Reviews (4)

Open Your Eyes To a Fiery and Passionate Film
One can view the brilliant and overlooked "Close My Eyes" on a number of levels. One could look at it as the story of an incestuous affair, the pain and despair of unquenched passion, the shattering of taboos, or the story of an unfulfilled woman searching for something about which to be passionate. Each level enriches and deepens the message of the other and creates a thought-provoking film of fiery intensity.

The film is a study in contrasts and opposing forces: Alan Rickman's controlled, restrained performance is in total contrast to the fiery passion of the two lovers and the film's direct confrontation with taboos (incest, AIDS, open passion itself)slams against polite society's prevailing opinions. The film dares us to face what is difficult and deal with it in an open and honest way no matter what the consequences, no matter what anyone thinks.

The film's solemn conclusion makes clear, however, that this shattering of taboos (what we are not supposed to openly discuss) is no easy accomplishment and involves the possibility of a breakdown in society or "the end of the world." But, the risk is worth it so that nothing is left hidden, so that all is out in the open, on the table, for discussion and acceptance. "Close My Eyes" is a powerhouse of passionate, riveting acting, Merchant and Ivory like cinematography, and incisive, perceptive writing.

Dozing Off on the Job
A curiously detached film about a discontented woman (Saskia Reeves) who derails her brother's (Clive Owen) life by seducing him, and how their roles gradually reverse as the affair proceeds. Overly reliant on close-ups and flattened out by amateurish lighting, the film hints at much but delivers very little. There is scant chemistry between the three main characters, and even less plausible dynamic. Rickman, the nominal lead, does not appear until a third of the way along and gives a performance as extraneous as the role itself. It is as if he, and his character, wandered in from somewhere else. Reeves, on whose character the plot hinges, fairs little better. Alternating between sullen and enigmatic, she struggles to make Natalie believable but in the end is defeated by the simple fact that the role is as unsympathetic as it is impenetrable. Aside from taking off her clothes, or staring ambiguously into space, she is given nothing by which to make the character comprehensible. Until far too late, dialogue in this film confines itself to the elliptical and/or banal. The only sympathy is generated by Clive Owen, who manages to transcend the shortcomings of the script and make Richard the only operative, credible character. Ironically, for a film concerned with passion and its compulsive, destructive aspects, where it does succeed is in its secondary storyline: that involving Richard's job as a civil planner, and the people with whom he works. However subsidiary these scenes, they are as plausible and deft as the rest are laborious and annoying. What a pity there weren't more of them. See it if you're a Clive Owen fan, or want glimpses of London's construction-boom skyline. Otherwise, keep dialling.

sibling passion/rivalry/obsession...
As some closeted persons in the gay world might do, use marriage to convince yourself that you are what everyone expects you to be. A women marries who could be an american man in Europe, and the realtionship is progresing on then bam, the brother shows up. He semed out of sorts in the head and the sister innocently palys the mother to him. Well things in the past began to grow up in both of them.. yeah that too. The scenery is nice the intensity is pretty good. It isn't all about them, but it's hard not to become fixated on such a taboo acted so well. I'm glad I own it, the intrigue is one for the ages. Will get DVD also. A list of taboo movies on incest is short but , the house of yes, spanking the monkey.

A Disturbing Fin-de-siecle Romance
A deeply disturbing film about an obsessive, destructive affair between a brother & sister at the end of the twentieth century. Saskia Reeves gives a powerful, deeply moving performance as the sister who is unable to resist the desire she feels for her brother. Rickman is, as always, brilliant. The film is especially interesting for its use of colour--lurid & grotesque one moment; lyrical & pastoral the next. The final shot of the film is quietly apocalyptic & elevates the story beyond the specificities of the affair. An important, often-overlooked film from fin-de-siecle Britain. ... Read more

Description

When Christopher Anderson (Liam Cunningham), an American developer, arrives in London to being renovation for his new business school, he expects to find his new building cleared. Instead, he is perplexed to find the employees of a monumental photographic collection, along with 10 million photographs, still housed in the building.

It seems there has been a "misunderstanding," and Anderson informs senior librarian Marilyn Truman (Lindsay Duncan) that the photographs must be either sold or destroyed immediately so the renovation can begin. So Marilyn and an eccentric group of librarians lead by Oswald Bates (Timothy Spall) set out to find a way to save the collection.

The photographs hold extraordinary stories from the past, but will they reveal secrets that will save the collection from destruction, or will the past be erased forever? ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Shooting the Past - An Utterly Captivating Performance
I cannot recommend this too highly. My initial thoughts on sitting down to "Shooting the past" was "Hmmmmm - Chick Flick". How wrong I was!

"Shooting the past" tells the story of an English photo collection facing closure by an American corporation. The story of the struggle for the collection to be kept together, combined with the amazing stories linked to the photographs themselves kept me rivetted to the screen until the last moment.

It was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff and he has just excelled himself. The settings and Music are *so* atmospheric, and this is combined with sterling performances from [get this] *every member of the cast!*. However...Timothy Spall gives the performance of his life as the brilliantly eccentric "Oswald".

A Library Tour De Force
This film is a wonderful portrayal of librarians as the heroes of the film. The staff is portrayed as extremely resourceful, able to find anything in a non-computerized collection, and extremely creative at piecing together information. In order to convince the new owner that the collection is worth saving, the librarians assemble a series of stories linked to various photographs--a sort of librarian's Sheharazade.

One of my favorite scenes is where Marilyn, the head librarian, is showing the new owner a set of photographs of a young Jewish girl that were found from different parts of the collection, in the hopes of convincing him of the value of keeping the library intact. Marilyn narrates Lilly's story, showing the happy child with her parents, then being separated from her parents and sent to live with a non-Jewish family during the Holocaust era. She is allowed to reunite with her parents for a morning in a park, and the photos capture the love between the parents and child, the despair of their separation, and the terrible sense of fear of that era. The story and the surprise ending are intensely moving and will leave you with an Anne Frank type of ache in your heart.

The final story of the movie that the librarians ingeniously weave together is a series of photographs involving the owner's Irish grandmother (and mysterious stories from her past that have a huge impact on him).

I really appreciated the great character development which allowed each of the librarians to be seen as individuals with unique quirks and their own brand of British humor. This film proves that even in this computerized world, the power of the human intellect and the beauty of vintage still photography are not dusty relics to be kept on a shelf, but are vibrant ways of preserving our past and linking lives together. There are a lot of genres here in this film that you won't find mixed together elsewhere: mystery/suspense, librarianship, historical preservation, photography, and themes of ancestry.

Hats off to writer/director Stephen Poliakoff for such an accurate portrayal of the analytical and intellectual abilities of librarians, as well as for the most suspenseful film about a library that I've ever seen.

When the past becomes the future...
A unique library of old and modern photographs are put under threat when the building they are housed in is suddenly sold. The new owner of the property, Liam Cunningham played by the able Christopher Anderson, has no interest in the photos and doesn't care what happens to them. In fact most of the photos will be destroyed with the crème de la crème of the collection being sold on. All Liam is interested in is renovating the building and making a hefty profit for the business he represents.

However the library's many eccentric employees won't give up without a fight and from then on a war of wits and determination is played out among a wonderful array of black and white photographs that represent the past, the present and even the future.

The characters in this film are truly delightful, especially Timothy Spall who plays the oddball Oswald Bates, a man with a memory for faces so attuned that he can see resemblances between a person he has only seen once and those whose pictures are imprinted upon photographic paper.

However the battle to save the collection seems doomed, with every attempt the Library staff makes being thwarted but fate has something wonderful in store for Liam Cunningham and it is this wonderful twist in the story that ultimately will save the collection for future generations.

This is a fabulous film, originally a three part series for the BBC in the late 1990s I think it would have been a success if it had been released in Art House Cinemas all over the World.

A final pointer, watch (and listen) out for the superb Lindsay Duncan who plays the diminutive Marilyn Truman, the Head Librarian in the story, she has the most amazing voice and when telling Liam Cunningham stories around certain photographs, she captivates her audience to the point that you think that you are in the same room as her and Liam.

A good musical score, a sound cast, wonderful photography and camera work, "Shooting the Past" is a classic of a film that Stephen Poliakoff has every reason to be proud off. Look out for Poliakoff's other masterpiece, "The Lost Prince" both are worth having on your bookshelf.

A NEST OF ECCENTRICS
A picture is worth a thousand words is an over worn cliche but is appropriate in describing this delightful mystery. A photography librarian , Marian(Lindsay Duncan) is caught off guard when told that her collection of ten million pictures must be broken up and sold. Of course such news from the American capitalist Chris Anderson(Liam Cunningham) causes great stress among her staff.

And what a staff. Her second in command ,Oswald Bates (Timothy Spall), is an overweight, eccentric off the wall fellow who will resort to any wild idea to save the collection. In addition to him is carrot red haired assistant whose brains are scrambled and her partner who remains most of the time silent.

Bates tells the story of this wild crew's attempt to find a home for the collection in a week's time. You will laugh at their far fetched schemes and become intrigued by the pictures which have their own story to tell. In fact the pictures unravel some not so nice truths about Anderson. You will love this tale whose various twists, turns and pictures uncover a mysterious past long thought dead.

One of the very best!
If you only ever plan to purchase one video in your lifetime...this is the one! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Open Your Eyes To a Fiery and Passionate Film
One can view the brilliant and overlooked "Close My Eyes" on a number of levels. One could look at it as the story of an incestuous affair, the pain and despair of unquenched passion, the shattering of taboos, or the story of an unfulfilled woman searching for something about which to be passionate. Each level enriches and deepens the message of the other and creates a thought-provoking film of fiery intensity.

The film is a study in contrasts and opposing forces: Alan Rickman's controlled, restrained performance is in total contrast to the fiery passion of the two lovers and the film's direct confrontation with taboos (incest, AIDS, open passion itself)slams against polite society's prevailing opinions. The film dares us to face what is difficult and deal with it in an open and honest way no matter what the consequences, no matter what anyone thinks.

The film's solemn conclusion makes clear, however, that this shattering of taboos (what we are not supposed to openly discuss) is no easy accomplishment and involves the possibility of a breakdown in society or "the end of the world." But, the risk is worth it so that nothing is left hidden, so that all is out in the open, on the table, for discussion and acceptance. "Close My Eyes" is a powerhouse of passionate, riveting acting, Merchant and Ivory like cinematography, and incisive, perceptive writing.

Dozing Off on the Job
A curiously detached film about a discontented woman (Saskia Reeves) who derails her brother's (Clive Owen) life by seducing him, and how their roles gradually reverse as the affair proceeds. Overly reliant on close-ups and flattened out by amateurish lighting, the film hints at much but delivers very little. There is scant chemistry between the three main characters, and even less plausible dynamic. Rickman, the nominal lead, does not appear until a third of the way along and gives a performance as extraneous as the role itself. It is as if he, and his character, wandered in from somewhere else. Reeves, on whose character the plot hinges, fairs little better. Alternating between sullen and enigmatic, she struggles to make Natalie believable but in the end is defeated by the simple fact that the role is as unsympathetic as it is impenetrable. Aside from taking off her clothes, or staring ambiguously into space, she is given nothing by which to make the character comprehensible. Until far too late, dialogue in this film confines itself to the elliptical and/or banal. The only sympathy is generated by Clive Owen, who manages to transcend the shortcomings of the script and make Richard the only operative, credible character. Ironically, for a film concerned with passion and its compulsive, destructive aspects, where it does succeed is in its secondary storyline: that involving Richard's job as a civil planner, and the people with whom he works. However subsidiary these scenes, they are as plausible and deft as the rest are laborious and annoying. What a pity there weren't more of them. See it if you're a Clive Owen fan, or want glimpses of London's construction-boom skyline. Otherwise, keep dialling.

sibling passion/rivalry/obsession...
As some closeted persons in the gay world might do, use marriage to convince yourself that you are what everyone expects you to be. A women marries who could be an american man in Europe, and the realtionship is progresing on then bam, the brother shows up. He semed out of sorts in the head and the sister innocently palys the mother to him. Well things in the past began to grow up in both of them.. yeah that too. The scenery is nice the intensity is pretty good. It isn't all about them, but it's hard not to become fixated on such a taboo acted so well. I'm glad I own it, the intrigue is one for the ages. Will get DVD also. A list of taboo movies on incest is short but , the house of yes, spanking the monkey.

A Disturbing Fin-de-siecle Romance
A deeply disturbing film about an obsessive, destructive affair between a brother & sister at the end of the twentieth century. Saskia Reeves gives a powerful, deeply moving performance as the sister who is unable to resist the desire she feels for her brother. Rickman is, as always, brilliant. The film is especially interesting for its use of colour--lurid & grotesque one moment; lyrical & pastoral the next. The final shot of the film is quietly apocalyptic & elevates the story beyond the specificities of the affair. An important, often-overlooked film from fin-de-siecle Britain. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Shooting the Past - An Utterly Captivating Performance
I cannot recommend this too highly. My initial thoughts on sitting down to "Shooting the past" was "Hmmmmm - Chick Flick". How wrong I was!

"Shooting the past" tells the story of an English photo collection facing closure by an American corporation. The story of the struggle for the collection to be kept together, combined with the amazing stories linked to the photographs themselves kept me rivetted to the screen until the last moment.

It was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff and he has just excelled himself. The settings and Music are *so* atmospheric, and this is combined with sterling performances from [get this] *every member of the cast!*. However...Timothy Spall gives the performance of his life as the brilliantly eccentric "Oswald".

A Library Tour De Force
This film is a wonderful portrayal of librarians as the heroes of the film. The staff is portrayed as extremely resourceful, able to find anything in a non-computerized collection, and extremely creative at piecing together information. In order to convince the new owner that the collection is worth saving, the librarians assemble a series of stories linked to various photographs--a sort of librarian's Sheharazade.

One of my favorite scenes is where Marilyn, the head librarian, is showing the new owner a set of photographs of a young Jewish girl that were found from different parts of the collection, in the hopes of convincing him of the value of keeping the library intact. Marilyn narrates Lilly's story, showing the happy child with her parents, then being separated from her parents and sent to live with a non-Jewish family during the Holocaust era. She is allowed to reunite with her parents for a morning in a park, and the photos capture the love between the parents and child, the despair of their separation, and the terrible sense of fear of that era. The story and the surprise ending are intensely moving and will leave you with an Anne Frank type of ache in your heart.

The final story of the movie that the librarians ingeniously weave together is a series of photographs involving the owner's Irish grandmother (and mysterious stories from her past that have a huge impact on him).

I really appreciated the great character development which allowed each of the librarians to be seen as individuals with unique quirks and their own brand of British humor. This film proves that even in this computerized world, the power of the human intellect and the beauty of vintage still photography are not dusty relics to be kept on a shelf, but are vibrant ways of preserving our past and linking lives together. There are a lot of genres here in this film that you won't find mixed together elsewhere: mystery/suspense, librarianship, historical preservation, photography, and themes of ancestry.

Hats off to writer/director Stephen Poliakoff for such an accurate portrayal of the analytical and intellectual abilities of librarians, as well as for the most suspenseful film about a library that I've ever seen.

When the past becomes the future...
A unique library of old and modern photographs are put under threat when the building they are housed in is suddenly sold. The new owner of the property, Liam Cunningham played by the able Christopher Anderson, has no interest in the photos and doesn't care what happens to them. In fact most of the photos will be destroyed with the crème de la crème of the collection being sold on. All Liam is interested in is renovating the building and making a hefty profit for the business he represents.

However the library's many eccentric employees won't give up without a fight and from then on a war of wits and determination is played out among a wonderful array of black and white photographs that represent the past, the present and even the future.

The characters in this film are truly delightful, especially Timothy Spall who plays the oddball Oswald Bates, a man with a memory for faces so attuned that he can see resemblances between a person he has only seen once and those whose pictures are imprinted upon photographic paper.

However the battle to save the collection seems doomed, with every attempt the Library staff makes being thwarted but fate has something wonderful in store for Liam Cunningham and it is this wonderful twist in the story that ultimately will save the collection for future generations.

This is a fabulous film, originally a three part series for the BBC in the late 1990s I think it would have been a success if it had been released in Art House Cinemas all over the World.

A final pointer, watch (and listen) out for the superb Lindsay Duncan who plays the diminutive Marilyn Truman, the Head Librarian in the story, she has the most amazing voice and when telling Liam Cunningham stories around certain photographs, she captivates her audience to the point that you think that you are in the same room as her and Liam.

A good musical score, a sound cast, wonderful photography and camera work, "Shooting the Past" is a classic of a film that Stephen Poliakoff has every reason to be proud off. Look out for Poliakoff's other masterpiece, "The Lost Prince" both are worth having on your bookshelf.

A NEST OF ECCENTRICS
A picture is worth a thousand words is an over worn cliche but is appropriate in describing this delightful mystery. A photography librarian , Marian(Lindsay Duncan) is caught off guard when told that her collection of ten million pictures must be broken up and sold. Of course such news from the American capitalist Chris Anderson(Liam Cunningham) causes great stress among her staff.

And what a staff. Her second in command ,Oswald Bates (Timothy Spall), is an overweight, eccentric off the wall fellow who will resort to any wild idea to save the collection. In addition to him is carrot red haired assistant whose brains are scrambled and her partner who remains most of the time silent.

Bates tells the story of this wild crew's attempt to find a home for the collection in a week's time. You will laugh at their far fetched schemes and become intrigued by the pictures which have their own story to tell. In fact the pictures unravel some not so nice truths about Anderson. You will love this tale whose various twists, turns and pictures uncover a mysterious past long thought dead.

One of the very best!
If you only ever plan to purchase one video in your lifetime...this is the one! ... Read more