tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post1618700853067262173..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: Life Is SweetEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-51177316672777090342009-04-14T14:12:00.000-04:002009-04-14T14:12:00.000-04:00I've not seen the film but its producer, and Leigh...I've not seen the film but its producer, and Leigh's regular producer for some 20 years, Simon Channing Williams passed away at the weekend.Kevin Wilsonhttp://thirtyframesasecond.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-89546552392756459732009-04-14T00:14:00.000-04:002009-04-14T00:14:00.000-04:00Sam, I'm glad to hear you enjoy this one too. It h...Sam, I'm glad to hear you enjoy this one too. It hasn't quite unseated <I>Naked</I> as my favorite Leigh, but it's definitely a great one.<br /><br />Fox, I'm with you completely on Leigh, who I think is very badly misunderstood. <I>Naked</I> is brilliant, and not at all nihilistic -- maybe Johnny is a nihilist, and he's definitely a cynic, but the film certainly doesn't take the point of view Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-81192342801609402952009-04-13T23:58:00.000-04:002009-04-13T23:58:00.000-04:00Leigh's vision of life is often described as miser...<I>Leigh's vision of life is often described as miserable or negative, which is not entirely incorrect, <B>but is only an incomplete description at best</B>.</I>Exactly. It's often troubled that some people chalk Mike Leigh up as a director who wallows in the troubles of the lower-to-middle classes. So wrong. He never wallows, he gives us sparky human experiences that can feel desperate, but Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-82977045634388089942009-04-13T22:17:00.000-04:002009-04-13T22:17:00.000-04:00"It's not a feel-good ending, exactly, but it sugg..."It's not a feel-good ending, exactly, but it suggests hope, it suggests that things are not quite so bad as they sometimes appear, that this family will continue to muddle through and find moments of happiness here and there."<br /><br />I have (endlessly) promoted this film since it's release almost two decades ago, and even preferred it to the later SECRETS AND LIES as Leigh's finest work. I Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com