Ten Minutes Older: The Cello
Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci, Mike Figgis, Jiri Menzel, Istvan Szabo, Claire Denis, Volker Schlondorff, Michael Radford, Jean-Luc Godard.
2002
*****
A some good/some great collection of short films produced by Wim Wenders and directed by an impressive ensemble of talented directors. All were given the theme of time and 10 minutes to do whatever they liked basically. The results were varied and wonderful. You'd have to ask Wenders why it's called The Cello though, I suspect it's down to his own love of jazz or something. This is the companion piece to The Trumpet.

Bernardo Bertolucci - Histoire d' eaux - A strange first film to start with really, it's beautifully shot, full of intrigue and is well acted. I can't say I totally understood it, I think it's to do with not forgetting who got you where you are but I'm really not sure. I did like the ending though.

Mike Figgis - About Time 2 - Typically, Figgis's entry is more of an art instillation than a film. Along the same lines as Timecode, he splits the screen into four parts. I actually really liked it. I loved Leaving Las Vegas but I hated Hotel, this film has got me interested in him again and is one of the better films of the collection.

Jiri Menzel - One moment - A touching memorial to the late great Czechoslovakian actor, Rudolf Hrusínský using archive footage of his films to show him ageing through the years. A nice piece, one that has made me want to look up Rudolf Hrusínský's films for sure.

Istvan Szabo - Ten Minutes after - A husband comes home and drunkenly beats his wife and gets stabbed in the process. We don't need to see this to realise how quickly things can change in a short amount of time. Unless I'm missing something, I feel that this was a very weak entry.

Claire Denis - Vers Nancy - An interesting conversation between two people on a train and stark conclusion highlighting the fact that we are on the cusp of change.

Volker Schlondorff - The Enlightenment - Easily my favourite of all the films in this collection, The Enlightenment analyses the very theory and concept of time through skinheads, a mosquito and the repeat visits to a German campsite. Absolutely brilliant!

Michael Radford - Addicted to the Stars - The 'Blockbuster' of the collection, Radford has thought outside the box and into the realms of 'What if'. A slow and moody piece of time and space travel. A good turn by Daniel Craig and a final chance to see the late great Charles Simon.

Jean-Luc Godard - Dans le noir du temps - Godard misses the point of the whole idea, maybe that's why his film is last. It seems lazy to me, he goes between out archive footage of the holocaust and his own films but never really makes any point. Maybe it's a personal film but to the viewer it's pointless and verging on tastelessness. Good old Godard eh!


As a collection and because of a couple of real stand out films, this is a five out of five film.