Evolution of a Filipino Family was directed by the Filipino independent director Lav Diaz who is well know for making his films unwieldy long and Evolution of a Filipino Family, who was shot over a period of eleven years, makes no exception, in fact it is his longest movie to date and even the fourth longest of all time.
I just saw it in one sitting to get the most out of it and obiously it takes a lot of patience and willingness by the viewer. Diaz is one of the most well known "slow cinema"-directors, which means they are pretty minimalistic (black & white, lack of mentionable soundtrack etc. pp.) but at the same time monumental (640 minutes long). He tells his storys pretty slow, like they would appear in real life, for example we see people working on the fields which, of course, takes it's time, or when they are eating dinner in the evening in silence for ten minutes, then so it is. That's because Diaz wants to capture reality and make movies apart of Hollywood superhero-movies and sadly that is one reason why only few people know his works, apart from hardcore-cineasts.
But what is it about? We follow the storys from a three-generation family over the period of 16 years who have to deal with such things as dictatorship, poverty, crime or dealing with people with a disability. Evolution of a Filipino Family shows political circumstances and changes in the Philippines from the 70s and 80s, so a little common knowledge especially about Ferdinand Marcos is helpful, but not necessary.
David Lynch's movies are not easy to review, in fact I think words can not describe Surrealist "movies" generally speaking. Yeah I put that by purpose in brackets because they are not like ordinary movies where you expect a clear storyline, character development, an appropriate soundtrack and so on, but here you really have to feel them and be in the correct mood, have enough concentration and be open minded and patient.
You can ask ten people what Eraserhead is about and you'll get ten different answers, so there is no really 'get it' or right or wrong rather a lot room for interpretation and conjecture.
Anyway Eraserhead is David Lynch's first feature-length film after a row of short movies which are exactly what you think they are, really Lynch-like. We find ourselfs trapped in a black and white, dystopian world at an unkown time and follow the Story of Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) who impregnates his girlfriend and she gives birth to a malformed baby. overchallenged and desperate by that situation she leaves Henry with the baby alone.
That's basically the main storyline and everything that is obvious and clear, adding more to that would be kind of a spoiler and is open to everyone's imagination anyhow.
The Invisible Man filmed by James Whale two years after Frankenstein was way ahead of it's time, I was really blown away by the special affects who easily still hold up even over 80 years later!
The Story follows the young and intelligent Dr. Griffins (played by Claude Rains in his American Film Debut), so to say the 'Monster' of this film, who discovered the secret of invisibility and tested it on himself. The Problem is that he don't know how to reverse the power, so he abalienate himself to an faraway tavern, his face swathed in bandages and his eyes obscured by dark goggles, to exeperiment. His appearence naturally arrest attention and slowly the byeffect of his self-attempt become clear: he gets evil and superior, killing more and more people and sees him eventually getting chased by the police and villagers...
To be honest I watch a lot of older movies and they mostly haven't aged very well or can't be viewed by 'casual' movie watchers today, like others movie classics of that era (for example "The Mummy" or even "Dracula") but this easily holds up and is a lot of fun even today. Like I said the special effects really stand out and are really impressive. Besides that is the atmosphere, camera, excessive characters, slapstick, story and even action very well done, definitely one of the best movies of 1933.
