Review XCVII - Rocco e i suoi fratelli

Review XCVII
Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960)

I debated reviewing this film because Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers is... special in its own Italian way. But then I realised I watched this film for Alain Delon, and I should review this film for the other Delon lovers out there. The film also stars Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot, Renato Terra, Rocco Vidolazzi, and Spiros Focás. Oh, and Katina Paxinou as the mother. Oh, and ignore the Russian poster - it just looked the prettiest.

The Parondi family is forced to displace from the south of Italy to Milan in the north in order to find work. They meet up with the oldest son of the family, Vincenzo (Focás), who is getting it on with a girl (Claudia Cardinale) - I mean, settling down. The family doesn't get the welcome they were hoping for and soon realise Milan is not exactly the city they thought it would be. And a woman (Girardot) might just cause the family to close the only thing they know - each other.

After that completely awful synopsis, let's actually talk about the movie. I finished another Luchino Visconti film prior to Rocco e i suoi fratelli - Il gattopardo, or The Leopard in English. That one also stars Alain Delon! But seriously, it's a long film that I had trouble getting into, though the shots were beautiful, and the final scene was particularly heart-breaking. Nonetheless, the film aged well. It was released in 1963, but it's still watchable today. Granted, it is set in the 1800s, but the acting and the way the plot was adapted is timeless. Rocco e i suoi fratelli? Not really. The film is very 1960s. The acting isn't bad per se, but the plot is just so... melodramatic. Everyone is so melodramatic. I had a good chuckle here and there over the crying and ranting and rape (!), but the film really didn't age well. Even Alain Delon was not enough to hold my attention. While I make the film sound bad, it's just a bit boring and aged.

Rocco e i suoi fratelli has not aged well in my opinion. The idea of this family having to move for work and finding itself in a heartless town is touching, but you can get the same idea from another better film, I'm sure. Watch this film for the absolute melodrama and the innocence of Alain Delon. Fine.

Review XCV - Purple Noon

Review XCV
Plein soleil (1960)

This review will be a bit different. Instead of the usual written format, I thought I'd post some pictures of why this film should be watched. Warning - your heart may explode.

This alone should tell you you're in for a ride.

Alain Delon's character, Tom Ripley (with a France French accent), inspecting a watch. All right, I can handle this.

After delivering O'Brian to the studio, everyone has their eyes on Delon, as expected.

The portrait of this man is just... Sigh.

The mirror play in this scene... Alain Delon in this scene.

See? What did I tell you about the mirror play and Alain Delon? Shit, man.

Tom Ripley can't steer this ship, but I'm sure he's good on other ones, if you get my innuendo, hehe.

This scene with Marge as they discuss him leaving is particularly titillating. But yeah, Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) is a pretty big romantic too!

Honestly, I was very impressed with the mirror play in this film. Here is a great example!

Now that Greenleaf is dead, Ripley will prey on his love, Marge. Check the look in his eyes.

The portrait! The portrait!

Italy really is beautiful. The film captures it well!

Speaking of things this film captures well...

Here is another example of the preying. Note the eyes again.

Because those fish were on camera a long time. They look very happy!

It's blurry, but this portrait. Oh my goodness. That smile. That face.

Handling three heads in one shot. And Delon's face.

The mirror play of this scene. The Alain Delon of this scene.

The way Delon- I mean, Ripley grabs a woman.

THE PORTRAIT. THE PORTRAIT. ABORT. ABORT.

Marie Laforêt has beautiful eyes. Great portrait. But seriously, how can she be calm when she's looking at THIS:

I'm out. The sensuality is too much. Ripley has Marge.

And how the film ends. A beautiful view and Delon handcuffed away.

The end.

But seriously, the film was interesting. It's adapted from The Talented Mr. Ripley written by Patricia Highsmith (I never read it, unfortunately, and never saw the 1999 film). It was interesting and the shots were beautiful (see above). René Clément did a good job! I didn't like the ending, and neither did Patricia Highsmith apparently. However, she did praise Alain Delon's performance. I can't agree more. In Le samouraï, Le cercle rouge, Un flic, and even L'eclisse, you don't really see Alain Delon act. This was the first time I saw him actually going about on screen, and I enjoyed it. Granted, I did watch this film for eye candy alone, but hey, I got a good film out of it too. So heterosexual men and homosexual women, don't push this film away - it really is great. And for the rest of you, see above.

Review LVI - À bout de souffle

Review LVI
À bout de souffle (1960)

While I have been trying to find time to watch films, it hasn't been working out as well as I hoped. Due to foreseeable circumstances (primarily school), and a few unexpected ones (staying at school until 00:30 on a Friday), I haven't had all that much time to watch any films. However, I have managed to catch up on most of my school work, so I decided to sit down and watch a French New Wave film. What is French New Wave, or la nouvelle vague, as it is known in French? It was basically just a term coined for a number of filmmakers in France during the 1950s and the 1960s who rejected the idealism at the time, which was primarily classical literacy (thanks Wikipedia!). It is known for its pretty crazy ways of editing, as well as its super long takes. One of the big names of la nouvelle vague is Jean-Luc Godard, and I decided to check out his film, À bout de souffle, or Breathless, as it is known in English.

Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) steals a car (a common act for this kleptomaniac), and promptly kills a police officer who pursues him. This sends the Parisian police force on his case, but that doesn't stop Michel from chasing Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg), a young American woman who works for the New York Herald Tribune. While he tries to seduce Patricia into living with him in Italy, he must also avoid being caught by the police.

The film is known for its jarring film cuts (jump cuts are cuts between shots that obviously point out that a person is no longer in the same place) and innovative filming techniques. While jump cuts can be used to effectively demonstrate a certain atmosphere, that is, one of an unrelaxed scene and to emphasise speed, I don't usually think they're very good. I mean, it goes against all idea of continuity and seems odd at times. Nonetheless, they seemed to work well in Breathless, even though I think maybe it's because I find it works in 1960 films, for whatever reason. I thought the filming style was different - with shots from high altitudes with a specific character being filmed, for example - and I enjoyed it. I won't go ahead and say it was amazing, but I thought it was enjoyable. It definitely has a contemporary feel to it due to the weird put-together of the film, but contemporary in the sense of the 1950s and 1960s. Aside from the story, which definitely dates it, it has a very 50s feel with how everything is edited together. Experimental films nowadays don't rely on camera techniques as much as they do just weird and ambiguous (ludicrous?) in story. For this reason, you get the impression it was filmed early in the years of film. Alright, fine, early is a bit of a bad term to use since film had existed some forty years when Breathless was released, but whatever. Bottom line - the film technique is very 50s/60s, very contemporary, so if you're into that, you'll enjoy this.

As for the story, well, it isn't anything special. A crass man kills a police officer only to pursue a woman he believes he actually loves. Again, it is a typical 50s/60s plot, but the reality is, if you watch Breathless, it probably isn't for the story, but to get a sense of what la nouvelle vague was. Some films you watch because you're interested in how they got a point across, but not for the point itself. This, in my opinion, is what this movie tries to accomplish, and it does. While the plot isn't anything special, I had fun watching it for its different filming style. While I love watching movies, I usually really dislike experimental films because of their ridiculous notion that they can be "deep" and "meaningful" just by splicing random scenes together. Breathless, while it is experimental in a sense, doesn't do this, and that's why I like it. The plot is simple, but it uses cinematography to stand alone. This is what experimental films should be about - not just randomness.

I'd give the film seven point seven stars on ten. It was an interesting piece to watch. Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo did a fine job (even though Jean Seberg's accent bothered me because of how English it was, but hey), and the filming techniques were interestingly done! If you like older films, I highly recommend this one. If you aren't really, I don't see this film changing your opinion.

Pirate Bay torrent