AND LASTLY, BRAZIL TODAY : "CIDADE DOS HOMENES"

Honestly, I don’t know as much as I should about Brazilian movies. When I picked this up I only knew that I had heard that it was a good movie. Yeah I know, not much to go on. The thing is, I was reading a book on Brazilian films at the time (which reminds me I really should finish it someday) and I thought this would give me perspective one way or another. Since I’m actually actively learning about films at the moment, I watch some films purely out of a sense of duty. This is how this one started, but it ended up as one of the films I have enjoyed most in the last few days…
Ace and Wallace are two 18 year-olds who live on one of the many hills in the favelas around Rio. They have been best-friends since they were very small; Ace’s father was killed when he was small, Wallace doesn’t know who is father is so they have just looked out for each other, getting into and out of scrapes pretty much their whole lives. Now Ace is married and has a young son, Clayton – but this doesn’t stop the two mates hanging out. Not least because now he is almost 18 Wallace has to get an ID card. And he doesn’t want to put “father unknown” on it. As his grandmother, and all the rest of their friends and relations for that matter, seems to refuse point blank to tell him anything about his father, he and Ace set out on a quest to find him. They will not, however, like the answer when they find it. As the shroud of mystery surrounding Wallace’s father slowly dissipates, the boy’s friendship will be tested to the limit, and thanks to the gang war raging round the hill they live on, their very lives will come to be at stake…
What I loved about this film is the raw realism it contains. I don’t mean that it is especially hard-hitting or dramatic, it is just, you know, real. Even though, to be fair, I know nothing about the favelas in Brazil personally, the characters are believable and down to earth. From the gangsters down to the innocent passers-by, no one is black or white, just different shades of grey like real people. It is true, some really dramatic events will happen down the line in the story, but they don’t stick out. It is a film that calls a spade a spade, but it doesn’t embellish. That is why, I think, even though there are some truly heart-rending scenes it doesn’t seem contrived in anyway. It’s a credit to the actors of course, but also the lack of things like “emotional” close-ups and a “heart-rending” musical score… This film feels like a window into the real favelas in Brazil. You come away from it feeling as if you have seen, and learnt something important and real. It is refreshing to see a film intent simply on telling a story and showing things the way they are as opposed to harping on the poverty of the people or the gang-fights (and there are some horrendous scenes of gang fighting don’t get me wrong, they’re just not the main point of the film). It holds its head high and says, “Well, this is the way we are, and here’s our story, we don’t want your pity, we want you to listen.” You feel emotionally involved, but I guess I mean you don’t feel pushed to do so… And that, I think we can all agree, is a very refreshing feeling indeed.

INCEPTION

Now, I don’t usually go in for “public crazes”. On principal. Something doesn’t necessarily have to be “popular” for me to enjoy it – in fact if it’s too popular, I tend to resist it. Take LOST for instance – never went near it. And now we know the end, I doubt I ever will. However, occasionally even I succumb to public opinion. Especially, if a film flies to NUMBER THREE in the imdb top 250 of best films ever – a list compiled based on public vote – within days of its release. I’m talking, as you probably have guessed, about Inception. Stories about the film started circulating in my hometown like wildfire – it became pretty obvious I had to go to the cinema and see it. And that is saying something – I hardly ever go to the cinema (my job is watching films - can you blame me for God’s sake?). I am still bowled over. It is some MIGHTY film…
Ok, so for the story. Now bare with me – it’s a complicated story, I’ve only seen the film once and it’s slightly hard to tell without giving away spoilers. But I will do my level best. Our hero is Dominc Cobb (Oscar ® nominee Leonardo Di Caprio – and Dominic Cobb is incidentally also the name of the lead character in director Chris Nolan’s first film). Dominc has an unusual talent. With the help of new “dream sharing” technology, sedatives and some talented colleagues he can infiltrate people’s dreams. Originally conceived as useful for military exercises, it is now an outlawed process, because the dream sharing has a “disadvantage”. Because once you’re sharing a dream with someone, you can have access to their thoughts and ideas. Gives corporate theft a whole new meaning, no? Dominc Cobb is the best of the best. The only problem is, he is also a wanted outlaw back in his home, the United States, so he cannot return. This may have been ok but Dominic has two small children back there, with their grandparents, waiting for their Daddy to come home. Then, Dominic is offered the chance of a lifetime. Mr. Saito is Oscar® Nominee Ken Watanabe. (The name may well mean nothing to you but you actually will recognize him – he was nominated for an Oscar® in his performance in Last Samurai. He was also one of the leads in Letters from Iwo Jima) a rich businessman makes him an offer he simply cannot refuse. One last job and if he succeeds, Saito will pull the necessary strings so Cobb can go home to his family. The only problem is the job he has to do may well not be possible. Inception: Planting an idea into a person’s mind instead of taking it. It actually sounds easy, but messing with the subconscious can be trickier than it first sounds. And I don’t mean in the therapeutic sense…
Inception is, as I said, a MIGHTY film – well worthy of a director with a legacy of mighty films (Don’t forget Mr. Nolan was nominated for an Oscar® as the director of The Dark Night). Leonardo Di Caprio, I feel, is like a wine maturing with time. He’s handsome of course, but I don’t mean that – he’s one hell of an actor and I am confirmed in that opinion every single time I see him in something. In fact, the acting is something to be mentioned quite seriously because the standard is quite high this time. And there are people I could not squeeze into the (already rather long) synopsis. For instance, Marion Cotillard. How can I possibly not mention Marion Cotillard for God’s sake she is one of my favourite actresses! Her role will become clearer when you watch the film but let me just tell you she executes it with utter brilliance. Another favorite of mine is a member of Dominic’s crew: Ellen Page. She was nominated for an Oscar® at a very tender age for her stunning performance in Juno (I reviewed this movie actually. Click right here). Trivia pages tell me that she was by no means the first choice and the favorite for the part was Evan Rachel Wood (who turned the part down). Great respect for Miss Wood but I honestly don’t know what Mr. Nolan was thinking – she is perfect in the part. Last of all, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as another crew member. You may or may not remember him from “500 days of summer” but I think he was awesome, I particularly enjoyed the performance.
I only have one slight criticism of the film. With such grand things such as the subconscious, dreams, etc. on the scene, Chris Nolan could actually have gone for a film with a lot more philosophical depth. I mean, the film is often called a Matrix knockoff (which is an insanely unfair comment) but then again, I can see why you would prefer the Matrix : It had a philosophy. It discussed things such as life, existence. I mean, sure, Inception is definitely a film to be watched again (Mr. Nolan’s aim apparently. Another big success on that score). The plot is very well constructed, it is intelligent and original. However, at the end of a day it’s a very intelligent, well acted Hollywood movie with absolutely SUPERB visual effects.
Nothing at all wrong with that, of course. Just some unused potential…