Somewhere (Sofia Coppola) [Archive]

Adam

06-13-2010, 08:42 AM

It is nice, but I can't get that excited over a poster. Kind of reminds me of this (http://wearemoviegeeks.com/wp-content/dogtooth_poster.jpg) Dogtooth poster, but maybe it's just the pool

And I can't stand that "Lost in Translation is racist" knock. The Japanese people in the film aren't meant to be indicative of the real world Japanese. They're presented that way to serve a thematic purpose in the same way the broad, stereotypical Americans in the film (Anna Faris, Giovanni Ribisi) do. The only actual characters in Lost in Translation are Johansson's and Murray's and that's by design. And as for the larger idea of just a film using another culture for the sake of developing a character or thesis, I mean it can be bungled sure, but it's pretty much a given in any movie that takes place in a foreign country

D_Davis

06-14-2010, 12:31 AM

The Virgin Suicides was meh. Lost in Translation was meh and kinda racist.

I'd give them both a meh-.

D_Davis

06-14-2010, 12:33 AM

I think SC is a terrible director, and her films suck, but I do like that poster and I think the font is nice.

Raiders

06-14-2010, 12:46 AM

I think SC is a great director, and her films so far are awesome, and I do like that poster and I think the font is nice.

transmogrifier

06-14-2010, 01:11 AM

I think SC is a director and her films have stories, and it is definitely a poster of a building and the font is yellow.

Qrazy

06-14-2010, 02:32 AM

The Virgin Suicides sucked. Lost in Translation was alright. Marie Antoinette sucked.

Bosco B Thug

06-14-2010, 02:39 AM

LiT and MA are good-not-great movies.

Poor Sofia Coppola. She must have OKed the poster, though, so really she brought this on herself. jk.

Kurosawa Fan

06-14-2010, 02:49 AM

I like chips.

number8

06-14-2010, 06:45 AM

I think Marie Antoinette was racist.

eternity

06-14-2010, 04:36 PM

Ezee E

06-14-2010, 06:16 PM

Movie doesn't come out for seven months. I'd be shocked if it didn't get a much more accessible poster by then.

Besides, Focus hasn't really been doing too hot at the box office lately. Their last few high profile releases have pretty much bombed. This would fit right in to that trend, it seems.
It'll be one of the headlining movies at the Fall film festivals I figure, with Stephen Dorff getting a strong push if he happens to be good in it.

baby doll

06-14-2010, 06:35 PM

And I can't stand that "Lost in Translation is racist" knock. The Japanese people in the film aren't meant to be indicative of the real world Japanese. They're presented that way to serve a thematic purpose in the same way the broad, stereotypical Americans in the film (Anna Faris, Giovanni Ribisi) do. The only actual characters in Lost in Translation are Johansson's and Murray's and that's by design. And as for the larger idea of just a film using another culture for the sake of developing a character or thesis, I mean it can be bungled sure, but it's pretty much a given in any movie that takes place in a foreign countryI can't stand the defense of the movie that, by uncritically reflecting its characters' racism, it's some how giving us piercing insights into its protagonists. (Are the slaves in Gone With the Wind not meant to be indicative of real world black folk?)

As regards the Faris character, I would argue that Coppola's treatment of her, and Asia Argento's character in Marie Antoinette, betrays a lack of curiosity about them as human beings. (Jean Renoir she ain't.) What I like most about the latter film is its willingness to empathize with the title character (while at the same time, maintaining a certain critical distance from her), even if Coppola is only able to do this to the extent that she makes Marie Antoinette like a privileged American teenager.

Also, what other movies by directors working abroad make a point of trashing the country in which they're set? Sticking with Japan, Hou Hsiao-hsien's Café Lumière seems exemplary insofar as it doesn't view Japanese people as amusingly exotic. (Likewise, Hou doesn't go out of his way to trash the French in Le Voyage du ballon rouge.)

Ezee E

06-14-2010, 07:21 PM

There's nothing for LiT to like about Anna Faris. We see as much as we need to know as far as the primary story is concerned. I wouldn't say the characters are racist, as they simply allow their ideas of stereotypes to take advantage. They do go out with some Japanese friends of "Spike Jonze" but don't really see much of them.

It's been years since I've seen that movie, still works well. I hardly remember anything about Marie Antoinette.

Grouchy

06-14-2010, 08:54 PM

I can't stand the defense of the movie that, by uncritically reflecting its characters' racism, it's some how giving us piercing insights into its protagonists. (Are the slaves in Gone With the Wind not meant to be indicative of real world black folk?)
Ridiculous and completely unrelated example.

As regards the Faris character, I would argue that Coppola's treatment of her, and Asia Argento's character in Marie Antoinette, betrays a lack of curiosity about them as human beings. (Jean Renoir she ain't.) What I like most about the latter film is its willingness to empathize with the title character (while at the same time, maintaining a certain critical distance from her), even if Coppola is only able to do this to the extent that she makes Marie Antoinette like a privileged American teenager.
This I agree with. Anna Faris and Asia Argento play characters that the audience (and the woman protagonist) hate out of... what? Envy? I found both those scenes childish.

Journey to Italy makes fun of Italians in all the right ways. It's directed by an Italian, though.

baby doll

06-14-2010, 09:16 PM

Ridiculous and completely unrelated example.

This I agree with. Anna Faris and Asia Argento play characters that the audience (and the woman protagonist) hate out of... what? Envy? I found both those scenes childish.Yeah, I guess you're right, it is a ridiculous example, since Gone With the Wind had individualized black characters, instead of treating them as a uniform mass. I should have related Coppola's film to the even more offensively stereotypical representations of black people in Hollywood cinema, which employed caricatures of African-American features (exaggerated black face with big red lips) and portrayed black folk as watermelon-eating nitwits. Similarly, Coppola mocks the way people Japanese people talk and portrays them as stupid (the whole "Lip my stalkings" sequence).

That said, at least we agree on what part of what I said.

Qrazy

06-14-2010, 10:50 PM

Even more offensively stereotypical representations of black people in Hollywood cinema, which employed caricatures of African-American features (exaggerated black face with big red lips) and portrayed black folk as watermelon-eating nitwits.

Completely unrelated but have you ever seen Babes in Arms? Seeing children put on black face and act out black stereotypes manages to amplify general early Hollywood racist attitudes to incredible new heights.

baby doll

06-14-2010, 10:54 PM

Completely unrelated but have you ever seen Babes in Arms? Seeing children put on black face and act out black stereotypes manages to amplify general early Hollywood racist attitudes to incredible new heights.I haven't, but I'll be sure to look out for it.

Spaceman Spiff

06-14-2010, 10:58 PM

I think the poster looks great.

That's what I'm adding to this thread.

Silencio

06-14-2010, 11:52 PM

Trailer (http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/somewhere/)

Bosco B Thug

06-15-2010, 12:48 AM

Etherealcore.

You know what would be cool? If I went on IMDb and read the premise and it's actually about a terrorist plot or some other race against time... you know, Coppola swearing off leisure, just for a little bit.

Henry Gale

06-15-2010, 12:50 AM

Ooh, very nice use of Casablancas' rough demo for "You Only Live Once", though I would've expected the Phoenix instrumental a lot more as it was apparently the piece of music that inspired the film in the first place.

Very much a teaser, but I'd say I'm now looking forward to the movie.

Ezee E

06-15-2010, 03:07 AM

The preview looks like Lost In Translation Returns To Hollywood, subtracted 15 years from the leads.

Complete even with the swimming shot of the main character.

Qrazy

06-15-2010, 04:42 AM

Why do I get the feeling Sofia Coppola spends a lot of time in hotel rooms feeling sorry for herself?

Winston*

06-15-2010, 07:34 AM

SOMEWHERE NOT WATCHING THIS MOVIE IS WHERE I'LL BE

number8

06-15-2010, 01:37 PM

Why do I get the feeling Sofia Coppola spends a lot of time in hotel rooms feeling sorry for herself?

You write what you know...

ledfloyd

06-16-2010, 04:53 AM

well, i'll be seeing it anyway.

B-side

06-16-2010, 06:36 AM

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Grouchy

06-16-2010, 12:47 PM

Why do I get the feeling Sofia Coppola spends a lot of time in hotel rooms feeling sorry for herself?
She's Francis Ford Coppola's daughter.

That's the problem when rich kids make art.

Spun Lepton

06-16-2010, 10:26 PM

She's Francis Ford Coppola's daughter.

That's the problem when rich kids make art.

God forbid she attempt to take advantage of her situation and create something meaningful, rather than create a false media blitz and shitty reality TV shows around the fact that she's a rich socialite who's had plastic surgery.

Spun Lepton

06-16-2010, 10:40 PM

Anyway, this looks OK. If I see it, it'll probably be a rental.

Grouchy

06-19-2010, 10:21 PM

God forbid she attempt to take advantage of her situation and create something meaningful, rather than create a false media blitz and shitty reality TV shows around the fact that she's a rich socialite who's had plastic surgery.
Something meaningful? Where?

Heidi

06-20-2010, 10:19 AM

Marie antionette was one of the most beautiful films i have ever seen. Saw it in the old cinema in Amsterdam (such a gorgeous place!). Was coming down off a day of tripping on mushrooms. Never before have i appreciated such composition centered around decor, fashion, hairstyle, even facial expression. I should probably watch it again while sober, but i don't want to ruin the memory.

i like the poster.

MacGuffin

09-11-2010, 07:11 PM

This won the Golden Lion.

DavidSeven

09-11-2010, 10:19 PM

...and Tarantino headed the jury, FWIW.

Boner M

12-18-2010, 08:53 AM

This is exactly the vaporous, whiny piffle that Coppola's detractors have been accusing her of making. Here she edges more and more in the direction of Asian-style minimalism, and manages some intriguing visual echoes, but kills any poetic momentum with a maudlin, sentimental final stretch. Stephen Dorff isn't bad, but doesn't hold up under the long-take scrutiny: he doesn't have the depth that Coppola obviously thinks he has. The final scene is giga-lame.

DavidSeven

12-18-2010, 09:24 AM

I'm thinking "pass" on this. I didn't mind her last two efforts, but you sort of get the feeling that she had the right sensibility at the right time. Vaporous seems like a fair descriptor upon reflection years later.

BTW, Tarantino did end up being accused of playing favorites at Venice (http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/tarantino-charged-with-favouritism-over-golden-lion-for-‘somewhere’) (at least by one guy).

Boner M

12-18-2010, 09:39 AM

That Golden Lion win a joke, esp. in a lineup that included Meek's Cutoff (and from general consensus, Black Swan, Silent Souls, Attenberg, Post Mortem, etc). Couldn't he have just played favorites with Miike's universally acclaimed 13 Assassins?

dmk

12-18-2010, 01:04 PM

maudlin, sentimental final stretch.
Can you prove this?

Sentimental and maudlin are fun words to use, but I'm struggling to find a sequence or a line or a shot that befits the definition. As far as I could tell, the whole film was understated and muted to the point of resembling “paint drying", or any other analogous set of words the film’s detractors (those fine folks on the IMDB forums) seem to be disposed to spouting.

And I'm not a Coppola fan or anything. It's just such a sublime piece of work. And as I've said, any film reminiscent, with recurring visual motifs, to The Brown Bunny is most certainly a film that deserves the loathing it's been receiving (and the love by me, naturally).

baby doll

12-18-2010, 04:55 PM

By the way, how are y'all seeing this?

Boner M

12-19-2010, 12:18 AM

Can you prove this?

Sentimental and maudlin are fun words to use, but I'm struggling to find a sequence or a line or a shot that befits the definition.
Dorff's teary phone call? Fanning's breakdown in the car? They're brief scenes, sure, but they're completely outside the less-is-more parameters that Coppola sets up for herself, and total vibekillers at that. Apparently (http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/movies/12sofia.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26pagewantedQ3D2&OP=6d67fee0Q2FE!8Q22Ex2ghz22bw EwSQ2BSEQ2BwEQ2BwEc2Q5Cu8hEQ2B wh2suQ51qQ7Bbct) she used Jeanne Dielman as a reference point, which just casts the film's half-heartedness into sharper relief.

Boner M

12-19-2010, 12:19 AM

By the way, how are y'all seeing this?
It's out in Australia.

dmk

12-19-2010, 03:35 AM

Dorff's teary phone call? Fanning's breakdown in the car? They're brief scenes, sure, but they're completely outside the less-is-more parameters that Coppola sets up for herself, and total vibekillers at that. Apparently (http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/movies/12sofia.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26pagewantedQ3D2&OP=6d67fee0Q2FE!8Q22Ex2ghz22bw EwSQ2BSEQ2BwEQ2BwEc2Q5Cu8hEQ2B wh2suQ51qQ7Bbct) she used Jeanne Dielman as a reference point, which just casts the film's half-heartedness into sharper relief.
Yeah, I thought you may have been referring to those, but they’re so brief and discreet that I don’t think they come across as sentimental at all – not unless a tear automatically denotes sentiment, which makes everything I like sentimental by those standards. And the whole film really just builds up to this cathartic purge, and it really earns this feeling within the framework of this story, with that gradual upsurge of drive that’s sequentially documented (those hilarious and beautifully-cut set of pole-dancing sequences illustrate Coppola’s aspirations most lucidly). Fanning’s breakdown is nothing if not sensitive and genuine, and this maternal abandonment which engulfs her recalls Lolita’s breakdown in Kubrick’s film (wow, eerie reference) which was handled in the same way. I don’t think that final shot was as good as it should have been, kind of contrived, but in contrast to the opening shot, it’s situation is ideal, and as I said, well earned.

Boner M

12-19-2010, 06:51 AM

*shrug* I just found the characters and their relationship so utterly hollow. It doesn't help that Coppola lifts so much from Lost in Translation (the trip to Italy being the most egregious example). Each little vignette just reinforces the same aspect of Johnny's character, showing how 'subtlety' can be freakin' obvious. As soon as the press conference scene started, I knew that there was going to be one question that indirectly had Johnny reflecting on his malaise, and then whaddyaknow. It's frustrating, because there'll be a scene that registers that malaise with acuity, like the plaster mask part. But mostly, it's just the same 'ol woe-is-me whining, with too much faith placed in her relatively vacant lead actor to do the heavy lifting, and misbegotten attempts at 'employing duration'. I think LiT worked because it had Bill Murray's self-depreciation and ironic presence to leaven the mood, and however rudimentary, I genuinely believed his connection with Johansson was rejuvenating for both parties. I dunno, I just never felt any kind of poetic alchemy here. It's spiritless.

dmk

12-21-2010, 01:15 AM

It doesn't help that Coppola lifts so much from Lost in Translation (the trip to Italy being the most egregious example).
Guitar Hero in lieu of LiT’s karaoke... so on. And it doesn't really bother me.

I’ll be honest, for me the film’s charms were all purely cinematic – the organic, lethargic manner each scene unravelled; the typically apt choice of music; the overall ambiance. I’m not sure what else anyone could want. There isn’t really any effort to explore these characters in any great depth, because that would just interrupt the film’s sleepy flow, and Coppola only seems to want to create a feeling for a character’s disposition of disconnect and disenchant and diseverythingelse. It is however very naturalistically presented and the quiet exchanges all around only form the film into something more satisfying. I’m not quite as hard to please as you are, evidently – but there’s enough mood here for the two of us.

Henry Gale

12-21-2010, 11:06 PM

Thought during the opening credits: "Why is Party Boy from Jackass in this?"

Thought during the movie: "Why is Party Boy from Jackass the most enjoyable part of this?"

I agree with what Boner's said. As a film, it just doesn't feel like it needs to exist from the same director that's already done Lost in Translation, especially considering how similarly isolated and awkwardly juxtaposed this one also its characters, but not even to the sort of extents that gets great reactions out of them like the previous film did.

The movie says little to me, so I have a very hard time saying much about it. Very disappointing.

ledfloyd

12-22-2010, 02:24 AM

i was expecting to have the same complaints as boner going in, but i found myself liking it a great deal. at the same time i can't really argue with the complaints. it is a retread of lost in translation, there aren't any surprises, the ending is rather obvious. but despite that i still liked it. i do think stephen dorff's presence is rather engaging and there is some poetry in there. harris savides is as good as always. even the scenes of them playing video games really captivated me. i can't really defend my position, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

B-side

12-22-2010, 11:36 AM

*shrug* I just found the characters and their relationship so utterly hollow. It doesn't help that Coppola lifts so much from Lost in Translation (the trip to Italy being the most egregious example). Each little vignette just reinforces the same aspect of Johnny's character, showing how 'subtlety' can be freakin' obvious. As soon as the press conference scene started, I knew that there was going to be one question that indirectly had Johnny reflecting on his malaise, and then whaddyaknow. It's frustrating, because there'll be a scene that registers that malaise with acuity, like the plaster mask part.

I can kinda agree with this, and I do think the plaster mask scene stood out as well. I don't think it's quite as one-note as you thought it was, and like dmk, I enjoyed the general ambiance. I was ready to hate it after the first 20-30 minutes. I was worried I was in for exactly what you described, but I ended up getting sucked in after I let go of my "lol rich people problems" bias. Not that this was an issue for you, but it hindered me a bit.

Boner M

12-22-2010, 01:52 PM

For some reason, I think SofCop has the potential to make a great horror film.

Eleven

12-22-2010, 02:13 PM

I believe this has leaked online recently, so that you can be ennui-ed in the privacy of your own home.

B-side

12-22-2010, 02:20 PM

For some reason, I think SofCop has the potential to make a great horror film.

Now that I think about, I'd love to see her try one.

right_for_the_moment

12-22-2010, 09:33 PM

For some reason, I think SofCop has the potential to make a great horror film.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/sofia_coppola_was_working_on_a _pre-twilight_european_vampire_film _before_so/

soitgoes...

12-22-2010, 11:31 PM

Yeah for the most part this worked for me too. I don't have a problem of this being a retread of Lost in Translation, after all better filmmakers than Coppola have made careers out of making the same film over and over again. This film isn't as good because of the switch of Dorff for Murray. He does fine, but really didn't have the charisma to really draw me into the film. Fanning was great. Pontius' casting was weird. He did fine, but every time he was on screen it snapped me out of the film as I was all, "WTF is the guy from Jackass doing here," and half expected him to jump off the balcony and into the pool below.

eternity

12-23-2010, 10:50 PM

This movie could have really done without a naked massage therapist. Kind of threw a heavy wrench in an otherwise fantastic movie.

ledfloyd

12-25-2010, 07:54 AM

the more i think about this the more i like it. i'm certain i like it more than lost in translation.

Boner M

12-27-2010, 11:47 PM

Hey Derek, post your thoughts. I'm starting to feel alone, not unlike a SofCop character.

NickGlass

01-06-2011, 03:14 PM

Oops, probably posting this in the wrong place before:

I feel odd defending Somewhere against those for whom it didn't "work." For me, it clicked. I was placed in its visual and aural reverie, and compelled by the way the characters interact, or what's necessary in order for them to attempt connection (nice move on Coppola's part incorporating Wii, strippers, ping-pong, pools, even Twilight). It's true I'm a fan of her filmmaking, and this is breezy yet slight--but that doesn't bother me; most of the imagery, which could be seen as burdensome, works due to Coppola's light touch and skewed sense of humor. She keenly observes the crudeness of the world, with more sincere amused confusion than judgment. It's still a film that impeccably captures L.A. Perhaps my favorite moment is when Johnny and Cleo are laying on the patio chairs, looking pleasantly isolated and static, and as the camera pulls out someone walks by the frame and you realize that--even though you're essentially getting an inside view of a celebrity's life--there's a total bubble around these characters. I don't care how obvious it is--there are too many delicate details despite its overall weightlessness.

Sorry Boner, I know exactly what you're saying but none of that bothered me--even the resemblances to Lost in Translation--when I was placed in the theater, in front of the screen for 97 minutes.

baby doll

03-02-2011, 07:11 AM

Hey Boner, what did you think about this being so influenced by Two Lane Blacktop?

Boner M

03-02-2011, 07:19 AM

Hey Boner, what did you think about this being so influenced by Two Lane Blacktop?
Via The Brown Bunny, perhaps. Otherwise, I don't see it.

Adam

03-02-2011, 07:40 AM

I remember somebody describing The Brown Bunny as 2LBT, except without Warren Oates. So if that's the case, then Somewhere is 2LBT, except with Elle Fanning as Warren Oates. Both movies even end with those characters driving away wistfully

baby doll

03-02-2011, 04:07 PM

Also, the dialogue is mostly inconsequential, and overheard more than heard, which is what made me think of Two Lane Blacktop, along with all the shots of the car driving around Los Angeles.

StanleyK

04-29-2011, 12:00 AM

Like NickGlass I don't think I can adequately defend it, not after seeing it just once, but I can say that it definitely worked for me. It felt very personal, not at all hollow; quite the opposite, I think Johnny Marco is easily as compelling as Marie Antoinette, and the film is similarly as concerned with understanding the character, making him as sympathetic as he is ultimately pitiable and broken. This, along with Coppola's ever-increasing mastery of the form (the compositions were exquisite, the editing sharp and the zooms almost Kubrickian; together they make some indelible imagery, like Johnny encased in mold, or the hilarious poledancing sequences, which are linked with the ice-skating one, or his detour to the stripper's house, or the poster moment), made the long stretches of silence and 'nothing happening' thrilling. I'm starting to get convinced that People Doing Things Silently is the best kind of cinema there is. The film does indeed meander a little towards the end, but it's mostly so strong that I can safely say I loved it.

origami_mustache

04-29-2011, 08:09 PM

Overall I liked it, although there were some things I wasn’t thrilled with. Actually it took me a while to get into the film because I wasn’t sure what Sofia Coppola was going for in the early going, but that was my fault not hers. I went in expecting a flashier film like her previous works, but Somewhere is a much more restrained minimalistic film. After about half an hour I began to understand the meticulous structure of the film and really started to appreciate it. The scene where Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is watching the two strippers pole dance to The Foo Fighter’s song “My Hero” was hilarious and maybe my favorite single scene of last year.

The film really started to click with me once we are introduced to his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning). Here, we really see Dorff’s character struggle with wanting to be a good father and avoid succumbing to his urges to be a ridiculous celebrity caricature. The interactions between Cleo and Johnny were remarkably naturalistic and certainly the strongest element of the film. The story arc is bare bones and fairly predictable, but it works for the most part, although I found the ending to be pretty corny. I would have preferred the film to end when Johnny decides to leave the hotel. I also thought that Coppola really beat us over the head with the whole sex addiction thing and at a certain point it started to seem ridiculous. I get it….he’s a movie star…he has a lot of sex. On the technical side I like the long static shots, and it was nice to see Sofia try something a little different, arguably something more mature? She doesn’t pull it off as nicely as the Taiwanese masters, but she still has her signature on it with the use of music and color palette. I enjoyed most of the music, even though I’m not typically a fan of Phoenix. Cinematography wise, Harris Savides has a nice resume and does a fine job here, but I would have liked to see her team up with Lance Acord again. Besides the ending, there was another scene that bothered me. I’m not sure what to make of the slow zoom out shot when they are laying out by the pool. It seemed like a shot better reserved for the end of the film (actually I thought that was the ending). Even though there are some missteps, there are some fantastic individual scenes. and altogether a decent movie.

Ezee E

05-28-2011, 06:11 AM

This was awful. A complete retread of Lost In Translation, but with lesser actors, and really just one angle instead of the two in LiT. The opening scene demonstrates that despite having a nice car, the novelty eventually wears thin, as it drives around and around, wearing out its welcome.

Sofia, so have you. Blegh.

And what was the deal with Pontius in the movie? He's sort of just there, and anyone that knows who he is will probably just be like, "That's the guy from Jackass, sort of hitting on Elle Fanniing."

More Benicio...

Pop Trash

05-28-2011, 06:34 AM

I also watched this tonight, but obviously had a better reaction than Mr. E. I've had too much red wine to pontificate, but I will say Elle Fanning did a good job.

Pop Trash

05-28-2011, 06:47 AM

OK. Just kidding. Maybe this isn't that good.

KubrickLoveChild

05-31-2011, 04:25 AM

I also watched this tonight, but obviously had a better reaction than Mr. E. I've had too much red wine to pontificate, but I will say Elle Fanning did a good job.

Agreed. I was amazed at the maturity she portrayed in her acting. It seemed so real, and is really the only thing that kept me from hating the whole thing.

Henry Gale

05-31-2011, 06:40 AM

Yeah, Fanning's performance somehow came away being the best thing in the film for me. Maybe she was just privileged to have the one part on screen written to convey a significant amount of energy, but I still think she still did a very good job. I look forward to seeing in her more stuff as time goes on, but particularly (and shortly) in Super 8.

Pop Trash

05-31-2011, 08:04 PM

ledfloyd

05-31-2011, 10:04 PM

i love both the limits of control and somewhere.

elixir

05-31-2011, 10:06 PM

my family has given me lots of shit for liking this movie (as they all HATED it).

Derek

05-31-2011, 11:59 PM

I get what S. Coppola is going for here. A bit of Antonioni meets Monte Hellman type vibe. But after it was over and I thought about it, no matter how artfully photographed, in the end I just didn't give a shit. I felt the same way about The Limits of Control, although I think I liked this a bit more. At least Elle Fanning resembled an actual compelling human being.

Thank god Limits of Control didn't attempt to have "actual human beings". It's so cool that fiction doesn't have to be bound by realism and films can be formal experiments with loose narratives and no likeable characters.

Somewhere, on the other hand, suuuucked.

Pop Trash

06-01-2011, 06:45 AM

Thank god Limits of Control didn't attempt to have "actual human beings". It's so cool that fiction doesn't have to be bound by realism and films can be formal experiments with loose narratives and no likeable characters.

Somewhere, on the other hand, suuuucked.

Two hours of a dude wandering around Spain, running into a chick who only gets cast for her ability to look hot naked, then a very obvious metaphor for art vs. commerce maaan?

Pass.

Good music though.