Parlez vous Francais?
I have been watching French films recently and I can't seem to get enough of them. Whilst the majority of them are set in Paris there is most definitely a very distinct sensibility going on there that is not apparent in cinema from other countries.
I try to think of English films that have characters that are interesting and stories and make use of the city that they're in but am pretty hard stretched to think of really good films.
The trouble is that although loathe to admit it the English really want to be American, they take their lead from American music and film. The big English film release this week is another Mockney Gangster film from Mr Madonna and when the English try to do character studies inevitably they seem to be in Period costume.
I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say here but I just feel there is a charm that is non-existent in today's film makers whose eye is on the prize of Hollywood. And what English films that do get made have such a limited release that blink and they're gone before you get a chance to see them. For example 'Amelie' one can cannot imagine being created other than in France instead we get 'Four Weddings & A Funeral' or 'Bridget Jones'or the other extreme of 'Trainspotting' where's the middle ground?
I try to think of English films that have characters that are interesting and stories and make use of the city that they're in but am pretty hard stretched to think of really good films.
The trouble is that although loathe to admit it the English really want to be American, they take their lead from American music and film. The big English film release this week is another Mockney Gangster film from Mr Madonna and when the English try to do character studies inevitably they seem to be in Period costume.
I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say here but I just feel there is a charm that is non-existent in today's film makers whose eye is on the prize of Hollywood. And what English films that do get made have such a limited release that blink and they're gone before you get a chance to see them. For example 'Amelie' one can cannot imagine being created other than in France instead we get 'Four Weddings & A Funeral' or 'Bridget Jones'or the other extreme of 'Trainspotting' where's the middle ground?
posted by fb at
8:34 PM
3 Comments:
Yes, I'd like to find that middle ground too. Woody Allen had to come from N.Y. to do Matchpoint, which could be that kind of film.
But the current strategy must be working in some kind of way because look at the success British film makers and actors have had in the Oscars, if we have to use that 'measure' of success.
Are you refering to recent French films or the 'classics'?
Do you watch them with subtitle? I watch almost all films with subtitles.
my friend has been going crazy over italian films. it's funny because i look at some british films/tv shows and they are a breath of fresh air, compared to the usual american films (indie labels excluded). but maybe it's just that the grass is always greener.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home