Had great fun w/ this, Gerwig and Brody are perfect for Stillman dialogue. The trailer (or Stillman's other films) should give you an idea if you'll be annoyed or charmed.
[youtube]UMIA1KMwDqE[/youtube]
How the hell did I not know about this film till today? Last Days of Disco is one of my absolute favorite films, and I'm thrilled he's made another. Hoping it hits my area before too long!
I really want to see this, having an odd soft spot for Metropolitan and Barcelona.
Where the hell has this guy been hiding all these years?
Odd soft spot? They are good movies. I'm very excited about this.
No, they're really not. Stillman reminds me of Hal Hartley a bit because both of them make very narrow kind of films for a specific kind of audience.Quoting elixir (view post)
I'm not sure if that really makes them "good," or just good at appealing to my offbeat sensibilities.
Making more niche films means they are bad?
I'm saying they're not well made, they're pretty shallow at the end of the day, and they appeal to the kind of people who might, at some point in their lives, been tempted to pretend they were characters in an F Scott Fitzgerald novel.Making more niche films means they are bad?
Appealing to a certain niche doesn't make the film good just because the niche likes it.
You have a populist mentality (as in judging things by their success and mass appeal) that boggles my mind, especially when in the same sentence you admit the films succeed in their aim. You need to embrace the subjective.
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Hartley's films are very well made.
He made several of the best comedies of the 90s.
Market success is just one facet. It means, on some level, the work resonated with a large number of people. I'll always find that interesting because, if it's not immediately apparent, I'll always try and figure out why. It's not about the money, but the emotion invoked.
I wasn't implying that because a film succeeds with its core audience, it has then succeeded on any measure that matters creatively.
Your comment about subjectivity is provocative. Although, I'm not sure I see a distinct advantage in doing so. Or at least to the point where I'd want to talk about it.
It must've not been clear, but I was talking about Whitman, not Hartley.
Holy shit how did I missed this. I love Stillman. I've been out of the loop for too long. I must see this ASAP.
See my latest blog entry: The Wolf of Wall Street and The New Cinema of Excess
I know what you mean. Both Stillman and Hartley are quite "stuff white people liked in the 90s." Then again, you could say similar things about Woody Allen's entire oeuvre.
Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:
Top Gun: Maverick - 8
Top Gun - 7
McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
Crimes of the Future - 8
Videodrome - 9
Valley Girl - 8
Summer of '42 - 7
In the Line of Fire - 8
Passenger 57 - 7
Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6
Whit Stillman's films are very well made.
Is this film available anywhere? I can't seem to find it anywhere on the InterWebz.
See my latest blog entry: The Wolf of Wall Street and The New Cinema of Excess
I think Stillman's films (I confess I haven't seen Barcelona yet) are personal stories about subjects Stillman finds interesting. I find them well written and well made (even if he doesn't have the greatest sense of visual flair--which I really don't think impedes the success of his work). I happen to find the same things interesting, which may have helped the work to resonate with me, but if we use that to discredit it, it seems like we're getting dangerously close to a place where we're appealing to some objectively good art.
I think Whit Stillman's films are objectively good by any known acceptable standard of film analysis. I don't see the controversy here. They're witty, insightful, well acted, and cleverly shot. He's a very charming filmmaker. I don't see the hesitation to simply say just that. No - he's no Tarkovsky, but so what?
ANYWAYS, does anyone know where I find this film ???
See my latest blog entry: The Wolf of Wall Street and The New Cinema of Excess
I don't think it's leaked yet, if that's what you are asking, but it comes out in theaters in the US starting this weekend...
I think it got a couple of festival showings last year, but IMDb has April 6, 2012 as its US release date.
If you're thinking of pirating it, don't be that guy.
Ah, I thought it was already out.
And c'mon, don't pretend like we aren't among thieves here.
See my latest blog entry: The Wolf of Wall Street and The New Cinema of Excess
Yeah, most of the Internet seems to only believe that it's worth reporting its Venice premiere date. (I think it was Venice.)
It looks like it's only playing at 4 theaters (2 in NY, 2 in LA) on the 6th, according to Moviefone. Ugh.
See my latest blog entry: The Wolf of Wall Street and The New Cinema of Excess
There is truth to this, but assuming an 'objective' stance makes film discussion on a forum for cinephiles deeply uninteresting.
Hm, you lost me. How am I assuming an objective stance?
I think a kind of worldview, or consistent criteria, is important to have, and that if you're serious about a thing, you should adopt one.
Otherwise, as I said elsewhere, we might as well be talking abut ice cream.
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