tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post1664429493650935918..comments2024-03-08T03:14:02.855+11:00Comments on This Island Rod: The Double Hour (La doppia ora, 2009)Roderick Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08107539379079558068noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post-87526075422757017312012-01-10T19:44:55.108+11:002012-01-10T19:44:55.108+11:00Hello, Daniel. To answer your question, the atmosp...Hello, Daniel. To answer your question, the atmosphere in the film reminded me of that in some of Assayas' films, eg <i>Demonlover</i> and <i>Boarding Gate</i>, in the games it plays with generic narrative, using its mystery and thriller story elements more as a way of tackling the characters' longings, emotional damage and alienation, as well as the similarity in atmosphere. Like Lynch, too, there's that sense of worlds within worlds and layers of reality; both directors play similar games with our sense of reality and narrative expectation. As in Lynch there's a self-conscious sense of the story being laid out and then suddenly subjected to revision; events fold back themselves, visuals and dialogue repeat but with altered meanings, what seems to happen in one moment is then totally reversed, etc. Unlike Lynch (I'm talking the Lynch of <i>Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive</i> here more than <i>Blue Velvet</i> or <i>The Elephant Man</i>), Capotondi gives us a "rational" explanation for the storytelling shifts, but the design and mood remain similar. I didn't mention Fincher; I did mention Kubrick, because the film's mood and visual elegance, the sense of nocturnal dreaminess and again an uncertain reality, reminded me considerably of <i>Eyes Wide Shut</i>.Roderick Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08107539379079558068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post-64086706197894911712012-01-10T15:12:15.966+11:002012-01-10T15:12:15.966+11:00Hi i just saw The Double hour , i know late, but i...Hi i just saw The Double hour , i know late, but in mexico things are that way.<br />Anyway, i was reading your review (wich i think it's great) but i just wanted to see if you could elaborate a little more about the part where you refer to Oliver Assayas, Fincher and Lynch, because I think I saw something from them in the movie , but blurry. Would be great if you could, thanksDaniel Aguadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08350553255734240802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post-3145175560855292952011-08-14T15:02:58.537+10:002011-08-14T15:02:58.537+10:00"Awesome" isn't what I was trying to..."Awesome" isn't what I was trying to convey here, Sam; more "aspects of awesome". Like you I felt unsatisfied at the end and I think it's partly because of phenomena I see too often these days in filmmakers - either they're wholeheartedly bear-hugging the obvious (see my review of <i>Ironclad</i> above) or, as here, they try so hard to avoid the obvious they finish up offering almost nothing at all. But I do think Capotondi has a lot of talent and hopefully he'll get it in gear in the future. I'll be checking out <i>Point Blank</i> soon too.Roderick Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08107539379079558068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post-17402105986374977282011-08-14T13:56:48.725+10:002011-08-14T13:56:48.725+10:00Rod--
I saw this film several weeks ago at Manhat...Rod--<br /><br />I saw this film several weeks ago at Manhattan's Quad Cinemas with a friend and reported my "mixed" finding back at my site on the weekly round-up thread. I was excited after reading the mostly favorable notices, and was definitely stoked at the prospect of taking in a deft Italian thriller. But much like my experiences weeks before at the Tribeca Film Festival with POINT BLANK I detected some manipulation and art house pretention even with the admitted thrills in the twisting narrative. I much appreciate this probing treatment, which did answer a few questions I still had not solved, and it's a great prep for a re-vieweng. I can't put my finger on it conclusively, but I just felt unsatisfied at the end. The friend--who also works at the Film Forum as an usher, and who has great taste thought it was awesome like you did. Go figure.sAM jULIANOnoreply@blogger.com