rear window (1954)

as a childhood fan of james stewart's "harvey''-era work i often found it difficult to enjoy his more mature roles. having never seen "rear window" prior to this viewing, i am definately realising the error of my ways. sure, these later roles may be very different to the earlier one's, but thats not a comment on the quality of them.

"rear window" opens with one of the most beautifully crafted scenario's i have ever seen. the incredibly limited location is displayed fully with the inventive camerawork on display. specifically placed items tell the whole backstory, as a shot of the broken leg is followed by a shot of a broken camera before the camera moves onto a photograph of a car crashing into view. in this one instance we are shown the problem, the reason and the cause (two very different things). its masterfully paced storytelling, and uses very well paced, traditional techniques.

the opening scene is followed by small vignettes, each told from the point of view of the protagonist, l.b jeffries (stewart), that serve to introduce each of the supporting players key characteristics. this is again, a very traditional technique, used greatly in which to introduce the characters.

although the plot of the film largely revolves around the point of view of our protagonist, we are privy to one piece of information that he isnt, although in turn this is used against us, as if to confuse and throw us off of the mark. the piece of information that i am referring to is the moment quite early on where thorwald, the ''evil'' neighbour leaves his appartment with a woman whilst jeffries sleeps. it is with this action that we are led to believe that thorwald is innocent and jeffries is wrong. alas, as it is later proven, we were too a victim of thorwald's deception.

one thing that i didnt realise until recently is that ''rear window'' was made only 4 years after "harvey" which in turn was made between hitchcock projects. this adds testiment to the versatility of stewart, and only serves to prove just how wrong to seperate the two styles of work.

au hasard balthazar (1966)

"au hasard balthazar" is my first robert bresson. a filmmaker known for the quality of his pictures over the quantity of them (only 14 films were made over a period of 40 years or so) bresson has in the past slipped under my radar in the past due to the conflicting nature of his work and the french new wave. as im going to be exploring his work in more detail over the next 12 months (due to my MA's reading list) i decided it was about time i dipped my toe into the water, picking up a selection of his work over the whole period of his career.

the concept alone of the tale of a donkey who is passed from owner to owner, some kind, some mean, draws comparisons with the life of christ, with the story being a strong analogy for that of his life, death and resurection. jean-luc godard's famous claim that au hasard balthazar is "the world in an hour and a half", certainly ring true, although im not sure that he would be as supportive of the religious overtones (a theory proven true later on in bresson's life, when he confirmed the analogy as being his intention).

the film is beautifully shot, in bresson's trademark workmanlike style. there is very little camerawork in the sweeping sense, in fact there is very little movement at all, but this is appropriate for the tale at hand. as is the score, which borrows from schubert.

changeling (2008)

my recent season of eastwood films comes to an end with the theatrical release of ''changeling''.

one could be excused for going into ''changeling'' expecting the angelina jolie-fest advertised within the pre-film press, alas i was surprised to find that the film was more of an ensemble piece than anything. and an incredibly well made one at that. my love of the work of clint eastwood's work is no secret, there is something incredibly appealing about his unique, almost "workmanlike-with-a-hint-of-auteur" style, and it lends itself especially well to tough topics such as child abuse (mystic river), euthanasia (million dollar baby) and now the subject of child murder and the loss of said child. eastwood thrives off of the kind of topics that dont need nor warrent over the top camera work or glossy special effects, a habit which hints at a huge amount of respect on the behalf of the filmmaker.

the cast is incredibly strong an ensemble, with special notices going to michael kelly as the detective that actually attempts to detect, john malkovich as the pastor that serves to reek justice against the corrupt los angeles police force and jason butler harner as child killer gordon northcott. its butler harner in particular that stands out, in what is perhaps the finest turn as a serial killer-type seen all year.

while the ending of the film is considered bleak by many, it actually carries a fairly high degree of hope.