The Great, the Good and the Ungly
The problem with omnibus films, in which several directors contribute a segment to a common cause, is inevitably one outshines the others and you are forced to make a choice. Here are three of today's most prominent directors given thirty to forty minutes to expound on the linking themes of eroticism and desire. It is difficult to absorb the vision of one artist let alone three cinemasters, especially when two are not performing on all cylinders.The project was initiated by Stephane Tchal Gadjieff, producer of Antonioni's last feature, "Beyond the Clouds." Partially paralyzed from a stroke, the legendary director was still eager to continue making films. Inspired by his devotion, Gadjieff devised a trilogy focusing on the subject of "eros." According to the press notes, "The concept was to have two major young directors, who have been on record to say that they have been influenced by his film-making, accompany him. Each would do a segment on the erotic subject of their choice...Also, we wanted Antonioni to tell us near the end of his life what 'eros' was to him." After considering numerous candidates, Antonioni settled on a pair of diverse talents. His admirers of choice were Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong's master of mood and unrequited romance ("In the Mood for Love," "Days of Being Wild") and Indie-darling-turned Hollywood-heavyweight Steven Soderbergh ("King of the Hill," "Ocean's 12").
When assembling a trilogy film, rule of thumb generally centers the weaker of the three passages while saving the best for last. "Equilibrium" received proper placement. In terms of everything from concept to execution, Soderbergh's segment is far outclassed by his colleagues'. With a patient's back to him, how does a bored shrink pass the fifty minutes? The director took great delight in building a tale of eroticism around Alan Arkin and Robert Downey, Jr., but the yuk stops there. Arkin is very amusing as the scoptophiliac psychiatrist who sneaks peeps in-between Downey's catharses, but it's a one-joke concept that at 27 minutes goes on far too long. Animation guru Tex Avery's paranoid masterpiece "S-h-h-h-h!" made better use of similar material, plus adding a mood paranoia, at one-seventh the length.
Although built around him, for the sake of structure and pacing, the film should have opened with Anotonioni's segment. Co-scripted by lifelong collaborator Tonino Guerra ("L'Avventura," "Blowup"), "The Dangerous Thread of Things" has been described as a "mental adventure." Carlo di Carlo, curator of Italy's Antonioni museum, says, "Antonioni wonders: is a film born first in response to an intimate need of its author or are the images destined to have a value - ontologically - for what they are?" A brilliant notion (would one expect anything less of the director?), but given the allotted time, were it not for Mr. Carlo's guidance, I never would have been aware of this concept.
An American and his Italian wife are so bored with each other that they barely notice the beauty of Antonioni's surrounding landscapes. He doesn't seem to care that she strolls through town in see-through attire. A beautiful young girl enters the picture, the plot vanishes and we spend the rest of the time focusing on textures both man-made and of the flesh.
Wong Kar Wai's opening salvo is so powerful that it dwarfs everything that follows. Inspired by the SARS epidemic, the director fashioned his segment around "the act of 'touch.'" Once again Kar Wai's scorching, rain-soaked summers are painstakingly brought to life through cinematographer Christopher Doyle's unforgettable lensing. Chang Chen plays a nervous tailor's apprentice sent on his first solo fitting. Miss Hua (Gong Li) is a legendary concubine who strips the boy down, gives him hand release and instructs, "Remember this feeling and you'll make beautiful clothes." Years pass and even after countless fittings, the subject of their first encounter is never breached. The shame of listening to Miss Hua's sexual encounters each time he waits for their appointment only adds to his excitement. When sick and sponsor-less, she finally mentions the unmentionable, but her body is no good anymore. "All that's left is this pair of hands. You don't mind, do you?" When it comes to suppressing emotion and establishing mood through style, no one at work today can top Wong Kar Wai.Anyone who saw "In the Mood for Love" knows that these characters don't stand a chance at happiness, but plot is not the point. This is a film where style is not only subject, but substance as well. What he shows you is never as important as how he shows it. His approach is pure cinema, transcending and redeeming even the slightest of stories with the lens of his camera.
"The Hand" - ********* "Equilibrium" - ** "The Dangerous Thread of Things" - ******
score 9/10
scorseseisgod-1 12 November 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1215721/34865
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