Theo Angelopoulos
Josef von Sternberg
Miklos Jancso
Satyajit Ray
Sergei Parajanov
Aleksei German
Krzysztof Zanussi
Sharunas Bartas
Pedro Costa
Bela Tarr
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
This film is a mixed bag for me. I find Bergman’s descent intriguing (its a fascinating view of a man wrestling and running from God), quite honest, and utterly anguished. I do imagine that in a world where God is silent, this is close to what it would look like. Like Jason said, it is a wreck, a complete mess. But for argument sake, let’s postulate that there is a God or something out there in the universe. Then an artist comes along, decides to grapple with the divine. This artist is racked with Lutheran guilt from his upbringing. Part of him still believes, the other part of him is now total disbelief. With “Winter Light” (one of, if not my favorites of his) he rode the line of ambiguity beautifully. Belief/disbelief in a tug-of-war. But with “The Silence”, the man who once quite possibly heard something or believed he heard something, such as God, now hears nothing. All is terrible silence, and thus an absolute and horrible mess. It could be nothing else. The man and the artist had utterly collided into a great abyss. So part of me loves it. The other part hates it. And I continue to sort out why.
And FWIW, yeah Jason, the midgets were a bit much. But again, how could it be anything other than unreasonable?
Very good thoughts, Justin. Thanks. “I Confess” is one of my personal Hitchcock favorites. And I do believe that Bresson made a much stronger and clearer presentation of the tensions posed by religious faith.
WHICH DIRECTORS...NOT...CURRENTLY REPRESENTED IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION DO YOU WANT TO SEE INCLUDED? about 3 years ago
Theo Angelopoulos
Josef von Sternberg
Miklos Jancso
Satyajit Ray
Sergei Parajanov
Aleksei German
Krzysztof Zanussi
Sharunas Bartas
Pedro Costa
Bela Tarr
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Go to Comment
THE SILENCE about 3 years ago
This film is a mixed bag for me. I find Bergman’s descent intriguing (its a fascinating view of a man wrestling and running from God), quite honest, and utterly anguished. I do imagine that in a world where God is silent, this is close to what it would look like. Like Jason said, it is a wreck, a complete mess. But for argument sake, let’s postulate that there is a God or something out there in the universe. Then an artist comes along, decides to grapple with the divine. This artist is racked with Lutheran guilt from his upbringing. Part of him still believes, the other part of him is now total disbelief. With “Winter Light” (one of, if not my favorites of his) he rode the line of ambiguity beautifully. Belief/disbelief in a tug-of-war. But with “The Silence”, the man who once quite possibly heard something or believed he heard something, such as God, now hears nothing. All is terrible silence, and thus an absolute and horrible mess. It could be nothing else. The man and the artist had utterly collided into a great abyss. So part of me loves it. The other part hates it. And I continue to sort out why.
And FWIW, yeah Jason, the midgets were a bit much. But again, how could it be anything other than unreasonable?
Go to Comment
THE SILENCE about 3 years ago
Very good thoughts, Justin. Thanks. “I Confess” is one of my personal Hitchcock favorites. And I do believe that Bresson made a much stronger and clearer presentation of the tensions posed by religious faith.
Go to Comment