Music and Film recommendations: 3
For this month’s issue, rather than my previous tradition of recommending just one album, I’m going to commemorate the New Year by going through what I believe to be the best albums of 2016.
THIS MONTH’S FILMS:
THE SKIN I LIVE IN (La Piel Que Habito) cert. 15
(2011, Pedro Almodovar)
The Skin I Live In is a slightly surreal, BAFTA winning thriller from cult Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. It’s difficult to discuss this film without spoiling it (hence why I’ve written about two film reviews this week) so I would recommend that you refrain from reading into it too much. What I can tell you is that the film is superbly written. I was glued to the screen as I followed the film’s bizarre and unexpected twists. The cinematography and score are very complementary to the film’s eerie themes, and the acting is brilliant. The main character is played by the same guy who voices Puss in Boots (I’ll never see Shrek 2 in the same way again after watching Antonio Banderas’s creepy and cold performance as a twisted plastic surgeon left heartbroken after his wife’s death). The film is a bit sick in places, so be warned - I like to think of it as a surreal Spanish Pulp Fiction. However, I will say that it is a great film to start on if you want to get into foreign cinema.
(2011, Pedro Almodovar)
The Skin I Live In is a slightly surreal, BAFTA winning thriller from cult Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. It’s difficult to discuss this film without spoiling it (hence why I’ve written about two film reviews this week) so I would recommend that you refrain from reading into it too much. What I can tell you is that the film is superbly written. I was glued to the screen as I followed the film’s bizarre and unexpected twists. The cinematography and score are very complementary to the film’s eerie themes, and the acting is brilliant. The main character is played by the same guy who voices Puss in Boots (I’ll never see Shrek 2 in the same way again after watching Antonio Banderas’s creepy and cold performance as a twisted plastic surgeon left heartbroken after his wife’s death). The film is a bit sick in places, so be warned - I like to think of it as a surreal Spanish Pulp Fiction. However, I will say that it is a great film to start on if you want to get into foreign cinema.
TAXI DRIVER (1976, Martin Scorsese) cert. 18
You talkin’ to me?
You may have heard that line before. That’s because the second film I’m recommending today is possibly one of most quoted in cinema history. It’s the movie that really put Scorsese on the map as one of the greats in terms of directors. It features a stand-out performance from Robert De Niro as the mentally unstable veteran, Travis Bickle, who takes up a job as a taxi driver to put his insomnia to use. We follow De Niro’s character as he falls in and out of love, and becomes fixated with ‘washing the scum off the streets’. He witnesses the horrors of New York’s night life, and decides to take matters into his own hands. The movie was shot on 35mm film which really gives the shots of New York’s sleazy neon a grainy and grimy feel. The film’s score is one of its greatest feats. Bernard Herrmann’s main theme is a really ominous piece that looms in your ears until it stalks its way into a magnificent Bolero-like hum. The unforgettable end-sequence is suspenseful yet punchy, and leaves us with some unanswered questions which is great for fans who love to theorise. The film also contains notable performances from an almost unrecognisable Harvey Keitel and a very young Jodie Foster in a brave role. It’s a slow film but concurrently keeps you on the edge of your seat. The BFI are re-releasing Taxi Driver into most UK cinemas, so I highly recommend that you check it out.
Morgan Till
You talkin’ to me?
You may have heard that line before. That’s because the second film I’m recommending today is possibly one of most quoted in cinema history. It’s the movie that really put Scorsese on the map as one of the greats in terms of directors. It features a stand-out performance from Robert De Niro as the mentally unstable veteran, Travis Bickle, who takes up a job as a taxi driver to put his insomnia to use. We follow De Niro’s character as he falls in and out of love, and becomes fixated with ‘washing the scum off the streets’. He witnesses the horrors of New York’s night life, and decides to take matters into his own hands. The movie was shot on 35mm film which really gives the shots of New York’s sleazy neon a grainy and grimy feel. The film’s score is one of its greatest feats. Bernard Herrmann’s main theme is a really ominous piece that looms in your ears until it stalks its way into a magnificent Bolero-like hum. The unforgettable end-sequence is suspenseful yet punchy, and leaves us with some unanswered questions which is great for fans who love to theorise. The film also contains notable performances from an almost unrecognisable Harvey Keitel and a very young Jodie Foster in a brave role. It’s a slow film but concurrently keeps you on the edge of your seat. The BFI are re-releasing Taxi Driver into most UK cinemas, so I highly recommend that you check it out.
Morgan Till