Review of Cries and Whispers (1972) by Brandon V — 19 Aug 2009

Never have the colors red and white been used so boldly, or more appropriately. That was my first thought as I embarked on this film; a powerful, visually magnificent, searing, and gruesome motion picture experience.

This film is harder to watch and more raw than any of the modern day experiments in gore-fest exploitation. The emotions are palpable, and the direction absolutely brilliant in its subtlety and visionary use of red fade-ins and fade-outs. There is no tearjerking here - just honesty and compassion for the camera's subjects. The performances tremendous across the board, and the cinematography is moody and revolutionary - it rightfully won the Oscar.

I can think of only two other dramas I've sat through which are as difficult as this - Tim Roth's "The War Zone," and Kimberly Pierce's "Boys Don't Cry." Like those two movies, there are key sequences which no reviewer should spoil that will cause 80% of the viewing audience to either cringe, take a break, or walk away from the film altogether.

That said, I would unhesitatingly recommend it to everybody. This is a movie which everybody can learn something from, be it about family, or be it about film making. It taught me something of both.

A tremendously brilliant film, and an instant favorite. I happily award it the five-star salute and I can't wait to see it again.