The Man Who Cried (2000)

Plan: While on her way to America to locate her father, Suzie (Christina Ricci) joins a dance troupe in Paris.  She rooms with a fellow Russian, Lola (Cate Blanchett), who falls for an opera singer, Dante (John Turturro).  Dante gets them jobs in his opera, where Suzie meets a gypsy, Cesar (Johnny Depp).  Importantly, it’s shortly before Germany invades Poland, and Dante is indeed Italian. 

I swear, I don’t look for movies from that year.  I think they’ve learned to seek me out. 

In any case, I wondered for a good few days what I actually thought of this movie.  I wasn’t really sure who I felt about it, in fact. 

Then I remembered that while I was watching, my roommate came in at a certain point and said, “So that’s the man who cried!”

And I realized that I had completely stopped trying to figure out the title.  Can you imagine?  I thought about it for maybe 20 minutes, and then I didn’t think about. 

That, I feel, is a telling sign of Sally Potter’s (writer/director) prowess as a filmmaker.  She relies heavily on music, light, and facial expressions to tell the story.  There’s something very natural about that. 

There’s also something very natural about Ricci up the screen.  She beautiful, and talent just seems to slowly flow out of her. 

If anything was unnatural in this movie, it was the relationship between Suzie and Cesar.  While the chemistry between Depp and Ricci was palpable, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around a couple that never said a word to each other.  Were they supposed to be psychically connected?  Was I to assume that they talked while the camera wasn’t on them?

I don’t know, and I didn’t like it. 

As always, Blanchett and Turturro were fantastic.  My opinion of Turturro’s really changed over the past few months.  The movies I see him in, the more I like him.  He has this ability to blend all sorts of aspects together in a most impressive way.   It’s really powerful. 

I can’t say I recommend this movie, though.  It’s incredibly beautiful to watch.  Thank you, Sacha Vierny (cinematographer). 

But that’s not enough to get my full vote.  Something’s holding me back.  Not quite sure what, but it is there, a lagging doubt in the back of my mind.