FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: films of a certain quality

[brekin]

I recommend this, but can't talk about it...too painful.

It is the film that The Magus should have been.

All the trailers give too much away.

[guruilla]

Highly recommended, esp. to Wombat.

[lunarmoth]

Here's a great movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7cNm8PukZg german trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3e4i2KBD0 uk trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lkEfgPsOa0 us trailer

full movie here:
i liked it because it features a woman journalist and two men

[Cordelia]

It is the film that The Magus should have been.

Interesting observation. I found 'Best Offer' to be a lush, beautiful film, and thought Geoffrey Rush gave a brave performance--if my memory is correct, he was in every scene. Thanks for the reminder (to buy it used on Amazon).

[Cordelia]

Story of a woman's life during a fictional civil war (Lebanese), and her twin children's quest to discover their mother's past and their own family-of-origin.Very heavy.Opening scene is an excellent visual interpretation of rage.

[stefano]

It is the film that The Magus should have been.

Interesting observation. I found 'Best Offer' to be a lush, beautiful film, and thought Geoffrey Rush gave a brave performance--if my memory is correct, he was in every scene. Thanks for the reminder (to buy it used on Amazon).

Thanks for this, brekin, I watched it last week. Really beautiful bit of magical fiction - very The Magus, as you said. I never knew The Magus had been made into a movie but from the reviews I've read it doesn't sound all that good.

[DrEvil]

Highly recommended, esp. to Wombat.

+1 for Marshland. Very good movie.

[Cordelia]

It is the film that The Magus should have been.

Interesting observation. I found 'Best Offer' to be a lush, beautiful film, and thought Geoffrey Rush gave a brave performance--if my memory is correct, he was in every scene. Thanks for the reminder (to buy it used on Amazon).

Thanks for this, brekin, I watched it last week. Really beautiful bit of magical fiction - very The Magus, as you said. I never knew The Magus had been made into a movie but from the reviews I've read it doesn't sound all that good.

Last year a friend bought 'The Magus' dvd at Wal-Mart for $5; we got through about 20 minutes. It was an unwatchable parody of the book, which was too bad, because Anthony Quinn & Michael Caine played the leads. It should be on the list of worst films adapted from great novels (surprisingly Fowles himself wrote the screenplay).

A mid 1960's film adaptation of Fowles' psychological/thriller novel 'The Collector' is worth seeing imo. It's a chilling but restrained (by today's standards) story of obsession, stalking, kidnapping, etc., by a mentally unbalanced person, made before the theme became popular Hollywood fare. Great performance by underrated Terence Stamp.

[norton ash]

The Trotsky, if you're in the mood for a sweet and political Canadian comedy. Best thing Jay Baruchel has ever done.

[brekin]

It is the film that The Magus should have been.

Interesting observation. I found 'Best Offer' to be a lush, beautiful film, and thought Geoffrey Rush gave a brave performance--if my memory is correct, he was in every scene. Thanks for the reminder (to buy it used on Amazon).

Thanks for this, brekin, I watched it last week. Really beautiful bit of magical fiction - very The Magus, as you said. I never knew The Magus had been made into a movie but from the reviews I've read it doesn't sound all that good.

Last year a friend bought 'The Magus' dvd at Wal-Mart for $5; we got through about 20 minutes. It was an unwatchable parody of the book, which was too bad, because Anthony Quinn & Michael Caine played the leads. It should be on the list of worst films adapted from great novels (surprisingly Fowles himself wrote the screenplay).

A mid 1960's film adaptation of Fowles' psychological/thriller novel 'The Collector' is worth seeing imo. It's a chilling but restrained (by today's standards) story of obsession, stalking, kidnapping, etc., by a mentally unbalanced person, made before the theme became popular Hollywood fare. Great performance by underrated Terence Stamp.

Interesting, I had read The Collector, but didn't know it had been made into a film, and I'm also a big Terrence Stamp fan. Will definitely have to check that out! Thanks. The book definitively I think convincingly and realistically shows what many of the powerless could become if suddenly becoming powerful. (Wow, four ly adverbs.)

Regarding the film version of The Magus, I think what Caine had said regarding why the film version of The Magus was so bad was because no one on the film knew what the film was supposed to be about. Not really fair to compare the two, but you can see the difference where The Best Offer definitely had that guiding awareness it seems in every scene that made it such a funkin gesamtkunstwerk.

Suggested Alternative Ending Spoiler Alert:

I had the Rolling Stones's, Waiting On A Friend playing during the last scene in The Best Offer. It would start up at 3:45 on the second video (The Best Offer - Prague).

[Iamwhomiam]

Lila and Eve

This 2015 film should come with a trigger warning. It is a powerfully moving story. I believe it's best to see movies without knowing much about them beforehand. I doubt any who watch this film will ever forget it.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3442990/

At this link above you will find two trailers, one the official trailer and the other an exclusive clip. I do not know how to link to it so the video appears here. Here's a direct link to the official trailer:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3979849753?ref_=tt_ov_vi

[Jerky]

Whoa! Hold on now! The film that The Magus should have been? How do you mean? Do you mean that it reflects the spirit of the Fowles novel better than the (execrable) film version put out in the 1970s could ever hope to? I'm definitely intrigued! Also by you saying that it's too painful to discuss. On what level? Unless even talking ABOUT TALKING ABOUT it is too painful!

yer old pal Jerky

I recommend this, but can't talk about it...too painful.

It is the film that The Magus should have been.

All the trailers give too much away.

[brekin]

Whoa! Hold on now! The film that The Magus should have been? How do you mean? Do you mean that it reflects the spirit of the Fowles novel better than the (execrable) film version put out in the 1970s could ever hope to? I'm definitely intrigued! Also by you saying that it's too painful to discuss. On what level? Unless even talking ABOUT TALKING ABOUT it is too painful!

yer old pal Jerky

I recommend this, but can't talk about it...too painful.
It is the film that The Magus should have been.
All the trailers give too much away.

SPOILERS

Yes, nail on head. The Best Offer captures the spirit of The Magus (novel) because it so completely illustrates the intersection of being taken into a grand conspiracy/con as a seemingly clever person but only to discover one is an utter pawn and the instrument one is had is by "falling in love" with someone who is playing a part...but no, there is a chance that she really does love him, maybe? And both narratives work because both love interests are truly con artists, who tailor their roles specifically to what a certain person desires/needs.

The Magus novel is so unsettling, because while most of us pride ourselves on being very rational and logical in sussing out who is playing us and others and for what ulterior motives, we have an enormous blind spot when it comes to love, which makes us completely irrational. Anyone who recognizes this has an enormous advantage because we often do completely irrational and uncharacteristic things for those we love or fall in love with. In both The Best Offer and The Magus (novel) the damaged ingenue are so authentically expressed that I think we share both protagonists desire for the con to be true, even as, especially as, they begin to discover she has only been playing a part. Because if love can be faked, everything can be faked. I mean we know from the spy world how prevalent this is, but just imagine a evil dating service which could tailor make cons by determining specifically what the lonely heart marks would crumble for?

The Magus (novel) and The Best Offer show how much the power of love can be abused and exploited for nefarious ends because many people will choose the suffering, and a slim chance that the illusion is true, over their own freedom. And going back to the dating service scenario, if you do such a good job, the marks will still be holding out and pining for more contact from the person who had taken them even after knowing they were had. I mean for me, that is the missing conversation in conspiracy studies. Many people get attached, imprint on, fall in love with certain figure heads and their narratives and want to believe the illusion, and choose suffering and the slim chance the actor is authentic over truth, possible alienation and freedom.

For that to be adequately conveyed in a piece of art you have to craft such a work where the viewer/reader goes along on that journey themselves to some degree with the protagonist.

[KUAN]

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I've not seen the movie but the rewritten ending of the revised version of the novel was a great disappointment to me

[brekin]

.
I've not seen the movie but the rewritten ending of the revised version of the novel was a great disappointment to me

Both endings for the Magus novel and the film The Best Offer were great disappointments to me.
But they were as great as they were disappointments.