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Though hard to watch, this film's disturbing exploration of freedom of expression is both seductive and thought-provoking. It's a work of art, it's sordid, and it's loaded with humor and wit. An excellent all-star cast with Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Geoffrey Rush and Michael Cane.

Today was another typical day in the insane world of high school. This stupid kid in my math class attacked me with a permanent marker. He got himself more than her got me, though, so it's all good. He pisses the hell out of me. Revenge is sweet, so we'll see how tommorow goes. :D

The weather was supposed to be 15 today, instead it was like -5 like yesterday!! :mad: Argh!

I bought some black shoes, they go very nicely with my jean skirt. I was very satisfied.

At lunch time, my apple turnover was not delicious. It was crusty and tasted like chemicals.

In music, I was bored. As usual. Don't understand theory at all.

In Biology, we learned about sex hormones. *twitter twitter* It was pretty funny. Our class is so immature. :D

I'm still so fucking tired. I don't know why. I should go to bed earlier. Or maybe I'm getting too much sleep? I can't go to bed early tonight though. South Park is on! :D

The point of Philip Kaufman's uneven but fascinating film Quills is that we are all potential sadists...it is just a question of how our sadism manifests itself (if it does at all). Some people repress their perverted feelings, others act them out, and some, like the Marquis de Sade, have the courage to express them in art and literature. Quills is a tough yet compelling film about a brief chapter in the Marquis' life, a time that saw him confined in an insane asylum and brutally tortured in an effort to "cure" de Sade of his loathsome sexual impulses. Geoffrey Rush plays the Marquis as a man who is not filled with anguish, but rather with an almost playful sense of humour...he has gleefully embraced his own depravity. Quills chronicles de Sade's time in a mental asylum, where he strikes up a friendship (and potential romance) with a beautiful woman named Madeleine (Kate Winslet). Also sympathizing with de Sade is a liberal priest named Abbe (Joaquin Phoenix), yet the Marquis manages to alienate even the open-minded Abbe once the priest begins to understand the extent of de Sade's degenerate imagination. Since the Marquis' work is so potentially threatening and offensive to the political establishment, a brutal "doctor" (Michael Caine) is assigned to correct de Sade's behaviour by any means necessary. Quills spares little in its depiction of the horrors that are inflicted upon de Sade, and yet it is not as disturbing as it might have been, if only because we get the sense the Marquis feels all of the brutality is in good fun. There are times when Kaufman's pacing is a little too slow, yet Quills manages to keep us engaged because the principal actors are so electrifying. Winslet brings humour to the film as Madeleine, and Phoenix imbues what could have been a caricature (the moral priest) with surprising depth. Michael Caine, normally one of the most affable and good-hearted of actors, is genuinely frightening and disturbing as the hypocritical doctor who clearly loves inflicting pain on de Sade. And at the center of Quills is Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis himself. Rush does not paint the character as an outright pervert, simply as a man consumed by his own artistic drive...and various other drives that border on insanity. Although we may not sympathize with the character, it is difficult not to admire him when he continues writing with his own blood after ink has been denied to him. Quills is not a great film, nor does it fit the normal definition of "entertainment". It is somewhat challenging, yet often thoughtful and powerful, and the performances alone make it worth seeing. The Marquis might have actually been disappointed with this film: it is too interesting to inflict pain or suffering on those that view it.

(BASIC)

***1/2 / **** (film ended at around 1:40 in the morning)

A set of incredibly thought provoking films, viewed within twelve hours of each other and filled with enough symbolism and ponderable content to keep me pensive for days.

First, Quills. Emily and I finished watching this about an hour ago, and stared at each other and the menu with the ink splatters and classical music for about a half hour more. The major themes of the film were censorship, sexuality, hypocrisy, perversion, innocence, corruption...and any more, I'll need to ponder further.

The Abbe's almost unwatchable transformation into the Marquis de Sade himself, the Marquis' descent into true insanity and humanity, the Doctor's shocking hypocrisy and evil, Madeline's girlish innocence continually challenged...all deserve a thorough examination of their own. The savior who is too late to save (the horsemen)...the tainted young wife who is driven to impurity (Simone)...the pervert whom no books would have an effect on, positive or otherwise...the blind mother who sees more than her eyes allow...all of these are only "minor" characters who push the story to its shocking, bewildering, and fervered climax (an appropriate word, for this particular film).

And that's only the characters. Symbolism includes quills (phallic; freedom; creativity), swallowed crosses (choking on morality and religion; irony of religion killing instead of reviving life), a statue of the Virgin Mary, blood, wine, etc...plus countless innuendos and comments about the "flowing" of ink and various "shortcomings".

I could go into detail about all of the above, but I'm still trying to piece it all together myself. On a purely cinematic level, the film was funny, sexy, horrifying, WITTY, quick, inspiring, and sad. Many of the shots (repeated ones especially, like the washbasin featured three very important times) were just wonderful, eerie or beautiful or shocking.

My favorite quote, and it was difficult because the film was full of quotables:
Marquis de Sade: If someone would try to walk on water and drowned, would you blame the Bible?

Quills raises many questions about itself and society...Who is the real sadist (the Doctor, I believe)? Who is to appoint what is good and evil (no one...those who live in glass houses...)? When does lust turn into love and into obsession (when it is deprived? when it is fed by flirtatiousness and need?)? When is censorship the real evil, and creativity the saving grace?

Alright, I don't have as much to say about Great Expectations. I saw this film about two years ago, and disliked it immensely. It was confusing and weird. However, I watched the last half of it this morning at about 4 am...now, that might contribute to why I suddenly was intrigued by this film, but I really liked it. The shots are stunning. The music is sexy, romantic, and heartbreaking. The story is compelling. The romance, and the ending, are...well...bittersweet. Makes you want that kind of love...or wonder if you have it. Or maybe you know you have it, and hope that it will turn out the same way...

Ahem. Anyway, I'll have to watch the film again to see the beginning and all that, but I enjoyed the twists and turns, the beauty of it...and well, the whole storyline with DeNiro is just awesome and touching. Plus Hank Azaria is in it, briefly, and I love him. I want to dance in the rain

So. I am now pensive, poetic, thoughtful, and tired of thinking! See these films. They will make you angry and shocked and sad, and make you laugh or scream or cry or both. Enjoy.

This movie can probably be taken at many levels. I wasn't in a particularly deep mindset when I saw this and read it as a tale about hypocrisy and sexual suppression/repression centered around a kinky French aristocrat, who eventually goes crazy himself from accelerating sensory deprivation as a punishment for being officially designated as being crazy already and resisting authority. 18th century Europe power centers just weren't ready for sexual fantasies out in the open and really weren't ready for anyone to write about them. Quills itself is more of a fantasy than historical fiction as it takes a lot of liberties with de Sade's life but I give it a good mark for bringing him out of the closet ;) . G. Rush is great as the twisted but mostly not yet crazy de Sade.

Hola, no one.

Well, nothing too exciting happened last night, except I saw The Village. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I heard these fifteen to twenty-something kids muttering "That sucked!" on the way out and I wanted to hit them. You knew they were just expecting like Scream 4 or something. I thought it was very intelligent, well-acted, and certainly beautiful-looking. I also ADORED the score. I know lots of critics have been giving it bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it. M. Night Shyamalan is the SHIT.

But so anyway, the breathtaking beauty of Joaquin Phoenix inspired me to rent Quills again. I am reminded, every time I see this movie, of the fact that there are just some GREAT films out there. I know a lot of people found it disturbing (I'm not among them, however. I guess I'm desensitized...or maybe just understanding of the human condition?). My sister was freaked out all night...though I don't know why. She didn't get quite a bit of it, ("What the hell is a 'pikestaff'?") so I spent the two and a half hours explaining everything to her. Anyway, I wonder why it's so far down on my top ten list. I love it more and more every time I see it. The scene where the Abbe du Coulmier is uh...fraternizing...with Madeline LeClerc's...uh...cadaver...is disturbing, but beautiful and ethereal. (it was at this point that my sister got to her feet and exclaimed, 'I refuse to watch it anymore!' and I called her a pansy and made her sit down)

Mostly for my own benefit, I am posting this:



If only that were slightly bigger...

But so anyway, I think Aly's mad at me. We hardly talk anymore and we haven't seen each other in a while...I never know when to call her cause I don't want to piss her parents off...

OH, I almost forgot. I'm on birth control now, and something about it takes away my appetite. Like, my stomach is grumbling right now because I haven't eaten since 5:30 yesterday afternoon, but I just don't want to eat. So project Starve Myself And Lose Weight is underway.

5.00/10

Been too busy as of late for much movie watching. But I did have school off yesterday.

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO
Good stuff. Love the dreaminess of it all. I guess its inevitable to compare River Phoenix to James Dean, but that really was on my mind much of the time.

QUILLS
Finally got around to watching it. Mostly to see Joaquin Phoenix, if we want to be completely honest here. Geoffrey Rush never ceases to amaze me, he's definitely one of the best actors around today.

VALMONT
I saw DANGEROUS LIASIONS a few months ago and I suppose they are another inevitable comparison. I prefer the casting of this film - I much prefer Annette Bening to Glenn Close and Colin Firth to John Malkovich. But I don't think VALMONT really captured the vileness of all the characters. I kept waiting for them to appear wicked and they never really did. And I was somewhat surprised at the casting of a very young Fairuza Balk as the young ingenue - perhaps I've seen THE CRAFT too many times to buy her portrayal as an innocent young girl.

QUILLS
Directed by Philip Kaufman
Stars Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine
R for strong sexual content including dialogue, violence and language

"Prepare yourself for the most impure tale ever to spring from the mind of man."

Geoffrey Rush shines in this delightfully demented chronicle of the life of the infamous Marquis de Sade. Kate Winslet is the young chamber maid that strikes his fancy who smuggles his pornographic manuscripts to publishers, Joaquin Phoenix is the priest who runs the asylum where the Marquis is locked away, and Michael Caine is the fiercly conservative doctor who is determined to "reform" the Marquis by any cruel means necessary. A darkly fascinating, wickedly funny film.

"Be forewarned, it's plot is blood-soaked, it's characters depraved, and it's themes... unwholesome at best. But in order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the full measure of man. So come...I dare you...turn the page..."