Therese/The Island/Austeria
In the film Therese, about the Roman Catholic saint Therese of Liseux, the filmmakers do not establish their characters well. There are many scenes in which the music seems like it is telling us what what ought to feel (in fact, there may be more dialogue than music!) but how can we be moved? If there is no emotional investment, there is no payoff either. The lead character comes across as whiny and maudlin, but I read her autobiography a long time ago, and she was not like the way they were portraying her. For example, on her deathbed the film's Therese bemoans the fact she can't have a chocolate eclair- what a pious dispostion! but beyond that, I distinctly remember her saying in her writings that she perferred savory dishes to sweet ones! And yet, this film gets approved by the Vatican? Standards must be slacking off for imprimaturs!
The second half of the film, after she enters the convent, is better than the first half. The themes are about the renunciation of the will for God's sake, simplicity of faith, and how one can be used of God just by being oneself, without trying to aspire to "greatness".
Similar problems of character development beset an entirely different sort of film: Michael Bay's semi-obnoxious The Island, kind of a cross between The Matrix, Logan's Run, and The Sixth Day. It could have been made as a meditation on the subject of consciousness. Do people have an innate awareness of both God and sex, or is it possible to weed it out? Would a clone share its parent's memories and inclinations? But these questions are only touched upon, with the main focus being a rip-roaring action film, which would have been fine, if the director's infamous Attention Deficit Disorder Style didn't make everything so bloody hard to follow. As it is, the film, at more than 2 hours, is both far too long, and yet, ironically, the premise is not developed enough.
Austeria is a 1983 Polish film about a Jewish innkeeper who takes in some Hasidic Jews, an Austrian baroness, and a Hungarian hussar fleeing from the Cossacks during World War I. It's very low budget, as I guess it might be before the Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, but sometimes this is distracting as there are some shots which are out of focus. It's refreshing to see something about European Jewry that's not in reference to the Shoah.
The theme of the film is the struggle between faith and doubt in the midest of persecution, war, and conflicting desires. The doubts of the innkeepers are contrasted with the mysticism of his largely Hasidic guests, who try to chase away their wicked thoughts by praising God.
Organ Transplants and Cellular Memories
In line with the theme of The Island, one might be interested in perusing this article:
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/CellularMemories.html
According to this study of patients who have received transplanted organs, particularly hearts, it is not uncommon for memories, behaviours, preferences and habits associated with the donor to be transferred to the recipient.
The second half of the film, after she enters the convent, is better than the first half. The themes are about the renunciation of the will for God's sake, simplicity of faith, and how one can be used of God just by being oneself, without trying to aspire to "greatness".
Similar problems of character development beset an entirely different sort of film: Michael Bay's semi-obnoxious The Island, kind of a cross between The Matrix, Logan's Run, and The Sixth Day. It could have been made as a meditation on the subject of consciousness. Do people have an innate awareness of both God and sex, or is it possible to weed it out? Would a clone share its parent's memories and inclinations? But these questions are only touched upon, with the main focus being a rip-roaring action film, which would have been fine, if the director's infamous Attention Deficit Disorder Style didn't make everything so bloody hard to follow. As it is, the film, at more than 2 hours, is both far too long, and yet, ironically, the premise is not developed enough.
Austeria is a 1983 Polish film about a Jewish innkeeper who takes in some Hasidic Jews, an Austrian baroness, and a Hungarian hussar fleeing from the Cossacks during World War I. It's very low budget, as I guess it might be before the Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, but sometimes this is distracting as there are some shots which are out of focus. It's refreshing to see something about European Jewry that's not in reference to the Shoah.
The theme of the film is the struggle between faith and doubt in the midest of persecution, war, and conflicting desires. The doubts of the innkeepers are contrasted with the mysticism of his largely Hasidic guests, who try to chase away their wicked thoughts by praising God.
Organ Transplants and Cellular Memories
In line with the theme of The Island, one might be interested in perusing this article:
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/CellularMemories.html
According to this study of patients who have received transplanted organs, particularly hearts, it is not uncommon for memories, behaviours, preferences and habits associated with the donor to be transferred to the recipient.
posted by Amateur Film Critic at 10:43 AM
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