Sign up for Express
New from the Almanac, Express is an e-edition delivered via email each weekday.
Sign up to receive Express!
Login | Register
Sign up for eBulletins
Click for Menlo Park, California Forecast
TownSquare Forum
(Postings listed from most recent to oldest)
View in an RSS Reader
Choose category to Display:
  ALL CATEGORIES   AROUND TOWN   ATHERTON   FICTION
  MENLO PARK MOVIES   OTHER TOPICS   PORTOLA VALLEY
  SCHOOLS & KIDS   SPORTS   THE LOCAL DISH   WOODSIDE
  REPORTERS' BLOG

POST A NEW TOPIC GO TO MESSAGE BOARD VIEW RETURN TO HOME PAGE  
Bookmark and Share
Locked-in mind becomes a butterfly
Movies, posted by MovieGoer, a resident of the Portola Valley: Ladera neighborhood, on Jan 1, 2008 at 9:30 pm

This is always my favorite time of year for movies -- when most of the best are let out of the gate to contend for an Oscar nomination.

I just saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and I'm sure it will haunt me for some time. It's based on a true story about a 40-something French magazine superstar who has a stroke that leaves him in "locked-in syndrome" -- paralyzed completely except for the ability to blink one eye, but completely sound of mind. He wrote a memoir (with lots of help from an assistant) using a system in which he communicated by blinking his eye. But rather than being a bleak film about a horrifically disabled man, this movie is all about the power of the imagination, and the director, the painter Julian Schnabel, creates a film of high art that taps deep emotion. There's also a wicked wittiness that I didn't expect in such a potentially depressing film. Funny thing is, this film wasn't the least bit depressing.

I'm eager to hear others' thoughts about this extraordinary film. Also, does anyone have any other Oscar-quality recommendations for films showing now? I'm really curious about Orphanage and No Country for Old Men. Any comments about these or others?

Add a comment | Add a new topic
If you were a member and logged in you could track this topic

Comments

Posted by Carl, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Jan 10, 2008 at 11:26 am

No Country for Old Men: awesome

Javier Bardem: awesome -- loved him in Before Night Falls, love him in this.


Posted by Joe, a resident of another community, on Jan 10, 2008 at 12:21 pm

I see "No Country for Old Men" as being in a category by itself. It's a deeply cynical commentary on a drug-infested border town in which the cops are tokens, life is cheap, depravity is just around the corner, and the good guys never win.

It's not a movie. The plot is so thin as to almost not be there. It's a day-in-the-life rant that has nothing redeeming to offer. The acting is great and you can't look away and it stays with you for weeks, like the stink that comes after a long physical ordeal in which there is no opportunity to bathe.

I left this "performance" and couldn't wait to go to a movie with a plot so as to wash "No Country" out of my mind. The Coen brothers have an affinity for depraved and mindless violence for the sake of being depraved and mindless.

It deserves to be ignored for the main Oscar categories. There are too many other good movies out there, including ones that showcase unreasonably violent behavior: "There will be Blood," "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," and "Michael Clayton," and "The Valley of Elah."

Joe


Add a Comment

Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration! Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online. Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff
 
We prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.

Name: *
Select your Neighborhood or School Community: * Not sure?
Comment: *
Enter the verification code exactly as shown, using capital and lowercase letters, in the multi-colored box. *
Verification Code:   
 

AlmanacNews.com   ©2013 Embarcadero Media.
All rights reserved.