Today's theme is love stories that don't end happily ever after featuring films by Ronny Yu, Andrei Tarkovsky, Wong Kar-wai, Robert Bresson, Kathryn Bigelow, and Jacques Demy.
Ashes of Time Redux (2008)
This film is nothing but tragic romances. Every story in this episodic martial arts epic is filled with people in love someone they either can't be with or are in love with someone else. Originally released in 1994, the film was completely reworked in 2008 by director Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love). Haven't seen the original cut because it isn't widely available so can't really say how they compare, but this version wasn't very good. Think there is a good film in here somewhere struggling to get out, but it never manages to. The fight scenes were overseen by the legendary Sammo Hung, but I can't tell if he did a good job because they've been shot and edited into incoherence. All in all, a waste of such a talented cast that consists of Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, and both Tony Leungs.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Lancelot du Lac (1974)
Returning to Camelot after failing to find the Holy Grail, Lancelot resumes his affair with Guinevere, unaware that Mordred is plotting his downfall. I honestly struggle to think of a single film that has ever managed to do the Lancelot/Guinevere romance well, and Robert Bresson minimalist effort might just be the worst of them all. Yes, even worse than First Knight (you can at least have a laugh at that). It obviously had no money and looks like they filmed it all on someone's farm, what little cash there was spent on the jousting scenes. I could forgive all that if there was at least an interesting story here, but we just get a flat retelling of the legend delivered by a cast with all the life and passion of a paving slab.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Solaris (1972)
Andrei Tarkovsky's adaption of Stanisław Lem's 1961 novel sees psychologist Kris Kelvin sent to a space station in orbit of the strange ocean world of Solaris to evaluate the mental state of its crew. When he arrives he finds the station in shambles, one crew dead by his own hand, and far more people on the station than there really should be, including his late wife. On the surface a story about scientists slowing losing their minds trying to understand something truly unknowable, but really the story of a fractured relationship being given a second chance even when it probably shouldn't. Tarkovsky was contemptible of science fiction, finding it too obsessed with the technical instead of the human element. As such, Solaris is less concerned with the how and why of what is happening, but the effect it is having on the people. With its slow pace and near three hour length, this isn't for everyone, but I vastly prefer it to Steven Soderbergh's brisker remake thanks to the superior cinematography, more interesting visual aesthetic, and less sappy ending.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
17-year-old Geneviève Emery (Catherine Deneuve) works in her mother’s umbrella shop in the town of Cherbourg. She's fallen madly in love with Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo), a 20-year-old mechanic, but their blossoming love affair is suddenly torn apart when he's drafted for two years of service in the French army. Jacques Demy's musical, the second in a loose tetralogy of films featuring some of the same characters and themes, is a colourful yet bittersweet tale of lost love that is more interested in giving the audience emotional honesty than sentimental satisfaction.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Bride with White Hair (1993)
Master swordsman Cho Yi-Hang (Leslie Cheung) meets and falls in love with Lien (Brigitte Lin), a warrior for an enemy clan. Tired of the fighting, they plan to run away together, but fate soon turns them into enemies. There's so much to love about this film such as Ronny Yu's direction, the performances of Lin and Cheung, the cinematography of Peter Pau, the costumes by Emi Wada, and the great fight choreography. But like so many wuxia action films from this time the pacing is all out of whack due to the manic production schedule (the whole film was shot in two months). It really could've done with an extra half hour to better flesh out the central romance and the crucial final act.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Point Break (1991)
Rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover with a group of surfers in order to catch a notorious gang of bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents. The more time he spends with the surfers, the more Utah finds himself drawn to their adrenaline fuelled lifestyle and philosophy of their leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). Reeves made an action movie at the beginning, middle, and end of the 90s, and each one of them is a genre defining masterpiece. He also made several romantic dramas, but never had the same spark with any of his other leads as he does here with Swayze. No one was more of aware of this than director Kathryn Bigelow, who really went out of her way to shoot them both in the most erotically charged way she could. The opening scene of Utah on the gun range in the soaking rain is practically pornographic.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011 More Mark Greig
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