Directed by: Matthew Barney Starring: Matthew Barney, Björk I was just reading the entry on Barney's "Cremaster 3" and it appears he doesn't have too many supporters on the forums here, but this movie struck me in a unique way and I'd like to see what others thought. I first heard about the movie (and Matthew Barney in general) through the release of Björk's soundtrack for it back in July 2005. I bought the album, and while it took me a while to get into it, I enjoyed it very much. I decided that I wanted to see the movie when it came out on DVD, which as I found out, will probably be long after hell freezes over. Basically, the movie is about two "occidental tourists" who meet on a Japanese whaling ship and get married in a ceremony that is at once traditional and completely hosed up. There are also several other side stories which Barney returns to every once in a while (Japanese women diving in the ocean for pearls, an old dried up chunk of petroleum jelly, etc.). One complaint that I have heard of Barney's work is that his pretentious imagery makes no sense. But I see this type of storytelling as comparable to Samuel Beckett's style: Barney presents us with images and stories and then at the end of the movie, pulls them away from us. We are left wondering what the point was, and for some people, that's a bad thing. But I really like the fact that I had to think so hard about this, and bring my own meaning to it. Barney didn't force a message down his audience's throats, he gave them a beautiful film with a lot of material to contemplate. I don't know what else to say about this movie. I really liked it. 4.5/5 RATING: 4.5 PROS: visually stunning, thought provoking CONS: kind of long, very confusing ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446685/
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# ? Dec 18, 2006 10:18 |
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# ? Apr 18, 2024 07:49 |
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The last 45 minutes where Bjork and Barney cut each other up while the water rises and we're treated to nothing but the sound of a guy going "oooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA" and then someone hitting a 2x4 against a pole were just a bit much for me. I also very much enjoyed Barney's two or three lines in the film - he sounded like he was doing voices for another Shenmue game. If you're into art films, more power to you, and I hope you enjoy this. As someone who saw this because it looked so drat absurd that it may have had redeeming comedic value, it was a disappointment. As sort of a half-fan of Bjork, I didn't think the music was all that great either. 1.5/5
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# ? Dec 28, 2006 23:25 |
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Oh my god, DR9. I went to see this with my sister and her fiancee last year here in DC. I did appreciate a lot of the artistry of the film, and I understood going in that this wasn't the sort of movie that has much of a plot, per se, but when the lights came up at the end, we all sort of shook our heads and slumped out of the theater. Painful. "Tell me about your vessel." 1/5
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# ? Jan 8, 2007 23:30 |