The Irish Thug

Reds
This film tells the story of John Reed. Reed was a communist and journalist who wrote a book documenting the Russian Revolution. This epic tale details Reed’s life, relationship with Louise Bryant and the effects on communism in Russia and America. The thing that stands out the most in the film is that it includes interviews with people that lived during that time. Some of them were even directly connected to the story being told in various ways. These interviews are generally used to help a transition into a new scene, helping to frame it with other context. That being said, I felt that in most cases, they pulled me out of the story. Rather than see the collective as a narrator providing insight, they seemed to me as extra characters. Additional people that I should be thinking about, but never really learn much about.

Brief Encounter
A married woman and a married man briefly meet at a train station in a chance encounter. However, they agree to meet again in a week. This weekly meeting leads to another, and things escalate from there. The story is told as a flashback with the woman recounting her experiences as if she were telling her husband. The film was well down, with a few shots that I liked, but the story did not grab me. I was going along for the ride, but did not care how things would end.

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