Non blockbuster, probably underrated flikcs who deserve some love

maxr

Hi there folks =)

Need to start somewhere and for breaking the ice I did pick one which I battle with for years.
It's the only film I started to watch 3 times (so obviously not in cinema) and for first two times I voluntarily stopped before 5 minutes.
I'm glad after almost a decade of fighting I managed to watch it

Avalon 2001 • Japan | Poland

Why this Mamoru Oshii's (Ghost in the Shell, among others) crossbreed hasn't had more exposure it's a bit of a mystery to me. If the Wachowski, Goddard, Ohtomo, Cronemberg, Tarkowsky, Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet were smoking opium together, this could be the mix of their dreams.

Sure the film has some inconsistencies:

like very slow camera movements amid action scenes
a tendency for slowing down the pace - this vinyl deceleration I actually like
some characters underdevelopment and bad acting (i.e. murphy)
atrocious location, the concert hall is just an ugly tumor, which pervades almost all shots and spoils final momemtum
and other minor raccord and lighting stuff.

BUT the overall trip it's fantastic. And, after overcome the initial shock (for me at least) of aggressive sepia duotone grade, those cons wouldn't bother you much... sometimes they may even help if we manage to understand the choice in context and establish further connections between Oshii's previous work and also the incredible vast anime world.

It's something much more subtle than say The Matrix or Sin City and far more richer (not about details, about space left for our brain and senses to integrate and complete the loop), as we're placed in a time between times... or in no time at all. Set design it's simple and beautifully dirty, Kafka went working for Cronemberg in a Zen monastery... and something I highly value, it's very sober in details, if something is there it has it's reasons and breathing room... which roots a prop into something fundamental

The retro future look is pursued but never steals our attention from story, sound design and pace help. I love those lengthy shots where Ash gazes people in reality and nobody moves, that and how it's implemented it's just such a simple genius concept. From my POV, also very important for the whole experience (Bresson knew this very well) is that the characters have not this overwhelming charisma, presence, they are mundane (i.e. craving for food), yet at the same time (seem to be tuning) a bit like ghosts. So we are not intimidated, we feel them closer to us and thus the story unfolds involving us in the flesh. I humbly think there is here a very important lesson for anyone doing sci-fi... or anything fictional :-)

Lastly want to mention a very very nice OST, quite a bit different from "techno by the meter", don't get me wrong, sometimes works wonders; my surf friend would say epic dude, epic!!!
It doesn't seem important to go into dissecting VFX, editing style, etc. mostly because it's very coherent with this flick's soul.

Now 2 advices, get ahold of blue ray version... then sepia would be your friend. Don't get drown in Malgorzata (Ash) eyes. Enjoy

Do you have something to share?
1 at the time, please and some quality content, not just making a synopsis, would be very nice =)

matt_gh2

Thanks for Avalon recommendation. Only film that comes to mind is Straight Time. Don't sleep on this one people. Great film here.

Mimirsan

I own Avalon as im a Oishii fan (Urusei Yatsura,Gits,Gits 2,Patlabor 1&2 & Angels Egg is a fave)

I can recommend FISH STORY Japan 2009

Director Yoshihiro Nakamura

(synopsis is a copy and paste from IMDB)

In the year 2012 a comet approaches earth, threatening to end civilization when it impacts. On the streets of Japan, a single music store remains open, its proprietor insisting to his customers that the world is not coming to an end. He plays a forgotten song recorded by an obscure band 37 years ago, and insists that somehow, this song will save the world. A series of short stories spans the years from the recording of the song in 1975 to the modern day....

What I found wonderful about this film is how it ties the stories together by the end. Its a nice feelgood flick.

Mimirsan

And recently

THE HUNT "Jagten"

Director Thomas Vinterberg

Denmark 2012

A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.

This film will make you rage inside..A brave film.

maxr

@matt_gh2 duly noted: Hoffman's Straight Time • BTW when from a virgin cow bornt the 7th of July, milk it's just too powerful :P

@Mimirsan THANKS!
Don't know about Fish Story, also noted, but as much as I love Mikkelsen and The Hunt (less than 4$m budget!!!), do you think we can consider it an underrated flick? It even was nominated for oscar. Not a rhetoric question =)

This thread intention is to "rescue" films that are truly interesting but for whatever circumstances weren't "internationally / massively" acknowledged as such... Normally that's easier to say with the perspective of some years...

For instance @Mimirsan have you heard of Aurora - 2012, aka Vanishing Waves? Very interesting (less than €1.2m) sci-fi coproduction flick, with flaws but also some unforgettable sequences. Is Hell - 2011 known outside european horror circuit fests?

The Dead, 2010 (UK - $150,000) despite boxoffice success, is something I would feel comfortable saying is probably an underrated zombie flick =)

jleo

The Miramax version of AVALON has been reedited with different subtitles and narration. and not recommended.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare10/avalon_.htm

Mimirsan

@maxr True about The hunt...but ive found it suprising how many film lovers I know never hearing of it ;-)

duartix

Another bell ring for "The Hunt" from me. Even though I (and a friend of mine that works in social care is behind me on this) did find the child's questioning (and it's consequences) very unrealistic. Anyway the film is more than this detail.

last_SHIFT

+1 for The Hunt, and Mads - what an awesome actor - he's totally 'killing it' in Hannibal too :-)

maxr

Jaj aj aj ja Some years ago I saw this add for a table game, I guess people don't play those anymore, where participants had to answer challenges. So challenge is "name pets" and everybody is saying their justice and this guy goes "octopus"... silence, then the rest of participants look at him and reply "octopus is not a pet". Then you see this guy taking the table game and going out the door... only to stop when people say, "ok, we take octopus as pet".

So, ok The Hunt as an underrated flick, ja ja ja

maxr

This is not so much a case of underrate, as it won the grand prize of the jury in Cannes, but of recovering.

Is it interesting, at least for me, to be able to dive in time and have a glimpse to what was going on (whenever) then. Films allow us this because ,as much as a director can have his/her own cosmology, almost always is contaminated in one way or another by social context at the time; Kubrick is good example; please not to be read literally =)

The Shout 1978 • UK

Very raw flick. Resounding.
A bastard cousin of A Clockwork Orange 1971. All the freedom "fighted for" in the 60's hangovered bad dream?
Based on Robert Grape's story - I haven't read it, but the adaptation makes me want to - I don't consider it a horror film, but sci-fi.
In a cinema library I'll put it very close by Zardoz 1974; another probably underrated must watch example of social pervasiveness into fiction, or study of human behavior... and sex(ism).

Alan Bates is unsettling good, totally consumed by the weight of the character... brings to mind (dunno why) a grown up version of Malcolm McDowell's performance in IF.... 1968 - I'll dare to say a direct uncle of A Clockwork Orange :P

Meanwhile what the fuck is John Hurt doing?!!!

I really don't know so well Skolimowski filmography, but the few older films I saw from him, have this moral debates, crossing frontiers, soul hanging weird characters and lots of semi-hermetic metaphors, i.e. The Lightship 1985 with an incredibly beautiful (and transgressive) realtion between R. Duvall (I love this bold guy, one of my fav actors of all time) and Klaus Maria Brandauer, also superb actor.

Once again not bring forth evil me not to touch the (jajaja, this google translate shit)... I won't go into so much technical details, cinematography, sound (sound guys will probably have some kicks out of this one, while I'm at it I'll throw in the quite known Berberian Sound Studio 2012) and such. I'm sure others can say better.

That's it folks, love it or leave it. Good weekend for Y'all!!!

Avalon 2001 • Japan | Poland

The Shout 1978 • UK

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

Tags in Topic

Top Posters