The Duke of Burgundy + apologies
Sorry I haven't used this blog in ages. It went into a state of neglect thanks in no small part that I could not keep up with the payments to continue film studies and this was to be used in part as a sort of blog to keep up with assignments and so on. If I am to use this again (and I hope I will), there will be little snapshots of thoughts about films here and there that I've watched. That is, if I feel able to communicate my thoughts on these with words. Nevertheless, here's a little about my thoughts on Peter Strickland's latest, The Duke of Burgundy.
The story in itself used repetition so much that it became a very tedious watch. I can accept that it's trying to show the madness of the situation but there must be another way of showing it. The scenes were beautifully shot and I enjoyed some of the trickster stuff and of course there's the little nods here and there to various other films and directors but at the same time, there's nothing. No sense of purpose other than showing off its own sense of flashiness.
It just makes me think that there might be a sense of diminishing returns with Strickland. I really, really, overwhelmingly loved Katalin Varga. That had everything. The mood, the setting, direction the acting. Everything about it fizzed with perfection. Berberian Sound Studio was interesting, I wouldn't say it was perfect but at least with that I could put it down to experimentation and that was to be applauded. Here......here the film just has nothing yet having all the ingredients for something more. And that's such a disappointment.
I think Strickland definitely fixates on deconstructing a narrative but I've seen better narrative deconstruction from Rivette in many of his films. Even in Celine & Julie, which overtly uses repetition, there's a sense of playfulness in disrupting the story in order to make something new from it. Here, I suppose due to the nature of the film, there is a strict obedience to the guideline only to see them crack when they can't live up to the guideline.
I'd say he's more than capable of holding a good narrative thought but is perhaps not bothered by that (which is understandable). His trickster tendencies aren't as prominent in Katalin Varga as they have been in the subsequent two movies. And if they are there, they only serve to help the narrative move along.
The story in itself used repetition so much that it became a very tedious watch. I can accept that it's trying to show the madness of the situation but there must be another way of showing it. The scenes were beautifully shot and I enjoyed some of the trickster stuff and of course there's the little nods here and there to various other films and directors but at the same time, there's nothing. No sense of purpose other than showing off its own sense of flashiness.
It just makes me think that there might be a sense of diminishing returns with Strickland. I really, really, overwhelmingly loved Katalin Varga. That had everything. The mood, the setting, direction the acting. Everything about it fizzed with perfection. Berberian Sound Studio was interesting, I wouldn't say it was perfect but at least with that I could put it down to experimentation and that was to be applauded. Here......here the film just has nothing yet having all the ingredients for something more. And that's such a disappointment.
I think Strickland definitely fixates on deconstructing a narrative but I've seen better narrative deconstruction from Rivette in many of his films. Even in Celine & Julie, which overtly uses repetition, there's a sense of playfulness in disrupting the story in order to make something new from it. Here, I suppose due to the nature of the film, there is a strict obedience to the guideline only to see them crack when they can't live up to the guideline.
I'd say he's more than capable of holding a good narrative thought but is perhaps not bothered by that (which is understandable). His trickster tendencies aren't as prominent in Katalin Varga as they have been in the subsequent two movies. And if they are there, they only serve to help the narrative move along.
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