Z/Web

Director: David Cronenberg

This is a simpler film than the trailers imply: basically a midwife in London finds a diary on a nameless Russian girl who dies while giving birth. The diary, when translated, tells about the girl’s horrific imprisonment and rape at the hands of Russian mobsters, and thus the midwife gets embroiled into the criminal world. The film is authentic all the way with brutal violence, plenty of Russian language with English subtitles, and superior acting. It’s extremely well done, but in the final analysis I wanted a touch more depth. It’s all plot and the story just ends without any profound life lessons or impact. But other than that, it’s a superior film.

Director: Julie Taymor

I had seen the trailers which intrigued me, but I didn’t realize this was a musical. It’s basically a story set to the music of the Beatles. The story is a simple love story about a boy from Liverpool named Jude who meets a girl named Lucy in New York City in the anti-war Vietnam era. The music is well integrated into the story and beautifully done, and I really liked the majority of the visuals and dancing and performances. A few of the songs are weaker and didn’t interest me as much (some were too long), but most I liked, though I’m not familiar with many Beatles’ songs (some I knew but never realized were Beatles’ music). Some of the anti-war stuff is a bit too preachy with obvious pointers at today’s “war” in Iraq (though it probably does fit with the era), and much of the 1960’s hippy vibe is idealized. Still, it’s a fun film — good music, cool people celebrating life, clever camerawork and elaborate visuals, and a satisfying story — but I wouldn’t take it as seriously as it seems to take itself at times with its overly dramatic anti-war imagery and pro-free love idolatry. Just see it for the entertainment value.