August 14, 2011

THE RED SHOES

Powell and Pressburger (1948).
'What do you want from life?  To live?'


'To dance.'




But what if that is the very thing that will kill you?




The red shoes represent what we search for beyond compassion and love from others: faith.  Art is 'religion'.  

August 1, 2011

THE PAWNBROKER

Pictures are not drawn much darker than this.  A powerful portrait of what happens if man willingly accepts the worst human afflictions;  the habits of loneliness and greed are isolated in The Pawnbroker (1964). Sidney Lumet directs a powerful characterisation of a jewish businessman in down-and-out post-war Harlem.

Rod Steiger unflinchingly portrays a man who's hope has been been stolen by experience of the Second World War - many suggest he was robbed of the Best Actor Oscar he was nominated for.  Quincy Jones' brooding jazz score does not allow the tension to dissipate whilst striking photography is appropriately claustrophobic and high contrast.

The characters relationships are illustrated by the distance between them - each has built an island in isolation from the other, and only when it is too late does our protagonist realise the implications of such determined self interest.  A chilling warning to anyone.

The film suggests there is no innocence or sentimentality associated with loss.  Bleak but beautifully effective - an antidote to light relief.
















The Pawnbroker is based on a book by Edward Lewis Wallant.  






Other must see films directed by Sidney Lumet are 12 Angry MenFail-Safe, & Network...