Shirley: Visions of Reality (2013) Reviews

• Colorful

  kosmasp2013-08-04

  A very odd movie I got to see during the Berlin International Film Festival. Odd might be an understatement and I'm sure I didn't completely comprehend what it was trying to tell me. But I was mesmerized nevertheless. By the different settings, by the way the actors behaved, by the colors. Actually just by everything. It is tough to talk about something, that was clearly inspired by paintings, though I couldn't tell you which ones. I'm not even sure I want to read more about it, just to keep that cloud of mystery over it and making up things I imagine are true of what the story is supposed to be (or if there even is one). It's not really a structure to be seen, so that fact alone will not get too many people engaged into watching it. You have to be in the mood for this. A special kind of mood I suppose

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• 13 vignettes recreate the paintings of Edward Hopper

  aoc7772016-06-14

  Edward Hopper was one of the most influential modern American painters, who took his inspirations from the cinema and literature of his time (1882 to 1967). His pictures reflected contemporary America in spare but very detailed scenes that appeared to be frozen moments in time. His use of light and shadow was evocative; his color palette reduced but intense. Gustav Deutsch attempts to recreate 13 paintings of Hopper, creating 13 vignettes that highlight life and history in the USA between 1931 and 1963. The story follows the life of Shirley and her thoughts throughout the vignettes. News clips, music and poems - the movie is concerned as much with the inner workings and thoughts of Shirley as in recreating the scenes that encompass the Hopper paintings. This is in the spirit of Edward Hopper, who was very much interested in psychology, which influenced his work. Gustav Deutsch has succeeded in translating Hopper's work into a movie and created a unique work that unfreezes the paintings and gives them life. The movie moves slowly and you need to approach the vignettes as you would approach a painting - take your time, bath in the colors and lights, soak in the details and let the stories unfold. The red line is elusive in this movie but exists, if you are willing to search for it. This movie is a unique vision that will appeal to those, who like Hopper, the realism movement in art, and movies about art.

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