Review of Cries and Whispers (1972) by Jon C — 26 Jul 2008

I could jump on some "intellectual" or "artistic" bandwagon and praise this film up and down, but that would be dishonest. In truth, I wasn't particularly impressed. It's a beautiful movie to look at, there are some expressionistic things going on that certainly bear watching just for the sheer sake of seeing them, but there's a lot of pregnant backstory that is hinted at but never really developed.

Characters act in ways that don't seem to have a motivation. I don't understand the tension between these sisters. Every summary of the film I've read includes the sentiment that "repressed feelings rise to the surface".

But why were they repressed? What caused this? Why did they marry the men they married? What happened to them that they end up in such a state? This is by no means a BAD movie, just boring and tedious and not at all worth the praise I hear about it.

Seventh Seal kicks this thing's ass.