Film Reviews by None

Amores Peros is an excellent portrayal of losing whats important and how we and those around us get caught up in and become the unconsciouse archietitchs of such chaos. By Looking at three superfically unrealted stories we begin to see what all three have in common.

But the brillance of the film is in the way it is written which at times fells like there is no narrative at all and that you are as ignorant as the characters you are watching. The outlook of the writer is also uncompromizingly bleak with his focus seemingly resting on the lose of idealisim in the face of the uglyness of the world. As such it is a film without hope.

The only critic of the film would be its use of gross mortal animal violence for no other reason than to achieve certain "real" shots. It goes without saying therefore that a lot of dogs where brazinly murdered for the production of this film.

But despite this whats done is done and unneccassary barbarizim to one side this is an excellent film and shouldn't be missed.

Although scenes from a marriage is a very long production with a cast that you could count on your hand, it seems to be exactly all that it needs to be. Another brillant example of Bergman's genius.

It centers on the conversations between a married couple who at first seem infinitly fond of each other but as the film progreses all is not as blissful as it first seems. The traits and the all-to-human flaws of the characters involved are brilliantly dealt with through excellent acting and producing.

Viewers will also not want to miss Saraband which was made just three years ago as a thirty-year-later sequel, equally brilliant and compelling.

This is not an easy film to watch. It requires consentration and open mindedness and there is no clear narrative dished out from the screen. And yet it gives so much. The character's are mostly difficult to like and in Johan's case downright repulsive, yet through the telling of the story you are brought to share an empathy with them and to recognize your own flaws in them.

The style of the film is remarkably similar to its prequile scenes from a marriage, there are as many cast as could be fitted into a car, lacks humour (which is unusual for Bergman) and almost exclussivly focuses on dialogue and it shares in its Brillance, a deeply enlightening film.

This film will make you laugh, cry and gasp no matter how desensitiesed you consider yourself to be. It does this through making the characters and the plot so lifelike and believable that you are drawn into that summer of 1983 in Preston. The portrayal of the characters beutifully explains why they behave the way they do and how they shape and influence each other.

Excellent perfermences all round, it would be a terrible shame to miss.

I was amazed and dazilled by the spectacular camera work of this film, i didn't expect a film to have been made so soon after the invention of cinema to be so amazingly sophisticated that it rivals todays achievements. Marnau certainly knew a creepy shot and how to go about creating it, no other film of any sort has ever frightened me this much.

Wonderful, a universal must see!

Blackboards tells a chillingly realistic story of the lives of two wandering teachers who are called blackboards after their only worldly possesions which they carry with twine on their backs. It looks at the seemingly hopeless daily brutality faced by both the "blackboards" and the people they encouner from 8 year old artefact smugglers to ageing Nomad tribes people.

The film looks at how their nobal aspirations of educating people who have nothing are faced with apthy by people struggling to stay alive.

One of the most moving scene's is when a nomad asks if an elderly man with severe urine retention can use the blackboard to get carried on, in exchange for four walnuts. An offer which the starving teacher has no choice but to accept.

But what makes the film truely acceptional is the treatment of the cast, rarely can a crew portray such understanding and humanity.

A timely film which must be seen.