Saw
The Squid and the Whale yesterday. Family breakdown, as the result of divorce - in the 1980s. Very believable with some almost excruciatingly familiar situations. Bernard, the father, is an amazingly convincing creation. <shudder> Anyway, quite an involving film with <thankfully> some black humour to temper the angst a little.
FAMILY MATTERS
The Squid and the Whale"
by DAVID DENBY
Posted 2005-10-17
When little kids look up, they see gods hovering over them. Parents are big, they make things appear and disappear, and they know just about everything, which is one reason kids keep secrets and tell lies?-they need to claim a little power for themselves. As children get older, however, their parents seem less and less like gods. They may even seem grasping and dangerous?-more like monsters. At the center of Noah Baumbach's remarkable "The Squid and the Whale" are two brothers?-Walt (Jesse Eisenberg), who is sixteen, and a bright and fluent poseur, and Frank (Owen Kline), a twelve-year-old in a sexual uproar?-and both boys, as they look at their parents, are caught between feelings of adoration and disgust. The time is 1986, in Brooklyn's Park Slope, the land of frontage-envy, fine old furniture, and dark-stained, well-stocked bookshelves. In these idyllic streets, the boys' parents, both writers, are breaking up and behaving badly. The dad, Bernard (Jeff Daniels), a college English teacher and an increasingly unsuccessful novelist, has become a sour and selfish liar; the mom, Joan (Laura Linney), can't stop leaving evidence of her love affairs around the house. Desolate over the breakup, and trying to hold on to their love for their parents, the boys fall into nutty imitative behavior. Walt parrots every one of his dad's huffy opinions; Frank reënacts his mom's indiscretions by rubbing his crotch against library shelves and depositing his substance on schoolbooks and lockers. "The Squid and the Whale" is a satirical comedy?-ruthless and heartbreaking, but a comedy nonetheless. The movie is also about disintegration and the possibility of rebirth. In other words, it's a small miracle.... <cont>
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/articles/051024crci_cinema
) recommendations are:
) Water is set in India, in 1938. It's about the practice of removing widows from the life of the community, following the death of their husbands. Deepa Mehta, the director, was in town (Melbourne) to introduce this preview of the film. She talked about the political controversy raised by the film & the opposition of Hindu fundamentalists to its production. I'm so glad she was finally able to achieve her goals. It was a wonderful, engrossing experience. Just beautiful!
Ah, the motorcycle is Indian! (information courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes reviews) Ah, I see! I will definitely go see it. Thanks! 