Eros (2004)

[hengcs]

The official website is here ...
http://wip.warnerbros.com/eros/

It has three shorts, from ...
- Wong Kar Wai (The Hand)
- Steven Soderbergh (Equilibrium)
- Michelangelo Antonioni (The Dangerous Thread of Things)

Although reviews have been less than positive, I guess I will still watch it!
;)

[hengcs]

watched for my review tonight ... hee hee
;)

[hengcs]

Well, it is easier and more pleasing to read with the color coding ... hee hee ...
;)

So, here you go ...

http://p219.ezboard.com/fforeignfilmsfrm7.showMessage?topicID=171.topic

[hengcs]

However, if you insist ... the black and white version ...
;)

The movie features three shorts, linked by Lorenzo Mattotti's drawings and by Caetano Veloso's song:
-- Wong Kar Wai (The Hand) (hereafter abbreviated as WKW)
-- Steven Soderbergh (Equilibrium) (hereafter abbreviated as SS)
-- Michelangelo Antonioni (The Dangerous Thread of Things) (hereafter abbreviated as MA)


An overall comparison ...

(1) MOST EROTIC??? NUDITY???

** Well, I think this category is the most important because they are supposed to be shorts that convey the movie theme ...

-- Amazingly and ironically, WKW has the least amount of nudity, but it is the MOST erotic and compelling.
-- SS has nudity only in the beginning and end (i.e., dreams); but frankly, the segment is NOT really erotic ... except "maybe" for the dream (which is helped by the really nice soundtrack ... which I like very much ... hee hee)
-- MA is interspersed with more nudity; unfortunately, the least erotic of them all!

Moral of the story: You do NOT need to depict nudity to be erotic ... ha ha ha
;)


(2) THE PLOT ...

-- WKW: it is the simplest to understand and the most compelling. their relationship is so fragile and yet so dependent. audience will be interested to know what happen next! there are 4 scenes that I really like ...
* pardon me for being terse so as NOT to reveal any spoiler *
(i) when they first met ... WOW!!!
(ii) when they met in a motel, and he said he knew her measurements ... watch it and you will know ...
(iii) when they met again when she was too sick and claimed she had nothing to offer him ... except ...
(iv) and the last scene ... (frankly, I think the ending is open to interpretation ... does anyone want to discuss the ending?)
-- SS: it is rather cryptic for most to understand ... fortunately, there is a mild sense of humor ... but does it suffice?
-- MA: unfortunately, not very compelling ... there are however a few good lines ...
e.g., "You're always looking for purity and end up in sh*t."
e.g., "I hope you can handle my chaos." "What kind of chaos?" "Total chaos."

Food for thought: it is a generalization ... but ... are asians more melancholic/subtle? and americans more humorous/neurotic? and europeans more graphic?

(3) Cinematography

-- WKW: With Christopher Doyle ... how can it go wrong? ha ha ha ... ... however, some may lament that it is too similar to other WKW's movies, e.g., Days of Being Wild, In the Mood of Love, 2046, etc ...
-- SS: It is predominantly filmed in black and white, with the beginning and ending scenes (i.e., dreams) in really cool color.
-- MA: Only the scenery is nice ...

Hmmm ... question of the day: is originality from earlier movies important (even though it is from the same director and cinematographer)? or is the consistency of personal style more important?
;)


IN CONCLUSION, WHICH DO I LIKE BEST?
-- UNDOUBTEDLY, WKW's The Hand!!!
-- Followed by SS's Equilibrium ...


PS: I happened to watch TV over the weekend and heard Ebert and Roeper's critics ... you can listen it here ...
http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/today.html

hmmm ... Roeper actually like Equilibrium best ... and I guess a few other critics too ... maybe they can decipher the codes better?! ...

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by hengcs
Well, it is easier and more pleasing to read with the color coding ... hee hee ...
;)

So, here you go ...

http://p219.ezboard.com/fforeignfilmsfrm7.showMessage?topicID=171.topic


It might be "easier and more pleasing" but I could've done w/out all the pop-ups I got which is one of the main reasons I don't visit that site very often.

Thanks for the review.

[hengcs]

Originally posted by arsaib4
... but I could've done w/out all the pop-ups I got which is one of the main reasons I don't visit that site very often.

Thanks for the review.

Hey ... you recall I also complained about that ...

Anyway, I reinstall my entire computer and Internet Explorer ... and Internet Explorer has the feature that SUPPRESSED or BLOCKED ALL pop ups

hooray ... so I have no more problems now ...

However, I still dislike the EMBEDDED advertisements, sigh ...

[hengcs]

Originally posted by hengcs
Hmmm ... question of the day: is originality from earlier movies important (even though it is from the same director and cinematographer)? or is the consistency of personal style more important?
;)


Actually I am quite interested to know all your views on my query ...

It seems like a lot of people (and maybe many of you) like a particular style from the same director ...

However, I was wondering if they should prove their versatility by adopting a different style ... because after a while, it gets kind of "predictable" in style (and imageries), only some unpredictability in plot ...

any comments?

[hengcs]

Hey,
According to the media from Taiwan, the latest news is:
Wong Kar Wai is preparing a sequel to his Eros (The Hand)!

The male cast is Chang Chen ...
He is allowed to choose his female lead: Zhang Ziyi, Lin Zhi Lin (a model), or Small S.
Guess what, Chang Chen would prefer someone new ...
;)

Source:
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-04-26/1100711996.html