After watching Wanda and Marianne and Julianne I was some what unsure of to expect from the next movies we would watch. However, I found Eve's Bayou to be a very pleasant surprise. After two movies that were so difficult to get interested in or maintain an interest in I was so delighted to watch a movie that seemed much more modern in its storytelling approach. I was so engrossed by the story that I forgot to look at the clock (something I found myself doing very often during the other films) until the movie was nearly over. I found myself holding my breath or clenching my fists during the suspenseful parts a welcomed change from the sense of disconnection I have felt in the past.
It has been argued that a lack of involvement in the story as a viewer shows that the film is not your typical Hollywood drivel, that it has more of a purpose than to simply entertain, that it is meant to make one think. However, I think that the fact that I was so entertained and still woke up the next morning thinking about the deeper message of the film only shows how well written, directed, and acted it was.
I enjoyed the story line of this movie despite its difficult undertones. This movie combined elements of an adolescent Oedipal relationship between father and daughter with elements of the mystical. Despite the negative subject matter the story is presented in a way that it is not off putting to the viewer and one can still care about the would be perpetrator. I felt that this was certainly a movie I would recommend and watch again and I will certainly be looking for more movies by this film maker.
5 comments:
I enjoyed Eve's Bayou as well. It was defenitely a more traditional "faster" film although it almost seemed a bit like a soap opera! It was hard to believe that all that excitement could really take place in one summer. Still, I thought about the film later that night and the next day as you did. The acting was superb and I really came to identify with the characters. I wonder if this emotional involvement didn't make me less able to fairly critique the film though... It even got me thinking about the ups and downs I have had in my relationship with my sister.
I agree, Eve’s Bayou is a movie that I would recommend to others. Everything in the film worked very well together. I found the acting to be very good. I too was able to get lost and the film and time went by very fast.
I agree with your point that some films aren’t very easy to watch, while others are watchable and meaningful at the same time. It’s like we’ve run the full spectrum from Wanda (on the “artistic” side of the spectrum) to Clueless (the extremely watchable end). However, I now think back on Wanda with more admiration of Barbara Loden to make a film like that in 1970. Yes, Wanda is not a commercially accessible film, but it tells a poignant story of a lost woman. I will definitely remember Wanda, but it’s going in the “awesome movie to watch once in your life” pile along with Metropolis and Schindler’s List. My other pile (“movies to watch repeatedly until you can spout the dialogue from memory”) does contain movies like Point Break and the original Manchurian Candidate, and I think that’s okay.
I absolutely agree, I too enjoyed the film and would watch it again. It was a pleasant change from the films we have been watching.
I was not "into" Marianne and Jullianne as well... but Eve's Bayou was an incredible film. Just simply amazing. I wonder this... why did Eve's Bayou get 3 stars and not 4?????
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