The Day After Trinity
Directed by Jon Else
Written by Jon Else, David Webb Peoples, and Janet Peoples
1981/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube

J. Robert Oppenheimer: [on the proposal for talks to halt the spread of nuclear weapons] It’s twenty years too late. It should have been done the day after Trinity.

We get a much different impression of J. Robert Oppenheimer in this excellent documentary than we did in the latest Best Picture winner Oppenheimer.

This is a biography of the man who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb.  We see him progress from idealistic student to brilliant physicist, to lionized inventor, to disgrace during the McCarthy era.  He is far different from the vain womanizer portrayed by Cillian Murphy.

This is a very well-done documentary with interviews of people who knew the man and I learned a lot.  It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Oppenheimer
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Christopher Nolan from a book by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
2023/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental

J. Robert Oppenheimer: Albert? When I came to you with those calculations, we thought we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world…
Albert Einstein: I remember it well. What of it?
J. Robert Oppenheimer: I believe we did.

i can understand why people would like this movie without liking it much myself.  Maybe I’m just getting old.

The story chronicles the life of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy); his association with far left-wing politics; his leadership of the development of the atomic bomb; his character assassination during the McCarthy era; and the eventual accolades he got as the Father of the Atomic Bomb.

In between we learn of his career as a womanizer including a bunch of gratuitous nudity and sex.  We are shown his fraught relationship with his wife Kitty (Emily Blunt).  Finally we explore the political ambitions of Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.), the former head of the Atomic Energy Commission, who was seeking the advice and consent of the Senate for appointment as Secretary of Commerce.

I was predisposed to like this movie and to sympathize with Oppenheimer.  In the event, I didn’t find him or any of the characters all that likeable and did not care all that much what happened to any of them. I thought the running time could have been trimmed  by half an hour or more with no harm to the story.  I did not think that the out of order exposition or the constant transitions between past and present and color and black and white worked.  In short, I was cranky and the whole experience left me flat.  I’m probably in a minority of one.

Oppenheimer won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.  It was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design.

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch and John M. Stahl
Written by Marian Angle and Ruth Cummings from the book by Karl Heinrich
1927/US
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb Page
First viewing/YouTube

Dr. Jüttner: Boy, do you know what it means to go to Heidelberg?

I had never seen an Ernst Lubitsch silent movie before and now I want to see all of them.

The story is basically a fairy tale.  Prince Karl Heinrich is the nephew and heir to the throne of the King of Karlsburg.  A nanny has raised him until maybe age 8 and then he is shipped off to the court where he is kept behind palace walls until he graduates from secondary school and grows up to be Ramon Navarro.  Uncle is cold and very formal as are all of his retainers.  Karl’s loneliness is relieved by the arrival of Dr. Juttner (Jean Hersholt), possibly the most lovable and warm tutor ever.  It is feared that he will return to his lonely existence when he passes his exams.  Instead, it is decided he will go to university in Heidelberg accompanied by Dr. Juttner.

Upon arrival, Karl decides to live in a simple inn after first glimpsing the owner’s lovely, charming daughter Kathi (Norma Shearer).  He is accepted immediately into the company of his school comrades and falls deeply in love with Kathi. He is able to live a normal life at last. He vows never to leave Kathi. What will happen when he is called back to the palace to take over from the dying king?

The best word to describe this film is “delightful”.  It is loaded with the Lubitsch touch and full of subtle innuendo.  I don’t think I have ever seen Norma Shearer this feminine and enchanting.  I always like Jean Herscholt and this was no exception.  Ramon Navarro was perfect.   The production values were pure MGM and the print on YouTube is stellar.  I was engaged enough to be yelling at my screen during the last ten minutes.  Warmly recommended.

None of the clips was in a print worth watching so here is a tribute to Ramon Navarro

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I’m going to Costa Rica tomorrow to look at birds.  Hope to be back March 12.  I think I’m on a movie watching roll.

Wishing one and all joy in the New Year!

Still in movie limbo as I am in my new house minus a TV.  I remain thankful for each and every one of you.

I’m home again after two wonderful weeks with Reino’s family in Finland and Sweden.  My next distraction and project will be buying a house.

While I was gone, I was able to see several contemporary movies.  Here are a few mini reviews.

A Separation (2011)
Directed by Ashgabat Farhadi
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

I had a long flight, did not take the headphones, then felt like a movie. The perfect one turned out to be Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation” (2011). I had seen it before and enjoyed it all over again reading the subtitles. This is an outstanding film in which a Westernized couple split when they both get visas to leave Iran and the husband feels obligated to stay and care for his senile elderly father. After the divorce the wife wants is denied the intricate plot has many twists and turns. Highly recommended.

Tar (2022)
Directed by Todd Field

This features Cate Blanchett as a renowned but extremely narcissistic and spiteful conductor who ruins her life and that of those around her. It’s one of those movies that hides the ball from the audience constantly. Got several Oscar nominations. It was not for me though.

Fallen Leaves (2023)
Directed by Aki Kaurismaki

I saw  Aki Kaurismaki’s latest film, “Fallen Leaves” (2023) on the big screen. As usual it’s a story about underdogs living on the margins of society. A man and a woman gradually and very tentatively get together to the blare of a radio announcing atrocities in Ukraine, rock music, and old Finnish songs. The director manages to make clean Helsinki look like a vast post-industrial wasteland. But these images are always exquisitely framed and punctuated by spots of saturated colors. The humor is wry and very deadpan. I laughed a lot. The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Recommended.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Directed by Bryan Singer

I picked this biopic about Freddy Mercury for my return trip. I love Freddy Mercury and all I could think about how I would have been happier to watch Mercury perform the songs.  I have to admit I wasn’t paying 100% attention.

Off to Finland to see my husband”s family.   All this was a just a short walk away from our apartment when we lived in Helsinki.  I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.