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June 05, 2006
M is for Movies
We saw two films at MoMA last weekend, both of which were part of "To Save and Project: The Fourth MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation." I have to give Derek credit for the tickets -- he is always finding films for us to see at MoMA (and always getting tickets, since he can get them free). The last one we saw was introduced by Martin Scorsese himself (it was "The Red Shoes", a gorgeous film). As an added bonus, the crowd at these films is the most eclectic bunch of old-New-York characters we've ever seen (think crazy hair, outfits and glasses from the 70s, questionable social skills, and an I've-been-doing-this-since-MoMA-opened attitude).
First, we saw "Bunny Lake is Missing," a 1965 British film about an American mother's search for her missing four-year-old girl in London. It seemed to take some inspiration from Psycho. The plot has great promise -- especially since the mother is new to London and clearly out of place: the inspector investigating the disappearance starts insinuating that the girl may never have existed (psychodrama!). The audience hasn't seen the girl either, so this seems feasible for a little while, but the whole thing doesn't quite pull together. There are too many scenes that just don't seem believable, and the audience is given a few too many clues. The end is quite overdone. Unfortunately, a remake is in the works with Reese Witherspoon starring -- I can't really see much good coming from that.
Next, we saw "M" (1931), which was really extraordinary, considering its status as the first film with sound in Germany. It was written and directed by Fritz Lang of the fabulous "Metropolis". The cinematography was absolutely wonderful -- lots of odd angles and Orson Welles-like shots. Black and white film can be so elegant when contrast and repeating patterns or odd angles of city landscapes are used -- this particular style really appeals to me, possibly because I love black and white photography. It's a very entertaining film, too -- it deals with a series of murders of children that have terrorized a city, and the subsequent dual hunt of criminals and policemen for the murderer. The MoMA description says something about "German Expressionist cinema" -- I need to learn more about this (here's the Wikipedia description).
Posted by csageday at June 5, 2006 11:56 PM