EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

sprengerguido (This review concerns the DVD version, which omits the contributions by the Coens and Lynch.) Omnibus films are always a mixed bag, but one thing can be said about this one: No other omnibus contains as many films from so many talented directors. So, as omnibuses go, this is pure joy. All these three-minute-pieces deal with being in a movie theater or watching movies. Some goodies and some baddies: Only a few directors manage to compress intensity and emotion into even the briefest, most unassuming forms. One of them is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – his single-shot entry about a blind movie goer (one of three in this collection) is mysteriously touching and formally exquisite.Another director of that ilk is Wong Kar-Wai – his film manages to evoke intense feelings of desire and memory with a few almost abstract shots of people in a dark theater, like glowing orange and red strokes on a black canvas, a few intertitles, and dialogue from Godard's "Alphaville": wonderful. Except Wong, all the other Chinese(-speaking) directors show rather wistful visions of the past, including Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Taiwan's Tsai Ming-Liang is the most original among them: In characteristically perfect compositions and hypnotic pace, he imagines his childhood family having a picnic in a movie theater – as if the cinema is a repository of a home long lost. "It's a dream", and not without irony.Talking about wistful – I like much of Theo Angelopoulos' work, but not that certain underlying pompousness, that "Look at me – I'm a poet!" attitude. Here he has an aged, dignified Jeanne Moreau recite her text from the final scene of Antonioni's "La notte", then addressed to Marcello Mastroianni, to – an actor playing Mastroianni's ghost. Aw, no, Theo! There's just one Marcello, remember? Put his picture on a wall, show him in a scene, but don't replace him with someone else! This is a dedication that backfires. But it is on the foil of such serious arty attempts that other contributions shine, like Lars Von Trier. I had expected something conceptually more intriguing from him, but maybe it is conceptually intriguing to, in the company of illustrious artists, deliver something that is just gross. Trier addresses one of the most serious issues of watching movies: the idiots you're watching them with. He offers an ultimate example of that character, and the ultimate solution. My laugh-out-loud moment. A similar moment of resistance to good taste is Cronenberg's "The suicide of the last jew in the last cinema of the world" – there's not much more to it than the title indicates, but it's fun for one reason. I think the very first film the director ever showed in Cannes was one of his early experimental features, and it just tanked. These early works consisted of dialogue-free scenes with bizarre voice-overs, and Cronenberg uses this form again here. That is irony. And Raoul Ruiz is the man. At his best, he combines Godard's literacy with a reluctant love for storytelling and rich, surprising visuals. Here, he has read Marcel Mauss' "Essai sur le don". A blind man tells how a missionary, a man of God, gave a radio and a movie projector to some Indians. They ritually transform these gifts into ceremonial exchange items and sacrifices. When they give them back to the westerners, they turn them into blind atheists, thus taking away from them both God and the images. And that's just one level of what is happening in these mind-boggling three minutes. Roman Polanski's recurring themes are sex, random cruelty, misleading conclusions and awkward situations – and they are all present here, in this little joke about an elderly couple watching an erotic film. It's quite literal – you could tell it to your friends at a party – but nicely executed. (And why does everyone, except the groaning man, wear glasses?) Abbas Kiarostami's entry is a sketch for "Shirin", his follow-up feature, using the same concept: You do not see the movie, but the reaction of the Iranian women watching it. The film being Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet", the paradigmatic tale of forbidden love, their emotional reactions are powerful and evocative. It makes me long to see "Shirin". And as for the rest, see for yourself.

RainDogJr On last Thursday (6 November 2008) once again began the "Muestra International de Cine", certainly this year its selection is not as eye catching for me as last year and practically I really want to watch just two more films after watching Chacun son cinéma (Scorsese's Shine a Light and Chaplin's The Gold Rush, which I want to watch on the big screen!) but certainly this film was by far better than the first one I saw during last year's "Muestra" (it was Belle toujours). The organizers decided to bring the film that celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival and definitely was a worth watching opener, not all the short films are great works yet the ones that worked were enough for me. As many I was aware of the existence of this film since long time ago and definitely it looked as a very interesting work but as no information of a possible release as my interest decreased, in other words I knew that Takeshi Kitano was part of the film until I saw the poster yesterday at the cinema. Anyway, as you know this is a tribute to the cinema and by watching the second short film you know that this is a work that every film lover should watch. That second short film is the one of Kitano and with it quickly you forget about the uncertain opener, certainly Kitano's contribution One Fine Day is one of my favourites, it is a very simple short film with Kitano as a projectionist of a local little cinema where the film Kids Return is been "watched" by only one person. And is "watched" because that man will watch Kids Return in 3 "acts", problems with the projection and when finally seems to be everything fine the credits are on the screen and the man had smoke some cigarettes. This is perfect but if there's one word that can describe Chacun son cinéma that is inconstancy. I was expecting great stuff from certain filmmakers, very few, actually I only knew and know Kitano, Andrei Konchalovsky (only for Tango & Cash), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (only for L'Infant), Zhang Yimou, Gonzalez Iñarritu, Aki Kaurismäki, Lars von Trier, Gus Van Sant, Roman Polanski, Cimino, Cronenberg, Wong Kar-wai, Wim Wenders and Lynch (I also know the Coen brothers yet their contribution was not showed and don't ask me why). Of those directors I do can say if I loved their short films or if was disappointment; certainly Kitano has not make a bad work for me yet (plenty Kitano films still to watch), honestly I didn't recognize the short of Iñarritu and when I saw his name in the credits was both a surprise and a disappointment (the only Mexican director and he filmed in English, I consider that 21 Grams is his very best film however I didn't liked that on an international project like this one he was another director who's short is in English), Gus Van Sant's short is one of the worst (it contains a sort of tribute to Buster Keaton), I Travelled 9000 km To Give It To You is typical Wong Kar-wai only that it is my less favourite work of this brilliant director. David Lynch's Absurda is like an oasis in a desert that has certain water if that s*** that I have just write makes sense to you, I have to watch that short again! And there are some other short films that are quite bizarre, certainly Absurda is pure Lynch, and others quite tragic, others very funny and others that have everything. And the references to films are obviously everywhere, there are some shorts that are not only a tribute to cinema but also a tribute to a specific film like Fellini's 8½ in the contribution of Konchalovsky. Definitely that short, In the Dark, is not one of my personal favorites but it is the example of a short film that have all, you understand the passion of that woman to a film and you will laugh with her actions in order to watch again 8½. Chen kaige's Zhanxiou Village show to us a group of kids watching a Chaplin film and the problems of electricity will not be enough to stop these kids who were really enjoying the wonders of Chaplin. This short shares something with the one of Iñarritu and also with other short film (can't remember the name but I think it is The Last Dating Show) about a Danish man who "explain" to his date each dialog of the movie since she don't speak the language, it ends in a really great way....THANKS TO IMDb I LOSE THE OTHER PART OF THIS COMMENT BUT I WILL COMPLETE THIS ONE SOON

dbborroughs This film is impossible to really describe accurately other than to say it 34 short (3 to 4 minutes) films about the movies and movie going. Covering a variety of topics from comedy and tragedy to documentary this is the a look at how many famous directors see the cinema.I saw this on a Chinese DVD, which has 33 of the 34 movie done by various directors (only the Cohen Brothers contribution is missing). Most of the films are good, a couple are not bad rather they illicit a "what was that about" reaction and a few are glorious, explaining why the cinema is something so magical. I'm not sure this really is a film for all film goers since the films can be rather oblique, not to mention the ride is bumpy with a poor film sandwiched between a couple winners (or vice versa). I would love to critique each film, but that is dangerous since the films are so short it may reveal too much. I think the best way to see this film (as suggested by another poster) is to simply watch each film and wait to see what happens. In most cases the director isn't named until the end so you can simply watch each film without any sort of expectation. Granted some films are obvious as to who made them since the directors appear, but many of the others are not so clear.(I was right about half the time and wrong about half) Definitely worth a look. This is a must see for anyone deeply passionate about the movies and going to them.

Harry T. Yung Those who have seen "Paris je t'aime" will not forget that movie with 18 5-to-10-minute segments of a whole pageantry of short stories with one common theme – the City of Light. "To each…." offers 33 segments each straightly limited to 3 minutes, with the main theme being the Cannes Film Festival (in celebration of its 60th anniversary).The 35 directors (there are two pairs of brothers, if you are doing an audit of the numbers while reading this) from 5 continents and 25 countries are all masters in their own right. It's dazzling just to observe how they take up the challenge to use the 3 minutes to say something that will stand out above the other 32! Some follow their unmistakable trademark style, such as Takeshi Kitano and WONG Ka-wai. Some resort to devilishly funny twists, such as Roman Polanski. Some squeeze as much witty dialogue as possible into the 3 minutes, such as Jane Campion and Divid Cronenberg. Still others take advantage of well-loved songs which almost immediately win the audience over, such as Claude Lelouch ("Cheek to ckeek") and Abbas Kiarostami ("What is a youth"). There are also humanitarian messages, as offered by CHEN Kaige and Wim Wenders.I won't attempt to mention every segment and every director. Suffices to say that with such a large number of attempts there will be good and bad (world-class directors notwithstanding). I am happy to report that there is definitely more good than bad.