I've only watched Somewhere and Virgin Suicides.
I've heard LiT, MA and Somewhere are basically about the same themes of loneliness and the "fish out of water" feeling.
While Virgin Suicides deals with this too, but has a more solid backbone and more of a story, altough its main psychological themes aren't explored nearly as good as the other 3 (i know for a fact Somewhere is beter at this than VS).
I suppose MA has a more appealing atmosphere than minimalistic Somewhere, but some of Sofia's fans agree that MA is the least succesful, out of the first 3 films I've mentioned, at exploring the character's motivations.
While Lost in Translation is said to be as good, more or less, as Somewhere at exploring this psyche's themes, plus the fact of being less minimalistic than this one would only make it kind-of-better. That's my guess, altough I'd have to watch it for myself.
MA is not bad, but it's the less interesting for some people so I'd guess it'd be the last on my list.
And between Somewhere and VS I prefer much more Somewhere, basically because it uses a whole lot better it's minimal resources: the actors are great, the direction is amazing at times, a WAY MORE REALISTIC FEEL TO IT regarding the story, etc. Thus, out of the 2, Somewhere is my favorite.
If I had to guess, Somewhere could be either #1 or #2 competing against Lost in Translation on my virtual list of all of Sofia's films, while VS would be in #3 and MA in #4.
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ilovetati
13 years ago
Marie Antoinette is just less conventional than what people expect going into the film, so it throws a lot of people off, especially when misinterpreted. Besides LiT, I think it analyzes mood of a kindred spirit better than Sofia's others.
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HotRod_SC
13 years ago
Haven't seen more than a couple of LiT scenes yet, but I think if Somewhere has an advantage over it, it must be that it's main character is less emotionally attaching than LiT's.
I mean everybody loves Bill Murray's characters even when quiet, down and bitter, that human quality is innate to him, very few actors can take advantage of it that well; while Johnny Marco is not even nearly as sympathetic, he actually only distills empathy while around with his daughter, otherwise you would think he's a boring bohemian dick who has it all and might be as much of a bad boy as his girls say about him. He's a dick alright, but just because he hates his life and takes it out on others around him.
What I'm saying is that Somewhere is mainly different to LiT in that people should find it harder to symphatize with Marco since he has not many redeeming qualities, therefore it's more gratifying for people to actually understand the character when they felt they don't have to at first, the story can be actually kind of gratifying, since there are so many things to discover with careful view and attention, plus it also has a kind of sweetness to its simplicity.
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HotRod_SC
13 years ago
Haven't seen more than a couple of LiT scenes yet, but I think if Somewhere has an advantage over it, it must be that it's main character is less emotionally attaching than LiT's.
I mean everybody loves Bill Murray's characters even when quiet, down and bitter, that human quality is innate to him, very few actors can take advantage of it that well; while Johnny Marco is not even nearly as sympathetic, he actually only distills empathy while around with his daughter, otherwise you would think he's a boring bohemian dick who has it all and might be as much of a bad boy as his girls say about him. He's a dick alright, but just because he hates his life and takes it out on others around him.
What I'm saying is that Somewhere is mainly different to LiT in that people should find it harder to symphatize with Marco since he has not many redeeming qualities, therefore it's more gratifying for people to actually understand the character when they felt they don't have to at first, the story can be actually kind of gratifying, since there are so many things to discover with careful view and attention, plus it also has a kind of sweetness to its simplicity.
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