Priceless- Hors de prix (2006)

The expectation
Starring Audrey Tautou of Amelie and A Very Long Engagement, two beautifully stylized films with great performances by a talented and beautiful French actress, Priceless seemed like a light, romantic flick. My expectations were low, especially in the story itself. This means that the performances by the actors themselves had to hold the film up, forcing a bond between the characters and the audience. Good performances, mediocre story. And of course, I wanted the film to exhibit the stunning look that I have become accustomed to with Tautou's previous films (probably not very fair, but star personas do influence the films they carry).

The result
It is very slow in the beginning. As a character centered world, the film industry works to suture the audience to one or two characters to create a certain bond that makes them want to stay for the whole film. What will happen to the girl, the boy, will they get together? And so forth. Priceless' characters are Irene and Jean. Irene loves all the pleasures of a wealthy lifestyle and Jean loves Irene, but he is a working man. Initially, I despised Irene, for her treatment of Jean early on, but mostly because of her position in exploiting her youth and beauty to gain jewelry, expensive clothes, and accessories. She is devoid of pity, selfish and merciless in consuming. The setup is disgusting. And Jean goes along with it, he allows himself to be used, spending every amount of money he has on her, until he is broke and she walks away. Now he is disgusting. And this gives me enough despair of the two of them so that I do not care what happens next. And then I am disappointed because the game they play throughout the rest of the film is entertaining, but I still do not care. They are shameless together, both on equal footing, competing in the spirit of friendship. The end is cliche, and completely without any realism. Irene just drops her desire for things, even after the whole film forces it down you throat? It makes the whole film seem worthless and now I am angry at its triteness. But I can celebrate my own situation, my understanding of the fickleness of expensive desires. And that is what the film's intention is, to situate excess consumption for its own sake in one of Dante's rings of hell. So many American girls should see this film, but not because it is good.

Pay attention to (if you go)
The leads: both leading actors are beautiful, tanned, and pose well (sometimes that is all I can say).
Their intersection: If you survive the beginning, their intersecting stories as exploiters on equal footing is fun in a very meaningless way.
The scenery: beautiful long shots of resort areas on the French Riviera. The scenery is something to fight for.
The end: what would a sequel be like? Try to have a dialogue with the film's forced suspension of belief (you did it, you wanted them to be happy together at the end).
Materialism vs. Love and Happiness: which one really wins? suckers

Son of Rambow (2008)

The expectation
I saw a few previews of this one and just could not wait to see it. Making homemade videos while struggling against the pressures of everyday life. As a child, this includes school work, family expectations, and other everyday duties. Whether taking out the trash and emptying the dishwasher (my hard childhood), or avoiding television and staying true to his religious duties (the film's main character, Will Proudfoot), this is one story our escapist culture can relate to. Creating the film, Son of Rambow, becomes a journey just as important as all the other duties in a child's life, and makes them all worthwhile. This one had high expectations from me, but in a whimsical, fun way where I already understood the adventure.

The result
Son of Rambow is a delightful film that all movie lovers will appreciate. It is the dream we all had as children (and maybe still do), to pick up a camera and make a movie the old fashioned way. Editing with two VCRs (often off with the timing just a bit so scenes are cut off), striving for the seamlessness that you have already visualized over and over in your head, doing all your own stunts, and making the most of the resources around you. On a deeper level, it is the story of a boy and his journey to grow up, forced to leave his religious community's seclusion, and really interact with the difficult task of interacting with childhood peers. It was fun, creative, and touching yet managed to stay away from exaggerated drama. You can feel for these characters without it being forced on you. And the ending did choke me up a bit, but only because I wanted to be those kids again. Go see this one, it is a tribute to the power of imagination.

Pay attention to
The countryside: oh to live in a pastoral environment, it really informs the rest of the story, as environment always does!;
The Music: invoking The Cure is always a really good idea but they really fit with this film, good choice!;
The power of film: sometimes I talk about this way too much but movies are so culturally powerful in our society that being a part of their construction can attract a large variety of characters (by this I mean personalities). If only they were all really a space for the cultivation of diversity.
And the website: as whimsical and inspired as the film itself, and you can sample the music.

Crystal Cinema

My love of film propels this blog forward. Striving to avoid pretentious opinions of film, I am, naturally, skeptical about most of the products shoved down the throats of the 'mass' public. Thus, here is my realistic blog, asserting my opinions of various films. I try (although often unsuccessfully) to take into account both the educational and entertaining nature of films. They should be both, and often one over the other at certain times, depending one's mood at the moment. And so I set out to watch more films than I should, banish my naturally pessimistic view of the world, and remain as objective as possible while still retaining high expectations of the industry, standards that mostly leave me disappointed, discouraged, and disgusted. And of course, all reviews are subjective, so tell me what you think of my opinions, I am intrigued by your review of my perspective.
So this is my disclaimer. I always want more, and I feel that is never asking too much.