The story appears simple on the surface, but is revealed, especially after multiple viewings, as more multi-layered and textured than Cassavetes at his best. Ostensibly it concerns a 14-year old Catholic girl, Wynne (Agutter) growing up in this post-modern wasteland, who develops a crush on her much older adoptive brother (Marshall)- a crush which perversely deepens and grows into infatuation once she starts to believe he is the local sex killer. This is in itself an idea that makes you sit up and jolt, but as the narrative develops, it continues not necessarily along a linear path but in several confusing and fascinating directions: the family's history, (detailed effectively in chilling flashback during an improvised seance) is a chequered one, and has suffered at least one major relocation and upheaval in the last ten years. At the crux, however, it's the depiction of socialal changes that make I Start Counting so fascinating and elevate its language far beyond the confines of the standard horror film. The major subtext- that teenage girls were maturing more quickly than before, and developing full sexual and romantic appetites (even if in thought rather than deed) but were not possessed of enough discretion to make the right choices- was a step forward for a genre in which its young females had previously been portrayed as bimbo victims (Cover Girl Killer and The Night Caller spring to mind), but not one that all viewers would necessarily agree with. But most striking of all, and possibly the most enduring image which the viewer will take away with them, is of the masterful symbolism with which director Greene invests every shot. Every inch of the Kinch family's world- their house, their walls, their TV, Agutters underwear, bedroom furniture and toys, Sutcliffe's clothes, Marshalls van, the local Catholic church, their town centre, their record shop) - is painted a bright, scintillating white- a white which, by inference, is slowly becoming smudged and corrupted with the dirt of the outside world. White also symbolises, of course, purity and innocence (two qualities Catholic schoolgirls are supposed to hold dear), and it is into this world of innocence that the ever-present red bus (a symbol of violation and penetration), conducted by the lecherous yet similarly juvenile Simon Ward, makes regular journeys. The allegory is further expanded in one scene where Agutter believes she sees the Christ figure in church weeping blood: by the time we acknowledge it, its gone, but the seed has already been planted. Rarely in a genre production has the use of colour and background been so important or effective in creating a uniformity of mood. I Start Counting is as near-perfect an end to a decade as one could hope for, and exactly the kind of film people should be making now- which is, of course, exactly why they never will. A genre essential. by D.R.
看着看着 想到了霸王别姬 又想到了活着，但话剧般的布景走位 放大缩小的镜头 却又独树一帜。能把这么宏大时代叙事架构下，又把nuances拍得出来，又加入阎王地府的元素 真的太棒太棒了 (第一次在纽约看indie film @anthology film archives
非常幸运能在大银幕看到这部片子/当中国近代史的洪流穿过邱福的身体 溅出的是一代艺术家的绝唱
伶人泛舟遙啊遙，遙過軍閥割據時，遙到蔣公掌權年代後，為溫飽，為屋頂，彷似在這個地方生命都只輪迴到兩件事上徘徊，再問不到究竟，只有苦，沒有悲。真正的悲劇是在自覺，意識下看到命運和絕望。又為何在這地方，大歷史下的伶人藝術生命都只求生存，而沒有藝術追求，一門手藝任由掌權者擺佈。這場百人大戲佈局了追求的正常生活仍在遠方，它還沒有向人們招手。新又新，只是重複又重複的命運，確實看著有種似層相識的感覺，也不是第一次看過類似的故事，比如我就想到張藝謀拍的《活著》，但邱炯炯甚至比張藝謀更接近余華原著表達方式，相似得要問，為何還要老調重彈（那英文戲名，new old play)，是大歷史下的小人物們故事總是相近，還是有重說一段老話的必要。《椒麻堂會》重要，是2018年後的中國電影環境裡難得地出現了一部具地方色彩和作家主義作品。
在各大流媒体平台把电影艺术引向轻量化发展之路的当下，我们应当感谢甚至感激，还有莱德利·斯科特这样的导演，心怀执念，埋头坚守。
导演的美术出身实在是为电影奠定了强烈的美学风格。表演、服化、布景采用贴近戏班戏台演出，形成了奇妙的戏中戏
对曾经以雄性气息为主导的古装史诗的解构和反对，这件事实际没必要让老雷来做，毕竟他年事已高又是此类题材的当代领军人，但他还是亲自去做了，在抓住了这个历史事件下的当代话题性的同时，又异常精准的用两场不同视角下Margerite的脱鞋戏调度暗暗让部分男性观众于性别决定的可能的先导误判中深深领教了文本上同等羞愧的审问与控诉，近乎于直接同银幕外对话，这也是一场“决斗”，只是老雷这次赢下的，早已不是电影中愚蠢的Jean和Jacques等人在无耻守卫的，一个老年名导所展现出的巨大的包容、果敢与进步，同自我过去的创作荣耀割席，且技艺上仍然保持着强烈而准确的震慑力和感染力，年轻的创作者们理应体会到这其中的号召与引领。
里面这几句印象深刻。
三个小时看完出来走在31摄氏度的新加坡街头，觉得温度刚刚好。
老的新剧，新的老剧。现实的虚幻，虚幻的现实。阴间的阳人，阳人的阴间。电影的戏剧，戏剧的电影。片里处处是可以列举出的矛盾性反差。三个小时完全不觉得冗长，只是后半段感觉到时间紧迫下叙事略微的赶。在近几年已经放弃对华语电影的兴趣的时候重燃了我对地方性的希望，被舞台与置景完全戳到。4.5
合集而已但也正好又重新看了一遍，还是很精彩
底片是同一张底片，可卡鲁日的显影药水叫“对尊严的虚荣盲信”、勒格里的显影药水叫“欲望自噬的陷阱”、玛格丽特的显影药水叫“女人觉醒的主体性”。
6.30 台北中正堂
绝对五星，名副其实的华语年度最佳！荒诞的艺术，光怪陆离的社会变迁，《霸王别姬》的隔空对唱，模糊舞台和荧幕的扑面而来的丁达尔效应，极具个人色彩和地方特色的空灵的戏梦版的表达，文革时期向右野蛮生长的水泥砖墙，屎里找蛆的桥段。细节和记忆点很多，非常大胆，导演也极具野心。在釜山电影节看的，179分钟，中途走了几个韩国人，亮灯后也有几个韩国人昏睡在座位上，只有我和个位数的同胞在诺大的影厅里鼓掌到人潮散去
这么一个朴素的打拳的主题值得老雷整一个中世纪历史片吗？你拍一个现代题材还有反思空间，男女平等还是中世纪吗？总不能拍李自成起义失败把根归在没有掌握马哲？
恳请朋友们坚持看完！俩男主视角之后的女性视角叙事，将这部电影拉高了好几个度。我也是看到后来才明白，原来这竟是一部优秀的女权主义电影！#Venice
第一次看纯舞台布景式的电影，即使有前景搭建，失去了景深后观感依然略显局促。“新戲從來演舊事 周而復始話滄桑 離合悲歡忘川渡 生死不外兩茫茫” 好喜欢这一幕的内容。还有一幕邱福喝完蘑菇汤之后师叔师哥老板纷纷变成大熊猫小熊猫和蘑菇的也好可爱. 📍Anthology film archives
【2.0】枯燥、冗长、装腔作势得让人不堪忍受，集中世纪古装片那套服化道先行和台词形式主义的臭毛病于一身。票房血扑还是挺能理解的，毕竟拍成这个样子，谁还在乎你的文本啊？
三星半，非常振奋人心的风格尝试，导演的画家身份使其实现了一种以几乎反电影的方式出发的调度，不只是很大程度地取消深焦调度，画面中人物和背景的透视关系也无时不被导演操纵着，于是形成了一种扁平化的，散点透视移步换景的，东方式的视觉空间。而演员在这样空间中的立体在场，则创造出了一种诡异的“德国新即物主义”般的扭曲观感。这种人物空间关系在电影前部和叙述主题高度契合，那是皮影戏台般的历史舞台：三维的“人”无法在一个意识形态及政权斗争主导的二维世界中找到存活空间，于是被挤压，被流放，而当戏子进入戏班，他们则通过一种主动扁平化的方式为自己觅得了偏安一隅，电影动人的幻梦体验全部来自于此。但很可惜也很奇怪的是，中国的创作者好似永远无法逃脱集体叙事的宿命，使电影最终令人沮丧而后几近厌恶地，滑入了陈旧迂腐的窠臼。
EP.11-14 《鼓屋敷篇》
太有趣太厉害了，看完我都觉得我是四川话大师！前半部分荒诞，后半部部分现实的可怕。
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