A BLAST FROM THE PAST FOR A CLASSIC : "BLOOD SIMPLE"

I hate to sound biased but the Coen Brothers are my favorite writer/director / producers ever. I have spoken of them before, and be warned, I definitely plan to speak of them again. And as you all know, most of their films make headlines, but you may not have heard of this one… I’m talking about Blood Simple, their first feature film. And anyone who saw that film saw them coming…
So, I hear you cry, what is the story-line, how does it go ? Well, actually it’s a pretty typical Coen Borthers film. You know what I mean, just cast your mind back to their other films. An innocent looking story begins. Then suddenly an unpredictable and often violent character enters the scene. Suddenly the story has gone in a direction you NEVER thought it would. And the true beauty of all this is that the movie is quality every time and you willingly go for it every time, if only just to see what the twist will be this time…
Well, this one’s no different, in story and in quality. I mean it got the grand prize at the Sundance film festival and that’s saying something for a first feature. At the beginning we have a simple matter of infidelity on our hands. Julian Marty is a particularly unpleasant man. He runs a bar in a small town and gives both his wife and his employees a hard time 24 / 7. His wife is called Abby, and unsurprisingly she is seeking affection elsewhere, namely in a bar worker called Ray. Julian Marty may be many things but a fool he is not. Soon he guesses there is trouble afoot and hires a private detective to confirm this. Once the affair is out in the open though, Abby moves out and gets ready to start a new life with Ray. Not so easy with Julian around. He contacts the detective again and asks him to do the one sensible thing he can think of – killing them both. The private detective however has a much better plan and is not afraid to put it into action. However, his decision has rather unexpected consequences…
As we all know, knowledge is power. The Coen brothers play unashamedly with this concept for the full 91 minutes. Throughout the film we are totally confused by who knows what and we are unable to guess what these people will do with the knowledge they have. The Coen brothers being the Coen brothers, they rarely react the way you think they will. The result is a arm-chair arm gripping nail biter from beginning to end. You’d be a fool to miss it; it will be a classic if it isn’t one already.

"INTIMATE ENNEMIES"

This “strong and silent type” French film almost didn’t make the list. Not because I don’t like it, quite au contraire, but I wasn’t sure how much it would appeal to you guys for some reason. I don’t know, French war movie about the Algerian war, set at the height of the operations in 1959… But I watched it for the second time for work today. And I cried my eyes out. Again. So I just had to share it with you.
Lieutenant Terrien has a tough job ahead of him. He is an industrial designer by trade and a happily married father of one but he has volunteered for the war in Algeria. He is stepping into a dead Lieutenant’s shoes. Apart from having these shoes to fill, the clashes with the rebels / resistance are getting more and more brutal. His sergeant Dougnac is a sullen and silent man, but he soon shows Terrien that he knows the area and their job a lot better than he does. Terrien is shocked at first by the area, by the mentality of the soldiers and the sheer “horror” (remember Apocalypse Now? If you didn’t get what “The Horror” meant then, you will now I promise you) of proceedings. He is unable to understand Dougnac’s apparent coldness and callousness. But soon, both him and we realize that the true enemies that are the hardest to conquer lie not in some mountain range but deep within our own souls…
This film is not a happy one. It is definitely a “disclaimer” film. I mean, ok, I’m guessing you expect violence. But this isn’t “Saving Private Ryan” type violence. It is a lot deeper and hard-hitting than that. And it is not horrifying in its scale - we are not talking about people dying in their hundreds – but in its meaning. All through the film we are given no respite about the psychological suffering of soldiers at war. And I don’t mean just the French soldiers either, you must remember there were a lot of Algerians fighting alongside them as well… We are reminded that war Is a tragedy, and just sometimes it is a pointless tragedy. We are reminded that this violence effects the ones who witness it and sometimes leaves incurable scars. And of course, the politics. Terrien lays out the arguments of the film within the first half-hour – basically the fact that the de Gaulle government was very much to blaim for the Algerian war. But when it comes to the brutalities that went on there, we are forced to admit, that if we were in Terrien’s – or any of the characters – shoes, we probably would not have, in fact could not have acted in any other way…
My memory is pretty good and I remember pretty much all the plot twists quite clearly. But I could not hold back the tears as I watched Terrien slowly crack and turn into something he despised (and I know this is sort of a spoiler but I’m guessing you saw this coming, no?). You will not find it easy viewing at all. But then again, some things don’t come in pretty packages and yet they are true and beautiful…

TRUE STORY OF THE WEEK : "LA MÔME"

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure you remember “La Môme” – also known as “La Vie En Rose”. Oh come on, sure you do, it “made” Marion Cotillard. In 2007 It basically wiped the floor with everything it faced at every award ceremony from BAFTAs to Ocars®. The other actresses, admirable as I am sure they were, didn’t stand a chance! But dear God, what a movie that was…
It is, as you know or probably have guessed, the life story of Edith Piaf. Born into a poor family, her father was a circus performer and she had to keep the both of them (plus her father’s drinking habit) afloat with renditions of the Marseillaise on street corners. She was discovered under rather similar circumstances some few years later. One day as she sang various cabaret songs on another street corner with her good friend Mômone, she is discovered by Papa Leplée, a cabaret owner (played by the French films staple Gerard Depardieu). Luck combined with Piaf’s amazing talent and hard work made her the star she is today. Her life story was successful but not always happy. It was marred with sadness, death and drugs, to the point that at 40 she almost looked 70. But at the end of the day, that life was so full, we can almost hear her claiming loudly “Je ne regrette rien” – I regret nothing right to the end.
After the first two films I reviewed this week I desperately hunted around for something a bit happier, but unfortunately to no avail. That is not to say this is an entirely “sad” movie. I mean true enough, there is a lot of sadness in the film, but such is life. All through the film we have the beautiful music and Piaf’s undaunted spirit leading the way. The film definitely captures the essence of Piaf and as for Marion Cotillard, she deserves her place in history for her performance. And something has to be said for the make-up, décor and costumes, all won numerous prestigious awards that year. You are transported right to the ‘40s . And Cotillard looks so much like Piaf it’s almost spooky.
Both Cotillard and the film – and in fact Piaf as well at the time – just tells it like it is. Gives it to you straight. And the story is told with such quality that you will clap your hands and bounce around as the rollercoaster goes up and reach for handfuls of tissues as it goes down. This is a seriously “good” quality film. And if you’re any sort of “cinephile” you will put it on your “to watch” list, right now.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! "PHOBIDILIA"

The name alone of this bizarre film should give you some idea of its “train of thought”. Now, I don’t speak Hebrew, but from what I gathered from the film, “Phobi” is phobia and “idilia” is something like “ideal place”. So, a phobidilya is a perfect place constructed by our fears… Confused ? Don’t be. Just ask Regev, the hero of our film. He has it all sorted out…

Regev didn’t always live in a phobilia though. He was a computer programmer, had a job he went to, went out to parties… Then the panic-attack came. Faced with so much fear, he is confined to the house… But this is not a bad thing – the house becomes his kingdom. After all, virtually every need can be ordered to the house on the phone. Sex ? The internet is full of it! Income ? He’s a computer programmer, remember? He can work online! Company, friends? He has Albert his cat and more than 100 TV chanels on satellite. Regev literally doesn’t want anything else. He is perfectly happy and intends to stay that way… Until, one day, he receives two pieces of rather disturbing news… First of all, his friendly neighborhood estate agent turns up, saying that the owner of the flat wants to sell the house and is turning him out. Shortly afterwards, a rather loud sales rep named Daniela turns up at the house, insists he has been selected for a survey and refuses to leave. She’s sort of cute as well, the only problem is that he hasn’t dealt with “3 dimentional girls” for years… These two developments will put Regev on a collision course with the “phobia” part of his phobidilya. The results are sweet, funny, thought-provoking, sad and slightly scary all at once…

Ofcourse, it is easy to see what the Paz brothers (first time directors of a feature – better known in Israel for directing music videos) have tried to do – and succeeded in doing. The character of Regev – the entire film as it happens – is a caricature of things we all suffer from to one degree or another. Fear of rejection. Fear of the world. Fear of change. Seeing them magnified to such a degree in Regev made me think quite deeply about myself at some points, and you may surprise yourself confronting your own fears as well at some point. I say “surprise yourself” because despite its rather bizarre subject and the fact that the locations are confined to Regev’s flat the film is by no means “dark”. In fact, unexpected pieces of humor spring up at you when you least expect it. It’s not until after the movie was finished and I had arrived home that I started thinking, and realizing to my surprise that I had more in common with Regev – in some respects.(For Heaven’s sake don’t get me wrong I don’t have agoraphobia or panic attacks hehe.) The film is very subtle and intelligent in its critique and it’s only in retrospect that you realize that it’s actually a caricature of us all. Ofer Shechter who plays Regev is absolutely stunning and portrays the change in Regev as his state of mind changes and de-stabilizes wonderfully. And the Paz brothers are a very welcome addition to the movie scene as far as your humble author is concerned. I am very much looking forward to seeing more of their work…

CLAUSTROPHOBIA FROM SPAIN : "CELL 211"

Who do you think of when you hear the phrase “famous Spanish director”? Pedro Almodovar? Alejandro Amenabar? Well, Daniel Monzon might be another name to add to that list. He basically took everyone (including Almodovar and Amenabar) by surprise at the Goya awards this year and made off with eight of them. And the “surprise contender” is Celda 211 / Cell 211 . Although, to be fair, to anyone who has actually seen this film, this will not come as a surprise.

Based on a book – now a bestseller of course - Cell 211 is the story of Juan, soon to be father and prison warden. And life for Juan is exciting : He loves his wife who is six months pregnant to their first child and he has just got out of his rather gruesome job at the local slaughterhouse and become a prison warden. He has a day until he starts yet but he decides to visit the local “slam” anyway. He wants to give a good impression – not to mention starting learning the ropes… His new colleagues are happy to meet him and eager to show him around, all seems to be going well until a small accident happens… The prison is being renovated and a falling piece of plaster hits Juan on the head, momentarily knocking him out. His colleagues decide to lay him down in an empty cell (cell 211 as you may have gathered) and run for the doctor. Just at this particular point, an uprising starts in the prison. And Juan is left inside, on his own and unconscious. When he comes round, there seems to be only one way of surviving the madness : pretending he is the new inmate of cell 211 instead of a guard until he can find a way of breaking out…

Now, the story and the pace of Cell 211 is more than enough to glue you to the screen. It’s an adventure story and thriller of the highest caliber, there are many twists and turns you will never have even imagined. But there is also a very deep side to it that I think makes it relevant in our troubled times. Ok fair warning, this is another film I saw in the “Human Rights” competition of the local film festival. Police brutality, prison conditions and prejudice are the main themes of the film and very easy to “spot”. But there is a much deeper and more disturbing side to the storyline. It is the argument, which seems to be surfacing more and more often these days that each and every one of us is capable of violence if pushed hard enough and put in the right circumstances… And indeed, this is a side of the storyline that you may find disturbing – the idea of someone like you or I committing hideous crimes – or alternatively the idea that people who commit hideous crimes are really just like you or I sometimes – is disturbing to say the least. It doesn’t make it any less true for all that though… Watching it will give you quite a lot to think about. After it’s finished though. You will not have the time to “think” about anything ‘till the end of the film – it’s too darn exciting!!

GOOD QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT. AND "VENGEANCE".

One doesn’t have to watch “deep and meaningful” movies the whole time. Sometimes one just needs to watch something predictable and soppy.You need a strong hero, overcoming baddies, with some nice adventures in the middle. I definitely do. But my point is, while you are at it, you might as well watch “soppy” films by a good director with good actors in it. Try Vengeance. One of the latest examples of this kind of film is “Vengeance” by the famous Hong Kong born director Johnnie To starring acting legend Johnny Hallyday. This film is most definitely top quality Saturday night entertainment. (Incidentally, kill the prejudices! French newspapers are almost unanimous in proclaiming Johnny Hallyday’s performance in Vengeance the best come-back they have seen for a long time)

François Costello is an ex hired assassin turned restauranteur. He has a nice restaurant on the Chaps Elysées in Paris, his daughter is married and settled in Macau with two adorable children, in short he is getting ready for an eventless retirement. These plans are dashed when he receives the news that unknown gunmen have broken into his daughter’s house, seriously injured her and murdered the rest of her family. He flies over to Macau and visits his daughter in hospital. She begs him to avenge her, and he vows to do it. So, using 20 years of experience and a couple of “new friends” he makes in the Triade mafia clan, he sets to work… There is a catch to these proceedings however… A catch that seriously risks derailing the whole process and costing many lives…

Now, once you have read the subject I can promise you that the story goes exactly the way you think it will. I mean when isn’t there a “catch” that risks derailing things, honestly… However, this “catch” is a lot more elegant than your average “catch”. There are clues about it right from the beginning although they make very little sense. Then it suddenly surfaces and the film almost becomes something totally different. But then it doesn’t at the last minute. Anyway, this elegance is a basic characteristic of the film. Johnnie To is evidently very much at home on his “home turf” (a lot of the second half of the story takes place in Hong Kong). So even though the film is a gangster film it is most definitely A “Triade” film if you see what I mean. And not many of those exist over here in the West! But I’m not only talking about the subject matter but also the direction the story takes (will make more sense if you watch it) and the technical side of it : certain shots, the lighting, the esthetics of the film in general. But don’t worry – it’s not overbearing if you see what I mean. No wonder Johnnie To was nominated for a Golden Palm at Cannes this year for it.

In short, it is a very nice change without pushing the system too much…

"AJAMI"

Ajami. No, not an exotic fruit but an actual neighborhood in Jafa. Here, Jews, Palestinains, Christian Arabs and many many more live side by side, trying to make it through the day. I watched this slightly under-advertised Oscar® nominee and Cannes special mention winner in the “Human Rights” section of a film festival. And it’s an Israeli film, starring mainly Palestinians and that might set alarm bells ringing, but actually no, it is definately NOT what you might think…
Ajami, as far as I can tell, parts from the fact that you cannot understand the whole without seing the individual pieces first. A very wise point of view, especially if something as complicated as life in the Middle-East is concerned… So we watch five different stories – stories that are inextricably intertwined – of life, and a very sad event in Ajami. It all starts when a young Bedouin charges into a small café demanding “protection money” from the owner. The Palestinian owner refuses to be frightened by this young upstart and shoots him on the spot, paralyzing him. What he doesn’t know however, is that the Bedouin is part of a very strong clan, and that now his entire family is in danger. Things escalate when a 15-year old neighborhood boy is shot when he is mistaken for Omar, the café-owner’s nephew… 19 year-old Omar decides that it falls to him to sort this mess out. And unwittingly becomes part of a very destructive chain reaction that will upturn the lives of every single person it touches.
Ajami is a great success in that it is a very good micro-cosm of what is going on in the middle east right now. Memories running deep, violence surrounding the innocent who are desperate to save themselves and lead relatively normal lives… The directors use a non-lineer timeline and a brutally straightforward tone as they show us first one and then another of the pieces of the puzzle. The resulting picture will leave you shocked and very possibly in tears… And it is not a “sided” movie either, despite the fact that it is infact an Israeli-German co-production. It just shows that, no matter what your ethnic / religious background, all people suffer in the same way. That killing is a tragic thing, no matter who the gun is pointed at. And it reminds you that this kind of thing goes on around us. All over the world.
So be warned, it will shake you up, but I sincerely think it’s worth it…
Oh and one footnote worth mentioning : None of the people you will see in the film are profesional actors, and the feel that alone adds to the subject is well worth the two hours...

I’M A CYBORG BUT THAT’S OK

Circumstances have led me to a slightly “themed” week. Well, partially themed anyway. And the theme of the week is South Korea! I have chosen for your delight and delectation two South Korean classics. And one of them is “I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK” by Park Chan Wook. Park Chan Wook is possibly the most famous modern Korean director, known for such classic films as Oldboy, Mr Vengeance and more recently Thirst.
Now, if you watched any of his movies before, you might be struck by the general darkness of the themes and of the movie itself. Not so in this case. I’m a cyborg but that’s ok is quite serious in its own way, but it’s basically a rather fantastic love story. The whole story takes place in a psychiatric hospital in Korea. The newest addition to the “family” is Su jeong-lim who thinks she is a cyborg. She is also on a mission however. She must make contact with her grandmother (who is really a mouse and was taken away by the same white-coats who didn’t believe her either) to find out her own reason of existence. Oh, and she must kill all the white-coats to avenge her grandmother. In hospital, she meets Rain. He is a thief. Not a kleptomaniac though, he can steal anything. From your pity to your talent for ping-pong. Su jeong-lim is struck by Rain but nothing will deter her from her mission. However, the other rather eccentric inmates are not going to make things easy for her either…
Now, even though there is no animation per-se, fans of anime will find something bizarrely familiar in this film. I can’t begin to describe what, but I definitely know it’s there. It’s something in the larger-than-life characters. The cheerful décor, the crazy adventures, the surreal atmosphere… Within a matter of minutes, Park Chan Wook has taken us on a crazy journey in a magical land- despite the presence of doctors and nurses- and even group therapy constantly reminds us where the “magic” is coming from… Still, we never think about that for long… The typically Asian attention to detail, the tasteful and subtle comedy, the pure art… A lot of Asian films may be considered difficult to watch, especially if you are not used to the genre. They can be considered dark, or too deep with too many subtle messages for the “Hollywood-numbed” brain. But this film is just so purely esthetic and joyful, I can’t think of a better introduction to Asian cinema. One last foot-note I will be adding is that if you like this film, you should really try watching some “anime” too, I’m ready to bet you’d like it. And vice – versa of course.

SOUTH KOREAN CLASSIC : "THE HOST"

Well, second on the menu we have another “Korean classic”. The Host by successful Korean director Bong Joon-ho became the most successful film in the history of South Korean cinema, gathering 13 million viewers. If you rely solely on the synopsis, you may be confused, but as always with Asian cinema, the devil is in the details…
The Host is basically a monster-movie. The callousness of western scientists cause the birth of a monster in the Han River in Korea. The monster leaves the water and takes to the streets, terrorizing the inhabitants. And at the end of the rampage, just before it vanishes into the river, it takes of a secondary school student, Hyung-seo. Now, Hynug-seo is at first assumed dead, and mourned by her family along with the other victims. In the meanwhile, the area is sealed off and rumors of a deadly virus begin spreading. In the midst of the chaos, Hyung-seo’s father receives a phone call from Hyung-seo herself. The monster has taken her back to some kind of sewer, she has no idea where she is but she’s alive. The family tries to alert the authorities but they are far from inspiring confidence. Hyung-seo’s father is, well, not the brightest bulb in the box so no one believes his story anyway. His brother is an alcoholic; his sister is a famous almost failing archery champion. His father thinks a little bit of bribery here and there is what makes the world go round. In short, the authorities take one look at them and tell them to go back to bed. This, however, is the last thing they will do. They have decided that they will battle the monster with their bare hands if need be, and rescue Hyung-seo at all costs… And so the adventure begins…
Now, before we go on any further, I would like one thing to be known. This is the most successful combination of horror/adventure/comedy I (or anyone else in my humble opinion) have ever seen. No matter which way you look at it, the film is just plain different, and more than a cut above the rest. First of all, the film is easy to watch, simply because the characters are so… Well real. I mean, there are incredibly surreal moments in the film, but the characters aren’t “perfect” and “handsome” and “strong” as they tend to be. Incidentally, they are not particularly well off. Park Gang – du, the father, lives at home with his own father and helps run a small convenience store. The brother, as I mentioned, has drinking problems. Not particularly likely heroes for a “monster-flic”, right? And yet, they are perfect for the part. One, because they are an average family pulling together in a crisis, which is in my opinion more likely than one lone gunman going it alone. (As can be seen in some other monster-flics I need not mention). Secondly, they provide the most wonderful opportunities at situational comedy you can imagine. All in excellent taste and surprisingly when you least expect it. A memorial service where the family is crying after their lost daughter/granddaughter/niece for instance... (Trust me, I am not a fan of “insensitive” humor and cry half the time as I watch the news but I was in stitches watching THIS memorial service)
Thus Bong Joon-ho sways very gracefully between a very intelligent comedy and a breathtaking adventure (where unexpected developments are also plentiful incidentally) without so much as missing a beat. I am personally highly embarrassed I had never watched it before, and am guessing you will be too by the end…

"AN EDUCATION" OF A DIFFERENT KIND

Well, I could NOT finish my weekly post without sneaking a peak at the Oscar nominees ® and this weeks’ selection is An Education. This is a film I have wanted to watch for a long time and that may have slightly toyed with my expectations. Oh don’t get me wrong, I fully agree that it is a very worthy contender for the Oscar® in 3 categories (Best Actress – Carey Mulligan - Best Screenplay and Best Picture) not mention the host of BAFTAs it was nominated for (one of which was won by Carey Mulligan) and the Golden Globes and all the many other prestigious awards. But I didn’t love it. I guess I expected to love it…
Anyway, for those of you who were, oh I don’t know, sailing out on the ocean, travelling in outer space or trekking across the desert, here is a brief summary. It is the 60’s,and Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a rather precocious British 17 year old. She lives with her family (with whom she feels she has very little in common) and is preparing to apply for Oxford next year, and this thought alone supports her through her lessons without dying of boredom. She is passionate about music and European culture – French in particular – things her father deems “pointless. But one day, coincidence brings her into contact with David (Peter Sarsgaard). He is 40, rich, suave and very interested in Jenny… She cannot help being swept off her feet and very soon she is receiving more education than she ever could have hoped for – only this is the kind she likes! In fact, she likes it so much; she begins to seriously consider giving up the Oxford brand of education for good and specialize in this one…
I’m staring at the page at this point, desperately trying to put into words what jarred with me while watching this film… Well, it has to be said first of all, that the entire atmosphere and story-telling of the film is an unadulterated success. I watched Jenny and David with butterflies in my stomach at one point of the film and hid my face in my hands from tension at another – completely unable to predict what would come next incidentally. Director Lone Scherfig (you might remember him from “Italian For Beginners” or “Wilbur Decides To Kill Himself”) gives nothing away until he decides to. Hats off to him. But, there is something, mainly about Jenny and her family that I find profoundly difficult to believe. Of course – as Jenny herself says – schoolgirls get seduced by older men the whole time (do they though? Really?). That part is by no means hard to believe. People married young in the 60’s, hell they still do today sometimes, so serious relationships like that at 17 seems bizarre to us now if you think about it but not impossible. And hats off to Carey Mulligan, who after all is not a 17 year old in the 60’s but a 25 year old in 2010 – brilliant acting. But I found the character of Jenny a little tough to believe. She is supposed to be very intelligent, beautiful and original, I get that. But the other 17 year olds in the film are a lot more believable – as 17 year olds – than Jenny. Her monologues at certain parts of the film to various characters are a little too stylized. And the story of the exceptional heroine living through hardship and growing to be beautiful older and wiser (almost a quote from the film) is slightly too “riding off into the sunset” for my liking. Not that every single realistic film has to finish badly, I’m not saying that but a balance could be found… Jenny’s 17 year old admirer is slightly too awkward to be real – but perfect to set off a contrast with David. The whole bears the slant of a 17 year old in its interpretation of the heroine and the events which Is a great success if it was intentional but it went as far as getting on my nerves at some points…
Don’t get me wrong, I am very glad I watched this film, and I’m sure you will be too. It just needs to be more mature – or less mature… Lord, I’m not even sure which anymore…

IF YOU BELIEVE THEY'VE GOT A MAN ON THE "MOON"

Now I wonder if you remember Moon… Director Duncan Jones ( a.k.a. Zowie Bowie son of David Bowie. But we will gloss over that as Mr. Jones chose to change his name... ^_^) won a BAFTA for “Outstanding Debut for Director” in 2009. I started watching it with no massive expectations (other than passing the time before I went out on a Saturday night). Now, I am a full-blown Duncan Jones fan. And I cannot wait to see more of his work.
The year is somewhere far in the future. The place is the Moon. Mankind has found a new way of developing energy – harvesting solar energy straight from the rocks on the Moon. Working this energy plant is no walk in the park, you just ask astronaut Sam Powell (Sam Rockwell). At the end of a three year stint on his own with no company except the robotic assistant GERTY (to whom Kevin Spacey lends his voice) he is very excited to be going home to his family in two weeks time… Sam is completely cut off from Earth due to a long-running communication problem, but he does receive recorded messages from time to time and that helps him hang on. All is running mind-numbingly smoothly, until he has an accident one day while tending to the various generators on the ship. He is rescued by GERTY and resuscitated but finds things on board ship rather different… Sam has no recollection at all of the accident… And GERTY seems… Well, elusive. And he is now forbidden from leaving the center, a rescue team has been sent from earth to tend to his damaged vehicle… Sam smells a rat, outwits GERTY and finds his way back to the crash site to investigate. There he… Oh how can I say this without spoiling the film for you? Ok, there he finds something that changes him and his entire outlook on his situation drastically and forever…
I feel that Moon may well be one of those films that are talked about as “visionary” in the future. And we have to pay our respects to Sam Rockwell, effectively a one-man-band throughout the film, but please don’t let that worry you; the film is not “existential” or “meditative”. Not in the sense you imagine it to be anyway. Duncan Jones manages to make the sterile and “civilized” atmosphere of the space station positively hostile and claustrophobic. And among other things, GERTY deserves attention in his own right, he is not the sort of robot we are used to, he actually “thinks” for himself, seems for all the world to be imbued with feelings and even ends up conspiring with Sam. But again, this is elegantly done and also logical, seeing as GERTY is actually programmed to help and protect Sam… Robots and ethics of robots for example is a topic people are already discussing – a friend of mine is actually writing a thesis on the matter. This is one of the reasons the film is visionary – the subject matter is now still the realm of “sci-fi” but close enough to current technological developments to make you think “what if” . And believe me, although the film is tagged as “sci-fi” in a lot of places they are all very realistic “what if”s… Watch it. But be prepared. It is not what you are expecting…

FEAR IN THE "TRIANGLE"

You may or may not have picked up on the fact that I am not a fan of horror movies. (the complete and persistent absence of the genre two months into the blog may have been a clue ). However, my job brought me face to face with Triangle – by Christopher Smith, the director of Creep and Severance - and I have to admit it is a cut above the rest.

Jess (Melissa George) and her friends have decided to go yacht sailing. The weather is perfect and all seems to be going well, but Jess cannot seem to relax and enjoy the trip. Her fears seem to be founded as well, because a freak storm completely destroys the yacht. Luckily, the group manages to climb on a large cruise ship as it passes…. Jess explores the ship with her friends accompanied by an increasing unease and strange feeling of déjà-vu… The strange thing is that the ship seems completely abandoned and running on its own… But they soon realize there is someone on the ship. And that someone seems intent on killing them all…

Now, of course this is a post for the fans of the genre mainly. There are many of the horror movie clichés we all snigger about. The most awkward looking one is the first to go, long dark corridors (ALOT of long dark corridors – it’s a cruise ship from the ‘30s), the abandoned ship itself, oh and the yacht is called “Triangle”. And for the first half of the film I didn’t really see what the fuss was about. But then as things progress and the “explanation” part of the film comes round, things certainly move up a notch. Because even though the events themselves may be slightly cliché the explanation for them most definitely is not… I would go as far as saying it is a distant cousin of the classic “Donnie Darko”. (A seriously distant cousin, but related all the same).Another good thing (I thought) was that the film is not a gore-fest (not that much blood ) nor does it try to make you jump with sound effects and the like. In fact, the main aim of the film as far as I could see was to make you feel creeped out and disturbed more than anything else. It is seriously successful in doing so. I do not particularly enjoy this sensation on a regular basis, but if you do, this is definitely one for you…

RICKY: DEFINATELY NOT YOUR AVERAGE BABY...

Well, I don’t know what you guys think about French films… Some love them, some hate them, I tend to do a bit of both from time to time… If you have never had much to do with them, it is high time you started, and as French directors go, the master director François Ozon is a perfect starting point…
And this is also a soft – landing as far as French films are concerned. It is actually an adaptation from a short story called Moth, by the British author Rose Tremain… And the combination of the two talents have made for a fantastic film… Ozon claims the film brings together many genres such as “thriller, comedy, science fiction and fantasy”. Most certainly an accurate assessment. Ricky is the story of a perfectly normal woman called Katie. She is a single mother and factory worker. One day, at work, she meets a man. A Spaniard named Paco, again completely ordinary… They fall in love – which is always an extraordinary occurrence – and Katie becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a healthy baby boy – a miraculous occurrence ofcourse but hardly out of the ordinary. But then, a month or two later, Ricky (afore mentioned baby) does something rather extraordinary. He starts growing wings…
To tell you the truth I hadn’t watched much Ozon ‘till I got round to Ricky. And I really did not know what to expect. The slow pace of the film and the lack of Hollywood-esque explanations will surely jar a bit with some viewers. (We are left to our own devices to figure out how Ricky comes to grow wings, although you most definitely will have your own idea by the end…) The great success of the film is that it gives a very accurate description of what you or I might very well do if our child grew wings… The reactions, the environment, everything surrounding Ricky is very down to earth, very REAL. And Ozon is definitely accurate in his description of the film. Science –fiction and stories, well it goes without saying. Comedy – I actually laughed out loud quite a few times during the film. Tension is definitely present, and I even had tears in my eyes at one point close to the end, although I can’t go into details for fear of giving spoilers… I’ll go one further and say that I even actually watched it twice. And loved it. Both times :)

PICK UP THAT CRAZY HEART...

I’m almost out of Oscar® winners and nominees to review. But one of the ones I was looking forward to the most was in fact Crazy Heart. I love Jeff Bridges and I was very glad to hear he won the Oscar® (this kind of thing is the height of “identification” I suppose – great stars like Jeff Bridges end up being a kind of family friend!). The film itself is very well directed and very well acted but it didn’t knock my socks off either…

I guess you know the story – line but here’s a short “résumé” anyways. Crazy Heart is the story of country singer Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) . A great star of yore, he is now an alcoholic and a nobody to most in the music industry (except a handful of loyal fans). He tours the country, playing in bowling alleys and small bars growing more bitter with every passing day. Yet one day a chance of redemption crosses his path in the shape of the beautiful reporter Jean Craddock (Maggie Gylenhaal). As their relationship grows, Bad is forced to face his demons… Unfortunately, it is by no means clear whether he will be able to beat them or not…

This film will be a mixed bag for some, despite its quality. The direction is superb; I particularly enjoyed a couple of nods to the Big Lebowski. (I mean I have only seen the film once, but the sight of Jeff Bridges sitting at a bar in a bowling alley was more than able to ring some bells ;) ) Jeff Bridges, in a word, surpasses himself. But, of course you know what everyone’s going to say… “It’s a slightly softer version of “The Wrestler””. I’m sorry to say I tend to agree with them… And it seems almost ironic; Mickey Rourke was also up for an Oscar ® for Best Actor last year with a very similar role. Some said he should have got it. Now Jeff Bridges has it. Don’t get me wrong, both gave outstanding performances that were in no way “similar” to the others but still… It feels like the Academy was “righting a wrong” more than anything else if you see what I mean… To give you an example my Mom (who was watching the film with me and had convinced me to sit down to the film in the first place) gave up and went to bed half an hour later saying that she had “seen it all before”. I watched it until the end and enjoyed it immensely. All in all, an outstanding performance. Again.

REQUIEM TO A RED GUITAR

I was slightly torn when thinking about adding “The Guitar” to the blog. As you know I usually only share films I genuinely and truly love. The Guitar, directed by Amy Redford (yes, as in the daughter of Robert Redford) was on the cusp for me. But in the end I felt I had to share this Sundance winner, because despite its faults (to my eyes) it does an excellent job of conveying other messages…
So, meet Melanie Wilder (Saffron Burrows). On the day we are introduced, she is not having a good day. She starts her day at the doctor’s office where she is told that she has a cancerous and inoperable growth in her throat that will slowly suffocate her over a period of no more than two months. She then goes to work, only to find out that she has been fired, as of that day, due to cutbacks. Melanie goes home, unsure of what to do… She then decides that as there is nothing to be done about the cancer, or the fact that she will die in two months, she will LIVE for her remaining days… So she gets out her savings and her credit cards and does just that. Rents a luxurious loft, fills it with all sorts of goods and last of all buys the red electro guitar she has always dreamed of and starts learning how to play. She then sets about making the best of her remaining time, in more senses than one…
The Guitar has actually very little to do with life or death. It does an excellent job of painting the contrast between our dreams and our realities, between being content with what life has dealt us and reaching out for more, doing whatever the hell we want for a change.. And we see in stark contrast how absurd some of the constraints we have put on ourselves in modern life truly are. We see a model of true liberty but at the same time realize the price to pay. But what if the price is actually worth it? Then what?... As for what is wrong with the film, well it’s tough to explain without giving the entire story away but I found it cliché in a lot of ways. But the ambiance created was a great success and so is the clarity of the messages it conveys. Saffron Burrows (who is pretty much a one woman band for the purpose of this film) is also excellent. But I just felt that it could have been done better somehow – though I wouldn’t be able to explain how. Don’t take my word for it, give it a spin anyway. You will like it, I know it, just a question of how much…