Rosewater
(1999)
I cannot begin to describe the beauty that is "Rosewater."
Perfect, intricate, surreal, experimental, avant-garde...
these terms seem inadequate. The word Lynchian comes
to mind. And then there is the Asian feel of the film,
not only because the actors and filmmaker is Asian,
but because the film reminds one of the delicate and
studied films of the Asian experimental genre.
"Rosewater" is indescribable. Sure, I could sit down
and tell you about the singular shots. I could tell
you how they interrelate as a whole. I could tell you
about the characters. And then there's the perfection
of each individual moment. There is the water and the
winter and the apples and the roses. There is the feeling
of loss and sorrow and misspent time. There are the
insurmountable objects. And it's all put together in
a stark, purposeful, black-and-white world that moves
at a different speed than our world, plays out in a
different manner. I could tell you about this... but
my words would fail to communicate all that this film
truly is.
There are the minor homages to Lynch and to Asian
cinema and to Eisenstein. These are mere pittances along
the path to appreciating the film. "Rosewater" doesn't
reinvent anything, instead, it opts to simply flow.
It's stunning and masterful. It's beautiful and awestriking.
You have to see "Rosewater" to appreciate it. Yes,
it falls so wonderfully into my idea of what film is
all about. "Rosewater" is art. It elevates film into
the realm of beauty and art and geometry and shading.
It's about the blacks and whites and, especially, the
grays of existence in our modern post-modern world.
But the film also works on an emotional level. There
is a sense of many different emotions, all on the darker
side of the scale, loss, longing, sadness, grief. "Rosewater"
is the end of innocence, the end of life. It weaves
us into a world that isn't just post-nuclear; It isn't
just post-modern; It's post-existence. It's the other
end of the world after life.
"Rosewater" is a rare and wondrous masterpiece. The
filmmaker's name is Kimi Takesue. If there is any justice
in the cruel and harsh real world, she will be given
the opportunity to takes us further and deeper into
her rich, dark, intricate cinematic world of shading
and luster. And into the delicate, intricate, and specific
moments of the cinema of loss and silent suffering.
This is the film which Fate guided me to Park City
to see.
More
of Lodger's reviews indexed alphabetically! Just click
your favorite letter to go there.
a
b c
d e
f g
h i
j k
l m
n o
p q
r s
t u
v w
x y
z
HOME
|
In
Association with:
|
Posters From!
|
|
Please Visit 
|
|
