tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post8003242118039568651..comments2022-03-24T16:11:50.124-04:00Comments on The Man From Porlock: No Direction Home (Che and Sin Nombre)Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-31817143893074760452010-02-02T20:26:47.750-05:002010-02-02T20:26:47.750-05:00Greg,
The disparate styles for "The Argentin...Greg,<br /><br />The disparate styles for "The Argentine" and "Guerrilla" work well. There's at least a point to them, though if Soderbergh had wanted to be truly radical then I think he should have flipped them around. <i>Che</i> has flaws, but I can't say it's a disappointment. Or, if it is a disappointment, it's still one I highly recommend.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-79917489403127833132010-02-02T20:23:58.041-05:002010-02-02T20:23:58.041-05:00Thank you, Stephen. I'm honored and looking fo...Thank you, Stephen. I'm honored and looking forward to reading the other links.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-91968975576861301422010-02-02T16:10:19.740-05:002010-02-02T16:10:19.740-05:00Craig, sorry to show up so late. I posted some To...Craig, sorry to show up so late. I posted some Toerifc banners on Sunday but otherwise have been offline for the most part until my Oscar post today and just saw this. <br /><br />I have actively avoided Soderbergh for years now. His movies so consistently let me down that I feel there are other directors to whom I should devote my time. But I actually did have some interest in this until hearing from so many that it was yet another Soderbergh letdown. And this - <br /><br /><i>That I find "The Argentine" superb and "Guerrilla" a grind may say more about my own taste than the quality of either film; maybe, when it comes to war movies, I tend to prefer the Hollywood-style to the documentary version</i>.<br /><br />I of course agree with since I said in my own piece that I prefer the Hollywood style to the gritty war piece. Frankly, that this movie is made in two different styles makes my desire to see it even less now. Had it been all of the first one it might have been different.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730146625671701859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-82474673503922893712010-02-02T07:42:34.215-05:002010-02-02T07:42:34.215-05:00I don't want to barge in Craig but I've po...I don't want to barge in Craig but I've posted your review of Sita Sings the Blues as part of a selection from the blogosphere. <br /><br />Please pop by if you're interested.Stephenhttp://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-61581400486643296342010-02-01T22:09:23.291-05:002010-02-01T22:09:23.291-05:00"Rigidly freewheeling." Wow. I hadn'..."Rigidly freewheeling." Wow. I hadn't read that before. Put that shit on a T-shirt. Good stuff.<br /><br />And, I agree with you on this ...<br /><br /><i>I think Soderbergh is more interesting in the process of moviemaking itself, that he wanted to try his hand at a large-scale epic (as well as simultaneously deconstructing the genre) and here was his big chance.</i><br /><br />Or, at least, it's hard for me to point to anything in <i>Che</i> that would disprove that analysis. And that's probably damning enough.<br /><br />For what it's worth, I remember texting Hokahey after I saw the Roadshow, because he was envious I had the chance to see it. My text was something like: "Great filmmaking. Good film." I hate to boil criticism down to something that's terse even by Twitter standards, but that still feels about right.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-55128988146630862692010-02-01T21:47:26.453-05:002010-02-01T21:47:26.453-05:00Great thoughts, Jason. I especially like what you ...Great thoughts, Jason. I especially like what you say about <i>Che</i>'s geography (emphasized with the maps that kick off each film). It's an unusually expansive picture for Soderbergh, who seems to prefer interiors despite being quite gifted at conjuring atmosphere (<i>Out of Sight</i>) and a sense of time and place (Depression-era St. Louis in <i>King of the Hill</i>).<br /><br />In many ways, you and Steven are right, Soderbergh is at the top of his game here. Yet as much as I admire the accomplishment, I can't help but feel there's something wrong with a filmmaker when after a nearly five-hour movie you're not left with a sense of <i>why</i> he wanted to make it. (You certainly come away with more than an inkling in Wolfgang Petersen's five-hour <i>Das Boot</i> director's cut, to cite one example.)<br /><br />Like everything else, I think Soderbergh is more interesting in the process of moviemaking itself, that he wanted to try his hand at a large-scale epic (as well as simultaneously deconstructing the genre) and here was his big chance. That's not a bad thing. Yet I'm reminded once again of David Edelstein's description of Soderbergh, which couldn't be more apt: "He’s a paradox: a control freak who overcompensates by being loose—then can’t let anything interfere with that looseness. He’s rigidly freewheeling."Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-63756360910248961522010-02-01T20:11:32.785-05:002010-02-01T20:11:32.785-05:00I haven't seen this since the Roadshow version...I haven't seen this since the Roadshow version. I wanted to write about the film then but I didn't have the time. I'd love to see it again.<br /><br />In short, I thought both parts were fantastic exhibitions of filmmaking perfection. In <i>The Girlfriend Experience</i> (which I like, by the way), Soderbergh experiments with camera angles that make you go, "huh?" In <i>Che</i> the camera is <i>always</i> in the right place. The action scenes have a marvelous sense of geography, which lends a "you are here" power to it all. If there was a moment I questioned a single shot, I can't remember it.<br /><br />And yet I couldn't shake this: "there's something bothersome about a filmmaker's lack of emotional engagement with his subject." Yes. Exactly. And, to be clear, by subject I mean everything that the camera sees in this picture, not just Che. It was all just so emotionless. I'll need a second viewing to see what I think about that.<br /><br />As for the styles of the two films, your analysis works well, but more important, I think, are the moods of the two pictures. The first picture is the hero movie, which is exactly why it's "lushly romantic." The second picture is the film about the fall. I think Soderbergh shoots in two different styles as if to underline that to only look at certain parts of Che's life is to be filled with entirely different moods about the man. If he'd kept with the "romantic" vibe for the second picture, Che's downfall would have seemed more heroic. Instead it treats him as something more of a simple outlaw.<br /><br />Anyway, those are my thoughts about a year later.<br /><br />Great review.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-985631303849815492010-01-31T19:39:25.795-05:002010-01-31T19:39:25.795-05:00Was curious what you thought of this one, Steven, ...Was curious what you thought of this one, Steven, and I'm glad to hear the second part improves on repeated viewings. I agree that both halves complement each other well and are essential to see in tandem. I did like the way Soderbergh staged Che's death scene (that's not a spoiler, right?), a unique stylistic choice. While I have other issues with his filmmaking style, I agree that this is easily his best work in years.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-82108653489113034082010-01-31T17:10:52.834-05:002010-01-31T17:10:52.834-05:00I've seen Che twice now. The first time in the...I've seen Che twice now. The first time in the theater as the Roadshow version and then the other time a couple of months back on Sundance Channel. After the first time, I had the same exact reaction that the first film was stronger than the second one. It was watching it the second time that I appreciated that the second film was meant to be a bit of a repetitive slog, which I'm sure is not going to appeal to everyone, but I understood why it was necessary to tell Che Guevera's story. <br /><br />I do hope many give this film a chance now that it's on Criterion because I do believe it is one of Soderbergh's best films and has a more sure vision behind its construction than most give it credit for. I do think it is his best film in a long while.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05571206086671634525noreply@blogger.com