Shadows

Breaking in the Cassavetes' boxset.

It's been just over a year since I've gotten into Cassavetes and the impact it's had on him me is more than profound. Not even in artistic terms when it comes to my own writing but in my own personal life and psyche Cassavetes has allowed me to see more of myself and understand the parts that are the hardest to unravel. I don't think I've ever really felt more seen than I have watching John's whole filmography. His dedication what he believed and whom he loved is evident in every frame and word he ever put to screen.

When I initially saw Shadows I deemed it as a charming yet largely flawed debut but on rewatch and after watching the rest of Cassavetes' filmography I really opened myself up to it on second viewing. The meandering tensions of life permeat so well and the feelings of being disconnected to a world you don't really recognise or feel suited to cut deep. The performances as always are all great especially considering it's most non actors in the cast and the score really conveys the floating atmosphere of the film. I'd definitely recommend Shadows but I would recommend to watch it after seeing a few Cassavetes films as this was the third one I ever watched which I think why it didn't resonate half as much as it does now in retrospect.

Also is John Cassavetes the goat at depicting people laughing. To me any scene where a character is laughing is infectious which is hard to pull off.

Breaking in the Cassavetes' boxset.

It's been just over a year since I've gotten into Cassavetes and the impact it's had on him me is more than profound. Not even in artistic terms when it comes to my own writing but in my own personal life and psyche Cassavetes has allowed me to see more of myself and understand the parts that are the hardest to unravel. I don't think I've ever really felt more seen than I have watching John's whole filmography. His dedication what he believed and whom he loved is evident in every frame and word he ever put to screen.

When I initially saw Shadows I deemed it as a charming yet largely flawed debut but on rewatch and after watching the rest of Cassavetes' filmography I really opened myself up to it on second viewing. The meandering tensions of life permeat so well and the feelings of being disconnected to a world you don't really recognise or feel suited to cut deep. The performances as always are all great especially considering it's most non actors in the cast and the score really conveys the floating atmosphere of the film. I'd definitely recommend Shadows but I would recommend to watch it after seeing a few Cassavetes films as this was the third one I ever watched which I think why it didn't resonate half as much as it does now in retrospect.

Also is John Cassavetes the goat at depicting people laughing. To me any scene where a character is laughing is infectious which is hard to pull off.

In the same vein as the other two Cassavetes films I've seen, Shadows leaves me a bit slumped when it comes to words. Narratively and thematically this film is quite dense and vast somehow which makes it easy to have grounded observations of what it's trying to say involving race, gender, discrimination, isolation and even self hatred but I still don't feel like I have the full picture of what was intended which isn't a bad thing, in my own personal preference that's what I love about Cassavetes, he wasn't simple. Especially for it's time, Shadows goes places I never expected. It's dark, it's gritty, it's sombre and melancholic. Now saying all of this I did have a few technical issues with this especially with the audio and some of the editing but after reading up on the production of this I think it can be excused as the whole film was re-edited and even made from scratch in some aspects after it's first cut. Can't wait to jump even further into the rest of Cassavetes' work.

In the same vein as the other two Cassavetes films I've seen, Shadows leaves me a bit slumped when it comes to words. Narratively and thematically this film is quite dense and vast somehow which makes it easy to have grounded observations of what it's trying to say involving race, gender, discrimination, isolation and even self hatred but I still don't feel like I have the full picture of what was intended which isn't a bad thing, in my own personal preference that's what I love about Cassavetes, he wasn't simple. Especially for it's time, Shadows goes places I never expected. It's dark, it's gritty, it's sombre and melancholic. Now saying all of this I did have a few technical issues with this especially with the audio and some of the editing but after reading up on the production of this I think it can be excused as the whole film was re-edited and even made from scratch in some aspects after it's first cut. Can't wait to jump even further into the rest of Cassavetes' work.

Ce film donne une sévère envie de se flinguer

Ce film donne une sévère envie de se flinguer

First Cassavetes film I’ve seen. Really enjoyed it. Great character building. A film with more improvisation than a working script making this feel more real and as if it’s just the days in these characters lives. Important of course with it’s story about race in 1950’s, but also revolutionary in the role it had in the independent film world. Excited to start watching Cassavetes other films.

First Cassavetes film I’ve seen. Really enjoyed it. Great character building. A film with more improvisation than a working script making this feel more real and as if it’s just the days in these characters lives. Important of course with it’s story about race in 1950’s, but also revolutionary in the role it had in the independent film world. Excited to start watching Cassavetes other films.

First Cassavetes film I’ve seen. Really enjoyed it. Great character building. A film with more improvisation than a working script making this feel more real and as if it’s just the days in these characters lives. Important of course with it’s story about race in 1950’s, but also revolutionary in the role it had in the independent film world. Excited to start watching Cassavetes other films.

First Cassavetes film I’ve seen. Really enjoyed it. Great character building. A film with more improvisation than a working script making this feel more real and as if it’s just the days in these characters lives. Important of course with it’s story about race in 1950’s, but also revolutionary in the role it had in the independent film world. Excited to start watching Cassavetes other films.