08 June 2006
i'm going to tell you a secret
here's yesterday's headline: "disappointment ensues."
that's because for some reason i had it in my head that madonna's new documentary, i'm going to tell you a secret was going to be released on dvd on tuesday. of course it wasn't. it actually comes out on the 20th according to amazon, so now i have to wait two more weeks. argh.
(oh where oh where will i be getting my madonna fix until then???)
secret debuted a couple months ago on mtv. of course it is madge's second tour documentary. she made truth or dare during the blonde ambition tour. probably more than any of her other films, tod has been best received. many critics have placed it among the best documentaries of the 90s. it is one of my all time favorite movies, and, honestly, when i heard she was making secret, my expectations weren't very high. tod was a one of a kind film, and there is no way she could recreate that. and of course she didn't.
secret is nothing like its predecessor. it is a completely different film, made under completely different circumstances, with a completely different goal. and the two really shouldn't be compared. they are both really good movies in their own right.
(i'm sure to noone's surprise) secret has a decidedly spiritual aspect to it. it opens with this beautiful sort of dance sequence of the beast within mix of "justify my love." she is dressed in sort of indian garb modeling while she recites a passage from revelations. this is also how she opened the reinvention tour and it is absolutely gorgeous. right from the beginning it is pretty obvious this is going to be different than the rollicking tone of tod.
obvious difference #2 is the appearance of her husband guy ritchie and children lourdes and rocco. her first documentary was basically just a chronicling of time spent on tour with her dancers, playing games and dealing with daily drama. this new documentary barely touches any of that stuff. it is more about juggling family and career and, at the same time, coming to terms with her own spirituality. the result is that secret is really a much more serious product.
not that there aren't lighter moments too. i think the best part of secret is the fact that she finally lets her fans get to know her kids a little bit. her son rocco is pretty hilarious. he is a total jokester and i definitely see him being a performer like his mom someday. her daughter lourdes is obviously really intelligent. she seems to be super-mature and even teaches her mom some french in the film.
my least favorite part of the film was her husband guy. i am increasingly disliking him. in the movie he just seems pretty self-obsessed and distant. while she goes to one tour performance, expecting him to be in the audience, he is actually driving off to a pub, which seems to be something he does pretty often. anyways, it is pretty difficult for me to understand this relationship, and, at the very least, the movie does nothing to dispell rumors that the marriage is on the rocks.
if you liked tod, you should definitely rent secret when it comes out in two weeks. it is a good film in its own rite, but also a "neat" supplement to the earlier work. the two documentaries sort of mirror her greatest hits albums, the immaculate collection and ghv2. in both cases the second work is a sort of more mature, more spiritual, more family-oriented product.
rumor has it that guy ritchie is himself directing a third tour documentary of the current confessions tour. i am sort of skeptical as to whether this will ever materialize, but it is definitely an interesting idea. but then again, madonna could make her own sunday comic strip and i would be on board:)
p.s. here's the trailer. ¶ 6/08/2006 01:16:00 AM
here's yesterday's headline: "disappointment ensues."
that's because for some reason i had it in my head that madonna's new documentary, i'm going to tell you a secret was going to be released on dvd on tuesday. of course it wasn't. it actually comes out on the 20th according to amazon, so now i have to wait two more weeks. argh.
(oh where oh where will i be getting my madonna fix until then???)
secret debuted a couple months ago on mtv. of course it is madge's second tour documentary. she made truth or dare during the blonde ambition tour. probably more than any of her other films, tod has been best received. many critics have placed it among the best documentaries of the 90s. it is one of my all time favorite movies, and, honestly, when i heard she was making secret, my expectations weren't very high. tod was a one of a kind film, and there is no way she could recreate that. and of course she didn't.
secret is nothing like its predecessor. it is a completely different film, made under completely different circumstances, with a completely different goal. and the two really shouldn't be compared. they are both really good movies in their own right.
(i'm sure to noone's surprise) secret has a decidedly spiritual aspect to it. it opens with this beautiful sort of dance sequence of the beast within mix of "justify my love." she is dressed in sort of indian garb modeling while she recites a passage from revelations. this is also how she opened the reinvention tour and it is absolutely gorgeous. right from the beginning it is pretty obvious this is going to be different than the rollicking tone of tod.
obvious difference #2 is the appearance of her husband guy ritchie and children lourdes and rocco. her first documentary was basically just a chronicling of time spent on tour with her dancers, playing games and dealing with daily drama. this new documentary barely touches any of that stuff. it is more about juggling family and career and, at the same time, coming to terms with her own spirituality. the result is that secret is really a much more serious product.
not that there aren't lighter moments too. i think the best part of secret is the fact that she finally lets her fans get to know her kids a little bit. her son rocco is pretty hilarious. he is a total jokester and i definitely see him being a performer like his mom someday. her daughter lourdes is obviously really intelligent. she seems to be super-mature and even teaches her mom some french in the film.
my least favorite part of the film was her husband guy. i am increasingly disliking him. in the movie he just seems pretty self-obsessed and distant. while she goes to one tour performance, expecting him to be in the audience, he is actually driving off to a pub, which seems to be something he does pretty often. anyways, it is pretty difficult for me to understand this relationship, and, at the very least, the movie does nothing to dispell rumors that the marriage is on the rocks.
if you liked tod, you should definitely rent secret when it comes out in two weeks. it is a good film in its own rite, but also a "neat" supplement to the earlier work. the two documentaries sort of mirror her greatest hits albums, the immaculate collection and ghv2. in both cases the second work is a sort of more mature, more spiritual, more family-oriented product.
rumor has it that guy ritchie is himself directing a third tour documentary of the current confessions tour. i am sort of skeptical as to whether this will ever materialize, but it is definitely an interesting idea. but then again, madonna could make her own sunday comic strip and i would be on board:)
p.s. here's the trailer. ¶ 6/08/2006 01:16:00 AM
