Tag / catherine deneuve

by Jaime Rebanal

Jaime’s Film Diary: March 15, 2020

As expected, I’ve been keeping my Letterboxd up to date – so here’s yet another update for here in regards to what I have been watching as of late.

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by Jaime Rebanal

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Review

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Those who want a musical like any other musical will not find it in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Those who find the idea of having every line in the film entirely sung grating, Jacques Demy knew it would turn you off too. With The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Jacques Demy already knew what audiences are set to expect when they hear the label of “musical” being used to describe a film but he turns around desires into a greater melancholy. In the nature of the French New Wave, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg goes ahead to carry more of their experimental traits and now we have one that takes the approach to the Hollywood musical. Then it becomes clear why The Umbrellas of Cherbourg works as wonderfully: it isn’t a musical anymore.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Repulsion – Review

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Roman Polanski’s English-language debut is not only a film that goes down rather easily as one of his very best films, but also one of the greatest horror films to ever grace the screen. This is a film that alienates the senses much to the point that we end up getting caught so out of nowhere, from how Polanski cleverly builds up tension from first scene to last or how he also forms one of the most haunting of all descents into insanity to have been captured on film. Whatever words one chooses to throw at Repulsion, a certain term that comes to mind when I wish to talk about my first experience – traumatizing. Polanski’s first venture into horror is not only his finest within the sort, it is also one of his finest films overall and even to this day, it still remains shocking as ever. Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

The Young Girls of Rochefort – Review

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What defines a feel-good film? I’m probably not one to be asked this question with a generally pessimistic outlook upon life, but when I think of something that brings a more joyful sight to my life, one of the first films that I point to is none other than Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort. Following up The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, what Jacques Demy churns out is something completely different – stylistically and tonally. In The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, what Jacques Demy created was a musical whose dialogue all had been sung together with an incredibly heartbreaking narrative, but The Young Girls of Rochefort gives out something else all around, something more cheerful and bliss. Whenever I watch The Young Girls of Rochefort, I feel an unusual sense of joy running down my spine. Something that to some extent makes me feel more optimistic about life, which I rarely feel. Continue reading →