我和爸爸

　　布隆姆-唐是一名小镇的警察，他受根深蒂固、权势熏天的市长迪克-卡瓦纳家族直接管辖。当他的两个十来岁的儿子在猎鹿中无意射杀迪克后，布隆姆对独掌大权的卡瓦纳家族长期持有的忠心受到了考验。仍未成年的斯凯拉决定替哥哥内特顶罪，声称是他失手开的枪。卡瓦纳家族马上报复，令斯凯拉锒铛入狱，并企图将他作成人来审判。被绝望和负罪感压迫的内特力闯监狱，通过一连串的搏斗，救出弟弟，逃入树林。布隆姆在法律和骨肉之间的抉择导致了他对旧的家庭秘密的发现，而这些发现将要威胁毁灭掉他所热爱的一切

　　唯一由默片拍到現在的導演，迪‧奧利菲拉可說是活動電影博物館了。大師一百歲又生猛出招啦！這一招是個完美無瑕的道德故事，玩卡夫卡式的寓言不止，更曲筆擺出華麗古典版布紐爾格局。倒楣的馬加里奧一見鍾情對窗金髮女，但當美人被追到手，情卻隔了幾重山：叔父的反對、經濟的拮据，最後竟是金髮女的問題。生命果然是個謎。最精彩的是爐火純青的畫面，伺機同你暢遊葡萄牙文化藝術，文學金句、音樂、名畫……讓你飽覽而回。
　　O incansável Manoel de Oliveira, com mais de 100 anos, começou a sua carreira no tempo do cinema mudo. O seu filme mais recente, uma adaptação de um conto do século XIX, é, sem dúvida, um dos mais interessantes dos últimos anos. A premissa é simples: num comboio, um homem conta a sua história de amor e desilusão a uma atenta dama de meia-idade. O seu objecto de desejo? A rapariga loura que dá o nome ao filme. Embora em estilo de fábula, breve e divertida, o significado intelectual torna esta surpreendente estória tão moderna quanto anacrónica.
　　The tireless Manoel de Oliveira, now over 100 years old, can trace his directorial career back to the silent era. His newest film, an adaptation of a 19th century short story, is easily one of his most enjoyable in recent times. The premise is simple: while on the train, a man recounts his tale of love and woe to a receptive middle-aged lady. His object of desire? The titular blond-haired girl. Though fable-like, droll and brief, the intellectual heft makes this surprising tale both modern and anachronistic.

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.