Eyes and Ears on Film

Part One: The Set-Up About halfway through Olivier Assayas's 1996 film Irma Vep , the fictionalized version of Maggie Cheung goes to over-the-hill director René Vidal's house immediately after he has a mental breakdown and a shouting match with his wife. Vidal laments the project he brought Cheung to France for -- a remake of the 1916 silent serial Les Vampires -- and he more specifically laments over the character of Irma Vep, who Cheung is playing. Vidal's attraction to Cheung in some way, whether that's to her, or just a sense of wonder about her and her perceived mysterious nature, is what drew him to this project. In just one of a dozen 'meta' aspects of the film, this is also what sparked into motion the process of making this film for Assayas, and that's only intensified when you consider that the pair would get married two years after the release of the film. Vidal opens up in his exhausted state, saying to Cheung, about Vep, "Irma is an obje...

God's Silence: Ingmar Bergman's 'Trilogy of Faith' and The Virgin Spring

With seven films of his nominated for an Academy Award, including three winners of Best Foreign Language Film, six wins in the same category at the Golden Globes, and endless more at awards ceremonies and film festivals around the world, Ingmar Bergman is easily the greatest Swedish film-maker of all-time, and the greatest European film-maker, in this writer's subjective opinion. One of the things that fascinate me about Bergman's career is how his films can often feel 'grouped' together. Works released in a close chronological stretch often feel similar and expand on the same themes. This is not uncommon, as directors professionally and personally obviously change over their careers, but what intrigues me is how clear these divisions are while often exploring the same key themes as his earlier works. No better example of that is his film trilogy surrounding the theme of faith, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence , and how it ties in with the themes of...

Come and See and Anti-War Films

It is frequently said that you cannot make an anti-war film. By their nature, war films are exciting. As a viewer, we are safe and sound behind a screen and we watch our protagonist navigate dangerous situations for the sake of the greater good. Even anti-war films celebrate something. Three recent examples spring to mind: Hacksaw Ridge , Dunkirk , and 1917 . I would consider each to be seen as an anti-war film, yet all three miss the mark in fully being an anti-war film. First, we have Hacksaw Ridge . Hacksaw Ridge 's first, and even its second, battle scenes are truly hellacious. Nothing about either of those battles glorifies war. Then we have the final sequence of the film where Desmond Doss and the American troops take back the ridge in what is a glorious montage featuring dramatic music, slow-motion sequences, and plenty of victories for the Americans. The film undercuts its anti-war message with this final sequence. This is what you are leaving the viewer with. This i...

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