Quite a departure from my first Jean-Luc Godard film, Bande a part, Week End is quite an odd, little piece of work. The film does have plenty to admire. The film knows that it is obnoxious and almost self-indulgent and it is not afraid to say it, which is actually one of the reasons it starts out fairly well. One long scene which just simply shows a rather large traffic jam, left me surprisingly more enthralled than bored for some reason. The way Godard directed the sequence really made me want to see how it would progress.Around the one-hour mark is when the film starts to run into problems. Suddenly, the film loses the self-knowing feeling that made the first part rather good. Godard packs a whole bunch of ideas that ultimately goes nowhere and we're left in the end with a messy film.
Certainly one of the most interesting things that can be said about Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill is that is probably his most feel-good film. Whether it's the fact that he makes us feel for the lead character or Uma Thurman's rather emotional performance, we have a smile on our face throughout most of the running time. Any reason is that the film doesn't take itself too seriously. The violence and blood is so over-the-top and comically done, that instead of being shocked, we laugh. Tarantino's ability to write great dialogue also adds to the fun of the film. In fact, due to my recent watchings of East Asian films, I appreciate the film even more for its homage to those types of films. And that includes liking Chiaki Kuriyama's performance even more, due to my recent viewing of her work in Battle Royale. It's a fun film that despite its open ending works very well.
