Eros by Wong Kar War, Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni (2004)
14 December 2006I stayed away from this film for a long long time, mainly because I heard the 2 films other than Wong Kar Wai’s are crap, and I do have to agree, but it is worth seeing for THE HAND, the Wong Kar Wai portion and it is phenomenal. Another Wong Kar Wai masterpiece.
THE HAND by Wong Kar Wai is a story of unrequited love between in 1950’s Shanghai. Gong Li is miss Hua, a high class courtesan whose life and lifestyle slowly declines. The film is about her relationship with the tailor Zhang (Chen Chang) who is the apprentice of Master Jin (Fung Tin), and who on his first job, she masturbated him with her hand so she could get used to women. And he became obsessed with her, his unrequited love leaving him to always help her out financially, and to stand by her no matter what.
EQUILIBRIUM by Steven Soderbergh is the strange tail of Nick Penrose (Robert Downey Jr.) who is at the psychiatrist Dr. Pearl (Alan Arkin). The film is in B&W and while Nick tells his story, Dr. Pearl is distracted, and is looking out the window with binoculars and is trying to talk to someone outside or across the way. Throwing paper airplanes and making hand gestures.
IL FILO PERICOLOSO DELLE COSE by Michelangelo Antonioni is about a couple, Christopher (Christopher Buchholz) and Cloe (Reginia Nemni) who have just broken, but then go out and spend the day together bickering and arguing. Nick then goes to an old house and finds Linda (Luisa Ranieri) who has sex with and admires the view.
THE HAND continues with Miss Hua getting older and not having as many clients, and Zhang quietly brooding over his unrequited love. Her life gets worse and worse, and she can no longer have her maid who takes care of her, and can’t pay her bills at the taylor. She goes on a trip for years, and when she returns she once again calls the Taylor to see Zhang, who dutifully comes. She is now living in a low rent motel, and works as a street whore. Zhang makes her one last dress, and takes care of her when she becomes too sick. Paying her rent, and looking after her. Finally she uses her hand on him again, and he tries to touch her. The film ends with Zhang returning to the Taylor telling Master Jin how she has left again at the airport, with many people seeing her off, while he thought she would be gone years before. And really we know she is.
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An another amazing Wong Kar Wai film about a relationship of unrequited love. The cinematography and production design and absolutely gorgeous. I just wish the DVD was compressed better, instead of as badly as it is. With the blacks showing a great amount of digital compression.
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EQUILIBRIUM continues with Nick in the office, and he takes a nap and has the the dream of the woman, now in beautiful color, he then awakens with his wife in bed. And finally we see him with Hal (Alan Arkin) talking about their latest advertising gig, which is shit, and about the snooze button, which Nick came up with while in the psychiatrists office. We then go back to b&W and see paper airplanes being thrown out the window.
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Huh? Is this supposed to be erotic? Is this supposed to be good or make any sense? I think it sucked.
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IL FILO PERICOLOSO DELLE COSE continues with Nick going to bed with Linda, who is already in bed naked, having led him into her place, then he wakes up and leaves her in bed. Cloe then goes off and has to get horses, then gets a call from Nick, where they talk about love, and talk about love while it snows in Paris where Nick is. Linda then dances naked at the beach, playing with a stick in the sand, and then we Cloe clothed on the beach, and then Cloe and Linda meet each other while nude at the beach, and that is it.
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Huh? Is this sexy? I think not. Is this good? I think not. WTF!