Blow up

Blow up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966) is a film based in the short story "Las babas de diablo", by Julio Cortázar.

Blow up tries to portray the "Swinging London" in the 60s. In the film, all its characters (young people) live a "hedonistic" lifestyle. It can be seen in Thomas' (David Hemmings) job, in the clothes (specially in women's), in the young clowns, the rock concerts, the sex as a simple amusement, drugs..

Thomas, a London photographer, seems to like this kind of life, but he admits he is bored of life in the city. One simple day he takes some photos in a park, and his life changes. He finds something disturbing in that pictures.

Mise-en-scène is really special. Customes, places as the antique shop, Thomas' home or the place where the concert takes place..

The problem in Blow-up is that the viewer does not really know what is happening and what is the purpose of all that. It remains me (up to a point) of Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, another film in which you do not know which it tries to be conveyed. 
Since I love Cortázar, I suppose (And I hope) the short story is much better than its screen version.

The Dreamers

The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003) is a controversial film that takes place during the May 1968, in Paris. Nevertheless, the film does not concentrate in the protests but in the relationship between three youngs: Matthew (Michael Pitt), Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel).

Matthew is the voice that narrates the film. He is an American student in Paris. There he falls in love with cinema, with Isabelle and Theo (twins), with their parents, with the city..

Their relation between the three of them grows up so much so that he moves to the twin's home. He realise there is something strange between Theo and Isabelle. But he is happy living in this bohemian life. 
There is a lot of references to cinema. They do not only have a "cinema contest" but also identify themselves with some of the films and they imitate their favorite films. This is a way to have the life of their dreams.

Almost all the film takes place at home. It is a claustrophobic space, but also a reflection of the relation. Even if the film does not concentrate in what happened in Paris, their life inside is a metaphor of what's happening outside. They family changes, they have a different conception of sex.. Taboo subjects, as incest, become natural. There are a lot of explicit sexual scenes.

 The Dreamers is colorful and inspiring. Its mise-en-scène reflects the 60s. For example, in costumes, or in the cinema scene where everyone smoke.

 

However, The Dreamers may leave a bad taste in one's mouth. The transition from adolescence to adulthood, the discovery of one's and the others, the separation from one's parents, the fantasy of a different and better life.. They also do.

Never let me go

Gema would like Never let me go (Mark Romanek, 2010). It is a dystopian film about three children and how their relation develops as they grow up.
First, we are shown, by a flashback, the daily life at the boarding school. It is not only by the kiss in the photo, but by Kathy (Carey Mulligan) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) sweet little gestures that we learn they love each other.

Time passes, and things get complicated. But it is through acting that we know there is still something between Kathy and Tommy. Even if Tommy does not seem to be interested in her, he is.

There is another interesting aspect in this film. They are not normal people, they have an special purpose. And that purpose does not let them live what we think a "normal life" is.
It is easy to like Never let me go. The locations, the dystopian story, the cast.. Impeccable in every detail.