Review of Eros
I promised an LJ friend of mine that I'll post my thoughts up on some recent art films that I've bought. Like minded users who have seen these films please do drop a note on the comments I've made. :D
Title: Eros
Directors:
Segment 1 - The Hand by Wong Kar Wai
Segment 2 - Equilibrium by Steven Soderbergh
Segment 3 - The Dangerous Thread of Things by Michaelangelo Antonioni
Segment 1 - The Hand by Wong Kar Wai
The Hand is set in 1960's Hong Kong. Zhang (Chang Chen) is a tailors apprentice who on one fateful afternoon meets Ms. Hua (Gong Li); a classy courtesan, in a house call. Since that day, he is attracted to her beauty. Over the years he painstakingly tailors beautiful clothes for her. In a twist of fate, Zhang's skills earned him success while we see Hua slowly losing everything. Zhang continues to pine for her even though he knows she may never receive him. The climax of the film sees both man and woman readdressing their issues of each other.
Fresh from the directorial reins of 2046, The Hand still retains much of the slow panning camera work of Christopher Doyle's that we are so used to seeing in In The Mood For Love and 2046. It is rumoured that The Hand segment has a connection to a certain Su Li Zhen (also played by Gong Li) in 2046. While this remains to be certained; there is a piece of evidence I find in the form of Gong Li's only one gloved clad hand.
Its good to see Wong still paying attention to detail in the settings of 1960's Hong Kong. The sets, music, and even the beautiful dresses worn by Gong Li; brings to mind of Maggie Cheung dejavu. One can't help drawing similarities between the playful coyness of Ms. Hua and Bai Ling (Zhang Zi Yi) in 2046. Even Zhang the tailor has a moustache reminescent of Chow Mou Wan (Tony Leung). Both performances by Chang Chen and Gong Li are top notch and director Wong Kar Wai keeps up the tight directing.
This segments title comes early on in the film and the viewer will understand why it is named so.
Segment 2 - Equilibrium by Steven Soderbergh
Equilibrium is set in New York 1955. Nick Penrose (Robert Downey Jr.) an advertising firm employee has recurring dreams of a beautiful woman clad in blue, the thing is he doesn't know who her name is. His dreams worries his wife Cecilia who thinks that he is cheating on her. So he goes to a shrink to help unravel this intriguing state of mind, Nick fearing that he is losing 'his equilibrium'.
This is an interesting short from Soderbergh. A majority of this film; especially during Nick's theraphy sessions are filmed in complete black and white. Robert Downey Jr's performance in this segment is as usual top notch and has a lot of his mannerisms. Alan Arkin as the bored psychiatrist Dr. Pearl, listens to Nick boring on his dream. A comedic touch is felt throughout the session.
The beginning scenes where we see Nick experiencing his dream; we follow a nude woman bathing as if watching from Nick's perspective. The use of colours here is fantastic. Much of the scenes especially the therapy session requires the audience to infer some conclusions towards the end of this segment.
Segment 3 - The Dangerous Thread of Things by Micheangelo Antonioni
A married couple is having a breakdown. He wants sex but she doesn't want to offer it to him. Things aren't the same among the two, their love is sour and they fight a lot. After a rather uncomfortable lunch outing with his wife, she leaves him for home and the husband proceeds to have a passionate one night stand with a beautiful free spirited girl . But towards the end of this segment, the wife and the girl meet
What bugs me about this is that this segment is the weakest among the three. There isn't much of a coherent storyline holding this segment togther. There are a lot of unresolved issues and it feels rather rushed. In addition the theme in this section doesn't even have a contextual presence. I feel rather disappointed with this segment other than it shows beautiful scenery of rural coastal Italy.
In all Wong and Steven's segments held up this collection of short films. Reading online reviews, I've heard people walked out of the cinema at the Toronto Film Festival halfway through the 3rd segment. On keeping with the theme and title of the collection Eros, Wong's segment is the most erotic albeit subtle and at times reserved. Soderbergh's short explores the long kept desires within the mind with comedic results. The third segment? Well, perhaps other people might appreciate whats it all about. :s
Title: Eros
Directors:
Segment 1 - The Hand by Wong Kar Wai
Segment 2 - Equilibrium by Steven Soderbergh
Segment 3 - The Dangerous Thread of Things by Michaelangelo Antonioni
Segment 1 - The Hand by Wong Kar Wai
The Hand is set in 1960's Hong Kong. Zhang (Chang Chen) is a tailors apprentice who on one fateful afternoon meets Ms. Hua (Gong Li); a classy courtesan, in a house call. Since that day, he is attracted to her beauty. Over the years he painstakingly tailors beautiful clothes for her. In a twist of fate, Zhang's skills earned him success while we see Hua slowly losing everything. Zhang continues to pine for her even though he knows she may never receive him. The climax of the film sees both man and woman readdressing their issues of each other.
Fresh from the directorial reins of 2046, The Hand still retains much of the slow panning camera work of Christopher Doyle's that we are so used to seeing in In The Mood For Love and 2046. It is rumoured that The Hand segment has a connection to a certain Su Li Zhen (also played by Gong Li) in 2046. While this remains to be certained; there is a piece of evidence I find in the form of Gong Li's only one gloved clad hand.
Its good to see Wong still paying attention to detail in the settings of 1960's Hong Kong. The sets, music, and even the beautiful dresses worn by Gong Li; brings to mind of Maggie Cheung dejavu. One can't help drawing similarities between the playful coyness of Ms. Hua and Bai Ling (Zhang Zi Yi) in 2046. Even Zhang the tailor has a moustache reminescent of Chow Mou Wan (Tony Leung). Both performances by Chang Chen and Gong Li are top notch and director Wong Kar Wai keeps up the tight directing.
This segments title comes early on in the film and the viewer will understand why it is named so.
Segment 2 - Equilibrium by Steven Soderbergh
Equilibrium is set in New York 1955. Nick Penrose (Robert Downey Jr.) an advertising firm employee has recurring dreams of a beautiful woman clad in blue, the thing is he doesn't know who her name is. His dreams worries his wife Cecilia who thinks that he is cheating on her. So he goes to a shrink to help unravel this intriguing state of mind, Nick fearing that he is losing 'his equilibrium'.
This is an interesting short from Soderbergh. A majority of this film; especially during Nick's theraphy sessions are filmed in complete black and white. Robert Downey Jr's performance in this segment is as usual top notch and has a lot of his mannerisms. Alan Arkin as the bored psychiatrist Dr. Pearl, listens to Nick boring on his dream. A comedic touch is felt throughout the session.
The beginning scenes where we see Nick experiencing his dream; we follow a nude woman bathing as if watching from Nick's perspective. The use of colours here is fantastic. Much of the scenes especially the therapy session requires the audience to infer some conclusions towards the end of this segment.
Segment 3 - The Dangerous Thread of Things by Micheangelo Antonioni
A married couple is having a breakdown. He wants sex but she doesn't want to offer it to him. Things aren't the same among the two, their love is sour and they fight a lot. After a rather uncomfortable lunch outing with his wife, she leaves him for home and the husband proceeds to have a passionate one night stand with a beautiful free spirited girl . But towards the end of this segment, the wife and the girl meet
What bugs me about this is that this segment is the weakest among the three. There isn't much of a coherent storyline holding this segment togther. There are a lot of unresolved issues and it feels rather rushed. In addition the theme in this section doesn't even have a contextual presence. I feel rather disappointed with this segment other than it shows beautiful scenery of rural coastal Italy.
In all Wong and Steven's segments held up this collection of short films. Reading online reviews, I've heard people walked out of the cinema at the Toronto Film Festival halfway through the 3rd segment. On keeping with the theme and title of the collection Eros, Wong's segment is the most erotic albeit subtle and at times reserved. Soderbergh's short explores the long kept desires within the mind with comedic results. The third segment? Well, perhaps other people might appreciate whats it all about. :s