Lives of Others Movies, posted by movie person, a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood, on May 11, 2007 at 10:53 am
Ignorance is sweeping the world.
Thus, when art uncovers some measure of knowledge (no matter how limited in historical context), brings it to our consciousness, and stirs our understanding of human failure and human possibility, then we need to share it and explore it.
Such art is the film, The Lives of Others, at the Guild Theater on El Camino Real in Menlo Park.
In reacting to the amazing power that this film exerted on me I looked up reviews on the Internet. One that amused me intensely reported that "Hollywood" was contemplating a remake of this film. This is as ridiculous (ignorant) as trying to remake The Conversation, or Casablanca for that matter.
One of the miracles of life is that we retain uniqueness in art; imitations of Bogart and Bergman (her image in that hat) are not possible. The transformation of reality into artistic triumph in The
Queen will not be imitated.
But, back to my main concern. Who will see this film. Will you?
Posted by Rebecca, a resident of another community, on May 16, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I thought "The Lives of Others" was a remarkable film. (And as A&E editor of the Weekly, I read a lot of reviews.) To "Americanize" it would miss the point entirely. This is a European film taking a hard look at a chapter in Europe's history, with incredible courage.
The performance of Ulrich Muhe stood out the most for me. When an actor can convey so much with such subtlety, that shows incredible discipline, depth and understanding of the issues raised in the script.
Posted by Questions & Comments, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on May 31, 2007 at 4:00 pm
If there was a flaw in this film, it was beyond my sensibilities. But I'm more of a book person than a film person. Pan's Labyrinth was quite good. Yes, The Queen, could be seen again. I didn't do well with Children of Men; the loud, throbbing sound, coupled w/some hand-held camera scenes was more than a bit much and sent me to the nearest trash cannister with what became the flu. Liked Little Miss Sunshine, a family is family no matter what film. Same for The Namesake which I didn't realize until the film was underway that it was from the story I had read, a sort of add-on pleasure.
Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 28, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Sorry, I lost all interest with the "ignorance is sweeping the world" statement. What a thing to say when more people have more information at their disposal than at any time in history!
I am not enticed by elitist manipulations, and I felt manipulated by this sentence. As if I, too, will remain ignorant if I fail to see this movie.
Posted by Rosemary, a resident of the Evergreen Park neighborhood, on Jul 28, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Resident, Perhaps I'm more memory-impaired than I realized, but where did the statement "ignorance is sweeping the world" come in? If it was at the beginning, did you just walk out on that provocation?
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