tltctc

["Brian J Dillard" <dillardb@student.msu.edu>]

my $.02 on the film:

no plot? who the FUCK cares. obviously this was not supposed to be a pedestrian
realism-style film. it is a fucking FAIRY TALE, for god's sake, and it has the
same sort of plot that many fairy tales do. in a fairy tale, the
protagonist often is faced with a strange otherworldly sort of logic and
once they accept the rules of this particular reality, the find what they
are looking for, be it a treasure, the meaning of life, or simply a way
back to their own life. of course, the point is what they learn in their
travels. the plot is subtle, and you have to THINK about clues kate gives
tounderstand who her character is at the film's beginning and end and how
they are different. so if you expect the meaning to be handed to you like
in a judith krantz novel, it ain't gonna happen.

unrelated songs? IED has already, far more eloquently than I could, pointed out
that the songs in the film (and on the album) could indeed be related, although
not in a narrative, linear way like the ones on, say, THW. The Dreaming and The
Sensual World often are called concept albums, and i think TRS is one in the
same way . . . . . the stylistic diversity is no greater than on The Dreaming,
and the subject matter is no more diverse than on The Sensual World. I think
the songs make perfect sense together, and the ones selected for the film
especially work well together. we're not talking like madonna tried to string
lucky star, bad girl, like a prayer and justify my love into a coherent
narrative . . . . .

kate's acting sucks? au contraire, in my opinion. i think her abilities are
more than sufficient for what she has to do in the film . . . . . . also, half
of the performance depends on other skills. singing obviously is no problem.
the way she conveys emotion through dance, especially in MoP, is EXTREMELY
moving. in an opera, you don't reduce your opinion of the lead to her acting.
it's a synthesis of acting, singing, etc. the same with this type of film. she
ain't garbo, but she gets the job done adequately on the acting side and more
than makes up for it with the rest . . . .

all in my ever so humble opinion. . . . .

brian