#83 of 2010: The Curse of the Cat People

"Oh Kay, we're gonna do the short, short version":

Mr. Golly Gee/Dad (still attached to spurned, cursed dead wife) has effectively domesticated his former office buddy/new wife, or she has domesticated herself to the point that you wouldn't know anything about her past life as a working gal if you hadn't seen the previous film. They have an imaginative and solitary daughter, Amy, and in raising her, Dad takes his characteristically simplistic approach (play with other kids = happily normalized life, tell me what i want to hear = i've taught you a lesson, incredible truths = lies). There's a somewhat underdeveloped and maudlin interwoven storyline about an aging actress (with something akin to alzheimer's) and the daughter who struggles to care for her. Simone Simon is as charming as ever, and her singing to/interaction with Amy is a highlight of the story, alongside the young character's personality and openness to the world. The plot climax during a blizzard on christmas is a bit too much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curse_of_the_Cat_People

#82 of 2010: Cat People

"Cat People" has a lot in common with "I Walked With a Zombie" in terms of its ambiguity about what is really going on here. Both films utilize the exotic foreignness of non-American legend as a portal into the "unknown" and cross-examine seemingly supernatural phenomena (which is rarely evidenced visually) with the opinions of psychologists or doctors, and it is the viewer hirself who must ultimately judge whether disturbed minds or demonic curses are to blame for the trouble that transpires. In addition to ethnic and religious differences, "Cat People" also deals rather thoughtfully with the problem of defining love, as the storyline absolutely demolishes the lead male's simplistic ideals concerning the subject. So it goes like this: there are two beautiful, charming, decent women in the story. One is the delicate, dark (but still generally cutesy), sexually abstinent wife who possesses an undeniable, almost primal magnetism. The other is a peppy, self-assured office buddy who shares professional interests and skills (designing/engineering ships) with Mr. Golly Gee. After his marriage based on "I love you and you love me, even though I'm totally dismissive of your deeply held and life-guiding beliefs", he finds that (surprise) he's unhappy for the first time in his life- the bulk of which he describes as a happy childhood plus a great time at school plus lots of fun at the office. At this point is the scene during which office pal both describes a more solid (though still pretty idealistic) view of love and complicates the idea by professing the relationship between them to be a perfect example of it, but concluding the conversation without seeming to want anything decidedly romantic from him. I knew better than to get too hopeful about what a film made in 1942 might have to say about cross-gender friendships or acceptable gender relations, but (ultimate conclusions aside) "Cat People" was willing to engage the topic interestingly, and often in a way that demonstrated the weaknesses in patriarchal assumptions. I haven't even gone into the best part of the movie where the wife is following the office buddy down the street in the dark, but you gotta see it so WATCH THIS MOVIE.

#67 of 2010: The Body Snatcher

the nice thing about basing a movie off a short story (written by Robert Louis Stevenson, no less) which is based off historical events is that, as long as your screen adaptation knows where to cut and not to add anything significant (which this one does), you can focus on acting, lighting, camera setups, suspense building, music, etc. and if you DO focus on these things as much as you should for not having to spend the time coming up with a new story, voila! the movie is a creepy, shadowy thrillride/success! at every place where this film could have soured, it was its sweetest: the first murder to provide a body doesn't just happen, and it doesn't happen sloppily, and it isn't without enormous emotional significance for the viewer; rather, the entire scene is expertly crafted for the utmost suspense and gravity. mr. karloff's greedy eyes find his victim as she crosses paths with his recent guest. as the camera (playing his eyes) tracks her, we are fearful, but still have hope that this is just a temporary whim in his desperate mind. we keep repeating, "he wouldn't, he wouldn't, someone would notice, someone will know, he wouldn't" until his cab clops behind her into a shadow and her voice stops. "the body snatcher" is the kind of horror film that respects humanity enough to base the inspiration for our terror in reality. each death is heavy, and the emotions that conscienceless slasher movies would exploit are instead put to good use in confronting the malice that greed and "ambition" bring about in the real world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Snatcher_(film

#65 of 2010: I Walked with a Zombie

this film is deliciously ambiguous as a horror flick- full of speculations about the causes of the condition of the "zombie" in the story. each one twists the narrative further around on itself and refuses to provide an answer, only offering a possibility. the deftness of camera work during the first "walk with the zombie" is impossible to ignore, with perfectly (and dynamically) paced tracking shots. [my favorite: the few seconds where, after mostly following the actors, retracing their steps and trailing them around corners in the cane field, the camera jumps in front of them, reversing the shot so that we see the actors {paused momentarily to observe the creepy surroundings, the nurse's physical hesitation denoting doubt about the mission she's embarked on with her patient} squared in the center of the screen. when they start to move, the camera does as well, which highlights the fact that at this point, continuing is less about forcing ahead and more about being pulled in, regardless of inhibitions.] the love stories are left (appropriately) in the realm of rash decisions, and though the ending allows couples to "be together", it is certainly not an all-tied-up conclusion. the thoughtful ruminations on cultural differences don't end up favoring Western traditions over "other" ones: though the doctors scoff at the practices of villagers and mention "talking a little voodoo to get medicine down their throats", one of them is also convinced that she participated in a successful voodoo ritual; and the discussions of how the people got to this island usually expose the Westerner as a bit daft and uncompassionate, i.e. when the driver relates (with a troubled expression that only the camera can see) that everyone's long-ago mothers and long-ago fathers were carried here by the Hollands against their will ["chained to the bottom of the boat"], the nurse responds with an ignorant smile, "they brought you to a beautiful place didn't they". I could go on about interactions like this, but you should see the movie. it's short enough to watch without ever checking your watch (or the progress bar on the video player)!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_walked_with_a_zombie