Hope and Glory, written and directed by John
Boorman
9 out of 10
A different
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
Hope and
Glory is a masterpiece.
It is
included on The New Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list:
And it was
nominated for five Academy Awards, including the ones for Best Picture, Best
Director, and
best Screenplay.
It won the
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in the Comedy category and John Boorman
was again nominated for best screenplay and director.
Out of the
no less than thirteen BAFTA nominations- for Best Film, Screenplay, Actress and
more- it won only one.
-
It was the year of Jean de Florette-
another outstanding masterpiece
What makes
Hope and Glory even more interesting is the fact that the director-writer has
produced a semi-autobiographical work.
The hero is
Bill and he is nine.
The story
takes place during World War II.
And we have
the usual horrors that this entails.
But the
perspective is different here.
Bill and
his mates enjoy the freedom to roam among the bombed and destroyed houses,
where they find bullets and dangerous toys.
One qualm
that I have about this otherwise perfect movie is the tender age of the
protagonists and their “occupations”.
Yes, it is
during the war and so much can be justified by the fact that the world is
upside down in such a conflict.
-
“All is fair in love and war”
-
That is what a stupid- like almost
all such wise mots- saying claims
But children
get to see, spy on, speculate about too much sex- at least it seems to me and I
admit it is funny at times.
Bill sees
his sister Dawn- who is again too young at about fifteen- having sex in a
ruined house and he starts throwing stones- after saying fuck.
At another
time, the same Bill spies on Dawn and talks to another, smaller sibling, who
knows what mother and father are doing in intimacy, apparently having had the
chance to see them, which is disturbing.
It ends
with another joke, as Bill pretends to have done it with a girl and when asked
the name and says one, the younger sister concludes:
-
Liar!
In another
good moment, a friend tries to say goodbye to Bill’s father, as the latter
drives the car along the road.
And they keep
gesticulating and father is impressed and says so, with the insistence with which
the man runs along the car.
The poor
fellow has a twisted face and keeps on making frantic gestures which are
interpreted as a frenzy good bye.
-
Only his hand was stuck in the door
of the car!
Grandfather
George has some good, funny moments, even if a few of them are somewhat in
between.
There is
both embarrassment and humor.
I recalled
The King’s Speech, a film that was acclaimed and awarded many prizes, in the
scene where the father comments on the…King’s Speech.
-
It is much better this year
-
You said so last year!
-
The king and country are one
This is a
fabulous film and one of
-
My Best 100 Movies
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu