the metro as its service is currently on strike. That’s pretty much all there is as it’s a film with very little plot as it all relates to this young girl named Zazie (Catherine Demongeot) who creates chaos in her surroundings as she often asks questions about everything around her. Yet, some of the adult figures she would meet would annoy her as she would in turn create hell for them. The film doesn’t have much of a script as it does have a few subplots as it relates to Zazie’s uncle (Philippe Noiret), a bar maid, a rich widow, an annoyed cop, and all sorts of characters whom Zazie would encounter and bring craziness to their lives.

Louis Malle’s direction is definitely stylish as he goes for something that seems to resemble elements of what can be described as a live-action cartoon. Much of it involves some very zany chase sequences where Zazie would steal a pair of blue jeans as a man chase her all over Paris as it’s among the slew of comical moments in the film. Malle definitely goes for something that feels loose as the city of Paris serves as a playground of sorts that includes some very off-the-wall moments shot on the Eiffel tower where Malle shoots on top of the elevators or other moments as if they’re doing dangerous things on that landmark. There’s also these moments that Malle creates with his usage of close-ups and medium shots that add to the sense of anarchy that is prevalent to the film that includes a chaotic party where the fourth wall is eventually broken. Overall, Malle creates a very sensational and insane film about a young girl turning Paris upside down in the span of a weekend.

Cinematographer Henri Raichi does amazing work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography to capture the beauty of the many locations in Paris as well as the lights for some of its nighttime scenes and some stylish ones for its interior settings. Editor Kenout Peltier does brilliant work by utilizing lots of stylish takes on jump-cuts to add a sense of energy as well as play to the film‘s offbeat humor. Production designer Bernard Evein does nice work with the set design with the look of the café that Zazie‘s uncle lives above at as well as the club where he works.

Costume designer Marc Doelnitz does excellent work with the costumes from the colorful clothes that Zazie wears to the stylish clothes of the adult characters. The sound work of Andre Hervee is superb for some of the sound effects that is created as well as the raucous atmosphere it creates in some of the film‘s crazier moments. The film’s music by Fiorenzo Carpi is fantastic for its very upbeat and bouncy orchestral score that plays to the film’s humor and sense of exuberance as it also features some low-key classical pieces and pop cuts.

The film’s phenomenal cast includes some notable small roles from Odette Piquet as Zazie’s mother, Antoine Roblot as a cab driver named Charles, Annie Fratellini as the barmaid Mado whom Charlie is in love with, Hubert Deschamps as the landlord who really doesn’t like Zazie, Yvonne Clech as a widow who falls for the cop, and. Jacques Dufilho as the shoemaker who lives next door to the café. Carla Marlier is wonderful as Zazie’s aunt Albertine who is a dressmaker while Vittorio Caprioli is amazing as the cop/salesman Trouscaillon who meets with Zazie as he becomes a victim of her own misadventures. Philippe Noiret is excellent as Zazie’s uncle Gabriel as a man who is trying to hide his line of work from Zazie while coping with the chaos surrounding him. Finally, there’s Catherine Demongeot in an incredible performance as Zazie as this curious and lively young girl who turns Paris into her own playground as she creates a lot of chaos while all she wants to do is to ride the Paris metro.

Zazie dans le metro is a spectacular film from Louis Malle. The film is truly an out-of-this-world comedy that isn’t afraid to be silly while providing laughs due to a young girl roaming around Paris. The film isn’t just one of Malle’s more accessible films but also a key film of the French New Wave that appeals to a very wide audience. In the end, Zazie dans le metro is a tremendously fun film from Louis Malle.

Louis Malle Films: (The Silent World) - Elevator to the Gallows - The Lovers (1958 film) - (A Very Private Affair) - (Vive Le Tour) - The Fire Within - (Bons baisers de Bangkok) - (Viva Maria!) - (The Thief of Paris) - Spirits of the Dead-William Wilson - (Phantom India) - (Calcutta) - Murmur of the Heart - (Humain, Trop Humain) - Lacombe, Lucien - Place de la Republique - Black Moon - (Close Up (1976 short) - (Dominique Sanda ou Le reve eveille) - Pretty Baby - Atlantic City (1980 film) - (My Dinner with Andre) - Crackers - God’s Country (1985 film) - (Alamo Bay) - (And the Pursuit of Happiness) - Au Revoir Les Enfants - (May Fools) - (Damage (1992 film)) - (Vanya on 42nd Street)

© thevoid99 2015

Cinema Paradiso

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 8/22/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso tells the story of a film director recalling the memories of his life when a man introduces him as a boy the world of cinema. Through the images, the cinema is played in a little village in Sicily while causing all sorts of controversy. Through his years growing up, the boy becomes a man and has to learn about the sacrifices and such into what it takes to become the director that he is now. Starring Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, and Leopoldo Trieste. Cinema Paradiso is an inspiring and heartwarming film from Giuseppe Tornatore.

A man named Salvatore (Jacques Perrin) returns home to his Roman apartment where his girlfriend that his mother (Pupella Maggio) has called about the death of a man named Alfredo (Philippe Noiret). Salvatore is forced to recall his life with as a boy in a Sicilian village where he was an altar boy (Salvatore Cascio) by day while living with his mother (Antonella Attili) and little sister as he was called Toto. At this little village square is a theater that Toto loves called Cinema Paradiso where Toto sneaks into a Jean Renoir movie to see Father Adelfio (Leopoldo Trieste) watching and ringing a bell to cut a kissing scene to be shown as the theater’s projectionist Alfredo makes note for the priest. Though Toto would sneak in to the movies where he would get into trouble with his mother, he is able to befriend Alfredo who has managed to save the images that he was forced to cut.

With Alfredo teaching Toto how to be a projectionist after Toto helped him pass night school lessons, the two decide to hold a double feature one night where they decide to show the film outside of the theater. Yet, it would cause trouble where the theater got burned down as Toto would save Alfredo. When a local named Spaccafico (Enzo Cannavale) won the lottery and decided to rebuild Cinema Paradiso, the town manages to keep going as Toto becomes the new projectionist with Alfredo as his mentor. Several years alter as Toto (Marco Leonardi) has become 17 with aspirations to become a filmmaker. He falls for a young woman named Elena (Agnese Nano) as he hopes to win over as he asks Alfredo for help. Though Salvatore hopes to win her heart, he deals with the realities that is a sharp contrast to the world of films that aren’t real. With Elena gone, Salvatore ponders what to do as Alfredo tells him to go after his dream.

Returning home years later as a successful filmmaker, Salvatore reflects on his life and the town he grew up in where he finds a final present from the man who taught him about life and film.

While the film isn't just a love letter to cinema, it's also a coming of age story of how cinema changed a boy's young life into the man that he is now. The film is also about sacrifices in what the adult Salvatore is forced to see with the people he knew all those years ago. Writer/director Giuseppe Tornatore creates a film that is obvious from an experience that is personal to him. The film's script is wonderfully structured with the first act about Toto, his friendship with Alfredo, and his life at the Cinema Paradiso in its first incarnation. The second act is about the theater rebuilt with Salvatore as the projectionist and his attraction to Elena. The third and final act is about his departure from Sicily and his return 30 years later.

Tornatore's direction is imaginative as it has elements of nostalgia and heartbreak where the images he captures inside that beautiful theater is a reminder of how powerful an image on film is. From the way he takes a close-up to understand the emotions to how the film shifts from one period to another. Given the fact that he shot the film on location in Sicily, it has a personal feel that it's very inspirational. The whole film is mesmerizing from start to finish where by the final moments of the film, it becomes a tearjerker in every way. Some might call it manipulative but given the idea of what the film is about and Tornatore's personal touch, it's one that works in channeling its emotions. It's truly some of the most imaginative and touching directions ever made on film.

Cinematographer Blasco Giurato brings a wonderful look to the film features gorgeous, exterior shots from day and night to the look inside the theater that is just amazing. Production designer Andrea Cristani creates an amazing look of the theater from the lion's head that shoots out the film to the balcony in the theater. The theater itself is a place filled with magic and elegance. Costume designer Beatrice Bordone does an excellent job in capturing the look of the clothes worn in the 1940s and 1950s, notably the dresses that Elena wears.

Editor Mario Morra does some wonderful work in the cutting, notably the shifting of sequences where Alfredo touches the boy Toto's face and then cuts to Alfredo and then cuts to the face of the young Salvatore. Sound recordist Massimo Loffredi does some magic in the sound to capture the way people react to a film shown outside of the theater in one brilliant scene.

The film's amazingly elegant, romantic film score could've been done by any composer but instead, it goes to the Maestro himself, Ennio Morricone. Along with a love theme by his daughter Andrea, the film's music is filled with lush arrangements and piano melodies to convey the sense of nostalgia, sentimentality, and passion that is the film itself. Morricone's musical approach is different from the legendary, operatic work that he's done with Sergio Leone. Instead, the score is very dramatic but not the point of suspense or action but rather taking it in a smoother, softer tone that shows the innocence of the film and its protagonists. The score that Ennio Morricone makes is truly one of the film's grand highlights.

Finally, there's the film's cast that includes some notable yet memorable small roles from Isa Danieli as Alfredo's wife Anna, Roberta Lena as Salvatore's sister Lia, Tano Cimarosa as the sleepy blacksmith, Nino Terza as the father of Toto's friend who is a regular at the theater, and Nicola Di Pinto as the village idiot who claims the town's square is his. Enzo Cannavale is good as Spaccafico, a resident who wins the lottery and gives the town a new theater while late in the film, reminisces with Salvatore about the town now and how he couldn't relate to the changing times. Antonella Attili is great as the young mother of Salvatore who is hoping for the return of her husband from the war while dealing with his passion. Pupella Maggio is also great as the old mother who seems to understand her son and his grief.

Agnese Nano brings an amazing presence as the very beautiful Elena who provides the kind of love and distraction that Salvatore needed while representing the alternative he needed if there was another life. Leopoldo Trieste is good as the town's strict priest who is convinced that he's trying to protect his town only to find himself having trouble with the changing times in movies.

In the three roles of Salvatore, the best is easily Salvatore Cascio as the boy Toto with his winning smile, carefree innocence, and mischievous personality who is the kind of boy you can just enjoy. Marco Leonardi is also excellent as the young Salvatore with his youthful energy and confusion in trying to figure out what to do with life. His role is the more complex as he's playing a young man trying to figure out where to go. Jacques Perrin is excellent in his brief role as the older Salvatore that also has the same innocence in his face as his child counterpart had while carrying a sense of sadness about his own life.

The film's best performance goes to the late Philippe Noiret as Alfredo. Noiret brings a wonderful mix of humor, wisdom, and sentimentality to the role of a man who becomes an unlikely father figure to a young boy in playing a role in his life. The French actor has a wonderful presence early in the film as a mentor who shows a young boy about the wonders of cinema. In the film's second half, his experience on life helps the course of the film while telling Salvatore what to do about his life. It's a great performance from the late French actor who wowed Italy.

Cinema Paradiso is a ravishing and heartwarming film from Giuseppe Tornatore. Featuring a great cast and an engaging story, it is truly one of the best films ever about going to the movies. It’s also the film that is very accessible for those who love melodrama, comedy, and romance as it is a film that can appeal to a wide audience. In the end, Cinema Paradiso is a ravishing film from Giuseppe Tornatore.

Giuseppe Tornatore Films: (The Professor) - (Everybody’s Fine (1990 film)) - (Especially on Sunday) - (A Pure Formality) - (The Star Maker) - (The Legend of 1900) - (Malena) - (The Unknown Woman) - (Baaria) - (L’ultimo gattopardo: Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo)

© thevoid99 2012