The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

     The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is one of those movies that got a lot of buzz during Oscar season a couple of years back. Indie and Foreign. Yeah, it had followers for sure. The premise is of a man that has a stroke and finds himself paralyzed, only able to blink his single eye to communicate. Based on a true story, it follows him on the quest to...um... find what it means to live and be human. Pretty obvious plotline, right?
     I ain't gonna lie, I was feeling a bit trepidatious starting this movie. Clearly, this was not gonna be an easy film to sit through, and often I find that there needs to be a certain mood. But since I rarely find myself in the neighborhood of such a mood, the only way to get watch it is to just barrel through my hesitation and go for it. And it was worth it. Let me harp on presentation. At the very least, the first half of the film is in first-person perspective of the character. You are locked in there with him. It's grueling to be so limited by the camera in a way that is rare in a film and the conceit truly works. Once it leaves from that perspective, it feels like a breath of fresh air, but you still feel how limited the man is in his own body.
      Also, unlike in other movies that take the inspiration for such a viewpoint from video games with horrid results, here it actually fits. Video games are created to simulate stories or act on fictitious events. In movies, this perspective rings false, since we as the audience are not interacting, but remain observers. In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it works PERFECTLY then. We are as trapped as this man is. We as the audience can only observe, as can only Bauby (our protagonist). I think it is no coincidence (and fits into the backstory of Bauby) that the women in this movie are all amazingly beautiful. Achingly beautiful, even. We always see gorgeous females on the big screen and watch our hero gallantly win said beauty(s). But not this time, at least not in such a Hollywood manner. She is as close, and yet as untouchable as we are to her. It's tantalizing and rending.
      That's just smart film-making.
      Bauby goes through the story as you would expect, starting with desperation and his eventual rise to grace. But, it's not so crassly done. The only thing that felt a bit hard pressed is that the movement between despair and grace is too quick. Then again, maybe that actually is how it goes, but it somehow rings false. Bauby just declares, "I have decided to stop pitying myself." Is it that simple? Maybe. There was a lot of hurt, but it was a bit tough to see where the turnaround came. But that's fine. Because the movie is about how one finds meaning in life. You have to DECIDE to get meaning. And Buaby does that, even if the film doesn't show how it came about.
      This is hard movie to watch, but one that is just as hard to dismiss. Watch it for an emotional turn. Do it.

- piecar

Red Riding

Red Riding is a trilogy, with 3 distinct directors, but with the same actors. I'll try to tackle each of these movies as a whole.  Each of the three movies takes place during a different year, 1974, 1980, 1983, respectively. They are subtitled as such.

The production is British, and takes place in Yorkshire specifically. Ostensibly, the films are about a serial murder(s) that seems to not get caught. That is not what these movies are about. I was taken for a loop when I realized that this is actually a movie dealing with police corruption in Yorkshire. Which is fine, but, it wasn't marketed that way, so if you're expecting Hannibal you're going to have a dive a bit deeper into this review to see if you actually are interested.

Another misrepresented point is that this is based on a true story. Let's backtrack on that also, from what I now understand, only one movie is based on events surrounding a serial killer and very weakly at that. This is a work of complete fiction. For the most part it stays true to a realistic feel. The three movies, even though they are different in plot points and view points, seem to follow a similar story. I'll summarize each story..

The first movie is from the point of view of a journalist, played by Andrew Garfield, who looks into a series of missing cases and murders of little girls. All of this leads him to find a shady business man played by Sean Bean and his control over the police force. The journalist gets beaten for his investigation and retaliation ensues.

The second one deals with a Manchester detective that comes in to find who is killing these girls. All of these clues lead him to see how corrupt the Yorkshire police force really is. The detective gets harassed for his investigation and he sees how deep it all goes.

The third film deals with two viewpoints, one of a detective and a lawyer (called a solicitor). The detective is searching for a missing girl, while the lawyer is trying to find out why innocent people are being rounded up for murders. All of this leads the lawyer to find that the Yorkshire police force is corrupt. The detective gets midle harassed for the investigation. It all ends rather well.

Yeah... pretty similar-ish. With the first two being closest in tone. I'm harping on the negatives here, but each movie really does show off a scary group of people. The police have never looked dirtier than here. And you truly feel that the characters are trying to break through a wall or being broken by it. There is just one horrible police officer after the other. Not only are they negligent, but willfully evil. Maybe too much so. The first movie was spectacular, but the ending...it just didn't feel right. It did not fit the tone of the rest of the film, and it was a bit outlandish. The second film is the best one. It really goes foward in looking at what an utterly corrupt group looks like. It's also the most like a thriller. Finding out that it was directed by the same man as Man On Wire wasn't too surprising. The third one is probably the most watchable, because of the redemption felt at the end, but is about on par with the first one, due to some plot missteps and some confusing chronology.

The actors are all quite good and the directing was capable and even great at times. But the writing and editing needed some more work. If you have the time, I'd say, see the three movies. But if you only had time to see one, watch the second film. It's undoubtedly the tightest, but also the most depressing. There isn't too much you'll miss from the first. Ultimately, the movies were okay. I don't regret watching them, but there are better things out there.

 - piecar