Small Change (1976)

3/5

Small Change is in many ways exactly what you'd expect from Truffaut after seeing his entire oeuvre. It focuses on the childhood experience, on sexual discovery and other coming-of-age aspects, and it does so with lingering cinematography and awkward editing. But it broaches some difficult topics that seem to me a fascinating departure from Truffaut's typical fare as well. While watching the film, I presumed "childhood" to be its theme (although my teachers loved telling me that a single word can never be a theme). But actually childhood is more the idea--the mood, the atmosphere--than it is the theme. It is the setting in which events take place, events that happen haphazardly without a plot to lead them along. And that is one of the film's strengths: it reproduces the feeling of being a child, strung along by random events with no control over or prediction of tomorrow. It is episodic and unrelenting, without a beginning or end in sight. You are just stuck in the middle as life happens around you.

Unfortunately, that is also the film's weakness. The lack of a plot made a lot of the movie painfully tedious. Not knowing what will happen next turns even the shortest of movies into ones that are too long. There are some memorable moments (an infant by an open window ledge on the 9th floor) and other moments that stir up memories of ourselves and the stubborn refusals, incorrect assumptions, and rebellious behavior of our own childhood. But we cannot relate to all the moments, so some just pass us by and feel like wasted footage. Although Truffaut gets the mood right, he didn't get the movie as a whole right, at least for me. I don't go into a movie hoping for a yearbook so I can relive my past. I go for the possibilities of the future. I go for concepts that stimulate my brain or events that force a visceral reaction out of me, be it tension or heartbreak or joy. This movie did not do that. It may be the perfect film for some people, but it is not for me.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074152/

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

2/5

Cassavetes's The Killling of a Chinese Bookie is far too long for the scintillas of content it contains. The meager plot simply cannot support its 2 hour 15 minute runtime. Ben Gazzara stars as a strip club owner who racks up an immense gambling debt one night and must perform the titular act to pay it back and save his club. It could have lasted less than 20 minutes, but instead they randomly added stuff (perhaps to generate "atmosphere" or "mood" or some other such crap) that I couldn't possibly care less about. For example, Cassavetes wastes 20 uninterrupted minutes showing a strip show--multiple times!--randomly, and without purpose, explanation, or relevance.

While I liked the visuals themselves, the cinematography as a whole was not too appealing. Far too frequently, the shot went out of focus and stayed on something we didn't care about instead of showing us what we did want to see. This is partly due to patient, lingering editing--editing far too loose for the boring subject matter. Also, the audio levels were inconsistent (it was often too quiet or too loud). On the bright side, I loved the music and acting. The music perfectly set the mood and the Gazzara's acting exploded off the screen. There was also a terrifically tense (if a bit extended and misplaced) climax. And the opening credits were pretty cool. But other than that, I can't figure out much reason to watch this movie.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074749/

The Tenant (1976)

4/5

Polanski's The Tenant follows Trelkovsky (played by Polanski himself) as he rents an apartment where the previous tenant committed suicide. Gradually, he begins to think that his neighbors are trying to turn him into the last tenant so that he too will kill himself. It is brilliantly suspenseful and psychologically terrifying as it crescendos to the shocking climax. And it is a refreshing treat after seeing Knife in the Water and Repulsion. He seems to have discovered cinematography, as we finally get shots where we can tell what's going on, thanks to the great Sven Nykvist. There are also some masterful camera movements and envious tracking shots (the camera once goes through a stairway railing, for example). I really liked the acting in this movie--Polanski knows what he's doing as an actor just as much as a director. Is is truly horrifying to see him not only inhabit the previous tenant's apartment, but also inherit her habits and friends. Subtly at first, then flamboyantly. The build-up works extremely well as it keeps your heart pounding ever harder, whether through anxious waiting or sexual tension. I absolutely loved the ending.

There were some problems with it as well. The first half and second half don't seem to mesh very well, almost as if they were two separate movies. The first half was a psychological thriller and the second half was a horror movie. The divide was really striking and much too sudden, taking away from my overall enjoyment. For some reason, some of the audio felt like it was dubbed over. Was English the original audio track language? I don't know. Also, there were so many side stories that neither advanced the plot nor increased the tension (like getting hit by the car and Stella's party).

This is definitely a movie other film fans will appreciate. I can see the inspirations for The Shining with the haunting imagery. Early in the movie, Trelkovsky finds a hole in the wall covered up with a cotton ball, behind which is a human tooth. Repeatedly, tenants stand in the bathroom staring up into Trelkovsky's room, keeping deathly still. And he borrows heavily from Hitchcock's best works: the doubling of elements and people in Vertigo, the voyeuristic viewing of neighbors in Rear Window, and the cross-dressing and split-personality in Psycho. I think most cinephiles will appreciate this movie based on those credentials, but if it sounds interesting and you like Polanski, this is definitely one to check out.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074811/

Rocky (1976)

4.9/5

Rocky is an amazing movie. It somehow retains its inspirational power after thirty years of cheap imitation attempts. This movie sidesteps the cliches it started because it's so much more than a sports movie or an underdog story, which is the only element the knock-offs and clones try to emulate. But Rocky also portrays a personal drama dealing with family troubles that manages to be uplifting without saccharine sentimentality. It is a hilarious and true-to-life foray into personalities and characters that the audience is rarely exposed to. Stylistically and thematically, it is a pretty dark movie throughout; the end is, however, a poignant and touching experience that will not be forgot.

Onto the negatives. I thought that pretty much every scene involving Apollo Creed was farcical and took away from the natural realism of the movie. Also, it started off a bit awkward and meandered for a while, but in the end it made its point perfectly.

You should watch this movie. And you should watch it with a group of people who love it or are excited to see it. I saw it with Kyle at the National Mall for DC's Screen on the Green, a free summer film series showing on a 60 foot screen on Monday nights starting at dusk. (Rocky was the last screening this year.) The electricity in the air was unparalleled in any movie theater I've been in and the cheers from the crowd would send your heart racing with excitement. It was quite an experience and it truly enhanced the movie in ways I could not replicate on my own.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0075148/