It’s a curio I think….not up there with the Dassin’s it was trying to emulate, but I liked it, and I actually think that being a crap actor is not a drawback in this format… it lends it more of a doco edge and that’s not too bad. I think it’s limitations are there to be seen, but he made a lot out of not too much resource wise.
Thanks for the extended ellipses. I would have never guessed you were about to continue with your thoughts after a title like “Just watched Blast of Silence”.
A great work of film noir, and Alan Baron was, or is, a true auteur.
I’ve just watched the film and really like it, quite different from other noir’s I’ve seen. Like the fact that the narrator is neither a punisher or a force who asks the killer do his thing, he describes what the actor is about to do, but also let people know that there are some things quite unavoidable for Frank Bono to do. Instead of letting us all know why he’s dedicated to such a forbidden labor, the narrator just brings glimpses of Bono’s past. “You would have been an arquitect”… “you are now alone, just the way it should always must be”, just after leaving the girl.
This is one of those movies that tells you more from not saying, rather than to say it all. I liked when he visits the girl he loves and founds her husband up there, he just leaves getting mad, instead of the typical hollywood response, which is hitting the husband or the girl, I don’t know, its just more human and logical, not a thing that a viewer asking for violence would need.
SPOILEEERR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also loved the fact that it’s not justice or police the authority who brings Bono’s jorunal to an end, but the internal logical of the criminal group he’s into, the one that a couple of days ago he wanted to leave in order to change his life. Instead of the movie ending being an apology to State and the other force who implicitly all of us must accept and recognize, the autor just ignores its role on the movie and let the persons, the non-recognized factic powers solve its problems its own way.
I found it quite interesting to watch, the visuals in particular stood out to me. The camerawork was fluid and crisp. The lead actor was excellent in his role of the down-on-his-luck hired assasin. Very restrained performance.
My favorite Christmas film.
samlane
…..great movie. I especially loved the narration and the cinematography. In fact I ended going through and getting snapshots of some visuals I particularly liked and have been alternating them as desktop backgrounds. Quite a few amazing shots. I especially loved the long walk shot and when the main character aims his gun directly at the camera. It looks awesome and even though I knew the gun only had an empty shell in it I found myself flinching as he was slowly pulling the trigger. And I don’t really know exactly why I noticed this but another little thing I found interesting in the scene when Frank Bono is cleaning his gun. He’s working with the gun he sets the gun down sets his bottle of oil, which had fallen sideway, upright. Thats it. Then he goes back to the gun. Again, I’m not sure why this stood out to me but in thinking about it it is an interesting insight into the professionalism and precision of the character. Thoughts?