beautiful

Rating: Null/10 (28 March 2004)

Ernesto, one of the wisest men I've met, refers to this film as the most gorgeous film ever made. After seeing it in his class (on a slightly beat up, faded, reddish print, no less) I am inclined to agree. Each shot was based upon a painting from the era, each frame would be worthy of hanging on a wall. And this is the impression I got from a beat up, reddish, faded print. I can only imagine the full power of this film on a high quality print. The cinematography is, as is the norm with Stanley, astounding. But it is brought to an entirely new level. The colours are rich without being overpowering, the lighting is superb and ideal. The use of the telephoto lens in order to flatten out the depth of field and bring the visual similarity even closer to that of a painting had a stunning effect. And the fact that all but one scene was shot with natural light (sun or candle light) is just an added little touch of necessary bravura. I could watch this film with the sound off and it would be just as engrossing.