XIII Oceans

Last week there wasn’t that much worth mentioning as films of the week.  This week I’ve picked out two films that are modern classics and one that’s an entertaining story based on a rumour from Hollywood’s early years.

Tonight on BBC1 at 10.20pm is a film that gets slated by many for being pompous, full of luvvies and typical Oscar winning fare and although I can why people say that I think they’re wrong.  The English Patient is one of those films of love set against the backdrop of major historical event, this one being WWII.  Like Gone With The Wind and Dr Zhivago it’s a beautifully shot sweeping epic with wonderful central performances.  The English Patient is one of those rare adaptations that I believe to be better than the original source novel and given the book’s award winning tag that’s a strong statement to make.  The genius in the film though is a combination of Anthony Minghella’s direction and the screenplay that ditches the primary love story of the book, exploring a love story that has nowhere near as much depth or feeling in the novel.  The film differs from the two epics mentioned previously because it takes two characters that by and large are unsympathetic people and by doing so plants the premise of love against what many would consider to be an amoral situation.  It’s here that the film excels making the feeling of love powerful enough for you to not only believe but understand its relationship to the characters.

On Film4 on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 1.30am is Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat’s Meow.  Told to Bogdanovich by Orson Welles it’s based on the true events of a death on the boat of William Randolph Heart in 1924.  It’s a lovely little period piece starring Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin (one of the guests at the party) and he’s mixed in this for me whereas Kirstin Dunst, as silent starlet and Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies is arguably her best performance to date, although I understand that she didn’t capture enough of Davies’ real-life personality for many.  Bogdanovich hasn’t really directed anything of note for thirty years but he shows some flashes of the magic that had him touted as the new Orson Welles.

If you recently watched Javier Bardem and are wondering how he’s burst onto the scene, Film4 gives you the opportunity on Thursday night at 10.40pm to see him blow you away, bettering his No Country For Old Men performance in The Sea Inside.  Directed by Alejandro Amenábar (The Others and the original Vanilla Sky, Open Your Eyes) this is based on a true story and despite its subject matter is wonderful.  If you only pick one of these three to see, this is the one that I’d recommend, my film of the week.