A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what’s behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.
~ Stanley Kubrick
IN A BETTER WORLD (2010) — What makes the friendship between Christian and Elias so special is how deeply and honestly Susanne Bier displays the emotional side of both children. Only by peering the eyes of the two actors, I can feel the all emotional reasons why they become such small terrorists. YOUNG TÖRLESS (1966) — Violence is not just a physical matter, but also psychological and emotional. In Young Törless, ethical ​​and subjective values ​​were so contradictory. Then the boundaries between good and evil even more vague. PHARAOH (1966) — Faraon is an evocative anatopism, also an astonishing colossal. A truly rare gem of its kind. Not only works as a visual declaration, Kawalerowicz also made it so carefully, so mesmerizing, yet so challenging. THE BOYS OF PAUL STREET (1969) — An ironic allegory not only for the face of war, but also the heart of it: militarism and nationalism. The irony in the end makes the two terminologies be absurd. SPIRITED AWAY (2001) — “What's in a name?” asked Shakespeare. “A name is an identity,” said this movie. MISS JULIE (1951) - Miss Julie is a very challenging study, whether psychological or situational. In a simple but smart way, Miss Julie presents the phases of a political game of love and seduction. MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S (1969) - Éric Rohmer not only talk about choices and risks of choices, there is also a glimpse the importance of choices and the pain of choices. My Night at Maud's, for me, is the most amazing movie about refracting those two opposing aspects of life. TEN (2002) — The use of "dashboard camera" method by Abbas Kiarostami is successfully providing such microscopic spectacle about the characters, not only on outside but also capable of making this movie as a unique character and gender study. THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS / A REPORT ON THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS (1966) — The allegory is not only the great thing about this Czechoslovak New Wave Cinema movie, but also its weirdness, its unnatural behavior, its peculiar plot, but the most of it is about how the movie smartly move without caution. ELEPHANT (2003) — Elephant is a piece of work that should be commended for its bravery. Such compliments are mainly intended to for Gus Van Sant's guts on using such non-linear and unusual narrative spectacle. Also packed with such unnatural risky styles which was really cost lot of guts.

Minggu, 01 Mei 2011

עץ לימון (Etz Limon)

TULISAN INI MUNGKIN MENGANDUNG SPOILER!
Oleh: Rio Johan (Rijon)


Sutradara: Eran Riklis
Pemain: Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Doron Tavory, Tarik Kopty, Amos Lavi, Amnon Wolf, Liron Baranes, Smadar Jaaron, Danny Leshman, Ayelet Robinson, Amos Tamam, Loai Nofi, Hili Yalon, Makram Khoury

Tahun Rilis: 2008
Judul Internasional: Lemon Tree
Judul Arab: شجرة ليمون

Konyol memang. Salma Zidane (Hiam Abbass), seorang janda yang tinggal di West Bank (semacam area perbatasan Israel-Palestina), mati-matian berjuang mempertahankan kebun lemonnya yang bakal digusur. Padahal pihak penggusur, pemerintah Israel, sudah menjanjikan kompensasi (entah besar atau kecil, tidak disebutkan) sebagai pengganti kebun lemonnya. Alasan penggusurannya pun bisa dibilang konyol-tak-konyol: seorang Menteri Pertahanan Israel (Doron Tavory) baru saja pindah di sebuah rumah di seberang kebun lemon milik Salma (di wilayah Israel). Kebun Lemon salma yang sebegitu lebatnya dicurigai menganggu keamanan Pak Menteri, misalnya, bisa-bisa saja seseorang bersembunyi di balik rindangnya pepohonan lemon itu untuk menembakkan peluru. Padahal berbagai sistem keamanan mutakhir sudah dipasangi: mulai dari kamera pengintai sampai kawat berduri. Kurang apa lagi coba? Kenapa juga Pak Menteri mau tinggal di dekat tanah Palestina (kalau tidak mau keamanaannya terancam)?

Selasa, 26 April 2011

Introducing: Hiam Abbass


Saya kira Golsifteh Farahani lah aktris Timur Tengah masa kini yang paling memikat, setidaknya bagi kepala saya. Tanpa mengesampingkan talenta Dian-Sastro-nya sinema Iran masa kini itu, yang bahkan sampai sekarang hipnotis-hipnotis di setiap penampilannya masih membekas di kepala saya, ternyata masih ada Hiam Abbass (atau bisa juga dibaca Hiyam Abbass).

Rabu, 30 Maret 2011

Orlando

TULISAN INI MUNGKIN MENGANDUNG SPOILER!
Oleh: Rio Johan (Rijon)Sutradara: Sally Potter
Pemain: Tilda Swinton, Quentin Crisp, Billy Zane, Jimmy Somerville, John Wood, John Bott, Elaine Banham, Anna Farnworth, Sara Mair-Thomas, Anna Healy, Dudley Sutton, Simon Russell Beale, Matthew Sim, Charlotte Valandrey, Toby Stephens, Oleg Pogodin, Heathcote Williams, Thom Hoffman, Sarah Crowden, Lol Coxhill

Tahun Rilis: 1992

Diangkat dari novel Orlando: A Biography karya Virginia Woolf.

Mungkin Orlando (Tilda Swinton) termasuk salah satu manusia sempena, itu pun jikalau benar-benar nyata adanya. Ia bersyafaat untuk menggarami masa berbagai jaman. Pun turut merasa hidup dengan dua kelamin berbeda; jejantan dan perempuan. Jelas sekali, salah satu novel termasyhur Virginia Woolf ini merupakan studi masa, kelamin, dan keberadaan insani.

Senin, 28 Maret 2011

The Madness of King George

TULISAN INI MUNGKIN MENGANDUNG SPOILER!
Oleh: Rio Johan (Rijon)Sutradara: Nicholas Hytner
Pemain: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm, Rupert Graves, Amanda Donohoe, Rupert Everett, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Julian Wadham, Jim Carter, Geoffrey Palmer, Charlotte Curley, Anthony Calf, Matthew Lloyd Davies, Adrian Scarborough, Paul Corrigan

Tahun Rilis: 1994

Kalau The King's Speech bercerita tentang calon raja pesakitan yang segan naik tahta, pendahulunya ini berkisah tentang raja tua pesakitan yang enggan turun tahta. Manakalah di King's Speech simpati penonton timbul akibat tingkah bodoh sang calon raja yang sudah lebih dulu memandang rendah potensi dirinya, di film ini si raja dianggap bodoh malah karena menghancurkan segala yang ia punya.

Minggu, 27 Maret 2011

時をかける少女, Toki o Kakeru Shōjo

TULISAN INI MUNGKIN MENGANDUNG SPOILER!
Oleh: Rio Johan (Rijon)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-991DHoTEr5c/TY-exslPf-I/AAAAAAAACaY/IHzWs_dW7Xk/s1600/Kinema.jpg

Sutradara: Mamoru Hosoda

Tahun Rilis: 2006
Judul Internasional: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Film ini dibuat berdasarkan novel Toki o Kakeru Shōjo karya Yusataka Tsutsui.

Film ini bukan benar-benar adaptasi dari novel keluaran tahun 1967 yang sudah pernah diadaptasidua kali itu (empat kalau adaptasi televisi dihitung juga). Mungkin The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ini bisa dibilang sequel dari novel itu. Apalagi tokoh utama novel tahun 1967 itu muncul di film ini sebagai tante dari si protagonis.