Baldo by Hector D. Cantú and Carlos Castellanos for March 10, 2010

Definitely more cool, Gracie!

Why should she feel bad about it? He’s the one having the feelings; they’re his responsibility.

You got that right, ejcapulet.

Expressionist theater? SOund like my film class. Is she going to make Baldo watch “400 blows” or “they bicycle thieves”? Or is “the seventh seal” more arppropriate?

Potrzebie, you should pay better attention in class. “The Bicycle Thief” is Italian Neo-Realist and “The 400 Blows” is French New Wave, not expressionist. Think more along German lines: “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, or “M”.

Of course, those are all films; for the theaters themselves, expressionism never really caught on. Slanted, irregular walls, ceilings, and doorways are structurally unsound, and result in projection problems, as well as poor sightlines for the audience.

Fritzoid, I doubt that you will read this, but I did get an A in that class. I realized the genres after I had made the post. BUt to be fair, all of those old foreign films tend to fall in the same cobwebbed corners of our memories. AND, the correct title is “THE BICYCLE THIEVES” . Remember that there are two thieves in that movie, not one.

Hi, Potzrebie, the movie is variously known in English as “The Bicycle Thief” or “Bicycle Thieves”, but it’s true that its Italian title is “Ladri di biciclette”, using the plural. The original U.S. release was as “The Bicycle Thief”, and that’s how Ebert refers to it, but in the UK the title is usually pluralized. There’s apparently some controversy over which is preferable, but Criterion’s release is as “Thieves.”

Basically, no ill-will was intended, and I was just yanking your chain a little bit about not paying attention in class. But realism (neo- or otherwise) and expressionism are pretty much at opposite extremes, as far apart as John Cassavetes and Terry Gilliam. :-)