Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza" by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.
[Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.
More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
(Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)
In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.
(Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)
I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line "The Weirdest Love Story ever told!" (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.
(Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)
See also the remake: Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
电影很奇怪，以一种文本密集的姿态登场，却只有非常少的信息量，几次以为要触及问题的核心，几次又绕了过去，最后只能落在一个不痛不痒的地方，稍稍有点尴尬了。
little person，可爱和温柔，大人启发孩子，孩子启发大人，活的何必那么虚伪，活的何必那么累
其实这种题材和风格是我喜欢的类型，为什么会给三星呢？大概是因为效果一般般吧，尽管选择黑白影像自带魅力，但是没有用出感觉。特别是舅舅和外甥在灵魂上的一致部分，他们都是有渴望的、隐藏的，但最后是温水式的，不过，温水也有温水的温柔。
看着华金穿着家居服在家里晃，我觉得这才是一个男人最性感的时刻吧！！很喜欢电影里用朗读文学作品的方式引出一些情节。月光曲的配乐虽然并不很有新意但绝对熨帖。很喜欢Jesse说，他的妈妈告诉他，尽管我们非常爱彼此，但我永远不会了解你的一切，正如你也不会了解我的一切，人生就是这样。看完这部电影，我决定新的一年也要多录下自己的想法。
超级温柔的电影，虽然底色有些许的残酷。人的成长，就是在不断接纳自己的不完美，大人孩子莫不如此。能在探索的时候遇到理解、包容、引导自己的人，是人生中的幸运。我理解有人认为影片矫情：“大人没有正经工作，孩子不好好上学，整天光谈一些没用的话题”。经过社会驯化的我们，与其说不屑于影片中的交流方式，毋宁说没有勇气在那样的维度放开自己，所以我们活得有效率，但是活得也够憋屈。杰昆菲尼克斯演得太好了，每一个表情和动作都有解读空间，不愧影帝。
采访里非演员孩子的叙述，其分量是片子本身无法承受的。电影的轻快和随性托举不起生活在真实世界之下孩子们面临的种种问题，从而让采访片段和情节本身脱节了
“只剩下点点繁星在空中闪烁”
影片既是在创作，也是在真实地进行记录，记录美国各地的孩子们对于不同事物的想法：未来、社会、死亡。整部作品就是一场孩子与成年人的世界观交流，在确切地达成了信息交换的同时让人意识到他们作为“young people”固然有他们独特的认识世界的方式。作品太用心了，五星支持。
溫情、老土、平平無奇的知識分子養小孩日常以黑白手法仿紀錄片炮製，當色彩被黑白化有點萬物歸一的味道，沒看trailer進場的結果就是看到signature才知道是production by A24
1，好想生一个怪小孩。2，It’s ok to say I’m not fine，This is fucked up and that makes sense！3，好想买一支录音笔！
今夜月色真美。
自由主义知识分子对亲情、成长、和解等生活系列命题的内心思辨，巧妙地通过“叔叔带侄儿”的故事和话筒设定娓娓道来～像是把王小波的杂文精选视觉化了一般～
站在同时可以理解小孩子和大人的今天，觉得自己还是更像小孩子啊
是那种没有剧情的聊天电影。开始还觉得有些无聊，越看越喜欢，看到最后又哭又笑。这世界让人困惑，你不好也没关系。
C'mon C'mon C'mon C'mon
杰昆变华金，搞得我差点不知道还蛮喜欢的男演员出新片了
好久没看黑白片了，摄影很棒，穿越过四个风格各异的美国城市，这样的色调也不会喧宾夺主。需要跟影像和时间一起放慢下来去体验这两位主角之间的bonding，孩子对世界的思考，成年人的焦虑。Over the years, you will try to make sense of that happy, sad, full, empty, always-shifting life you're in.
「深沉而轻盈」，这应该是很舒缓的一部电影，可惜我最近太焦灼不安了，这100分钟里我时而睡着，时而切换去做别的事情，实在不能静下心来。不能在对话里获得慰藉，不能感受到关系的修复和延伸，我浪费了这部电影。
虽然没有旁白，但片中读的那些书、做的那些访谈、录的那些环境音（所谓“使不朽”）、日记性质的自述、平添忧郁的黑白画面，都让人想起泰伦斯·马利克式的（故作）深沉。片中所有受访者都是真实出镜即兴发挥（包括一个后来被枪杀的叫布莱恩特的黑人小男孩），这倒挺适合方法派的华金·菲尼克斯。不知道这种亦幻亦真的骚操作是不是受了去年《无依之地》的启发。
u have 2 come on！看的過程想到的平時不太用的高級詞 雋永。一個男孩和很多個孩子，一個叔叔，和一對父母，New York City，New Orleans和LA。某種程度上的小紀錄片，「宏大」的問題和孩子舉重若輕的回答，有趣尋味。某種程度上的城市電影，紐約、奧爾良、和洛杉磯，風景和標誌。雖然我沒記住那些耐人尋味的文本，但是大概會是推薦給別人看的那一種電影。黑白畫面，不斷推進的文本台詞。還挺寫意。 @2022-01-10 23:21:47 @2022-06-03 23:25:49
Copyright © 2015-2023 All Rights Reserved
