WatchSeeLookView - Film Style Vol 01

While I do like to look at words on a page, I also frequently like someone else to prepare the pictures for me and then run them together one after the other very quickly to give the appearance of motion (I like a good film, they’re cracking). Here are some things what I have watched or rewatched recently and the very mild theme is “they’re a bit odd”. (As always, I’m only really going to talk about that I’ve mostly or entirely enjoyed - this here blog is generally about spreading the word on things what I like. There’s plenty of actual film critics out there if you want to hear about all the bad stuff.)

Enemy
In a nutshell:- Man discovers doppelganger and begins to unravel
Why it’s good:- Denis Villeneuve has directed some films which I went into with no (or even low expectations) recently - Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 - so I was keen to go back and view one of his earlier works. There’s an odd sense of doom that seems to hang over the film, in a way that is similar to David Lynch’s films - that feeling that something horrible is lurking just around the corner. I think it’s down to the look and use of sound - like David Lynch, Denis Villeneuve also uses sound in way that creates menace and even terror. Jake Gyllenhaal also gives a strong dual performance and convincing portrays the two separate characters. Definitely one to watch.

Leningrad Cowboys Go America
In a nutshell:- Oddball Siberian band go on a deadpan US road trip
Why it’s good:- What’s not to like a bunch of Finnish men with cartoonish quiffs and equally cartoonish Winklepicker shoes pretending to be a Siberian rock and roll band on a road trip across America to play at a wedding in Mexico? Did I mention they’ve also got the corpse of a fellow frozen band mate (whose quiff and shoes poke through his coffin) along for the ride? Nothing really happens but that’s not the point - it’s the deadpan way in which nothing that’s the point. This was very much my sort of thing and I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long to get around to watching it. I’ll definitely check out more of director Aki Kaurismaki’s films after this (there’s a sequel so I’ll probably start with that...).

Just a couple there but those’ll keep you going for now, I reckon.