Two Words, One Answer.
contempt
 Le Mepris et les Autres Films $15.98 Georges Delerue's famous score for Le Mpris is a classic. This music is very intense, and adds another dimension for the French New Wave movies.  Contempt (New York Review Books Classics) $14.95 Written in 1954, this novel by the esteemed Italian writer, Alberto Moravia, is a small gem and a showcase of fine writing. Written in the first person, the narrator describes the slow falling apart of his marriage. Stark, with a complex mood, the reader gets to hear his inner monologue. He is definitely neurotic and I found some of the complaining annoying, but he sure does set the tone. This man is obsessed with his wife and analyzes every excruciating detail of their lives. I was often exasperated at this and would have put the book down but it was a selection of my literary reading group, so I forced myself to continue. The narrator sees himself as an artistic writer who takes a job writing screenplays because he wants to satisfy his wife and create a home for her. This is after the first two years of their marriage when they truly loved each other. When they move into their new home, everything changes. The narrator can't understand why. We meet his boss, a typical movie type, who winds everyone around his fingers and wants to do a screenplay of The Odyssey. And then there is the director who he must work with, a German who is into psychology and wants the story to play out in a Freudian psychological way. The theme of marital discord runs throughout the book. The ending was surreal. I thought it was a copout. And yet, it worked. My feelings about this book are complex. I have no doubt that the author is a fine writer. But I wish I could have liked the characters. I felt like screaming "get a life" to all of them, especially the narrator. This is a worthwhile read if you can stand it. But I'm glad it's over.  Contempt - Criterion Collection $39.95 i love great movies. i didn't understand this movie at all. it seemed very indulgent and lacked passion and meaning. it lacked heart and soul. i have seen several french films and they all seem to disappoint in some ways. they share a warped sense of love, relationships and romance that i find wierd and uninteresting. perhaps a better background in the Odyssey and Homer's work is required as it was alluded to throughout the film. don't waste your time with this flick. see something else.  Band of Outsiders - Criterion Collection $29.95 A really, really great movie. Simple, minimalist, and very expressive. As other people probably mentioned, the "minute of silence" and ensuing dance scene are worth watching the film for, for reasons which, like much of this film, I have a really hard articulating why... Recommended for the sickly romantic and fans of beautiful, blessed inanity! |
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