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littlesiddie1
Reviews
Xixia lu tiaotiao (1997)
nice scenery, weak story
This movie has very, very impressive scenery. It's of Western China, I believe. In many ways, I think this movie was intended as a sort of tourist advertisement for the area.
The story about the small band of barbarians kidnapping small male children to train as future warriors is Ok, but was drawn out way too long. The events and drama of the story could have easily been told in 60 minutes, but instead the film makers dragged it out to a stupefying 110!
The acting and directing were kind of half-baked as well. It seemed like a shoe string production.
One of the major irritations of this film is the behavior of the principal actor, the chief of the barbarians. He is in practically every scene and the camera really dotes and lingers on him. He's a handsome guy, for sure, but his constant mugging and showboating really got irksome after about 30 minutes into the film.
It was difficult to take this movie seriously. At one point, right after the birth of one of the children, the new child's mother is abandoned in the middle of nowhere by the barbarians. All I could think of was "Oh! How barbaric!" It just seemed nonsensical and only done for effect.
The little costumes that the children wore were all adorable, too.
All in all, worth seeing, but not for the usual reasons.
Spalovac mrtvol (1969)
irritating and unfunny
This movie tries to be a delicious and outrageous black comedy, but fails miserably.
In order to find this movie funny, you would have to be someone who finds the mere mention of funeral cremation to be delightfully wicked and naughty. I suppose such people exist, but I doubt they are in any great number.
The thing that makes this film especially irritating, apart from all the black humor that falls flat, is that Rudolf Hrusínský, the actor who plays the lead Kopfrkingl character, is in one's face, one way or another during every second of the film. He is present either on screen or in voice over narration almost constantly. And he is far from a pleasant or charming person. This movie is a lot like being stuck at some family get together and having to listen to your obnoxious, over weight uncle try to be charming and funny for hours. For me, this movie was a real ordeal.
On the upside, some of the outdoor camera shots were nice. The tableau that the crematorium and its grounds made was pleasantly creepy and other-worldly. But that's all.