While the City Sleeps - Kicking off the new year with a selection from both the TSPDT Top 1000 list and the 250 Quintessential Noirs list. It's not especially worthy of either. The two-pronged plot covers the hunt for a serial killer and a power struggle at a news syndicate. The film packs a dynamite cast (including Dana Andrews, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, Ida Lupino, Rhonda Fleming and Vincent Price), most of whom are excellent. The story involving the journalists takes most of the spotlight, and it's got some compelling aspects with a lot of drama and betrayal and secret alliances. The killer thread, however, gets the short shrift. We get only the briefest of insights into the villain's psyche, and the forensic work is very ho-hum compared to your average procedural. It does allow for a pretty good chase scene, though. Unfortunately, that particular scene is one of only a small handful that display any sense of style. As with most of Lang's American films, it mostly feels entirely flat, with no passion or inspiration at all. It's competent, of course, but not much more than that. Watchable, passable... and ultimately forgettable. Rating: 7
Les maîtres fous - Apparently one of Herzog's favorite movies, and that's not hard to believe. It's a documentary short about the Hauka tribe (club? sect?) of West Africa, whose initiation ceremony is a bizarre bastardization of the social structure and mannerisms of their European colonial oppressors. The ritual involves foaming at the mouth, a stiltled herky-jerky walk, confessions and punishments, beatings, people being possessed by characters like "the mayor", "the general" and "the locomotive", and the sacrifice and subsequent consumption of a dog. It resembles some sort of primal explosion of frustrated satire. The ending of the film shows the participants happily back at their jobs, and suggests that the ritual helps them mentally cope with their daily lives. Although I was quite confused throughout most of it (due mostly to the very poor subtitles) I was also quite transfixed. An unusual and provocative work. Rating: 8
Chronique d'un eté - Another Jean Rouch documentary. In this one, he and co-director Edgar Morin start out by discussing the likelihood of getting truth out of subjects who know they are on camera. They then proceed to ask a variety of Parisians "Are you happy?"... at first during brief on-the-street interviews, and then going more in-depth with selected people. Throughout, you are constantly engaged with their openness and simultaneously questioning their honesty. Are they hamming it up for the camera when they talk in grandiose philosophical terms? How much of Marceline's concentration camp monologue is truth and how much is melodramatic flourish, and how does the camerawork affect our perception of that? In the end, Morin and Rouch screen the film for their subjects, get their reactions, and discuss the success or failure of their project. Wonderfully meta and, for the most part, fascinating. Rating: 8
Judex - A Robin Hood type character punishes a sinister banker for his misdeeds, and the plot thickens and thickens and thickens some more. Franju's homage to Feuillade is a real treat, and a reminder that I need to see more by both filmmakers. Certainly I'd like to see the original, since it seems right up Feuillade's alley, along the same lines as Les Vampires. Secret identities, twists galore, disguises, wacky gadgets, double crosses, daring escapes, homing pigeons, faked deaths, long-lost relatives, and a rooftop catfight. It's a ridiculously wild ride that probably works even better in serial format. Other nods to Feuillade include a character reading "Fantomas", and a girl (the smoking hot Francine Bergé, in a delightful performance) who gets to slink around in a catsuit, a la Musidora... in a double role, no less! Franju has a marvelous eye, lots of terrific shots. The Maurice Jarre score is lovely as well (though occasionally a little too subdued for the action). This is just a really, really fun movie that made me want more of the same. Rating: 9
Kameradschaft - Pabst's tale (inspired by a true event) of a group of German miners who come to the rescue of French miners. The film's heart is definitely in the right place (no matter what you may think of its slight Socalist leaning) but it's not done with very much nuance. Pretty much everyone is a great guy and pretty much everything turns out okay, and it just doesn't have the dramatic tension that it should. Part of this may be due to some odd pacing, a common problem with early talkies. However, it's a real knockout in the visuals department, featuring some absolutely stunning camerawork, especially down in those claustrophobic mines. Technically impressive, but a little on the dull side. Rating: 7
