frankde-jong
Joined Aug 2012
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In the Netherlands and in Europe in general immigration is a big political issue the last couple of years. On the one hand cultural differences with mainly Islamic immigrants are perceived as problematic. On the other hand economic growth in countries with a shrinking indigenous population often depends on immigration.
"Tegendraads" (the film has no foreign language title but I would translate it as "A little rebellious" ) goes back to the origins of mass immigration / guest workers in the Netherlands, that is it goes back to Italian employees moving in to work in the textile industry in the eastern part of Holland.
In the beginning of the movie the cultural differences with the Italians are illustrated. Dinner at six PM is really a cultural shock for the Italians, as are dishes with mashed potatoes.
As innocent and maybe funny the above examples may seem, the atmosphere soon hardens. The young local employees are not amused when the Italian boys start te make an impression on the local girls. When the Italians are banned from bars and nighclubs it does not take long for riots to start. These riots are based on the so called "Spaghetti riots" from 1961. Not based on historical facts I suppose is the solidarity the local girls show with the Italians by leaving the bars and nightclubs (from which the Italians are banned) collectively at eleven PM.
A weakness of "Tegendraads" is the many themes it tries to cover in slightly more than two hours. Apart from the cultural problems with the Italian immigrants it covers:
Women emancipation in the form of a girl dreaming of a career of their own.
Rights of employees (in the textile industry) and trade unions.
The daughter of the owner of the factory being lesbian.
The two themes first mentioned (Italian immigration and women emancipation) are the most important ones. They become linked when the characters representing them become romantically involved. This romance for some time threatens to overshadow the "real" themes. In the end the film does however not have a romantic happy ending but an emancipatory happy ending.
"Tegendraads" (the film has no foreign language title but I would translate it as "A little rebellious" ) goes back to the origins of mass immigration / guest workers in the Netherlands, that is it goes back to Italian employees moving in to work in the textile industry in the eastern part of Holland.
In the beginning of the movie the cultural differences with the Italians are illustrated. Dinner at six PM is really a cultural shock for the Italians, as are dishes with mashed potatoes.
As innocent and maybe funny the above examples may seem, the atmosphere soon hardens. The young local employees are not amused when the Italian boys start te make an impression on the local girls. When the Italians are banned from bars and nighclubs it does not take long for riots to start. These riots are based on the so called "Spaghetti riots" from 1961. Not based on historical facts I suppose is the solidarity the local girls show with the Italians by leaving the bars and nightclubs (from which the Italians are banned) collectively at eleven PM.
A weakness of "Tegendraads" is the many themes it tries to cover in slightly more than two hours. Apart from the cultural problems with the Italian immigrants it covers:
Women emancipation in the form of a girl dreaming of a career of their own.
Rights of employees (in the textile industry) and trade unions.
The daughter of the owner of the factory being lesbian.
The two themes first mentioned (Italian immigration and women emancipation) are the most important ones. They become linked when the characters representing them become romantically involved. This romance for some time threatens to overshadow the "real" themes. In the end the film does however not have a romantic happy ending but an emancipatory happy ending.
There is no denying that "The last emperor" is a great epic movie. A movie on an equal grand scale as the epics of David Lean, but with a greater historical accuracy than for example "Dr Zhivago" (1965, David Lean) (which is not that strange because "The last emperor" is based on an autobiography and "Dr Zhivago" on a fiction novel).
Add to this that "The last emperor" was shot (as first film ever) on location in the Forbidden city and it is no wonder that the film accumulated an astounding number of 9 Oscars under which the categories of best film, best director and best cinematography.
Comparing the film with the rest of the oeuvre of director Bernardo Bertolucci "Novecento" (1976) immediatly comes to mind. This film also spans a time period of decades including the Second World War. Contrary to "The last emperor" the film is however situated in Europe.
A second film that comes to (my) mind is "To live" (1994, Zhang Yimou). Also a film spanning decades and combining the history of a family with the history of a country. A film also situated in China but with a different director.
In "To live" the history of a country is combined with the history of a lower class fictional family. In "The last emperor" the history of China is combined with the history of a non fictional higher class emperor.
A biopic is mostly made about a person who has changed history. The remarkable thing about "The last emperor" is that main character Pu Yi effectively has as less influence on Chinese history as the poor family from "To live".
When he became emperor Pu Yi was less than 3 years old and 4 years later China became a republic after which the emperor ruled only within the Forbidden city. Even the term "ruling" is somewhat out of place. The emperor may not leave the forbidden city and this custom is enforced by his own guard, even against his will.
It is no wonder that when the emperor is thrown out of the Forbidden city in 1924 he is totally out of touch with reality. Therefore it is easy for the Japanese to abuse him as their marionet "ruling" the puppet state of Manchuko in the Second World War.
When the Communist came to power they quite understandably regard Pu Yi as a war criminal and send him to a re-education camp. The term re-education has an ominous sound, associated as it is with dictatorships of the worst kind. The re-education of Pu Yi is probably one of the scarce examples of successful re-education. He becomes a gardener and experiences probably the happiest years of his life.
The film ends with a beautiful scene in which Pu Yi visits the Forbidden city as a tourist.
The Forbidden city, a colossal complex with 9.999 rooms (only heaven has 10.000 rooms), has the potential of dwarving the human characters. It is the merit of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro that this does not happen.
In a couple of scenes there is a window with a bright blue / turquoise light shining trough it in the background. I did see a similar background in some (key) scenes of "Eyes wide shut" (1999, Stanley Kubrick).
Add to this that "The last emperor" was shot (as first film ever) on location in the Forbidden city and it is no wonder that the film accumulated an astounding number of 9 Oscars under which the categories of best film, best director and best cinematography.
Comparing the film with the rest of the oeuvre of director Bernardo Bertolucci "Novecento" (1976) immediatly comes to mind. This film also spans a time period of decades including the Second World War. Contrary to "The last emperor" the film is however situated in Europe.
A second film that comes to (my) mind is "To live" (1994, Zhang Yimou). Also a film spanning decades and combining the history of a family with the history of a country. A film also situated in China but with a different director.
In "To live" the history of a country is combined with the history of a lower class fictional family. In "The last emperor" the history of China is combined with the history of a non fictional higher class emperor.
A biopic is mostly made about a person who has changed history. The remarkable thing about "The last emperor" is that main character Pu Yi effectively has as less influence on Chinese history as the poor family from "To live".
When he became emperor Pu Yi was less than 3 years old and 4 years later China became a republic after which the emperor ruled only within the Forbidden city. Even the term "ruling" is somewhat out of place. The emperor may not leave the forbidden city and this custom is enforced by his own guard, even against his will.
It is no wonder that when the emperor is thrown out of the Forbidden city in 1924 he is totally out of touch with reality. Therefore it is easy for the Japanese to abuse him as their marionet "ruling" the puppet state of Manchuko in the Second World War.
When the Communist came to power they quite understandably regard Pu Yi as a war criminal and send him to a re-education camp. The term re-education has an ominous sound, associated as it is with dictatorships of the worst kind. The re-education of Pu Yi is probably one of the scarce examples of successful re-education. He becomes a gardener and experiences probably the happiest years of his life.
The film ends with a beautiful scene in which Pu Yi visits the Forbidden city as a tourist.
The Forbidden city, a colossal complex with 9.999 rooms (only heaven has 10.000 rooms), has the potential of dwarving the human characters. It is the merit of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro that this does not happen.
In a couple of scenes there is a window with a bright blue / turquoise light shining trough it in the background. I did see a similar background in some (key) scenes of "Eyes wide shut" (1999, Stanley Kubrick).
For director Sidney Lumet "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) was in between his masterpieces "Serpico" (1973) and "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975).
To be honest, for me "Murder on the Orient Express" is much too good to be called an "in between movie". Made to appear slightly old fashioned even in the year of release it is one of those films about which one can rightly say "They don't make them like this anymore these days.".
As if to prove the above Kenneth Branagh made a remake in 2017. He added too much action, thereby misinterpreting the "whodonnit" genre of the Agatha Christie novel. The action is not needed, even for viewers who have read the novel beforehand. The plot is so complicated that these viewers maybe remember the general line but surely have forgotten the details.
The quality of the film is not only thanks to director Sidney Lumet but also thanks to the impressive cast. Some really big stars had no objection playing relatively minor parts, knowing that the character of Hercule Poirot would steal the show.
The character of Hercule Poirot is magnificently played by Albert Finney. In his interpretation of this character wit and vanity keep pace with each other. In the above mentioned remake of Kenneth Branagh the director played the main character himself. In the two Agatha Christie adaptations from the same time period as the Lumet film ("Death on the Nile" (1978, John Guillermin) and "Evil under the sun" (1982, Guy Hamilton)) Peter Ustinov played the Belgian detective.
To be honest, for me "Murder on the Orient Express" is much too good to be called an "in between movie". Made to appear slightly old fashioned even in the year of release it is one of those films about which one can rightly say "They don't make them like this anymore these days.".
As if to prove the above Kenneth Branagh made a remake in 2017. He added too much action, thereby misinterpreting the "whodonnit" genre of the Agatha Christie novel. The action is not needed, even for viewers who have read the novel beforehand. The plot is so complicated that these viewers maybe remember the general line but surely have forgotten the details.
The quality of the film is not only thanks to director Sidney Lumet but also thanks to the impressive cast. Some really big stars had no objection playing relatively minor parts, knowing that the character of Hercule Poirot would steal the show.
The character of Hercule Poirot is magnificently played by Albert Finney. In his interpretation of this character wit and vanity keep pace with each other. In the above mentioned remake of Kenneth Branagh the director played the main character himself. In the two Agatha Christie adaptations from the same time period as the Lumet film ("Death on the Nile" (1978, John Guillermin) and "Evil under the sun" (1982, Guy Hamilton)) Peter Ustinov played the Belgian detective.