Monday, April 7, 2014

"The Gran Budapest Hotel"

Wes Anderson "The Gran Budapest Hotel" represents the highest peak in this director style. The film outstanding art direction and cinematography is one of the biggest attraction, as well a powerful ensemble cast.

"The Gran Budapest Hotel" tales the story of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) a well known concierge in this hotel in the 1920's. Zero Mustafa (F. Murray Abraham/Tony Revolori) recounts the events from his own point of view as well his relationship with Gustave H. This legendary concierge was demanded by rich old ladies that visit the hotel for the luxury of the place as well how Gustave carter them in so many ways. One of the visitors Madame D (Tilda Swinton) was in love of the famous concierge, for a wide variety of reasons, she also offer Gustave all her fortune if she dies.

Suddenly after Madame D last visit, came the sad news that she die Gustave is included as part of the will which upset all the members of the family including her son Dmitri Desgoffe-und-Taxis.

The story will takes place in interesting passages of Gustave in jail as well well crafted actions scenes and chase.

"The Gran Budapest Hotel" is not a powerful story like older films from Wes Anderson, but is a delightful film paying tribute to the silent films era with cinematic techniques, beautiful art direction, costume design and a powerful assemble cast.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Nyphomania vol 2

The best way to solve a problem is accept that there is one…
Traditionally you will go to therapy, talk about it and seek medical help if is need it.

But never go against your own will and explore new levels of that problem. Perhaps that's what happens to Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) in the volume 2 of Nymphomaniac. She lost her sexual appetite after feel disappointed to her love and partner Jeróme.

Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) continues listening Joe's story about her sexual journey. Her new passages in life are more disturbing but also are more interesting. After the deteriorating relationship with Jerome, Joe continue feeding her sexual appetite that goes from sadomasochism with a real professional played by Jamie Bell. Joe experience pain mentally physically and psychologically, metaphorically speaking she sees her falling apart after this pain, but also her obsession with pain almost make her loose the one thing that keeps her together, her son.

Her obsession leads her to new sexual additions by having sexual innuendos with two African brothers, total strangers that she spy from her window. The episode turns into a comedic one, when the brothers cannot decide witch sexual position are going to share with Joe, while she stood in front to big erect penis.

The journey continues when she explore sex with a girl young protégé and also with L a character played by Willem Dafoe, a guy who owns a company responsible of provide pleasure to wealthy people.

The conclusion is a harsh as the viewer’s relationship with Von Trier, is never passionate or emotional is cold and hard as it can be. We can love him for what he did, we just keep want more, more controversial and nonsense stories.

Nymphomaniac Vol 1

When you start a relationship based just on sex, there is no room for love or any other feeling than just lust. Is aggressive, immediate, carnal, insensitive and end abruptly.

To me thats the way to explain the first film Nymphomania Vol 1. The film start with Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) a middle aged loner walking on a dark alley after buying groceries, he finds Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) laying on the floor totally beat up. After take care of her, Joe start telling him the story of her life, how she end up there and the origin of her sexual obsession.

During the course of this first volume Seligman hearing all the sexual chapters of Joe's life, that goes from her sexual discovery to her eminent relationship with Jerôme (Shia LeBeouf) the person who treasure the end of her virginity and also the end of her vaginal sensibility. While Seligman is listening Joe's stories, he provoke her by adding bizarre elements to they stories, thanks to his studies as a scholar, most of the references are related to fly fishing, which later becomes in metaphors of how Joe catching sexual partners from the early age.

Joe's relationship with her father was special, but at the end is represented with a twisted sexual reference by showing a corpse at the same angle of her open legs while Joe is lubricating.

Joe is a sinner Seligman is a sinner, everyone in this film are sinners in a way. Joe express her obsession with sex and lack of pleasure by switching patterns, lying to them in a articulated montage of images back to back.

This not Lars Von Trier finest work, but represents a very risky exploration of a hungry woman who is not socially accepted for her desires, more than her mistakes.