SC, I don't actively seek hidden meaning in a film. And I agree, a cigar is always a cigar.

Anyway, I just saw two films back-to-back at the cinema. One disappointing, the other fantastic.

Little Children
Todd Field 2006 US (1st time; big screen)
A man and woman have an affair in a town in fear of a recently released child molester.
Ambitious follow up to In the Bedroom for Field, but a very disappointing one. The opening shots are promising, setting a disturbing, haunting tone left over from the (amazing) trailer. But there's an awkwardness to this film which begins when the von Trier-like, over-literate, all-knowing voice-over is introduced. It is thematically very confused, bringing two or three separate narratives together which don't seem to really connect - the relationships between the married man and married woman and the paedofile and his mother seem to be taken from two separate films, ones which would have had little to say and even less to explore, and the ex-cop who seeks last-minute redemption could have been discarded altogether. The narratives certainly don't compliment one another, or justify any of the others' existence. Field is interested mainly in humans and their relationships with one another within society, which means the film is often of interest, but the means by which he explores his preoccupations is very frustrating. It will most likely enhance one's appreciation of films which tackle their difficult moralities more confidently, such as Solondz' Happiness, for instance.

The Prestige
Christopher Nolan 2006 US/UK (1st time; big screen)
In Victorian London, two rising magicians strike up a rivalry when one of them invents a new trick, and the other wishes to find out how it is done.
Outstanding: a film told for the most part in flashback, with one character reading another character's journal... and within that narrative, the other character reads the principle character's journal. On top of this, parallel to this dual-perspective, we've a third character reliving the fatal night which begins the film. It's spellbinding stuff, narratively exciting and completely authentic. Nolan is growing vastly in confidence and skill, and one would hope that he continues to be prolific, ambitious and vastly intelligent. His direction of actors is admirable - all the performances are notable, but Bale, at the very top of his game, gives further evidence of being the finest actor currently working. Nolan also has a fine sense of pacing and volume, knowing when to cut and what to - it's incredibly complicated stuff made to look effortless, much like the magic tricks themselves.