Nice rap. Nice insight about the Christmas party and its use throughout the film; that was a stroke of directorial and screenwriting genius. Nice catch of le Carre as one of the party guests; I missed that entirely. And *very* nice trivia about how le Carre was actually outed by Kim Philby; this novel was *personal* for him, and it shows. But back to the film...
In terms of filmic "people to watch," I think Tomas Alfredson just jumped to the top of my list. I thought that "Let The Right One In" was a remarkable film, a true work of art. But that was still a "small" Swedish film, one that really wasn't expected to be seen anywhere outside Sweden. Surprise. It became a worldwide phenomenon, and inspired an American remake that -- another surprise -- didn't suck. Matt Reeves took Alfredson's original vision and ran with it, creating an equally interesting film. With "Tinker, Tailor" Alfredson is playing in another league entirely. He got promoted to the majors. And as far as I can tell, he pitched a no-hitter in his first game. Segueing into an almost non-sequitur (but not really because it's another exercise in the study of Scandinamericanism), have you ever heard of a Danish TV series called "Borgen?" The name means the fortress or castle, and refers to the Christiansborg Palace, home to all three branches of Danish government. This is a series created by the same production company that did the original Danish "The Killing." It's a political thriller, one of the main characters of which is the newly-elected female Prime Minister. It's now showing on British TV, and after watching the first episode I'm hooked. It's like "Boss," in that it's a glimpse inside the world of politics and politicians, but less cynical, and more Danish. It's a real winner. --- In [email protected], merudanda <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Re:Turquoiseb Review: Tinkers, Tailors, Soldiers, Spies > > "For Heaven's sake . ,""Once sensed, this frog jumped out of the > hotpot": > > Tinker, Tailor,Soldier, Sailor,Rich Man, Poor Man.Beggar Man, Thief > > "Kant weight" to see it- [:)] > > was my first reaction to Turquoiseb almost forgotten not responded- > "Tatoo-overshadowed"-review. > After seeing it, meru, leaning on his danda, had the impression > Turquoiseb had something else to hint to, to another kind of" night unto > heresy" [;)] : > > You could almost feel and smell and taste the loss and emptiness of the > world of the Cold War Era as well as remember, behind a frozen > ice-flowers-window-crystal, the" hijacking of the mole hysteria" by the > political system then in the Real and mirroring hijacking the > "whack-a-mole hysteria" by and among the self proclaimed TMO pundit(ry) > for their own personal gain and power mimicry game. Watching it brings a > lot of baggage along with may be many TM oldsters here at FFL -- > to this revisit of the Cold War great retelling of an enduring story of > treachery and betrayal by those wanna be's you trusted and looked up to. > This film is a ghost film.--- > > Reality check: > "Tinker, Tailor" is partly based on the case of Kim Philby, who were > recruited by the Soviets in the 1930s. (Mr. le Carré, born David John > Moore Cornwell, was a British spy whose cover was blown by Philby.1979, > Sir Alec's image bore quiet resemblance to Peter, Lord Carrington, > Foreign Secretary in the first Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher) > --TMO in the end 70s?...let me check the progress of the Adoptive > Admissions <message/300982> definition and discussion.lol [:D] > > "Tinker, Tailor": Details and emphasis has changed, 350 hours simplified > to only 2 hours,Hungary instead of Czechoslovakia ,Guinness's turn is > the Torah- Mr. Oldman's the Talmud, but wisely it doesn't reinvent > Smiley as hinted in an early scene of Smiley buying the kind of > oversize eyeglasses that Guinness wore. > > Shakespearean in theme, language and character - slow, detailed and > elegant It is no longer about language elegance intellectual but > pictures(Circus's chessboardlike walls express what the film's > words and characters don't) visceral and an awkward realism > > Beside the subtitle overgeneralization joke before and Turquoiseb > laudatio for Swedish some may still ask, "why remakes?"and Mr > Smiley-esque answer: "good screen writing is an oxymoron" and paraphrase > Pete Seeger, "Where have all the writers gone?"--then: > Be aware of the impressive addition of the cinematically rich Christmas > party sequence which IMHO fleshed out the plot and characters very > effectively: > For the eagle eyed viewer, John le Carre, the author of the books, > appears in the Christmas party scene > Has sombody interviewed him yet? > > PS"swinging the other way." > Here we may say every generation is entitled to a chance to update the > classics. Even Olivier's "Richard III"did not discourage McKellen and > Spacey and his performance hasn't been 5 years ago > > IMHO great le Carré movie was "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold." It > is a simpler story with shocking insights into the real spy game, and > Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and my beloved Oskar Werner were > unforgetable. >
