Tropic of Cancer

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Jan 19, 2019 This was worth watching See more Jun 2, 2016 An uneventful film with Torn portraying infamous writer Henry Miller, who was a consultant for this adaptation, as he philanders and scrounges his way around the streets of Paris in the 70's. Miller's characterization as a debauched libertine is detestable and because he doesn't have any real motive, there's not much conflict to carry the story making the audience ask, 'why bother?'. An insignificant movie based off of a significant novel. See more Jun 22, 2011 This wasn't a total blind rent, since I'm more or less familiar with the book. That said, I expected the movie to be dated and tame by today's standards, NC-17 notwithstanding. (I mean, come on, this was shot in 1970.) The former was certainly true, but not the latter -- maybe I'm a prude, but I was picking my jaw up off of the floor during some of Rip Torn's vile voiceovers of the women he had laid, wanted to lay, and was in the midst of laying in the middle of Paris. I can only imagine how far Henry Miller's book goes. Despite how much the portrayal of the sex disgusted me, this is still a breezy and beautifully shot film. So why the 3 out of 5? The movie suffers from having no likable characters at all, and there's not really much of a plot aside from Rip Torn saying things I never, ever want to hear him utter again. See more Dec 14, 2010 Strick is a bit intoxicated with cinema's newfound freedoms to make filthy pictures, but he's also pretty intoxicated with the French New Wave and there are some great passages of Miller voice-overs in the poetic mode alongside Parisian establishing shots. Still, the film lingers on the lupine Miller, licking his chops and taking all the tail thrusting themselves at him. It rides on the coattails of the obscenity trials, rather than arguing for the justice of the verdict. It's a reductive Miller, but if it gets anyone to read the books, it is doing a good thing. See more Read all reviews

Tropic of Cancer

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