Time Bandits

This film is a mess, but at the same time it has a plethora of compelling moments. The strongest element by far is the special effects. A devil like figure having organ pipes coming out of his head while swinging three cowboys around like a carousel has to be one of the most surreal and visually brilliant things I've ever seen. I can definitely see how this film has gained a sort of cult following simply by the amount of weird ideas and compelling visuals that it displays.

At the same time all those weird ideas never really seem to mesh to form a cohesive whole. From the very beginning, I never feel like we are given a proper introduction to any of these characters. It feels like this film skips over the part where we are supposed to get introduced to the members of this group, therefore it makes it difficult to care about there motivations or want them to succeed. Also, it never really sets up what these characters want in a satisfactory way. We get a kind of half-idea that they are after treasure, but for what purpose seems to never be expanded upon.

Also the tone of the film never coalesces. At the beginning of the film it is going for a satyrical feel, but then we end up in Napoleonic times and it is just sort of goofy comedy. It feels like it wanted to be this grand adventure film, but it sort of just bounces between locations, without having each location feel like it is part of some wider plot building towards a climax.

fwiw, i appreciated AG's bacchanalian overtones

It's about Therese's view of Carol. So, it makes sense that the film is called Carol, in that it mainly seems to portray Carol, albeit through Therese's eyes. That's also why the film really tells us much more about Therese in the end.

Slightly expanded thoughts on Carol:

That said, I felt a little bugged by the script. For instance, Kate Blanchett's repeated line "My angel, flung out of space" sounded tacky to me. Perhaps this was done on purpose to show that what people say to each other, especially in a relationship such as this one, is often artificial, and what really reveals each one to the other is what they do and feel.

This is especially notable in the letter Carol writes to Therese, which seeps of condescension.

Direction-wise, I sometimes felt the film was torn between a certain emotional detachedness, and a more overtly "lyrical" direction (the love scene for instance, which didn't feel as authentic as the eye-twitching foreplay). It made the film seem somewhat unbalanced. This could have something to do with the fact that the relationship between the two women is frowned upon and that all of their feelings have to be stocked up inside before spilling out everywhere.

On another note, I thought the music was turgid, badly used and often unnecessary. It sounded like the opening credits of Downton Abbey trying to sound like Philip Glass.

Another quick detail: I thought that making Therese a character with an artistic bent is a kind of easy way of making her more likeable. Like hmm she's a bit boring let's make her a photographer that's cool. It would have been bolder if she didn't have any obvious traits like that. I guess as she is a character who is unsure of who she is (and does seem to try to act "right" instead of doing what she wants - her ordering the same thing as Carol at one point), perhaps her taking pictures of people is a way for her to look out of herself and prevent her from looking inside too deeply (I am writing this as I am thinking along).

Side-question: why is the film called Carol? I thought Therese was just as explored and interesting. And the film didn't feel like it was more from one point-of-view than the other.

Gate of Hell

Amazing colors. Not much else.