Review of Cat People (1942) by Michael T — 09 Jul 2004

Cat People.

A fantastic film where sexuality and danger lurk under the surface, and the boundaries between good and evil are as subjective as the boundaries of society's morals. Fantastic imagery and light. Admittedly, most of the movie is pretty typically shot, but at least a good 35% of it is sooo well-shot. The shot of her in the psychiatrist's room with the light on her face made me sit up and go "wow".

The Terminal.

Pablum. Utterly pointless and meaningless. There is nothing here. Nothing. It's as empty as wonderbread, and about as tasty. Tom Hanks isn't even that impressive. Catherine Zeta-Jones was surprisingly good in a thankless and horribly written role. She was fresh, and at least she was trying.

So did the Indian guy.

The only way this film could've made me happy by the end would have been if it had ended with Viktor getting on the plane to go back to his home country, without completing his promise - doing it for his friends. Not letting them know what he's doing for them. Saving their livelihoods and sacrificing his own motivation. That would have been a powerful poignant moment, but I wonder if Spielberg would even recognize that now.

From Catch Me If You Can to this??? Truly, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Tokyo Godfathers.

A charming christmas film, that juggles tragedy, pathos and despair with just the right amount of zany character-based comedy. The coincidences feel filmic, rather than stretched. And I really, really got to like the three main characters. Even Hana, who could be a bit annoying. They all have their weaknesses and flaws, but Satoshi Kon constructs the film so that you like them because of these flaws. This is a much stronger affection and sympathy than liking a film character because of their strength. But this is elementary filmmaking knowledge - we all know that the strengths of a character can only be measured by the complexities and deliciousness of their flaws.

Not quite as subtle and strong as Millennium Actress, though.