Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Blue Valentine
(2010)

RATING:100%
FORMAT:Cinema



a sexual relationship movie of singular distinction that refuses to pull any punches about the true sins of the flesh: Divorce.

Not really a love story, since that particular human quality is both undefined and undemonstrated here, more a profound analysis of a relationship on the rocks; resulting from the need for love rather than the ability to share it with someone else from the outset. We see the background of two people from averagely-dysfunctional families where love was not the norm and their resultant attempts to achieve something worthwhile from their sex lives that are better than their parents possessed. But such a goal can never lead anywhere because both are still obsessing about the past and telling each other what they need rather than actually doing it: They talk about love but find the act itself problematic. Living in the past makes the contrast between their courtship and their divorce all the more stark; while simultaneously revealing how much like their parents they have - in the end - become.

The acting is first-rate from the two leads Michelle WILLIAMS & Ryan GOSLING and they grip and hold our attention from first to last. They embody their characters completely: The male side desperate to prove he is caring and sensitive; the female, wanting her Prince Charming. The writing and direction are exemplary from Derek Cianfrance and reveal the film as wrenched from the personal experience of wanting to achieve a so-called happiness through others that simply does not exist. The documentary-style of the filmmaking emphasizes the realism of the performances, along with the extreme close-ups and shallow focus: We feel very much a part of the lives of these two people. Like Two Lovers, this deals unflinchingly with sexual love in the modern, materialistic West. A modern-day horror story, if ever there was one.


Select this image for a better review than mine:
WEBSITE: Blue Valentine (2010)...
(Image: http://www.ikisseddatinghello.com/)


Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

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Science:



No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power.



Jacob Bronowski… (1908 - 74), British scientist, author. Encounter (London, July 1971).


Sleep of Reason:



The dream of reason produces monsters. Imagination deserted by reason creates impossible, useless thoughts. United with reason, imagination is the mother of all art and the source of all its beauty.



Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes… (1746-1828), Spanish painter. Caption to Caprichos, number 43, a series of eighty etchings completed in 1798, satirical and grotesque in form.


Humans & Aliens:



I am human and let nothing human be alien to me.



Terence… (circa 190-159 BC), Roman dramatist. Chremes, in The Self-Tormentor [Heauton Timorumenos], act 1, scene 1.


Führerprinzip:



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