Cartesius

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Audience Member This kind of history lesson bio of Descartes and the development of his "Discourse on Method," is interesting for what it is, but it is so dialogue heavy that I wonder why it really needs to be a movie at all. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Fabulous stylistic work of history by Rossellini here. In these history films from late in his career, Rossellini seems to be searching for a way to film the internal conflicts of these great figures, as the outward conflicts are de-emphasized to such a great degree. All the characters, from Descartes to Helene to his detractors, receive equal respect, which provides opportunities to draw your own conclusions about the characters and their ideas. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member I'm loving Rossellini's brilliant "anti-cinema" cheapo made-for-TV history textbooks. Similarly to the Age of the Medici (which Rossellini shot in English for PBS, only to have PBS refuse to show it), he shot this one in French for French TV, who then refused to show it. I'm hardly ever distracted by subtitles, but this film's almost continuous stream-of-monologueness really forced me to choose between the image and the text, which is a shame because Rossellini is practicing a cinematic minimalism here that is so often wrongly attributed to Bresson. To miss the most subtle of movements can be to miss the entire point of the scene. I wish it were dubbed into English. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member More edifying and entertaining than initially expected. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Cartesius

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