``The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' Tragedy or comedy? A revenge picture scroll full of beauty and ugliness born from a love for Dutch paintings.

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The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

2019.12.10Koji Eguchi

Collaboration with unique and outstanding staff

Many of the tricks and performances were made possible by the talented staff. The cinematography was done by Sacha Vierni, who has been in charge of the director's films up to this point. He was the cameraman for Alain Resnais' `` Last Year at Marienbad '' (61), which is said to be a milestone in film art and is also famous for being in charge of original costumes for Coco Chanel. Vierni was also the cameraman for Luis Buñuel's `` Hirugao '' (1967), starring Catherine Deneuve and with costumes designed by Yves Saint Laurent.

Jean Paul Gaultier designed this wonderful costume that was both decadent and elegant. Greenaway may have had a special ability to connect outstanding visionaries and create unparalleled images.

The director is indispensable for the art, Ben Van Oz from the Netherlands. The music was composed by Michael Nyman, who would later become known around the world for Jane Campion's ` `The Piano '' (1993). ``The Piano'' had a delicate tone that expressed the feelings of the main character, who was unable to speak, but this work uses heavy baroque-style music that has the strength and impact to match the human pattern swirling with desire. It's playing.

“The Piano” preview

The actors also give great performances. The thief Albert, played by Michael Gambon, is an over-the-top brawler. A cruel villain who yells, kicks, and punches all the time. Helen Mirren, who won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival twice and later won the Best Actress Award at the 79th Academy Awards for `` The Queen '' (2006), is frightened by her husband's domineering, but becomes a well-educated and elegant mistress. She puts her body on the line to play the role of his wife Georgina, who he is attracted to.

Alan Howard plays Georgina's mistress who is lonely, intelligent, and calm, and Richard Bolinger, one of France's leading actors, plays the chef, who is as reserved as a Kyogen but noblely opposes Albert. Tim Roth, who plays the role of the thief Albert's henchman, also gives off a dangerous atmosphere and is attractive.

After doing some research, I started to think that this movie, which was shot in CinemaScope size, is not a movie that should be seen in a mini theater, but is actually a movie that is suitable for a large screen. At the time it was produced, video was already widespread, but it was created without the viewing environment on a TV monitor in mind. Anyway, there are many things to see.

A huge amount of information on one screen. The art decorations, costume details, never-before-seen framing and lighting, all designed to be viewed as a horizontally sized rectangle floating in the darkness. There's the joy of watching a flashy action movie in an IMAX theater, but I also think it's great to be able to enjoy watching long shots with a lot of information on a big screen, like in this movie. It's similar to the feeling you get when you see a huge, overwhelming painting in an overseas art museum and want to look at it forever. I would like someone with a lot of money to make a 4K revival of this kind of work possible.

Nowadays, we can watch and listen to movies and music anytime, anywhere. Of course, I am one of the beneficiaries of this. There may be no need to worry about movie theaters or speakers anymore. AV media is facing a harsh reality.

However, when it comes to food, the environment in which you eat, who you eat with, and where you eat is important. Unique chefs and restaurants are important.

This is an exciting work that exposes the true nature of humans, set in a luxurious restaurant. It's bound to make you think about a lot of things after viewing it, but I don't recommend eating immediately afterwards. The clue is a line that the thief Albert shouts in anger.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you and eat you!"

reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ3ghWGkRY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DQdVkSYX44

Text: Koji Eguchi

Video producer. We are active in a wide range of media, focusing on advertising. He has won many domestic and international advertising awards, including Cannes, and contributes from the perspective of a producer who has various production experiences such as director Koji Fukada's ``The Man from the Sea'' (18) and exhibiting VR at SXSW. Also posted on " note ".

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"The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover"

DVD: 1,429 yen + tax

Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment

*Information as of December 2019.

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