Roger Ebert's translation of film reviews

Barton 2022-03-22 09:02:30

★★★★ (out of 4 stars) "Birdman" is indeed a very strange and beautiful movie, and the strangest thing is that it seems to be at its best at its craziest levels, but not at its most serious things. most uncomfortable. You won't discover anything new about war in this movie, but you will discover what it's like to be in love with a canary. The film is about two friends from South Philadelphia. A man named Al, played by Nicolas Cage, is a rhetorical and slutty man, confident and good at dealing with women. Another nickname is Birdman (Matthew Modine ornament), stupid, withdrawn, and obsessed with birds. As children, they were inseparable friends. In high school, they grew estranged as they each pursued two different birds. But they still take risks together, such as birdmen hanging upside down on elevated tracks to catch pigeons, or making their own wings in hopes of flying with them. Then the war came and both served in Vietnam and both were wounded. Cage's face was disfigured, and he covered the scar with a bandage. And Modine's injury is internal: he is completely autistic and doesn't talk to anyone anymore. Perched like a caged bird in his asylum room, he spent a long, peaceful day, head tilted to one side, looking longingly at the window. Because Birdman isn't told in chronological order, it took a while for the story to sort out. The film opens with Cage's harrowing visit to his friend Birdman. Cage hopes to get Birdman to open up, but Birdman doesn't recognize him. Then in the flashback, we see them going on adventures together, sharing secrets and dreams together. On top of that we step into Birdman's life and begin to get a glimpse of just how obsessed he is with birds. His room became a birdcage. His peculiar pets—including the smug little canary—have their own specialties for us. We begin to understand that his love for birds is sensual, romantic and intense. There is a wonderful scene where he flicks the feather with his fingers to show how amazing and beautiful its construction is. Most descriptions of Birdman tend to stick to what seems to be the main plot: Two best friends go to Vietnam and get hurt, one trying to help the other get back to reality. I think the war scenes in the movie are fairly generic, and the story of helping Birdman come back to reality is far less interesting than the story of how Birdman got to the strange and mysterious place in his mind. I've seen other better movies about war, but I've never seen a character like Birdman. As you may have guessed, Birdman doesn't sound like a commercial. What's more, all the characters in the movie, especially Cage and Modine's attention to detail. They have two very difficult roles, both refusing to use some of the actor's usual tricks, so they both become flawed in later scenes. For Cage, it's his face; for Modine, it's his whole character. They overcame these limitations and made the characters more moving than they started. The film is directed by Alan Parker. Think about his previous films: "Dragon Snake", "Famous in the World", "Midnight Express", "Shooting the Moon", "The Wall", each of which is off the beaten path and eschews traditional movies Types of. He's the director of Birdman, and it tells a story so incredible that my description of it might discourage you - and yet the story is so interesting that it lingers in my heart Not yet.

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Birdy quotes

  • [last lines]

    Birdy: [to a surprised Al, who was expecting to see Birdy dead] What?

  • Birdy: I guess it's kinda hard to be good at something nobody wants, huh?