Man With A Movie List

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer Year: 1943 Run-time: 1 hr 40 min There's too much to break down here. But while there are fascinating readings of this film that reflects a totalitarian society like the Nazi rule of Denmark at the time, I feel like that allegory is a little indirect. Ultimately, I see this as Dreyer's return to the themes and pacing of The Passion of Joan of Arc , and though the comparison is interesting, the film can't really escape the large shadow that the predecessor casts. Dreyer expressed much more with faces in the earlier silent film than he does with the simple and plaintive dialogue in this one. Though there are beautiful, haunting moments, it doesn't quite work for me. 

Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Year: 1943 Run-time: 2 hr 43 min This is a pretty fascinating film that takes an unpredictable turn out the front gate - it takes an unflattering comic book caricature of a pompous English general and spends two hours humanizing him, in the meantime philosophizing about what it will take to win the war. As Patton Oswalt said while praising the film, it's as if someone were to adapt Family Circus into The Ice Storm . There are many unflattering aspects of being British on display here - not the least of which is the colonialism which is unfortunately only indirectly hinted at - but whatever your final verdict on the message of the film, it's a powerful one that deserves to be watched, especially in these uncertain times.

Director: Jacques Torneur Year: 1943 Run-time: 1 hr 9 min - If I were a snarky Youtube reviewer, I would subtitle this movie " Jane Eyre , with added sexism and racism". And there is some truth to that - the "wife in the attic" becomes the titular zombie, but her fate is largely due to her own desires to run away. Also, although Torneur takes a more honest look at the effects of colonialism and slavery than any contemporary film, the needs of the schlock-horror setup means that, yes, the powers of voodoo are actually real. Ultimately, this was a fascinating film, but a deeply flawed one. Torneur has a wide oeuvre, though, so I have rising hopes for the others of his films on the list.