Movie Night

Been watching a lot of movies lately, as usual. I saw Jim Sheridans' In America, which I have mixed feelings about. Samantha Morton and Paddy Considine (whom I liked in 24-Hour Party People), play an Irish Couple who have recently lost a child and move their remaining children to New York, in the 80's. It's about their pluck and determination to survive and remain a family, as well as deal with their trauma. See, it's frustrating, because there were a lot of scenes that struck me as contrived and corny (the carnival scene, for example), but there are other scenes that struck me as incredibly moving (the ending, for example). I don't know, I guess if a movie can touch you at all it's worth something.
I also saw Police Force, a Jackie Chan film from the 80's (also known, apparently, as Police Story or Ging chaat goo si). Man, it's pretty different than the Jackie Chan we know today. In most of his recent films he's a cuddly, childlike innocent; bumbling his way through another adventure. I think it was Roger Ebert who said that Jackie Chan has more in common with Buster Keaton than Bruce Lee. But you watch Police Force and you see Jackie kicking ass and taking names. He lies, schemes, takes hostages, shoots a gun(!). Maybe it's just a cheeky translation, but he even calls his girlfriend a "bitch" at one point. Oh, Jackie! Well, at least he's cleaned up his act, since then.
I've also been watching a lot of samurai movies lately, mostly from Toho Studios in the fifties and sixties. I got into them the usual path, the late Akira Kurosawa, and have since sought out other films from the period. It's funny, because I heard that Kurosawa wasn't very popular in Japan, initially, because his films were seen as too western; I think they had a point. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are great films and he's a terrific director. Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Hidden Fortress, Red Beard (okay, technically it's about doctors, but it's in that period). These are justifiably classic films, but they can also be very emotional. There's a lot of speeches and declarations and outbursts; which never bothered me when I first saw the films. But then I saw some films from some other directors, such as Samurai Rebellion, Chushingura, The Samurai Trilogy, the Zatoichi films (okay, again, Zatoichi is not a samurai, but he deals with enough of them). What struck me about these movies is the restraint that is depicted. I mean, look at Chushingura, which is about the 47 ronin; if you're not familiar with that story let's just say it involves a lot of ritual suicide. In a film closer to our sensibilities, their would be a lot of speechifying as characters face the prospect of taking their own lives. But in the movie, they're all so stoic while conveying so much emotion beneath the surface. Curiously, I find that quality makes these movies more resonant; it's kind of a strange experience to watch them because I often find myself feeling sort of restless. But then, after the film is over, my mind keeps returning to the characters and situations; only in retrospect is it obvious how much was going on. When I was first watching the Samurai Trilogy, I was thinking "okay, this is pretty good," and now, after some time has passed, I would say that the trilogy is in my top-five favorite films. So, yeah, samurai movies are good.