This is a continuation of Kris’ “favorite movies of 2009″ list. Part 1 can be found HERE.
ANGEL- A
I had recognized the cover of this film from something my friend August had posted somewhere online and decided to check it out based on that simple recommendation. This film, based in France (and also in French), follows the seemly worthless life of Andre (Jamel Debbouzeis) as he is at his wit’s end and decides to end his pointless life. He is “saved” by a beautiful woman, Angela (Rie Rasmussenwho would normally have nothing to do with a loser like himself, but seems to have been dealt a worse hand then he. They meet as both are attempting suicide by jumping off a bridge and end up sticking together after Angela pledges her servitude to Andre after he saves her from drowning.
The story line is sort of an unconventional love story centered around values of self-worth and redemption. There is somewhat of a twist at the end of the film as Andre finds out more and more about Angela as the film unfolds. In the end, a man who at first appears worthless to himself and everyone around him rises above and beyond his capabilities.
THE BROWN BUNNY
I would consider this an “art film” and if you don’t have an open mind or an hour or two to set aside I wouldn’t bother with it. I found out about this film from some “most scandalous films” list or something like that. It is mostly known for a scene in the movie where Chole Sevigny performs fellatio on (at the time boyfriend) actor/director Vincent Gallo. The scene was apparently shot in a room with just the two of them by a camera Gallo set up himself. If you’re trying to watch the film to see this, I would just skip to the end if I were you or just look up a clip or videos of it online. The film is centered around motorcylist Bud Clay (played by Gallo) as he travels with his motorcyle in a van towards his next race. He interacts with only a few characters along the way, all of which are women and all of which he shares an incredibly intimate but short moment with. He is lamenting over a lost love and has “lost the ability to love” even when it is presented in front of him and both he and the woman he’s with are willing.
The story line and way that this film are shot really amazed me. It’s such a personal film and the audience begins to feel intrusive while watching Bud take this trip. Outside the hardcore porn style ending, the film’s conclusion is both powerful and telling of Bud’s journey and his current state of mind.
The film was shot in 16mm film and then enlarged to 35mm in order to give it a certain grain effect found in a lot of older films.Among the controversy of this film was a small battle between Gallo and reknown film critic Roger Ebert who said that the film was the worst film in the history of the Cannes Film Festival where it was first shown. Other critics said that the film was too long and dragged on in certain scenes, particularly in the beginning of the movie with footage of a race track and another of Bud while he is driving. Gallo ended up cutting around 25 min of footage in the final version of the film, which still has its moments of drag.
I didn’t really mind how much this film dragged because I thought that it related well to the storyline. A long roadtrip anywhere is very boring especially if you are driving alone. It’s an event usually characterized with exciting events and self-discovery but in reality there is a lot of downtime in between. That a long with the mental state of depression and lonliness of the main character made the long scenes of nothing in the movie acceptable.
Watch this movie with an open mind and you’ll be rewarded in the end.
Tags: best of 2009
