BEST FILMS OF 1982 - List in Progress
by Mike Lorefice

The Atomic Cafe
Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, & Pierce Rafferty

****

Invitation au voyage
Peter Del Monte

Atmospheric, mysterious, dreamlike film that remains in your memory. Everything you need to know is right in front on you, yet hidden by the episodic nature of the road movie genre. Features a pair of twins who have a certain close bond with one another. The rock singer sister dies right away and the brother packs her up in a cello case and goes off on a fairly unique and rather bizarre journey. Owes more than a little to Nicolas Roeg, both in editing style and in subject matter, so it's too kinky for many tastes but something different and rewarding for the rest. Though it creates its own world, many things, particularly the fashion and music, are quintessentially 80's. The standout element is the cinematography by the great Bruno Nuytten, who was at the peak of his creativity during this period (see also Possession). [10/9/06] ***

Toute une Nuit
Chantal Akerman

Conceptual art capturing various intimate stages of human relationships through brief practically silent skits. A plotless work consisting of heavy melodramatic choreography of motion and emotion. The tension is high because these are difficult moments and it is never released, each set of characters just disappears into the night after a few peak minutes. It's a very urban film taking place during a summer night in the city of Brussels, and ultimately hopeful in showing that this bland artificial atmosphere cannot quell human passion. Caroline Champetier's brilliant nocturnal cinematography is very painterly in framing, composition, and color scheme. Saturated blues and reds that represent the heightened emotions of the passionate characters are emphasized to offset the boring black background of the city night, with the Fujicolor format being made to look very much like the finest of classic Technicolor. [7/12/06] ***