(1970)
Dir - David Cronenberg
Overall: MEH
This sophomore effort from David Cronenberg follows a similar structure as Stereo, his debut from the year before. Featuring no dialog yet instead a commentary by actor Ronald Mlodzik, (who also started in Stereo), and running for just over an hour in length, Crimes of the Future is certainly not a horror film, but it is also not particularly good either. Focusing on a post-plague, dystopian future, you would not necessarily pick up on this as it is mostly just a weirdo going into medical clinics and doing things like looking at organs in jars, licking people's feet, smiling at them as they take women's underwear out of bags, and pretending to be crippled while someone else tries to bend his knees. He is apparently musing about or looking for his mentor, talking very slowly about it the whole time. This all might mean something or it might instead just be a lot of pretentious, art movie nonsense. While the pacing is insufferable, Cronenberg, (who also shot and edited the film), is juggling some ambitious ideas and it is occasionally engaging from a visual standpoint. It is a shame that the film is rather dull and half-baked, but it is still a mildly interesting, disturbed watch for fans of one of the genre's most renowned filmmakers.
(1973)
Dir - René Laloux
Overall: GOOD
This Czech/French co-produced science fiction animated film from René Laloux was his first of three full-length ones and remains the most famous. Co-scripted by Laloux and illustrator Ronald Topor, themes of animal and human rights as well as racism are explored via a highly advanced, gigantic, meditating blue race of beings called Draags who keep primitive humans, (called Oms), as pets. While it all unfolds perhaps too gradually in some places, the bizarre, hugely stylized visual design of Fantastic Planet, (La Planète sauvage, Divoká planeta), keeps it endlessly fascinating. Each race that the story has put at odds with each other are equally sympathetic to the viewer and all the way through, the movie connects its allegorical ideas in a rather unambiguous way. At the same time, the hip, wah-wah guitar heavy soundtrack from jazz musician Alain Goraguer and computerized sound effects augment the extraordinary and singular animation. It makes for a highly imaginative whole; dark in some places, slow in others, positively weird in most, and anything but forgettable.
(1976)
Dir - Kostas Karagiannis
Overall: WOOF
For reasons that may never be properly explained, Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence both started in a rare Greek horror film with none other than Brian Eno providing the score. That is not necessarily the weird part. The weird part is that Land of the Minotaur, (The Devil's Men), is an embarrassing, insultingly boring mess that no one would probably remember if not for the aforementioned personnel inexplicably being involved. Cushing could not make a mockery out of any of his performances if he tried, but thankfully the production did not work him too hard, instead leaving more scenes for Pleasance to yell at a guy driving a car to hurry up and go faster. As far as Eno is concerned, the music is barely noticeable and it is not like he got a trip to Greece in the summer time like the cast did so again, his reasons for participating are questionable. As far as everything else, there is a cult that worships a statue, a priest trying to stop them, women disappearing, and other stuff that you will immediately forget about after it happens. No mystery, no suspense, nonsensical everything. The sacrificial altar looks OK though. Still, it is probably best to just move on and assume that this was never made.
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