After writing so much about galleries in the previous posts, we’ve realised that perhaps we should write about all the films we watch too. This is because we’re very invested in notions of storytelling and narrative development so it seems appropriate to discuss that here, even if only briefly, so here are the films we’ve watched in the last week. The Shape of Water was a totally disorientating/moving love story between a mute woman and a merman. One moment there’s a totally beautiful scene where whole rooms are immersed in water, and next we’re watching the military abuse their power when it comes to scientific discoveries.
We also saw Downsizing, which had high hopes for but after the first hour they seemed to give up on all the thought-provoking ideas they had just laid out. The film sets up the notion that issues of over-population and other environmental concerns are going to all be solved by shrinking the population down to 12 inches tall. We then see a small level of push back from citizens who are asking if the ‘smalls’ with have the same rights such as voting etc. but none of the political ramifications are ever brought back.
A surprisingly enjoyable watch was Thor: Ragnarok. It’s the latest instalment of the Thor films and we’ve been attempting to educate ourselves with regards to the Marvel universe, so this felt like an appropriate edition. The jokes are well timed and thoughtful, with some great new characters, along with the classic smashy smashy fighting. However, it’s not just a well-made film but a clever one too; running through the film is a theme of the past and how it informs the future, all the characters are constantly fighting internal struggles with who they were and who they want to be.
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri was absolutely amazing! A definite contender for best film of 2017. A tragic story where there appears to be no right or wrong, but just people doing what they feel should be done. The way the film really got inside our heads, constantly manipulating how we felt about the characters and their actions, was emotionally draining in the best way.
A beautiful film was Coco. A beautiful new Pixar work about the Mexican day of the dead. Even though there’s some obvious plot points, it managed to inform us without being didactic or boring in its delivery. There was a genuinely loving message about family and really tugs on the heartstrings the whole way through and especially towards the end.
Coco was a great double bill combined with Frida, arguably the most famous painter in Mexican history. It was a well told love story but felt a little sympathetic towards the misogynistic activities of Diego Rivera. Our favourite aspect was the way the paintings were utilised to punctuated the story; truly wonderful.
Even though tennis isn’t one of our favourite past times, another film we went for was Battle of the Sexes. Even though we didn’t know about the ending of the match or much of the story at all, we found that by the end of the film we felt as if the “battle” had already been won. Brilliant performances from Steve Carrell and Emma Stone, although the tension was between Stone and Bill Pullman’s character who really did think women were inferior to men.
Final film of this week was The Levelling, a super bleak British drama about country life. a quote that seems to sum up the whole film was “I’m not feeling guilt. I wasn’t even here.” The whole way through the film the tensions rise, until eventually the barriers break and the emotions – chiefly despair and a deep-flowing love – come flooding which creates a precisely and powerfully modulated climax.
