Movies
I've now seen Slumdog Millionaire. It was great. Not in the "great works of art which will change my perception of the universe" great, but in the "much better than good" kind of great. The introduction is a bit brutal & confuzzling, but it picks up soon. And the ending is rather brilliant, to all those who've sat in India Garden for too long.
I've also seen Rashomon. It's kind of like... no, it's nothing like The Usual Suspect or Pulp Fiction or Twelve Angry Men. I don't think there's an American cultural equivalent for it. That'd be like describing part of the Earthbound series by relating it to any other game with plot tokens. It's definitely not there for the casual watcher, or someone who's going to try to compare it to other movies. It's definitely of a much cleaner cinematography than others of its age (it definately has a 70's "feel" to it, despite being a 1950 B&W film) but still lacks the technical whiz-bang of today- especially with the Rain. It takes too long to get from part to part- you're waiting for the opening to end and the real movie to start for almost half the film. Even if you get "the trick", it doesn't particularly make sense until the last fifteen minutes or so. But it still ends with an air of quality that almost makes you want to watch it a second time, now that you "get it", just to see if you've got a new perspective on it.
However, I'd watch The Seven Samurai again instead. Because it's got likable characters, and a more "familiar" plot. It's like a fuedal-japan version of a Western film. It's 7S has a decent plot, which does reward you for paying attention and re-watching (like Rashomon) but (unlike Rashomon) it's enjoyable just for the experience, looking in, and doesn't require focus to enjoy. If I had a designated board of re-watchers to help critically pick R apart, I'd do it. However, on my own... no dice.
I leave you with this short poem:
Kurosawa makes mad films.
I don't make films.
But if I did, they'd have a Samurai.
I've also seen Rashomon. It's kind of like... no, it's nothing like The Usual Suspect or Pulp Fiction or Twelve Angry Men. I don't think there's an American cultural equivalent for it. That'd be like describing part of the Earthbound series by relating it to any other game with plot tokens. It's definitely not there for the casual watcher, or someone who's going to try to compare it to other movies. It's definitely of a much cleaner cinematography than others of its age (it definately has a 70's "feel" to it, despite being a 1950 B&W film) but still lacks the technical whiz-bang of today- especially with the Rain. It takes too long to get from part to part- you're waiting for the opening to end and the real movie to start for almost half the film. Even if you get "the trick", it doesn't particularly make sense until the last fifteen minutes or so. But it still ends with an air of quality that almost makes you want to watch it a second time, now that you "get it", just to see if you've got a new perspective on it.
However, I'd watch The Seven Samurai again instead. Because it's got likable characters, and a more "familiar" plot. It's like a fuedal-japan version of a Western film. It's 7S has a decent plot, which does reward you for paying attention and re-watching (like Rashomon) but (unlike Rashomon) it's enjoyable just for the experience, looking in, and doesn't require focus to enjoy. If I had a designated board of re-watchers to help critically pick R apart, I'd do it. However, on my own... no dice.
I leave you with this short poem:
Kurosawa makes mad films.
I don't make films.
But if I did, they'd have a Samurai.