Love Lies Bleeding (4 Stars)

This is the first film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

It takes place in an unnamed town in New Mexico, close to the Mexican border. Jackie is hitchhiking from Oklahoma to Las Vegas to take part in a body building contest. That doesn't look like the most direct route, but when you're hitchhiking you have to take whatever rides you can get. She's short of money and sleeping rough. In the opening scene we see her having sex with the manager of a gun club to get a job as a waitress.

Louise is the manager of a gym. When Jackie comes in to work out the two become lovers. They're both lesbians. Jackie only sleeps with men when she needs something from them.

It's a small town where everyone knows everyone. Louise's father is the owner of the gun club. The man Jackie slept with is Louise's brother-in-law JJ. Louise's father also makes money by illegally smuggling guns into Mexico. The FBI suspects him, but doesn't have enough proof to act.

Things start moving when Louise's sister Beth is so badly beat up by JJ that she ends up in hospital. Jackie takes revenge, breaking into JJ's home and killing him with her bare hands. Murder needs to be carefully planned. Spontaneously killing someone leaves clues. Jackie and Louise do their best to get rid of the evidence, but it's not easy.

The plot meanders on, with ever deepening conflicts. I shouldn't give away anything else, except that the film becomes even more fascinating as it continues.

I have a simple question. Is it normal for a bodybuilder to be a heavy smoker? I would have thought that Jackie would do without cigarettes in order to remain fit.

This was a good film to open the Nights Festival. I admit that I enjoyed the lesbian sex scenes with gratuitous nudity. What do you expect from me? I'm a man.

The Truman Show (5 Stars)

I recently rebought "The Truman Show" on the recommendation of Jeff from the YouTube channel "Films At Home". He's someone whose opinion I respect when it comes to buying 4K discs. He said that the 4K release of "The Truman Show" is much better than anything that's been available until now. I can see what he means. The Blu-ray disc I've been watching until now isn't that bad, but it was made in the early days of Blu-ray, and there was room for improvement.

Today I watched the film paying close attention to the video quality. I didn't see much difference in the first ten minutes, but as the film progressed I was bowled over by the quality. It's the most impressive in the last 30 minutes. It's true that when I paused the film I could see occasional dirt specks on the picture, but what else can you expect from a film made with a film camera?

I've watched "The Truman Show" more often than any other film, more than 30 times. Is it possible to still take a new message? Today it hit me that the only way for Truman to discover the nature of the world around him is to overcome his fears. He's been afraid of water all his life, but he climbs into a boat and sails into the unknown. Can I do that? Am I capable of doing something I've never done before, instead of relaxing and accepting the world as it's presented to me? Probably not.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Planes: Fire and Rescue (3 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #20

"Planes: Fire and Rescue", sometimes called "Planes 2", is a sequel to "Planes" and a spin-off of the Cars franchise. That means that the film has no humans, animated or otherwise, it's just full of talking vehicles: planes, cars and trains.

I haven't watched "Planes", but I can figure out what happened in the first film. Dusty Crophopper was a successful racing plane, but now his gearbox is damaged and he can no longer fly at full speed. We all get old, don't we? He doesn't want to disappear into retirement, so he looks for a way to prove he can be useful. He signs up to be trained as a firefighter, i.e. a firefighting plane. If I were no longer as fit as I used to be, that's the last career I'd choose!

Oliver selected this film today, and he greatly enjoyed it. Maybe I should let him watch the Cars films as well. Personally, I found the film annoying. I can't relate to talking airplanes. When I was a child I read the stories of Thomas the Tank Engine, but I'm out of that phase now.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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The Truman Show (5 Stars)

I was shocked to hear that my son Benjamin had never watched "The Truman Show", so I couldn't push the disc into my Blu-ray player fast enough. Before it started I told him that it was the film I've watched more often than any other. I wish I knew exactly how often. In the early 2000's I didn't keep track of my viewing. That didn't change until September 2010. All I know, from my memories, is that I recorded "The Truman Show" on videotape when it was broadcast on television, and it fascinated me so much that I watched it at least twice a week for several months.

When the film started my son asked me if it was a true story. It was difficult to answer the question. It's a Yes or a No, depending on how the question is interpreted. When the film begins, Christof speaks to the camera and tells us that everything is true. Are we considering the film or the television show within the film, both of which are called "The Truman Show"? I avoided giving Benjamin an answer and told him to watch the film.

"The Truman Show" (the film) is about a man searching to find the meaning of life, or more correctly the meaning of the world in which he lives. He has the impression that the whole world revolves around him. In a certain way, everyone has the same feeling. A typical person has contact with a limited area. A child sees his house, his family, his school and his friends. As he gets older he meets more people, and he goes to work, where he meets more people. Further contacts are defined by his own interests. He might want to go to church, to a football club or anything else. Do you see what I'm getting at? He's in a restricted world. A normal person like me doesn't suddenly find himself in the White House or in Moscow's Red Square. I have a small world around me. Everything else is only seen second hand. I see far off places on the television or in films. Do they really exist? Or are they just pictures put there for my sake, to give my miniature world a context?

Of course, a person who digs too deep into these thoughts might be accused of having a psychosis. Getting back to the film, Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey in his first serious role), grows up accepting the world as he sees it. Then several things happen that make him suspect the world around him is fake. His father died in front of his eyes when he was a boy, but now he returns, alive and well. Truman's attempt to speak to his father is blocked by dozens of men who bundle him into a bus and drive him away. Truman sees a big conspiracy around himself. He thinks that everyone is playing a big show for his sake. As the film continues, we find that it's true. Truman Burbank is unwittingly the star of a television show called "The Truman Show". Everyone around him is in on the secret. Only Truman isn't.

"The Truman Show" is also a prison with thousands of guards. Everyone is working to keep Truman where he is and prevent him escaping. In this respect the film is terrifying.

Ed Harris plays Christof in the greatest role of his career. Christof is the creator of "The Truman Show" (the television show). Christof is all powerful. Christof is God, as far as Truman is concerned. Christof's voice booms down from the sky. Truman challenges him. He denies God's right to determine his life.

When the film was over, Benjamin said that it's one of the best films he's ever seen. I'm glad that he enjoyed it. He has good taste.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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The Truman Show (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #29

This is the film I've watched more often than any other. I can't say exactly how often. At least 30 times, maybe 40 or even 50. I didn't see it in the cinema in 1998 when it was released, but I taped it when it was on television a year later. Something about it touched me, so for months I was watching it two or three times a week. It was one of the first films I bought on DVD after I bought my first DVD player in 2003. I still watched it fairly often in the first few years when I didn't have many films on DVD. This is only the fourth time I've watched it since September 2010. I've binged out now, if that's the right expression. I still like it a lot, but I can't watch it as often as I used to.

One problem with the film is that it's become dated. It doesn't fit in with modern technology. When it was made in 1998 it was feasible. The creation of Truman's world would be immensely expensive, but not impossible. It depends on the year. The date isn't named, but the film takes place in the 30th year of the Truman Show. It could have been constructed in the early 90's at the earliest, so the film would have to take place in the 2020's. It was the 2020's as they were imagined in 1998. But now things have changed. The Internet has completely changed our society. The Internet already existed in 1998 (I personally have had an Internet account since 1995), but it wasn't as important as it is now. It's difficult to say exactly when the Internet took over our society. I didn't notice, because I was one of the first users and blind to what was happening around me. At a guess, I'd say that the watershed was in the mid 2000's with the advent of social media. It was no longer just computer geeks who used the Internet, it was also semi-educated teenagers who wanted to chat with their friends.

That's the problem. The Truman Show is a world without Internet. If we watched a reality show without Internet today it would seem quaintly old-fashioned. But if the Internet were allowed in Truman's world he would soon discover the truth about his existence.

So, when we watch "The Truman Show" (the film) we have to think of it as taking place in 1998 or close to the turn of the millennium. If we put ourselves in that mindset we can enjoy the film, but that means that the Truman Show (the television show) must have begun round about 1970, which isn't feasible. Apart from that, the Truman Show is based on the new wave of reality TV shows, which didn't start until 1997 with "Big Brother", the first series that allowed viewers to observe people 24 hours a day.

Some reviewers make the mistake of calling "The Truman Show" a comedy. Even the film's Wikipedia page makes this mistake. Sometimes I doubt the intelligence of my fellow reviewers. I can understand the reason for their error, but it's still unforgivable. The film's lead actor is Jim Carrey. All his previous films were comedies, so they assume that this film is a comedy as well. Obviously they didn't watch the film closely. It's not a comedy at all. "The Truman Show" was Jim Carrey's first attempt at making a non-comedy film. There have been many more since. In the film Truman Burbank is an amusing character at times, but that doesn't make it a comedy. Jim Carrey's next film, "Man on the Moon", makes the distinction even clearer. The film is about a comedian (Andy Kaufman), but the film isn't funny at all.

"The Truman Show" is a psychological drama that borders on horror. The futuristic world justifies those who want to call it a science fiction film. It's a virtual world, an artificial reality that closely mimics our real world. The people in the film who watch the Truman Show can relate to it because they can see themselves living in Truman's place. He's a man doing a dull office job, barely making enough money to get by. He's married to a shallow, annoying wife. On the plus side, he has a good friend with whom he can drink beers and discuss the meaning of life.

I'm not blind to the film's religious messages. If you're a religious person you'll see your own religion in the film, whatever it is. I see Christianity, as the religion that I've grown up with. Truman is given the rare privilege of meeting his Creator. First he fights with his Creator, refusing to submit, even if it means his death. Finally he turns his back on his Creator.

"The Truman Show" is a film that will make you question the nature of reality. It's so deep and meaningful that it's nothing less than a disgrace that it didn't sweep the awards at the 1999 Academy Awards. It's a much better film than "Shakespeare in Love", which won the Best Film award.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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The Truman Show (5 Stars)

I absolutely love "The Truman Show". It's difficult for me to understand why I didn't include it in my list of "30 films to watch before you die". That's the only mistake I made when compiling my list. It's not just a matter of it being a film I enjoy. It's also an important film. When it was released in 1998 there was a two-page article in Newsweek magazine that called it the most important film of the decade. I didn't go to see it in the cinema, but a year later I saw it on television, and it blew me away. It became the film I've watched more often than any other film in my life. I recorded it on video tape, and for months I was watching it two or three times a week. Something about the film touched me in a way that no other film has ever affected me. I've only watched the film three times since I started my blog in 2010, but that's not because I like it any less. It's because I've binged on it so much that I can't take anything else from it.

Or maybe I can. Something new occurred to me today. As great as the film is, it's not a film that would appeal to modern viewers who see it for the first time. The absence of the Internet is essential to the film. The whole premise of a person being unknowingly the star of a global reality show wouldn't be possible in a world with smart phones. I can still enjoy the film because I lived most of my life in a world without the Internet, but what would a 25-year-old think of "The Truman Show" if he watched it today? Let that be a challenge to my readers. If you're 25 or younger, how do you react to the film?

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Enemy at the Gates (5 Stars)

This film is based on the Russian World War Two hero Vasily Zaytsev. A lot happens in the film, and if it weren't for the dates of key occurrences flashing on the screen we wouldn't realise that the film only covers a two month period, from September to November 1942.

Vasily came from a poor peasant family. As a child he was taught how to hunt by his grandfather. In 1942 he was sent to Stalingrad as one of many soldiers, but it became immediately obvious that he was exceptionally skilled as a marksman. He ignored the normal German soldiers and specialised in killing German officers. He was made the leader of a newly created sniper division in which he was able to pass on his skills to other soldiers. He didn't teach anyone how to shoot -- only the best marksmen were allowed to join his division -- he taught them his tactics, how to hide, which targets to shoot, which to let live.

When I saw this in the cinema in 2001 I was in awe. It's like no other war film I've ever seen. There's no glory. There's no honour. It's just two armies, the Russian and the German, desperately fighting for the heap of bricks that are all that's left of a once mighty city. Even the integrity of the sniper at the centre of the story can be questioned. It's been said that snipers are the most cowardly of all soldiers. A sniper doesn't stand up and fight man to man, he hides in the shadows and kills opponents who have no chance to fight back.

In 1942 Germany already had the upper hand in Stalingrad. It looked like the Russian forces would be driven back towards Moscow. This one man, Vasily Zaytsev, was instrumental in halting the German attack. According to the official figures he killed 257 Germans in three months.

I can't think of any other film in which Jude Law acts so magnificently. As Vasily Zaytsev he's young and nervous, only gaining his calm when a rifle is in his hands. We feel for him, we urge him on in his battles.

Ed Harris, on the other hand, is a wonderful actor in every film he appears in. This is just one of many brilliant performances in his long acting career. He plays Major König, a German sniper sent to Stalingrad to take out Vasily. The battle between the two is nothing like the fast moving action films that we see every week in the cinema. It's a battle of wits. The two men stalk one another, both trying to remain invisible, hiding for hours waiting to make one single shot.

The battle of the two snipers is just as ugly as the town that serves as their battleground. They have to crawl through the mud and hide among piles of corpses.

This is a highly underrated film. Why don't more people like it? Maybe it's because the film's hero is a Russian? We shouldn't let ourselves be biased by modern day politics. A good film is a good film, whoever the film's heroes are. If you've never seen this film, watch it and tell me what your immediate impressions are when the credits roll.

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Snowpiercer (1 Star)

It's not very often that I have trouble watching a film to the end. However disappointed I might feel when watching a film, I make an effort to stick it out in the hope that it will improve. "Snowpiercer" is a film that attracted me with its high profile cast: Chris Evans, John Hurt, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer and especially Ed Harris. They're all actors who I've seen turn in excellent performances in film after film, so gathering them together in one film is a recipe for success.

Or so it seems. Twice I paused the film and went to make a coffee, and felt tempted not to carry on watching.

First the plot. In the near future an attempt has been made to combat global warming. It backfired, plunging the Earth into a new ice age. The only survivors are the people travelling on a train that circles the world once a year. There are first class passengers, economy passengers and freeloaders. The latter group, presumably stowaways who jumped aboard to save their lives when the catastrophe began, live in the back of the train. At first they were given no food and had to resort to cannibalism. After a few months they were supplied with protein bars, tasteless but life-preserving, in exchange for doing menial labour on the train. After 18 years the train is still moving. One man among the freeloaders, Curtis, decides to stage a rebellion. He leads an army of rebels to challenge the train's creator, Mr. Wilford, who is rumoured to live in the very first carriage.

The train is full of superstition, orchestrated by the leaders. Mr. Wilford is revered as a God, the saviour of mankind. The train's engine is a sacred artefact.

I took some time to read customer reviews on Amazon. It seems that this is a film that divides opinions: some people love it, some people hate it, and there's no middle ground. I personally don't see how anyone can love it. It just doesn't make sense. Why should a train, of all things, be able to keep mankind's last survivors alive? Why is the exact one-year cycle necessary to travel round the world, even if the train really did travel so slowly? There are other ridiculous things that happen later in the film, which I'll keep to myself to avoid spoilers. The claustrophobia of everything happening in narrow railway carriages doesn't make the film terrifying, it just makes the action all the more ridiculous.

Despite the use of English speaking actors, this is a Korean film. Maybe that's part of the reason I don't like it. I've never enjoyed Korean films. It's difficult to say why. There's something about the style and the feeling of Korean films that disturbs me. I also have an aversion to post-apocalyptic films. "Planet of the Apes" is the only post-apocalyptic film which succeeds in showing futuristic terror. All the other films, including this one, are full of speculation about what might happen. This speculation often veers into barely credible ideas, such as people praying to television sets or dogs being trained to find women for breeding purposes.

The Truman Show (5 Stars)

We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented.

That awkwardly formulated line of dialogue could have come from "The Matrix". In fact, the world in which Truman Burbank lives could be considered a Matrix For One. The world is fake, but he's the only one who believes it's real. The whole world has been created for his benefit, and he's lived in it since the day he was born. That's a whole lot of world for one man. This is a film I can never get tired of, however often I watch it.

Gravity (3½ Stars)

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are two astronauts working to repair a space station. Their space shuttle is destroyed by flying debris, and they're left floating in space looking for an alternative way to return to Earth.

Sometimes a film is difficult to judge. This is one of them. It has spectacular special effects, but it's like fairground candy floss (called cotton candy in America); you pay your money and get something big in your hand, but when you put it in your mouth it shrivels up to nothing. It's all style and no substance. I was recommended this film by a friend who said that it has must-see 3D effects. I agree with this, despite my usual disinterest with 3D films. It's a film worth seeing in the cinema, but I wouldn't want to watch it at home.

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P.S. When I got home I watched an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Now that is real science fiction action!

The Truman Show (5 Stars)

How many of you have had the feeling you were being watched? You might have been walking along a busy street or sitting alone in your room when you felt like someone was looking at you. Don't worry, it's quite natural, as long as it only happens occasionally. If you feel like that all the time it's paranoia.

Truman Burbank lives a normal life as an insurance salesman. But then he finds out that he's being watched by the whole world, 24 hours a day. He has no secrets. Everyone knows everything he has ever done since the day he was born. Unknown to him he is the star of the world's biggest reality show. Everyone he knows, including his parents, his wife and his friends, are actors paid to interact with him.

I've never watched any film as often as "The Truman Show". I first saw it on television in 1999 and taped it. For some reason it spoke to me at that point in my life. Over the next few months I watched it two or three times a week. Every time I watched it I looked at the film from different angles and enjoyed it more.

If anything, the film is even more relevant now than it was when it was made. Reality shows were still new in 1998; today they have taken over television. They are relatively cheap to make. They don't need highly paid actors, they just need normal people who will appear on screen for almost nothing. Reality shows satisfy the voyeuristic lusts of the general public, whether it's "Big Brother" or "The Osbournes". In 1998 "The Truman Show" was an outlandish piece of fiction, today it's very feasible.

This was Jim Carrey's first role in a serious film. He's still considered a comedy actor, but his non-comedy films are better. "The Truman Show", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "The Majestic", "Number 23", "Man on the Moon". All are brilliant and unforgettable films. Special mention should be made of Ed Harris, who plays Christof. This is the best film of his career. Una Damon also shines in her role as his assistant Chloe.

Click here to view the trailer.