Sydney Film Festival: The Great Museum (2014)

 



Year: 2014

Running Time: 94 minutes

Director: Johannes Holzhausen

Writers: Johannes Holzhausen  and Constantin Wulff (concept)

 

THE GREAT MUSEUM will be screening at the 2014 Sydney Film Festival on the 7th and 8th of June. For more information on times, venues and tickets, please see the official website

 

The Great Museum is a wonderful documentary dedicated to one of the most grand art museums in Europe. Johannes Holzhausen takes the beautiful Kunsthistorisches Museum and is able to increase it's beauty as a result of careful and respectful cinematography which is an absolute treat to behold on screen. The Great Museum is an absolute must for art history fans, but the film and the museum are both things of beauty and are able to be appreciated by everyone.

 

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) in Vienna is a grand institution which has been open since 1872 and houses an incredible collection of art and historical artefacts. The Great Museum takes us behind the scenes to show us how curators maintain the contents of the museum and how they are constantly learning new things about the art already in their possession. The museum's staff are also faced with the task of attracting visitors so that they can meet their budget for the year and there is the inevitable task of how to make the museum seem more relevant to the 21st century.

 

The Great Museum does the Kunsthistorisches Museum complete and utter justice. The beauty of the institution, which is already a magnificent piece of art in itself, is greater enhanced by this film. It is a triumph for a film to take something which is already of the greatest beauty and somehow increase this beauty by allowing people to see it from the most extraordinary angles as a result of wonderful filmmaking. There is a tremendous amount of beauty throughout starting from the beginning shot and it is absolutely mesmerising seeing these astonishing pieces of art like you never have before. The Kunsthistorisches Museum houses some amazing pieces of artwork and pieces of history and these objects in themselves are incredible to see, but on film we see them in a way which we probably wouldn't even see them physically at the museum. The way in which the frescos are seen as they are being maintained and the imperial crown as it is being inspected are visions you would only be able to see in this film, as you would not see them in the same way the film is allowing you to in real life. The lighting in particular scenes also allows the art to be seen from a different viewpoint, giving it different feeling and meaning. The cinematography methods used to put the museum on show are all extremely respectful, as is very important when dealing with such an Austrian cultural landmark. Vienna, although not much of it is seen, is also presented in incredible fashion. Early in the film there is a beautiful panning shot of Vienna which shows the beauty the city itself holds. In every scene which is set in a room of the museum that has a window, the camera positions itself carefully so you can see the view of Vienna outside the window.

 

In the film, the museum is a living, breathing organism and it is treated as though it is the human subject of a documentary. It's personality is explored with great depth, as are the external and internal influences that affect it's day to day life. The film is intriguing and awe inspiring. It takes you behind the scenes to witness scenes such as upkeep of their historic pieces and the arrival and preparation of new and amazing pieces. What makes The Great Museum a documentary like no other is it's method of informing it's audience. Director Johannes Holzhausen chooses not to have the curators tell the audience how they do things, but rather show them and the viewer learns much from their conversations with others and their actions. A great deal is learnt over the course of the film about the museum itself and many pieces of art housed inside it.

 

 The Great Museum is made with a huge amount of care and a great deal of love is displayed throughout the film. There is an obvious love for the museum shown by Holzhausen in the production of the film with the commitment to bringing the best of the museum to the screen in the most extraordinary way, but there is love in everyone who works for the Kunsthistorisches Museum. This love transfers to the audience as you cannot help but feel a great fondness for the museum. During the film, the staff try to look at more effective ways in which to attract the public and tourists to the museum. This film is an excellent form of publicity for the Kunsthistorisches Museum and one can only speculate at the advantageous ways in which it will work for them.

 

The Great Museum is a documentary which is truly one of a kind. It stays away from the normalities of the regular documentary and creates a beautiful film about a beautiful place.

 

8.5/10

 



Amour (2012)

Year: 2012
Country: Austria
Director: Michael Haneke
Cast: Jean- Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert
Amour is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray everywhere

Amour is as tragic and heartbreaking as it is hauntingly beautiful.

Michael Haneke has provided every ingredient in order to create an absolute masterpiece with Amour. The film completely emotionally captivates it's audience from beginning to end with absolutely astounding performances and beautiful direction.

Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are a married couple in their eighties who are retired music teachers living in Paris. Life is seemingly peaceful and idyllic, until the day that Anne suffers a stroke which leaves her paralysed down one side. As Anne's physical and mental health rapidly deteriorates, the couple's bond is tested and their relationship changes it's course.

Amour is a heartbreaking reminder of our own mortality and  what happens to the relationships around us as the end approaches in such a way that is seen in this film. The film can be very emotional to watch as it progresses, but it rewards you at the end with a beautiful and fitting ending. It is the type of ending which makes you uncomfortable before almost straight away making you feel at peace yourself.

Even though the beginning of the film gives you the final outcome of the film, it still avoids predictability by not giving away how it will come to that finale and engrosses you completely regardless of whether you know the ending or not. The script, also written by Michael Haneke, is just beautiful as it shows how hard you have to work at a marriage whether it be in your first days as husband and wife or your last. It brings forth the worries that a couple will always have no matter how old they are, but also the little things that make a marriage work such as a sense of humour and playfulness, as well as common interests (which is music in this case).

Haneke's direction is just exquisite. The majority of Amour involves only two people and is set almost completely inside their apartment. Haneke makes sure throughout the film that the rooms of the apartment and the way in which they are seen on film fits the mood of the scene which they are in. He uses different lighting in the chosen room in each scene it is ion and each time you see a particular room, it isn't in the same circumstance and therefore has a completely different feel to it. Like the ending, the apartment seems to be it's most peaceful right at the end.

There could not be enough praise given to Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva. Trintignant is wonderful as Georges. It is incredible to watch how his character changes with Anne's change in health. He starts off such a strong personality as seen when he and Anne are talking at the beginning, but he begins to wear out bit by bit and even when he is trying to stand up to one of Anne's nurses, he is just too tired to make himself seem threatening.

Emmanuelle Riva is just astonishing. She commands the audience's sympathy and you feel all of her frustration and sadness. Although the state of her body is deteriorating, it is her expressions that give away how worn out her soul is getting as the end draws near.

There is one stunning quote in Amour that stays with you. When looking through a photo album, Anne says "Isn't it beautiful?" to which Georges replies "What?", and she says "Life".

This is such an incredible line and is what we should all take away from seeing such a beautiful film that reminds you of the beauty there is in our existence.

9/10






On a side note.....
Amour was the only film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards earlier this year that Movie Critical was not able to review before the awards. With this review, all nine nominees for the category have now been reviewed. The other eight nominees were:-
Argo (Best Picture winner)
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

You may also like to check out our wrap up of the week that we were in Hollywood for the Oscars here. Movie Critical will be back in Hollywood for the week of the Academy Awards in 2014 and will be reviewing all the films to be nominated leading up to the event.

Sydney Film Festival: Soldate Jeannette (2013)

Year: 2013
Country: Austria
Director: Daniel Hoesl
Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst
Screening at the Sydney Film Festival on the 6th and 8th of June 2013. Please see here for details on times, venues and tickets.

Soldate Jeannette is set to become one of the most interesting films of this year's Sydney Film Festival, reminding us all that film is first and foremost an art form.

The entertainment value and suspense of the film may not be quite as high as some others, but it certainly is a very interesting film in every way. It's way of production is fascinating and the message inspiring. What Soldate Jeannette proves is that in order to create a beautiful piece of art, it is not large amounts of money that will achieve this, but a whole lot of heart.

Fanni (Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg) has been living a life of extravagance, but has come to dislike money intensely. When some of her secrets start to unravel, she leaves her life of luxury and travels to the country to live on a farm. There she meets and befriends Anna (Christina Reichsthaler) who is unhappy with her life. Together, these two break free of their confines and find a life of freedom where they no longer feel they have to do what they don't want to do.

The most intriguing thing about Soldate Jeannette is that it is completely unscripted. It is completely improvised by the actors. What is more interesting is that the two main character's experiences are based on the experiences of their actors. These stories were found out by director, Daniel Hoesl during casting and the film was moulded around these life stories. Also, this film was made with a budget of almost nothing.

If you just walked into a cinema and knew nothing about the film to begin with, you may say that the film is slow and boring and takes too long to get to the point. However, if you go into Soldate Jeannette with the background knowledge of how it was made and these interesting facts of production, you are willing to look over these downfalls. Any film with a production such as this deserves to be praised. It is not the film you want to see if you want to be thoroughly entertained and be kept guessing, but the one to see if you want to see art in action.

The cinematography in this film is really amazing. There are some absolutely incredible shots throughout the film, many of which are of things which normally wouldn't be considered anything special. For example, the night shots of a road where you can only see the car's headlights driving up and down the laneways is so interesting to watch when it really isn't all that in real life. Some of the location shots are also quite intriguing, especially those of the farm exteriors. There is also great use of symbolism, such as the necklace symbolising the world of luxury and wealth.

The acting in this film is extremely subtle. There isn't a great deal of emotion shown from any of the characters, only very slightly. There isn't a great deal of character development either, although there is growth. Both lead actresses do well and it is obvious they have both drawn from experience because they improvise so convincingly.

Soldate Jeannette is a wonderful piece of artwork for those who love to marvel at the beauty of film. It is an achievement which Hoesl should be extremely proud of.

7/10


The Sydney Film Festival will run from the 5th-16th of June. Please see the official website for details.