The first was set on a ship in the antarctic and was very well received. The comments are overwhelmingly positive. Infamy is a Ridley Scott production and seems to suffer from the "close but no cigar" problem he's had with his other works in the last few years. The Last Duel, being the most notable near miss. Since he started his career with the brilliant, The Duellist, I really expected The Last Duel. a story about a fascinating medieval dilemma to be as good.
Like the Northman it seems to me these scripts lost sight of Story and that is the heart of why they fell short of their goals. I think it's obvious that Eggers, Northman's director didn't get to make the film he wanted. He had a script handed to him, the editing was orchestrated by the producers, and his star was also an executive producer. Too many cooks. I'm not sure even if he had written the script he could have pulled it together, but it would have been more spooky and ambiguous.
So about Infamy, by the comments it just started without enough information. I think Japanese ghosts are some of the most terrifying in the world. The premise is great. But my analysis is that there is no time to connect with the characters, and not enough information early on to figure out their stakes. I know enough about Japanese supernatural doings to get a bit of what is supposed to be happening, but with more information feel that the suspense and drama would be heightened not lessoned. Just another lesson in finding that Goldilocks amount of info and character building. Even the masters can't do it all the time.
By the way, Salvation Army stores in Japan are Aladdin treasure caves because the Japanese know better than to bring home dead people's stuff that might carry a curse. Stupid Gaijins like me dice with the devil. I have a strange little netsuke I know I didnt buy that appeared after I acquired a Japanese cabinet 2nd hand. Even when I've tried to get rid of him-he turns back up when I unpack from a move. By this point I figure he is at least mostly benign and give him a nice overview of everything so he can keep watch. Better the devil you know...
Like the Northman it seems to me these scripts lost sight of Story and that is the heart of why they fell short of their goals. I think it's obvious that Eggers, Northman's director didn't get to make the film he wanted. He had a script handed to him, the editing was orchestrated by the producers, and his star was also an executive producer. Too many cooks. I'm not sure even if he had written the script he could have pulled it together, but it would have been more spooky and ambiguous.
So about Infamy, by the comments it just started without enough information. I think Japanese ghosts are some of the most terrifying in the world. The premise is great. But my analysis is that there is no time to connect with the characters, and not enough information early on to figure out their stakes. I know enough about Japanese supernatural doings to get a bit of what is supposed to be happening, but with more information feel that the suspense and drama would be heightened not lessoned. Just another lesson in finding that Goldilocks amount of info and character building. Even the masters can't do it all the time.
By the way, Salvation Army stores in Japan are Aladdin treasure caves because the Japanese know better than to bring home dead people's stuff that might carry a curse. Stupid Gaijins like me dice with the devil. I have a strange little netsuke I know I didnt buy that appeared after I acquired a Japanese cabinet 2nd hand. Even when I've tried to get rid of him-he turns back up when I unpack from a move. By this point I figure he is at least mostly benign and give him a nice overview of everything so he can keep watch. Better the devil you know...
