Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Torn-Up Virgin Tree - A Few Movies




Three Movies We Saw This Weekend:
(skip to number 3 if you want the torn-up virgin tree)

1) "Sparrow"
A convent-cinderella story complete with evil stepmother and problem stepsisters. In Sicily: Catania and its countryside. With views of Etna. And barred convent windows. Nice scene where Maria stands up for a dog. And lemon trees. Love vs "Bride of Christ." So-So.

2) "Mona Lisa Smile"
Some great feel-good moments. If that's what you're after. And I was. Sometimes situations and characters resolve too easily. "Formulaic." And one big slip-up's when That 70's Show guy (Eric Forman) gets in Julia Robert's face on the dance floor. It completely undermines the nifty and luminescent Julia Stiles I-want-to-be-a-housewife speech that comes just a little bit later. I wrote somewhere before about how I sometimes like systems where everything clicks into place. I liked this.

3) La Dolce Vita - The Torn-up Virgin Tree

(In Italian with Spanish subtitles.) A 3-hr feast we spread over three consecutive nights. Great portrait of the bored rich. The lost. The Italian: religion, women, fashion, movie stars.

Especially wonderful scenes:

---Father parts from son. Gets in cab.

---Sex in a stranger's house. Will you invite us in for a cup of coffee?

---Helicoptered statue (en route to the vatican)

O, hell, the movie's all wonderful scenes

I keep thinking about this movie and everywhere I go, on every street corner and in every plaza, a brightly-lit La Dolce Vita



I want to howl like a dog. Walk round with a cat on my head. (a kitten, actually). And, deep in the night, walk into the Trevi Fountains with my great and magnificent hair and breasts. Because, of course, everyone wants a piece of this torn-up virgin tree.

3 comments:

Molly Gaudry said...

http://greencitynews.blogspot.com/2009/03/sleep.html

I, too, had to blog Mona Lisa Smile. WEIRD.

Phil Hopkins said...

I've only seen Dolce Vita of the movies you mention, but I play it all the time at parties at home, on mute. While I like it with sound, it's perfect for supplying pretty pictures.

Rauan Klassnik said...

Molly--- yeah, Mona Lisa is certainly a like/hate relationship... but full of stars. and good moments.
blah, blah. i'm done with it. maybe.

Phil: yes, La Dolce Vita, a bunch of sweet, pretty moments. didn't you say something similar about the Last Emperor once ? (or maybe you were quoting someone else....)