I watched Shoot the piano player by Truffaut recently.
I have totally fallen in love with Truffaut after having watched just 2 of his films...Bed and Board (fabulous) and the one I mentioned above.
What is unique about him is this utter disregard for the normal, the conventional and the law. The way he sets out to destroy all kinds of conventions and norms in his films is fascinating to watch...even murders and death in his films seem commonplace, inevitable, laughable at times and yet poignant. The most amazing thing about this is that he is never too weird or too boring to watch...he is not like the absurd school of thought or the surreal school of filmmaking who leave many untouched, baffled and bored...
Another quality of his, which is in a way a part of his disregard for conventions, is his mixing of the genres...it's not a mess like Indian masala films, neither generically distinct like Hollywood...it's a very conscious effort at mixing the two or more unseemingly disparate moods...like for example, drama, action, tragedy, social reality and comedy in Shoot the piano player. Similarly, romance, drama, tragedy, social reality and comedy in Bed and Board. And this mélange is not the usual "black comedy" either...which is essentially treating a rather serious subject through comedy...its plain mixing of completely different genres.
And most importantly, what keeps any viewer hooked to his films, is his inherent sense of humour. His comic outlook towards the most serious and tragic events in life, his frivolous perspective on life as a whole is endearing to watch. There is humour in every scene...no matter how routine, tragic or grave the content may be.
His acute understanding of human relationships and especially the romantic ones is incredibly touching, universally appealing and identifiable. He brings out the most routine sentiments in his dialogues draped in a humorous garb and leaves the viewer laughing hysterically, tickled and touched all at once.
I have totally fallen in love with Truffaut after having watched just 2 of his films...Bed and Board (fabulous) and the one I mentioned above.
What is unique about him is this utter disregard for the normal, the conventional and the law. The way he sets out to destroy all kinds of conventions and norms in his films is fascinating to watch...even murders and death in his films seem commonplace, inevitable, laughable at times and yet poignant. The most amazing thing about this is that he is never too weird or too boring to watch...he is not like the absurd school of thought or the surreal school of filmmaking who leave many untouched, baffled and bored...
Another quality of his, which is in a way a part of his disregard for conventions, is his mixing of the genres...it's not a mess like Indian masala films, neither generically distinct like Hollywood...it's a very conscious effort at mixing the two or more unseemingly disparate moods...like for example, drama, action, tragedy, social reality and comedy in Shoot the piano player. Similarly, romance, drama, tragedy, social reality and comedy in Bed and Board. And this mélange is not the usual "black comedy" either...which is essentially treating a rather serious subject through comedy...its plain mixing of completely different genres.
And most importantly, what keeps any viewer hooked to his films, is his inherent sense of humour. His comic outlook towards the most serious and tragic events in life, his frivolous perspective on life as a whole is endearing to watch. There is humour in every scene...no matter how routine, tragic or grave the content may be.
His acute understanding of human relationships and especially the romantic ones is incredibly touching, universally appealing and identifiable. He brings out the most routine sentiments in his dialogues draped in a humorous garb and leaves the viewer laughing hysterically, tickled and touched all at once.
1 comment:
Nice post. I've been on an Almodovar spree recently, and most of your post seems to describe his movies too (except maybe the "never too weird" part - never a thing as "too weird" for me, though).
By the way, there's a sale on Amazon going on some Criterion discs, and there's a few Truffaut movies in there. "Jules and Jim" was for $19, which is pretty cheap by Criterion standards.
Post a Comment