I just watched The Zone of Interest on Apple TV+. Directed by Jonathan Glazer. I’ve read the book. The film takes the central idea of the book, which is of a “normal” German woman, who happens to be married to the commandant of Auschwitz and lives in a big house adjoining the camp, but more or less oblivious to the horrors taking place next door; but it omits other elements which are central to the book, such as a plot.
In some ways it’s better than the book, in others it’s worse.
It’s a horrible film, but extremely powerful. I’ll be thinking about it for quite a while.
It’s superbly made. I was really impressed by the cinematography. Virtually every shot is from a static camera, and they are all detached from the action, such as it is, with not a single close-up that I can remember.
Yep, they wanted the family to eventually feel almost as though they weren’t acting, just going about the daily business with a few guide rails and dialogue. Pretty great
Smile 2 was a massive disappointment for me.
Sosie Bacon was so good in the previous movie, that the lead couldn’t live up to in No.2.
Concept may be getting tiring.
I don’t hold much hope for an improvement in the inevitable No.3.
I saw this recently too and I loved it, the lead is a bit wooden, and I think some of those one liners would have really landed better with an actual actor but it was just bonkers good…that fight scene I the alley way…
So I caught the Michael J Fox documentary by Davis Guggenheim, called “Still” on Apple TV+.
A powerful docufilm alright, tracking how MJF fought to get his break into adland and 70s TV as a child actor, then the ‘80s TV and beyond. You know, Family Ties, Back to the Future etc. And then Whack. Early onset Parkinson’s disease at the ripe old age of 30 in 1991. He hid it from all in the industry until he simply couldn’t, come 1998.
I read his book many moons ago but to see it unfold and how he and his family coped with it is a great watch.
Local Hero (1983)
Director: Bill Forsyth
Cast: Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Peter Capaldi, Denis Lawson
A Texas oil and gas company seeking to buy a small Scottish village and the bay it sits on to build a new terminal dispatches MacIntyre, an acquisitions executive, to broker a deal. Mac is quickly charmed by the beauty of the locale and its people, and soon starts to doubt his assignment.
A little British film with a fairly prominent reputation, I’ve seen it included on several lists of most underrated films of the 80s. It has some lovely scenery, a nice score by Mark Knopfler and Riegert’s performance makes Mac, who initially comes across as a corporate yuppy schmuck, a sympathetic character. Burt Lancaster has a nice turn as Mac’s eccentric, star-gazing boss, and I also enjoyed Lawson’s performance as Gordon, the local accountant/publican.
Subtly funny, gimmick-free and a host of likeable, well-played characters. Oh, and it apparently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Wonderful movie, for me definitely 8.5 rather than 7. So many lovely little moments, and a strong story to carry it through. I must have watched it 6 or 7 times, and it always surprises.
