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Ugetsu - A fine potrayal of man's ambition and how it comes back to bite him in the ass. It is a very dreamlike presentation without resorting to ham handed dream representations like whaffs of smoke or a wavy screen. It seems to me the potter's story is more of an oblique parable about opium use (or addictive drugs in general) than it is about greed and bliss.The Burmese Harp - It is hard not to feel the powerful pull of this story. The intermingling of flashbacks are quite effective and serve to place the viewer in the same perspective as the soldiers, especially on the bridge crossing scene. Music plays a central role throughout the film and it is quite effective in many scenes.
Fires on the Plain - I'm not really sure how to describe this one. The performances by the actors were intense especially towards the end where the soldiers are tired and emaciated. However, the actual narrative is lacking in purpose. I suppose one could argue the case that it's meant as an anti-war tragedy but the main character is a coward whose actions are morally reprehensible (edit: when you don't care for the characters it's hard to invest anything emotional in the narrative). Perhaps it's meant to tell the viewer that there are no good guys in war but it's lost in the unrelenting bleakness.
Tom §.
Edits: 07/16/07Follow Ups:
"Fires on the Plain" and "Burmese Harp" are two of the greatest anti-war movies. May I also nominate "Kanal" and "Forbidden Games".
I must say that Fires on the Plain is more art than it is a movie narrative. The main character seems to represent reticent support for a war effort where one does not actually see their enemy, does not intimately understand what they are fighting for, nor has experienced active combat. He takes his orders with indifference much like an apathetic population would disapprove of the motives of their nation going to a war yet still "support their troops." As he is threatened occasionally by shellings from enemies so far away they might as well be invisible, he stumbles around in a daze just looking for the next opportunity that directly benefits his condition. "Screw the war, I just want to eat."
I have trouble drawing contemporary parallels.
Required watching, IMO.
-Tom §.
one of the few films that captures a dream -like state well
Louis Malles "Black Moon" is another
Grins
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