Quintet

I was sort of hoping that this would be some weird, overlooked gem in Altman's filmography, but no it really is just as bad as it's reputation, and not even in an oddball, entertaining way like Popeye (it feels closer to Logan's Run without any of the camp appeal). Fernando Rey seems like the only actor aware of the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I think Altman must have heard "snow" and thought they were offering him a bunch of cocaine, because there's no other way to explain this bullshit.

Extremely bleak and apocalyptic vision of the future is a stylistic detour for Altman, but his trademarks are still detectable, even if they are buried under Vaseline smeared lenses and an ominous mood. Like Images, it's driven primarily by atmosphere, and it's so thick that you can cut it with a knife, and the blurry images are almost Sokurovian, before Sokurov, heightening the ice cold setting. The screenplay could have been tightened up, but overall this is an underrated Altman.

Quintet is virtually unheard of, yet it's an Altman and a Newman movie--but this is for good reason. This movie is quite forgettable and the story is simply uninteresting, almost going nowhere with it's sci-fi roots. The directing isn't particularly good, and during the entire duration there's a fog on the parameter of the screen--which may have been a good idea to convey cold, but it is REALLY annoying.

If the film is an allegory for something, and the way its told strongly suggests it is, I have no idea what it's an allegory for. The photography is distracting --the frames are tinged with fog to suggest condensation, but instead of being atmospheric it just feels like an affectation. The score is annoying as hell. The actors look like they don't want to be there (which may be accurate to the scenario, now that I think about it).

An ambitious mess. The characters are strangely underdeveloped for an Altman movie, and the supposed big revelation at the film's climax is one you'll see coming.

Paul Newman, Bibi Andersson, Fernando Ray, & Vittorio Gassman all in one movie. If only it was a better movie.

Strange science fiction thing from Altman, unusually stilted for this director: maybe he just didn't know how people would talk in the future. Score based on distant memory.

Not one of Altman's best efforts. I really wanted to like it too. The concept about this boardgame is intriguing, but Altman leaves the audience in the dark about how it is played, which makes the whole thing a bit useless. The plot itself isn't confusing, but it is a bit boring at times. And yeah, it doesn't seem like any of the actors really want to be here. But whatever. I will see this again. I don't know if it's really all that bad, but I say that about all of Altman's weakest so whatever.

Em honra de Bibi Andersson (1935 - 2019) filme #2 Pois eu tinha esse dvd em casa e nunca havia assistido, é uma distopia de alto teor filosófico e contemplativo, anos luz de ser ruim como algumas pessoas pregam, aliás, existe um certo ressentimento geral das pessoas com os filmes do Altman protagonizados pelo Newman que jamais entenderei. DVD Lume Filmes