Reviews by fernando

One the best films, if not the best, on political Vatican. Great theme of last days of 'temporal power' before Garibaldi entrance in Rome and intimate, moving, direct, no nonsense dialogues between Manfredi, his lovable assitant and countess Flaminia (Carmen Scarpitta, best acting in the film).

Ford is commited to the emphasis of Figueroa´s photo and Fernandez's dominion, he's a kind of tourist filmmaker in México, but you feel a special tension of a great artist trying to find his own style in loaned territory, casting Fonda and Bond as his men, loving Dolores, understanding Armendariz,depicting the nigtmarish pursue of the wine with Fortunio Bonanova, the best supporting actor in the lot

Could be an inteligent comedy of virtue but somehow, Stevens, who has already made the great "Alice Adams" with Kate, misses the point. Perhaps, because the gags are too silly.

Whta a loss ofa story. The director wastes in one single boring trip that pales compared with Ang Lee's Pi (is the same route, in reverse), the obsession of a life. You see Heyerdahls battling with nature, not with nature and society, wich is the main theme.

I love this. The almost dreamlike, passing through the mirror accident that throws Bartholomew to seamen's dominion is perfect. What follows in not so perfect (the ethnicity of Tracy is laughable, but who cares in 1937)but has an epic force, with sentimental education and all that, that only a director as Fleming and the MGM roaring lion could achieve so naturally, so easily, so moving in the close ups of Tracy and Bartholomew. Rooney was never so quiet, Barrymore great in his tongue in cheek feud with Oscar O'Shea.

The epic of the No campaign in Chile,narrated by a fimmaker rooted in publicity. The No spots had the humour,vitality,risk, profound comprehension of political marketing as one kind of marketing, that the film itself,has not.

To hell with all the conceptual embodiment of the film,beginning with the obscure first sequence one the man in the movies. I just like the force, madness, agonic sexuality, seductive ugliness of Lavant,the handy elegance of Scob. The sole sequence of the cemetery with la bete klauskinskian Lavant and la belle Eva Mendes,deserves my 3 star rating

Great cast (especially Murray and Norton) great photo and nice little islander universe and vintage 60s. I love the beach scene, with the boys dancing and discovering sexual games, its a pity Anderson didn´t extend this part.

Last silent Lubitsh is essetially romantic, with the suicide of lovers thanks to the fury of elements (avalanche of snow in this case). The Lubitsh touch is just in one great scene, the masked ball, with the flamboyant Barrymore jumping as Fairbanks and cooling off his desire for Camilla Horn, with Mona Rico.

The stilyzed and set design conscious direction seems the justification to revisit 'Karenina'more than an choice in itself. But I like the icy train motif and the handsomnest of Bronsky.