The Writer's Poke

Roman Polanski speaks five languages -- Polish, French, English, Spanish, and Russian -- and this is the first film he directed in English. In an interview included on the Criterion DVD, he said that for him, characters matter more than the story, because you will remember the characters long after you forget what the story and the plot elements were. And at least in the case of this movie, that's probably absolutely true. We are definitely going to remember Catherine Deneuve's performance, even if we never definitely learn why the character, Carol, is as she is.  The film opens with the close-up on a human eye -- Carol's (Catherine Deneuve) eye. The names of the movie's cast and crew come and go, but the eye continues to take up the background of the screen. Who is Carol? She's a young blonde French hairdresser living in London. She lives with her older sister, who is having an affair with a married man. Carol doesn't seem to like him much. He puts his toothbru...

The theatrical version, A Short Film about Killing (1989) is about 24 minutes longer than this version. Interestingly, all additional 24 minutes take place before Jacek murders the Taxi Driver. This made me wonder: Why did Kieslowski add all the additional content to the front end of the film? The last 25 minutes of each version is basically the same. What could have been added to that section? And that got me thinking about all of the stuff that was left out or not fully explained in this version (as well as, for the most part, the other version). For example, only Piotr (Krzysztof Globisz) visits Jacek in prison. None of Jacek's family -- his brothers and mother -- visit him as he waits for his death sentence to be carried out.  We also learn about a few things by dialogue only. For example, Piotr mentions than he was in the same coffeehouse right before Jacek committed the murder. In the extended version, we actually get to see them in the coffeeshop at the same time.  Piot...

Dorota (Krystyna Janda) is mean and nobody likes her. Actually, her husband likes her. He thinks they're having a baby. Her lover also likes her. He tells her so on the phone, but she's already put the phone down and doesn't hear him. When I asked my Humanities students if they felt empathy or judgement for Dorota and the Doctor, it was unanimous. They all felt empathy for the Doctor, but they also felt judgement for Dorota. Maybe I shouldn't have presented the question as either/or. Maybe we can feel both at the same time, just as Dorota tells the Doctor that it's possible to love two men at the same time.  Actually, the class didn't have much time to discuss and think about the question. If they had had more time, I bet more students would start to feel empathetic. Dorota really wants to be a mother, for example. Anyone would be empathetic for that. She's even willing to sacrifice that want if her husband lives. The judgement comes in, of course, because s...

The one scene I appreciated was when Roger (Steve Martin) needs to win a big case, but he's prepped so much that he falls asleep in the courtroom. Edwina (Lily Tomlin) has died and somehow her spirit has entered his body. She tries to wake up "her other half," but when Roger won't wake up, she takes over and pretends, badly, to be Roger, and she almost wins the case -- until Roger does wake up, and she learns that the reasons for winning would be lie... forcing the case to be lost. Why did Edwina's spirit enter Roger's body? That was an accident. There was always another vessel in mind. But suspend your need to know how and why things happen in this film. Just focus on this: Is it funny? Does the movie hold up? I don't think so. It never kept my attention, really. Martin is in his "The Jerk" mode (just slightly muted). Tomlin is fine, but the only way we can see her spirit is when Martin looks in a mirror. I know this is just a cute way of lettin...

Ben Stiller makes a very believable 16-year-old nerd. Cameron Diaz, too, can pass as the pretty popular high school girl. I found that I really liked the opening set-up more than most of what followed. Sometimes I find myself writing a different movie than the one written. It's a bad habit, I guess, but that opening segment was so good, I just found myself a little disappointed when it then jumped ahead 13 years to the present. The movie as written: Ted (Stiller) is a nerd, but for whatever reason, the pretty girl, Mary (Diaz), likes him. She is the one who actually invites him to Prom. Stiller's smile, mouthful of braces, is so sweet. He looks like Charlie Brown got asked to the Prom by the Little Redheaded girl. Unfortunately, they never make it to Prom. A ridiculous series of events in the bathroom lands Ted in the hospital, and Mary moves away. That's odd. As nice and as considerate as Mary is, she doesn't visit Ted in the hospital, and she never contacts him again....

"My sister hit and killed a deer. My mother sees through this euphemism, for it is a euphemism. Everything that happens in this city is a euphemism. Mother understands in a second what this deer blood and fur means. And somehow, she's right. She can read our family and our civic secrets, our desire and our shame, as easily as she can read a newspaper." -- Guy Maddin (narrator) In July 2015, I spent the night in Winnipeg. I had the free time to stay longer, but one night was enough. Even in the warmer months, Winnipeg somehow managed to maintain its gloomy winter exterior. I would like to go back some day to see if it's actually like I remember it, but who knows it I will. Even though I live in Minnesota, it's still an eight-hour drive, plus the time spent crossing the border. But today I went back to Winnipeg with Guy Maddin as my tour guide. I need Maddin in my life. So many films are predictable, cut-by-numbers affairs. They're supposed to be. That's wh...