Thursday, September 24, 2020

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[Review] Autumn Sonata (1978)

“Are the daughter's miseries the mother's triumphs?” - Eva 

In cinema filled with dysfunctional family dramas, Ingmar Bergman’s works often loom conspicuously. From Scenes from A Marriage to Cries and Whispers, his grip on this heavy subject has long been both celebrated and cerebrated. Autumn Sonata, the first and last collaboration between the two incomparable Bergmans: Ingmar and Ingrid Bergman, is one of those hefty formidable dramas. Through the estranged relationship between a daughter, Eva (Liv Ullmann), and her concert pianist mother Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman), Ingmar Bergman gazes at their stirring spectacle of disquieting, perpetuated emotional injuries. Here, there are countless feelings embedded meticulously, but all of them are tied up by one notion in common: the perplexity of emotion itself. As much as the concept of emotion can be defined in terms of universal semantics, such as anger, sadness, fear, guilt, love, etc.; the emotion, in general, is a fuzzy concept to describe, and their existence to each other can be as all-encompassing as they can be outwardly incongruous. This thesis, manifested along with a stellar cast, truthful direction, revealing dialogue, and incarcerating cinematography, bring an honest, unposed face to its distrust-rooted delineation.

Like some of his tortured family depictions, Ingmar’s aesthetics are never really reliant on being extremely adorned, but underneath those dusty sepia-tinged frames, it’s a skilfully choreographed piece of dramatic triumph. Together with cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Autumn Sonata’s camerawork moves slowly and often follows the actors’ movement then zooms in on them, only for the frame to be crammed with their faces, fully focusing on their emotions and expressions. It’s so restrained to the point that the diegetic space we’ve left with feels more and more claustrophobic with time. These close-ups perform as an unceasing microscope to capture every minute detail of their face features’ mobility: eyes twitching, forehead lines folding, downturned mouth, to their constantly vivid and unconcealed pores; we notice one thing and many things at once, as they unfold and as they fade. Quietly confrontational and in a way, obtrusively unassuming, these shots reduce their facades away, layer by layer, motif by motif, until there’s no room left to hide. 


Bergman's script is attentively constructed all over the gentle but assured emotional expositionin the silence, everything unfurls and in the clutter of words, the truth conceals. Despite being a melodrama in spirit, Autumn Sonata is very controlled in its overarching outlook of long-repressed feelings. Between the cinematography and the dialogue, the two form an intense, often unnoticed relay race that composedly begins to unearth a giant, ambivalent force of love and hate. The dialogue establishes the two stark personas as it cuts deep into them. In its first act, Bergman uses dialogue brilliantly to show context but rarely to expose them. The essential is faint to the ears and overlooked to the eyes. During its first minutes, the dialogue between Eva and Charlotte sometimes takes detours from the actual gist of what Bergman is trying to tell, all while hinting a deeper theme underneath its surface that is still clearly evident every now and then. In the absence of the dialogue, the camerawork takes over, capturing their unspoken words that are locked away in their guarded chambers while each one tries to play by their socially acceptable roles and norms. All the love, although is never explicitly told, seems to shift back and forth between genuine and performative. It's not until later when everything gets progressively intense: the dialogue becomes more direct, the past becomes barer, and the pain becomes truer. At this point, all their silent thoughts come to light unapologetically, all at once. It's downright brutal and distressing, but only then do they feel real. The length that Bergman goes to surely takes patience, but this finely tuned rhythm is what makes the grit of their relationship even more hard-hitting. 

Aside from being an Ingmar Bergman's grand drama with groundedly detailed technicality, Autumn Sonata, more often than not, is also an acting vehicle for its two most formidable Scandinavian stars. As Eva and Charlotte, Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann bring in two unparalleled deliveries that are incredibly dynamic and full-force in the midst of its family turmoil. When we're introduced to Eva, her face bursts with joy and smiles but her eyes brim with uncertain disquiet. She's as uptight as she's elated to finally see her mother Charlotte after seven years. As soon as Charlotte arrives, she hops off her car, in a sophisticated beige outfit and sprucely coiffed hair, an obvious obverse of her own daughter. As two antithetical characters, they lovingly talk to each other with such excitement, trying to reconnect again, convinced they've looked past their lineal demons, only to find that their whole life they haven'tthey've simply looked the other way. 


As their conversations grow sorer, we discover the past and the revelations, maturely anchoring both slants without vilifying one another. One of their first unuttered dissonances is remarkably shown in the piano scene. With them both trying to bond over music, the scene is thoroughly serene. The only thing that can be heard is Eva's imperfect attempt at Chopin's piece, yet the camera lingers on Charlotte's face. Charlotte listens and heeds cautiously, leniently forbearing for a minute then hushedly peeved in the next, all while sustaining her discreet bit of a show. "I liked you," Charlotte politely dodges her daughter's pining for approval, torn between her motherly image and concert pianist persona. Subsequently, she proceeds to play her interpretation while dissecting the piece lengthily. Eva is visibly upset but continues to come along anyway. She softly contemplates her mother's face: engrossed, determined, and passionate. Eva droops her posture a little, for a moment her mind is elsewhere, then she comes back and dismally stumbles upon a fact: it's her first time seeing her mother's genuine, bare affection her whole life. And that's through music, not her. Bergman and Ullmann play this scene masterfully, veering to and fro between their extensive vocabulary of nuances. But this scene is just a slice of their brilliant command of acting. As more secrets get unlocked, more truthful and aching clashes burgeon. The reality continues to catch up with them until they're trapped within the irreversible state of harsh realizationthat they're each other's constant reminder of failures and damages. In that state, every dialogue is retrospective, a looking glass to each passive-aggressive memory, and a cynical attempt at emotional abreaction. The weight gets bigger and louder, and so does their acting. Inside and out, it's a masterful acting marathon in which every powershifting is finely drawn from time to time.

Autumn Sonata, is just painful. It's part melodic and part ugly-sounding, but like Charlotte's perfect description of Chopin's prelude, it's meant to sound wrong. This translates well to their story: Eva longs for her mother's affection meanwhile Charlotte devotes her life entirely to music, it's a sharp observation of unreciprocated love, hidden guilt, and embellished ugliness that simply rings true. Powered by its commanding performances, Autumn Sonata sees Ingmar Bergman voyaging his account of dark family-centric underbelly through the confined, discreetly thrilling setting of stillness, chaos, and everything in between. From the dissembled propriety, abrasive reverie, up to the moments when all hell breaks loose, this small 99-minute wonder lets us absorb and drench completely in it, slowly inviting us to experience the never-ending spectrum of human misery. Agitated, embarrassed, wretched.

Saturday, September 12, 2020

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[Review] The Hours (2002)

“What does it mean to regret when you have no choice? It's what you can bear. There it is. No one's going to forgive me. It was death. I chose life.” - Laura Brown

Based on Michael Cunningham’s novel of the same name, which is also loosely based on the life of Virginia Woolf during the writing process of Mrs. Dalloway; The Hours to the maudlin misery guts—and by that I mean myself—are like Inception is to Nolan fanboys. It’s a glaring drama that deals with its ambition keenly, hear this: a story that takes place within the span of a single day in three different decades, alternating between three women and linked by their quandary that stands in the way of commitment and desire. On paper, it may seem mouthful, but through Stephen Daldry’s soothing direction, The Hours is one soul-stirring beauty. Daldry neatly sews the bridges between the chasms written by David Hare and is able to find its intrinsic rhythm, all then stitched beautifully by the adeptness of its lyrical ensemble of the star-studded cast and the rush of Phillip Glass’ reverberant score. 

Helmed by the acting trifecta of Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep; these three women, separated by time and anchored by their collective minds, bring in powerhouse performances packed with a sure-fire emotional punch. Kidman, by a nose—as Denzel said it—and her mighty talent, is fully committed as Virginia Woolf. Kidman impressively registers pitch-perfect note after another, making her turn as Woolf as her most shocking yet—at that time—as she disappears into Woolf’s physicality: her posture and her tone of voice, reliving her spark of creativity and her state of mind. No more of that smooth, satin-like personality of hers in Moulin Rouge! nor the mean-spirited satirical character she plays unapologetically in To Die For. Yet, beyond the writer persona, Kidman shows her incredible control as she allows us to see through Woolf’s aching, yet unbeaten grit. She’s vulnerable without being completely wide open, adrift without being powerless: a guarded intensity of acuity with a flair of imperiousness. 


Julianne Moore's turn as a shielded mother is every bit as interesting as Kidman’s portrayal, if not more. Secluded from her own existence and feelings, she wears a smile every day and carries herself as a loving, perfect ideal of the American dream in order to survive societal conventions, because really, she doesn’t have any choice. Conscious and awake, yet detached, so far removed, and everything in between, Moore is a vast amalgamation of nuances. It’s a truly tough part to pull off, yet she does so, and even more. Her willingness to go far in her craft is truly what makes The Hours an indelible mark of her acting mastery. Meryl Streep here carries less weight on her shoulder than the other two, but even with less flesh in her material, Streep is still a rounded, solid character that simply captivates. As Clarissa, she’s openly bisexual, able to acknowledge her liberty, and untied to the suppressive systemic customs that chain Moore and Kidman’s characters, yet she’s still afraid, unsure, and haunted by the choices she made/didn’t make. Backdropped with the 21st-century life setbacks and whatnot, her personal battle makes her the one character that most audiences can identify with. Her presence, despite being a looking glass to the audience, also operates as a filtered lens to see through these women’s stories, to make us observe and feel without feeling like a standalone onlooker, and it clearly works.

Through their powerful display of acting, The Hours makes the journey along the chasms themselves rewarding, but clearly, the script plays an even bigger part: how the narrative looks at life in the eyes, searching for and reflecting on choices or the lack of them. Even if it’s not always a smooth ride, the result is always fulfilling. The journey feels like a never-ending disquiet at the minutiae of everyday life, as they welcome us right at the pits, as they plummet deeper into sorrow, regret, and pain; grieving for the lives they could’ve had and even further: the unraveling of their perpetuated suffering. Though the movie abstains itself from depicting the detailed, seemingly-trivial grounds, and instead takes the focus into a kaleidoscope of life’s repercussions; The Hours doesn’t come across as an empty vessel of skin-deep life horror. The script carefully navigates between each mind, in which one idea is echoed to the next, gradually mounting one single, giant resonating force. It’s true that pain is an attested measure of reality, and even if this cinematic approach to storytelling may take some of its sense of realism and complexity away, that exact sentiment is the one that brings its somber motif into the limelight. It’s not new and since then many have done it even better, but the grasp is what makes The Hours a personal epic that’s poignant, expressive, and ultimately earnest. 

Friday, January 24, 2020

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[Review] Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

"When you asked if I had known love. I could tell the answer was yes. And that it was now." - Marianne

In today's cinema, where every project comes with such a ponderous methodical approach with one goal to impress, effortless invisibility has become a rare gem. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is that rarity. Director/screenwriter Céline Sciamma's technical prowess is incredibly refined, her timing is fluid and her delivery is graceful. She reminds us that what we're peeping through are simply pieces of someone's life, that we're fortunate enough to witness, or better yet, to feel. Sciamma composes every frame with a certain amount of unposed shades: the colors are muted and the diction is understated, yet it never shies away from its true-being: a passionate portrait ablaze with its scattered, powerful imageries. 

More than its technicality, the even greater strength here is how well Sciamma understands her subject: memories. She knows that for Marriane to tell a story of Héloïse—wonderfully played by the passionate pair of Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenelthe viewers have to make our own as well. From its closeups, classical melodies, hushed words, to brilliant focus on their eyes, those little elements of memories that Sciamma examines feel perfectly honest and loving. Through her deep-seated script and intimate direction, Portrait of a Lady on Fire finds Sciamma getting drawn to the past, picking up the right colors and stroking her brush onto the canvas to incite, form, and engrave memories on us. In the end, not only do those deep, straight gazes form memories, but we also hold on to these precious moments as if they were our own—and when that adieu comes and those eyes don't look back, we can't help but long for a glimpse of that stare.


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

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[Review] Little Women (2019)

"Please fight to the end, be LOUD! Don't just quietly go away!" - Jo March 

Watching Little Women had me pondering question after question. What makes a great film, great? Then, that question expanded: what makes a great film, important? I still haven't got the chance to find answers and one thing came up: how is one deemed important anyway? The scale, the scope, the stakes? I found myself fascinated by one thing, then one fascination came right after another, and so on. Director-screenwriter Greta Gerwig, in this Louisa May Alcott's latest film adaptation, poses these deep-rooted thoughts about the importance of telling one's story, that the scope of sisters in their childhood and adulthood is as large as any other supposedly bigger stories. It's blunt and graceful, playful and firm, heartwarming and heartrending. Greta breaks down and analyzes Alcott's already modern writing, molding it into another form that further broadens Alcott's vision with intelligence, insight, and tenderness. 

Between the stories, themes, and characters Alcott has brought, Greta finds an emotive core to sew the seams and hem the border of each parallel, allowing those separating lines to unite Alcott's intricate sense and sensibility. More than redefining its narrative structure and reharmonizing its source, Greta injects her expressive creativity into our consciousness: from introducing the characters as adults longing for their memories of childhood to giving them their bigger voices. With that amount of liberty, she alters things but the heart remains congruent. One thing to note is how Greta is not afraid to go beyond Jo's story to mirror Alcott's real-life struggle. Here, Alcott's clear-cut persona is always present and valued, not just as the distinguished writer, but a woman with her own unique, empowered thoughts—an homage in the highest form.


We're no stranger to a non-linear narrative, but Greta's interpretation conveys determined gravitas. Those specific timelines sustain specific purposes, helping us understand the endeavor that stands between chasing ambitions and the haunting memories that follow. Her interpretation shows that one's life is not merely a one-way journey where everything moves forward in a prospective canon, life is also a reflection of memories, one that could be reframed as both an introspect and a retrospect. But these characters are not always talking about big dreams, it's about the complexity and the correlation of everything: womanhood, childhood, marriage, freedom, loneliness, love, and its lack thereof. These themes are presented skilfully through her acute understanding of dynamics: often overt, at times guarded, a mud-caked allure of growing up that brings overlooked inner agitations to light.

Greta's script shows a different way of viewing things, one that we may have seen before, yet her methods of creating such lens are very distinct—for one thing, she gets the point. She gets her way around each character, giving them grounds as well as delivering us answers of "why are they here?". She simply sees them as people trying to live their lives and paints them so, creating a space between us and the characters to breathe for one moment but leaving us in one room so we can recognize each other from a near distance. We see ourselves in Saoirse Ronan's Jo: her willingness to strive for something regarded as radical is powerful yet the absence of companionship in her life is perfectly intelligible. On the other hand, we also mirror Florence Pugh's Amy as she unravels the long-buried side of her perspective, bridging a gap between a misunderstood character we thought we knew and her true native wit. How Greta embraces reality with delicacy on one end and firmness on the other has become the singularity in her art since Lady Bird—or her early collaborations with Noah Baumbach—but her reinvention of this beloved, familiar story has created a new larger surface for us to walk onto, a warm quilt for us to take time and be engrossed in this intimate life's intricacy.