DVD Review: Silk

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I don't hate you because you're a bad husband. You're a bad husband because I hate you.

The scene is France in the 1800's, though you would never guess because everyone speaks in an American accent. Seriously, they didn't even use the go to English accent that's at least, you know...European. Herve (Michael Pitt) has recently gotten out of the army and begins working for a silk merchant. His job is to go to Japan and get more silkworms after a nasty storm kills all of theirs. He leaves behind his dutiful wife, Helene (Keira Knightley) but becomes enchanted with a girl (Sei Ashina) who is the mistress of a Baron in Japan.

This film is somewhat like watching a live action poem. It's beautiful to look at. The music, the cinematography, the costumes are lovely. However sometimes poems aren't meant to be feature length films. I think I would've much preferred to read this one. (And I haven't read the book it was based on) Herve's purpose is to basically cheat on his wife. Only, he doesn't even cheat on her with the women he's obsessed with, he beds a random instead. I didn't give a damn about Herve, even when he has his epiphany in the film's final 10 minutes. I just didn't care.

It's a shame too, I love Pitt and Knightley and I always meant to see this film because it's so different from what Pitt is normally in, but they phoned it in. Neither seemed to have a lot of faith in this picture. I felt like the first 40 minutes or so was original content, then we just kept seeing the same scenes over and over, only different places and sometimes with different people.

It's a shame the script couldn't back up the production workers. They did a marvelous job. 

Recommended: No

Grade: C-

Memorable Quote: "Not long after that, I found something that sent me on another journey." - Herve (Michael Pitt)



Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 26, 2015 at 11:30 AM

    Your subtitling abilities must be applauded!

    ReplyDelete
  2. msmariahAugust 26, 2015 at 4:18 PM

    Like you Brittany, I wasn't impressed with this movie. I just didn't get it. It didn't seem to have a clear narrative. Like you said, it felt like a poem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 27, 2015 at 6:40 AM

      I'm glad I'm not the only one that was wtf'ing their way through this. lol

      Delete
  3. thevoid99August 26, 2015 at 4:56 PM

    I saw this film and absolutely hated it. For all of its beautiful cinematography, it was just fucking dull. I didn't care for anything or anyone in the film except for Alfred Molina. It didn't know what it wanted to be and I could care less about everything. Plus, I was very annoyed by Ryuichi Sakamoto's score which I felt was used in the wrong places which made the viewing of the film even worse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 27, 2015 at 6:39 AM

      It really was a damn bore. I'm shocked Pitt and Knightley were so bad in it too. They really didn't give a fuck.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 11:21 PM

    This film sounds like a massive waste of talent.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JoshOctober 5, 2015 at 2:30 AM

    Knightley is one of my favorite actresses, but this is one of the few films of hers that I haven't seen yet. I'll give it a look eventually, even if it is a wasted opportunity.

    ReplyDelete

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