A week on Friday I am off to a double bill of this and Bad Timing which is on at my local repertory cinema (who are doing a Roeg retrospective)
Nic Roeg and Miranda Richardson will apparently be in attendance to introduce Puffball
So if I were to pass some of your comments on, what would they be?
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Just got back from this screening. Sadly there wasn't a Q&A - Nic Roeg just gave a brief introduction in which he expressed his dislike for the term 'genre' and asked the audience to 'keep an open mind and let the film happen'. It was great to see him, nevertheless. Having now seen the film I must say I'm mystified by the generally derisive reaction it has had. I found it texturally a lot more interesting than most films of recent years, and it was punctuated with the bursts of startling imagery which made it unmistakably a Nic Roeg work. Riverside Studio audiences have a tendency to snigger at the faintest hint of risibility, and this was certainly the case here, but those moments were more indicative of Roeg's lack of self-consciousness and refusal to work to a formula. While the film was perhaps overlong, and occasionally uncomfortable to watch, it was a treat to see a new piece of work by one of the great film directors of our times.
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I am a big Nic Roeg fan and probably can be a little intense but I just don't get why this film is so derided. Ok, a little muddled perhaps, or not very clear, but then the same could be said for 'Man Who Fell To Earth'. Texturally I thought it was beautifully made and shared the same sort of elasticity of time and space as the classic Roeg films and many of the themes. I felt there was a slight problem with the pacing and the witchy stuff seemed to lack credibility and belong to a lesser film (I don't know why the supernatural elements of 'Don't Look Now' seem totally acceptable but not in 'Puffball':but to me they look a little OTT and slightly silly in places here).
There seems to be no consensus in the imdb reviews over the acting. One praises Kelly Reilly, another finds her weak. Some condemn the film's "overacting" while another says Miranda Richardson "surpasses herself". personally, although she is clearly very gifted, I have a problem with her style in that I frequently find myself aware that she is acting, breaking the illusion, which happened for me with 'Puffball'. Also despite Rita Tushingham looking undoubtedly creepy she came across as a bit of a stereotypical mad old hag.
I still think this is Roeg's most interesting and layered film since Eureka and I really hope he doesn't allow all the acerbic opinions put him off making another.
I agree wholeheartedly agree that PUFFBALL does not deserve the drubbing it's received. If anything, Roeg's down to earth but imaginative depiction of magic made me very happy. It's nice to see Roeg reaching out beyond the norm again. In an age where most movies sort of blend together and telegraph their intentions within the first fifteen minutes, a film like PUFFBALL, even with its flaws, is something genuinely special.
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"I'm now as afraid of mushrooms as I am of red raincoats."
shareI'd say to him the that the footage had enough potential to be a good film, but that the final result was ruined in post-production.
shareI'd say to him the that the footage had enough potential to be a good film, but that the final result was ruined in post-production.
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