Bille August is almost universally believed to be the man who received not one, but TWO undeserved Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
He has already proved himself unable to deal with literary adaptations, slaughtering both The House of the Spirits and Les Misérables..
Why on earth is anyone letting him do this movie? It will be the umpteenth stolid, horrid, sterile adaptation that will only hurt the excellent and deserved reputation the book has..
[deleted]
Did you ever watch Pelle the Conqueror? It's an extraordinary, poignant movie.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
Yes I did. A good movie, FAR from extraordinary, whose best asset is Max von Sydow's performance. And still, we're talking about a movie made in the 80's. August's career has nosedived, since.
share[deleted]
Actually had the chance to see it in Berlin.. And, no, sadly, I haven't been positively surprised. Found the movie weak in itself, and an absolute mess if compared to the novel; a serious misfire. I loved the book, so, really, I was hoping for a good adaptation. But, go see it by yourself (although, really, stick to the book, if you want to enjoy the experience).
shareWell, I just came back from the cinema, and I'm sad to say it was a really weak movie. It felt too rushed, the accents were ridiculous, and I didn't get a sense of the epoch in the flashbacks. The pacing was alright and I had no problem with Jeremy Irons' performance, but almost everyone else was wooden as hell, and the silly and insipid love triangle between the resistance members was one of the most clichéd things I've seen in a while.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
TWO under served Palme D'Or? One for Best Intentions? It was good but not great. What was the other for?
I think he gets his reputation from the fact that Best Intentions was written by Ingmar Bergman and the latter's reputation has resulted in perceived quality-by-association. Unjustified of course, he's not in the same league as Bergman.
The second one (actually the first he won) was for Pelle the Conqueror, who then went on to win an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Movie. Again, "good but not great" movie, essentially uplifted by a towering performance courtesy of Max von Sydow..
share