The film does carry on a certain Almodóvar characteristic, women are the main focus of the plot.  Men are relegated to minor or roles; or in this case, transvestites.  Where this would typically lead me away from a film (being a man I like to see positive portrayals of men), Almodóvar demonstrates that women are just as important as men and that they have a unique world perspective that should be explored in a meaningful way.  Hollywood tends to be male centric in their films.  And when a woman takes the lead, quite a few times they become masculinized (think Alien and Tomb Raider).  Throughout this film, women are the driving force and prove that you don’t have to be Sex and the City to be successful.

The main plot revolves around Manuela (Cecilia Roth) and her confrontation with the death of her son.  I would rather have kept that part obscure, but it is the action that leads to the rest of the film.  She seeks out his father, Lola (Toni Cantó).  Yes you heard that right, his father, Lola.  Lola is a transvestite who never knew that Manuela had a child.  In her return to Barcelona, she encounters Rosa (Penélope Cruz).  Rosa, in many ways, mirrors her.  I could go further but that would ruin a few surprises.  The rest of the plot revolves around Manuela’s interaction with Rosa and the star Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), who was being pursued by Manuela’s son at the time of his death.  As they all come together, the plot becomes about mistakes and forgiveness.  Life goes on, and these women demonstrate how to survive.

The surprises and plot twists are essential to the film’s success, which is why it is so difficult mentioning some of the more moving moments in the film.  Suffice to say that each element becomes another piece to the puzzle that eventually rewards the viewer with a fulfilling experience.

One of the best parts of All About My Mother is the conversational nature of the acting and dialogue.  Almodóvar has given the viewer an authentic view into the world of his characters where through their words, we feel.  It’s a unique experience to have an authentic chuckle when a character says something that is not intended to be a joke, but because of the intimacy creates a laugh.  One that is then shared with the characters.  This truly set Almodóvar apart from other directors.  This is also how the relationship between Manuela and Rosa grows right before the audience’s eyes.  We witness the deep connections that are made, and the sadness experienced.  I have to mention that there is a rawness to Cruz’s acting that actually helps her character.  In many ways, it is like watching an actor finally gain their footing and emerge from their cocoon (horrible metaphor but you get the picture).

The film plays on the idea that we all make mistakes in our lives, but life is full of those moments.  How we deal with them is more important.  Death becomes a time of mourning and a time of awareness.  Sadness and happiness can be mixed.  Almodóvar gives the viewer a chance to experience life on a unique level.  All About My Mother is a classic film that deserves even more credit than it’s given.

Love is certainly in the air in Contempt, but it is an air that is rife with misdoing. The plot revolves around screenwriter Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) who is hired by the American producer Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) to finish a script for The Odyssey being filmed by none other than Fritz Lang (himself). While appearing straightforward; add to the mix wife, Camille Javal (Brigette Bardot). As Paul struggles with the decision to accept the offer, he encounters a different Camille than the one he married. The audience is met with a woman who has obviously been offended in some way by her husband, perhaps letting her go alone with Jeremy to his home. It simply took Paul too long to get there by taxi. The rest of the film plays out with the inevitable clashing of egos as both Camille and Paul fail at communicating their wants and needs. Or perhaps it’s just Paul making an unforgivable mistake.

Bardot is the one factor in this film that surprised me. We have an amazing extended shot to begin the film where we are introduced to the naked beauty from head to toe. It is a charming interaction between Paul and Camille and sets up the rest of the film. From this point forward my anger levels rose with each word from Camille’s mouth. She was infuriating and at moments you could feel the tension Paul was feeling, but yet you knew. You knew somewhere deep down inside that Camille was yearning for Paul to be something he simply was not. He could never be that man for her again.

The casting was interesting but perhaps the perfect blend of personalities. Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) plays the role of the womanizing producer that becomes the tool of Camille. Palance plays him as a power player that is not used to taking no for an answer which immediately pits him against Paul. He takes this character over the edge as shown when he jumps at the chance to tell Fritz Lang that the film needs more half naked women because that’s what the public wants. Even the little things such as giving Camille an art book that is filled with sexually explicit paintings, reinforce the motivations of the character. I was also thrilled to see Fritz Lang in the film as, wait for it, the director. As a foil to Palance, Lang provides the film with an old wise man who interjects moments of reason to the plot. While Lang may not be a great actor, it was a thrill to see him so involved.

The finale of the film works perfectly and is well deserved, if not a bit grim and neat. I was surprised that Godard would wrap up the story in such a clean manner. Perhaps it comes from watching too many films that end in such a way that I expected Godard to do more, but it doesn’t ruin the end. Godard demonstrates the adulthood of the French New Wave by working towards a grander film.

Contempt provides viewers with an emotional tour de force. As a viewer, you have to hate and love Camille while still feeling sorry and want to kick Paul in the teeth. For Godard, this is a mature move from his beginnings with the French New Wave. Seeing Godard with a huge budget, amazing locations, and A-list actors could make viewers sweat a bit, but he is able to use these attributes as tools rather than hindrances. Contempt is one of those films that will stay with you and remind you how films used to be made.

If you’ve ever watched 12 Monkeys, you know the time traveling story of La Jetée.  The world has World War III, and life has changed.  A man is used as a time travel experiment due to his unique connection to a young lady.  He moves back and forth in time, trying to avert the horrible circumstances of the present.  After finishing his experiment he has the option of going forward in time, yet he requests going back to be with his young lady.  As paths cross, the beginning of the film is the end as well.  The man is the boy.  A witness to his own death.

What makes this film extraordinary is that there is only a few seconds of actual film, the rest is constructed using still images and placed in a montage.  The stillness is cause for anxiety as we listen to the narrator discuss his situation with in the plainest manner.  The irony of using still images for a film is what sets the film apart.  While others are fixated on creating a masterpiece through special effects and action, Marker shows that still images and the right story are all you need.  This film even has time travel!  How can you have science fiction without the special effects?  It’s pretty simple if you watch La Jetée.

The reason for my review is that too many times I hear my students talking about films such as 12 Monkeys, yet fail to know that it was based on La Jetée.  This is through no fault of their own, I had to learn it at some point as well.  But it disturbs me that something as well done as La Jetée gets pushed to the side because it wasn’t big budget or filled with action.  If anything, a film like La Jetée proves that film is a medium that allows for many styles and approaches and that we should respect each as a possible outlet for creativity.  Just because a film is avant-garde or experimental does not mean it has to be out there.  Yes David Lynch may be the exception.  La Jetée will continue to be a must see film for its ability to tell a meaningful story through limited means.

1959 was a watershed year for the French New Wave. You had Truffaut, Resnais, and Godard all releasing pivotal films that would influence generations of filmmakers that followed. Breathless tends to be the film I point people to when they ask just what was the French New Wave. Within this one film, almost every characteristic of the French New Wave is present. Beyond that, the film has such an intriguing plot that even if this were filmed with adherence to say the Hollywood Studio; it would still be a good story. Of course the French have a way with films about love, or lust perhaps.

In order for the story to succeed, you must have the actors to pull the villainous of Michel and the innocence of Patricia. Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a con-man and a criminal, yet you find yourself liking him.  Yes he killed a police officer, but he has such a nice smile.  Michel is supposed to at least garner the viewers attention, not fully being elevated out of his criminality but staying one step above hatred.  We need to care about him, or at least care that Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg) cares about him.  Patricia is a wide-eyed American, who recently found the time to go on vacation and have a fling with Michel.  Now that he is back in town, she is playing hard to get.  Or is she playing already caught?  One impressive scene nonchalantly discusses the fact that Patricia is pregnant, and the child is most likely Michel’s.  The film does not dwell on this, but provides it as fuel for the building climax.  We are left with characters that ultimately make a decision.  To run or not to run?  To love or to lust?

One of the finer attributes of Breathless is its own self awareness.  The film knows its a film and forces the viewer to see that they are watching a film.  This calling of attention is a major characteristic of the New Wave.  Throughout the film we see the use of jump cuts for theoretical ideals and for errors.  You see, the New Wave directors were not the best directors at first.  Jump cuts served a dual purpose in the early films, creating a visual cue to the audience that dissolved the illusion of film and creating an easy way to skip over an error.  The jump cuts make the film endearing.

But there are other instances of New Wave characteristics, such as the minute long homage to Humphrey Bogart.  The best way to describe how acutely aware of itself Breathless is, is to look at the scene where Michel is asked by a little girl if he would like a newspaper. Seeing it is a new one, he comments that he likes the old better. A seemingly off-handed comment becomes ironic when one realizes that the paper is none other than a copy of Cahiers du Cinema.

Godard has created a film that will inspire many films that followed.  Considering that Godard is still making films, I would say that his critical studies of film will continue to influence the world of film.  Breathless remains an all time classic of film, that shows that film does not have to create an illusion to be good.