With repeated viewings and discussions, I've come to realize just how quietly political this is. It becomes all the more ironic and sad in light of Wim Wenders's recent remarks that films should not be political.
But Perfect Days, much like his earlier interviews, reveals that he is capable of making pointed social commentary without reducing the film to being solely a political tract. Its politics emerge not through sloganistic gestures, but through the patient observation of how people can…
For the oppressor, opposition is an unlikely addition to their vocabulary, let alone something they can imagine.
Excited to explore this duo's filmography!
Only after reading the context behind this film did I admire it, albeit just an inkling.
Without pre-existing knowledge, I feel that the execution of the intended statement on acts of kindness and intercultural relationships was undermined by hyperbolic altruism, which came across as bloated, alarming, and unhealthy. It was funny at times, given the little visual Easter eggs, Obayashi's brilliant blocking, and the absurd lengths Haruzo was willing to go to just to lend a hand to the Chinese…
What's true of the best conversations around a dining table is that they often begin and end with a great story. In what may be Wes Anderson's most stylistically assured and emotionally resonant film (even in recent viewing), The Grand Budapest Hotel recreates that intimacy through an elegant act of filmmaking.
An author recounts an almost accidental encounter with the hotel's aging owner, who, in turn, recalls his extraordinary adventures with the cunning concierge, Monsieur Gustave. On paper, this layered…
