Sunday 15 September 2013

HIDDEN TREASURES - THE ADJUSTER, CONSPIRATORS OF PLEASURE, GABBEH


Everybody who's ever been alive knows that the 1990s were the best decade ever. That's because I was born in the 1990s. To celebrate, filmmakers started making good films to honour my existence, and here are three examples all from that glorious decade.

THE ADJUSTER (1991) - ATOM EGOYAN

Atom Egoyan ought to get back to making films like The Adjuster. It's weird, a little obscure, a lot icky, and wholly hypnotic. It could be seen as defining the career that he was starting to eke out, perhaps. It doesn't take a lot to get me waxing on about Egoyan's films, and I'm of the opinion that the seductive The Adjuster is one of his best.

CONSPIRATORS OF PLEASURE (1996) - JAN SVANKMAJER

A terrific, zany comedy from the incomparable Jan Svankmajer and his unconscionable imagination. His marvellous sense of humour and inspired musical cues, and the cast's committed work swiftly make up for the absence of dialogue, which only adds to the film's idiosyncrasy. Hooray for Jan Svankmajer! See all of his crazy, quirky films!

GABBEH (1996) - MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF

A vibrant sensorial celebration of colour, both literal colour and the colour of emotion, imparted by rich history and informed by a profound sense of nationality, enhanced by Mohsen Makhmalbaf's appreciation of the power of the Iranian landscape in telling his story. Less a conventional film than a singular work of art, classifiable only as cinema for the fact that it's a sustained collection of images and synchronised sound.

1 comment:

  1. i love the 'the adjuster' !!!!!! :)
    (and sorry your sub novice that would be me/had never even heard of your other two 90's films.exits this room in shame...)

    why can't the 'adjsuter' get three percent of the love 9000 gangster films gets and 4,000 superhero films gets ?? *sigh*...

    'the adjsuter' has the best sex scene ever. it does...and you've read/heard 3,000 times about people wanting/feeling a sex scene shouldn't be there unless it advances the plot.well,this film even does that better than anything too... ;)

    the 90's as the best decade ever. hmm.one thing about the early 90's which is yes the time from we got 'the adjuster' you at least felt there was chance music/film wise that some non trad stuff had a chance of breaking through/getting some spotlight and being considered important at it's release...

    but as you know thing just lamer and more normal(my take) and we get more make it fit in genre like every 4 months....

    anyway i really love the acting in those early egoyan films !!! paddy,what is that type of acting officially labeled as (as from bing brilliant)

    guess it makes 300%sense that egoyan would change directions post 'the adjsuter', no way he was gonna top or likely even get close to that level again.

    i wish 'the adjuster' was seen as a key film but it never is...

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