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Front-Ranger:
I don't think I agree with the statement that he anthopomorphized the bears. Yes, he did give them names but he was always very aware that they were not human and would not behave in a human way. He was very aware of the dangers IMO, and that's why he lived among them safely for seven years. When he was killed by the bears, IMO, it was because he wanted to be.
moremojo:
I caught an interesting silent feature on Turner Classic Movies last night, beginning at 11:15 p.m. (Central). It was entitled Crainquebille, and it hailed from France, having been first released in that country in 1922; its director was Jacques Feyder (best known in the U.S. for having directed Greta Garbo in her last silent film).
Crainquebille is a bittersweet comedy on the travails of an old fruits-and-vegetables vendor in Paris, an elderly gentleman who is the film's titular character. Having been adapted from a tale by Anatole France, the story shows the absurdities to which the legal and judicial systems of so-called enlightened societies can sometimes descend. The film also functions as a loving time-capsule of a vanished France, doing much the same for the urban landscape of that country as Andre Antoine's La Terre, from around the same time, did for the French countryside. The film has been praised for its realism, but no less remarkable are two striking fantasy and dream sequences, which anticipate Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la bete and even, of all things, the Tool video 'Stinkfist'.
The film ended on a somewhat arbitrary note, and one of the main characters remained oddly underdeveloped, yet the ending was sweet and effective, and I did not regret staying up way past my bedtime to catch this rare film. Worth checking out.
Front-Ranger:
I'll have to look that one up and also check out those Turner Classic Movies more often! Thanks, Scott!
Front-Ranger:
I saw "300" last Friday and I don't know exactly what to tell you about it. Stylistically, it was very pretty, but I did get a yearning to see something green about halfway through the movie. Other reactions?
Front-Ranger:
Tonight my family took pity on me and let me have the TV to watch. I am watching Dog Day Afternoon, which I've never seen before. Al Pacino plays Sonny, who has robbed a bank in order to pay for his partner's sex change operation. He has taken eight hostages. He asked for his wife to be called to the site, and his partner, Leon, arrives but is too distraught to talk to him. Finally, Leon is persuaded to call him and there is a hearbreaking scene of them on the phone to each other. It was a sweet detail that they both were wearing wedding rings. I was reminded so much of Lureen when Al Pacino was talking to Leon on the phone. Anne Hathaway's performance in some part was an homage to him, I thought.
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