Heavanly Creatures

This movie is based on the true story of two girls in New Zealand in 1954 who murder one of their mothers. The story is told from the perspective of the daughter of the murdered woman and excerpts from the girl's actual diary are used in the narration. The movie was filmed on location at the actual places where the girls lived and the murder took place.
I think they killed the wrong mother. Pauline's mom actually cared and sacraficed for her child, whereas Juliette's mom was callous and selfish. I believe they choose Mrs. Rieper because she was the less glamorous of the two and didn't really fit into the fantasy world that the girls had created. Also, the murder came about because of the mixing of the two girls', it wouldn't have occured if they had never met. Pauline was angry and depressed, Juliette was afraid and lived in a fantasy world. Because Pauline was the more dark of the two I think that she ultimately steered the duo towards her mother.
Looking at the two girls it is difficult to decide which has a better life. They are superficial teenage girls so they settle on Juliette's situation as being the ideal one. However, even though Pauline isn't rich and her parents are ordinary, they do actually love her and there isn't this masking of reallity with them. Juliette's parents are the ones that encourage her to live in a fantasy world whereas Pauline's try to make her grounded in reality. I think that the way that Juliette's parents raise her and treat both of the girls is a major contributer to the murder.

Howl's Moving Castle

Last night the Film Club (a more ambiguous name) viewed "Howl's Moving Castle". I am usually not a really big fan of anime (sp?) style films, they come off as too cheesy or pretensiously artistic to me. But, I do like this film. They were one or two of the obligatory corny lines ("Sofia, your hair looks just like starlight"), but overall it wasn't too bad. The biggest thing that jumped out to me is what the characters accept. Something humongous happens and they just accept it like it's an everyday occurance. I think that in the story this is used to outline the rules of the made-up world.
I would also like to touch on something that was discussed last night. The characters in this movie are not as visually detailed or complex as the backround. I haven't seen a lot of anime films so I don't know if this is typical, but I think that one reason for this is to make the world of the film more real for the audience. The personal interactions of the characters are something that we can get without much difficulty because we can relate to them. However, we don't know the rules or the normalicies of the world that this film takes place in. For this reason the backround is given more detail and has a higher artistic quality visually than the characters. Or I could just have no idea what I'm talking about.

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Directed By: Robert Hamer Screenplay: Roy Horniman (novel Israel Rank); Robert Hamer, John Dighton
Cast: Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Alec Guinness

I just watched this movie in International Films. It is absolutely hilarious. It is a classic Ealing Comedy and I have to say that I have never enjoyed an old movie this much. The star, Dennis Price, plays an Englishman whose mother has noble blood, but was disinherited when she married for love. After his mother's death Louis (Price) sets out to kill all his relations that are between him and his Dukedom. Guiness plays many parts in the movie, including Lady Abigail (one of Louis' ill-fated relatives), which helps to consolidate the 'evil' nobility as a group. Each noble is killed in a way that is uniquely suited to him or her. Louis' affair w/ a married woman is also promenant in the plot. I didn't know that this type of comedy was permissable in at this time period and I was very pleased with the whole experience.

Fanny & Alexander

I don't expect anyone will read this. But I just saw the most wonderful film by Ingmar Bergman called Fanny and Alexander. It was bizarre, beautiful and frightening.
-Paul