ESSIE SPEAKS OF THE WORLD OF CRIME

Aah, now you're talking. A good cop flick, a good heist movie, nothing can beat it, right? Of course I'm right. It's my favorite kind of "chill out" movie. I have, you may have noticed, a bit of a soft spot for crime series too. And I mean hey, I need it at the moment, the end of the year and assesments are near; I need all the chilling out I can get. Not that I have time to indulge... On the other hand, if your schedules are a bit less hectic than mine, try out these three. We have a heist movie that is a classic and a legend in its own right, a french classic film noir - that rather perversely made it to the IMDB top 250, so don't knock it - and my semi-obligatory stop in Asia - but one you won't regret hopefully. happy viewing! Essie

WHEELING AND DEALING FOR THEIR LIVES : "LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS"

Yes, another epic / infamous Guy Ritchie – Jason Statham extravaganza. And yes, I know, all this is not actually considered much more than just entertainment. But then again, I reckon we need to be entertained from time to time, right ? And if this entertainment basically comes in the form of a successful, if slightly violent comedy concerning the crime world, well, all the better. On the back of the copy of the film that I watched, the DVD company had opted not to put much of a synopsis, just a lot of visuals and comments from critics. I found this a bit odd but carried on watching the film regardless. It turned out there was a reason for this. Although the film starts off on quite simple premises, it grows and grows, adds in characters left, right and center, strands of the story interweave when you least expect them too, in short it all gets so convoluted and the film is such a comedy of errors that I have actually now written half a paragraph about it without being able to tell you the story itself. So go figure… =) Ok seriously though, here’s my stab at it without giving the plot away. So, 1, 2 3 and 4 are four mates. They make their living in various forms of shady business, 1 shifts stolen goods, 2 cheats in high stakes card games etc. It’s a bit of a risky business but they seem to be basically getting on alright, until that is, 2 (who is not, naturally, the only person cheating at high stakes poker) ends up owing a notoriously ruthless crime boss half a million pounds. Now this involves his three mates as well, as they helped him get the money to join the game together and the crime boss is well aware of this. So the giddy foursome have a week to get the money together or… Er you know. Apart from the obvious, the crime boss has also declared he will take 2’s father’s bar – not exactly a clean slate himself – which complicates matters. Now, it seems pretty straight forward – and a tad boring – up till here. It is precisely at this point that things start to get “complicated”. It all starts, as you can imagine, with a cunning plan – a heist no less – to get the money together. It goes totally AWOL from thereon in. I will say no more, but believe me, it’s absolutely brilliant. Guy Ritchie has two main assets in my book. Firstly, the two films of his that I have seen – Snatch and this one – both contain, clean, snappy editing that is especially well suited to their genres. The editing is also very fast – paced and innovative, keeps you on your toes throughout. Ritchie then couples that with snappy dialogue. It’s a very British thing really, you either like it or you don’t; I personally love it. Snappy, sarcastic, but creative and hilarious with it. Throughout the film, like Snatch, there are a few clichés. But I mean, as long as you’re not looking for anything life-changing you’ll be fine. Ritchie also is very good at getting together an absolute plethora of bizarre characters. They may or may not be clichés, my point is there are so many of them you would never really expect them to work well together. Funnily enough no, everyone has just the right amount of screen time and although they seem disparate they work really, really well together. In short, yes, a very fun and funny movie. Plus, I really cannot over-estimate the success of the script in weaving all manner of bizarre storylines together. I mean if you watched Snatch and thought that was convoluted… You really ain’t seen nothing yet…

CRIME AS AN ART FORM : "LE SAMOURAI"

Ok, this one is definitely one for the more “art film” genre. Dating from 1967 and directed by French director Jean-Pierre Melville, Le Samourai is a wonderful example of “film noir”, right from the days where it was at its most famous. But be warned, it is a French art film of a film noir, so although all the elements are there, if you are not a fan of art cinema you may want to give this one a miss. Yet, if you think you can see it to the end, go for it, it’s such a classic example of its genre that it’s a real education to watch it. Our hero is Jeff Costello (played by a young, and in my opinion very dashing Alain Delon). Jeff is a hitman. He is one of the best there is. His services come at a price but he is discreet and efficient. Jeff has an on again-off again girlfriend. She doesn’t mind when he doesn’t come around though. She is just happy to see him when he does. His life is mostly taken up by his work, his home is Spartan, in fact to look at him, Jeff seems half man and half machine – and more of the machine than the man at that… But one day an error, a tiny error will upturn Jeff’s carefully planned life. He is spotted while committing his latest murder, starting a city-wide manhunt. Jeff is suspected but with no evidence left behind he is let off – for now. The police chief however, is pretty sure Jeff is up to no good and will keep on his trail. This turn of events does not sit well with Jeff’s shady bosses, who reckon that the only way to solve this mess, now that Jeff is a liability is to bump him off. Thus, caught between a rock and a hard place; Jeff will have to use all his skills and ingenuity to come out of this alive. Now, like I said, this is a classic film noir. Not a lot of dialogue – heck, not that much in the way of props either in places – hardly any exposition and a typical “antihero” who is very hard to sympathize with at first (apart from the fact that he is Alain Delon and in my view drop dead gorgeous). But if you persevere and get past the initial exposition plus murder that starts the film proper; the tension begins to build. With two different parties chasing him and various shady plots intersecting Melville’s reticence to give out information works to his advantage because landmark events start rolling and we begin biting our nails because we as the audience have literally no clue as to how the film will go on, in fact as he is more experienced in this field we can never quite be sure what Jeff is going to do next, and believe me he is full of surprises… As I said though, this is basically a typical film noir, complete with a femme fatale and a not so happy ending (don’t be mad, I didn’t actually give it away!). I’d say, look past the fact that it is a French art film apart from being possibly one of the most suspense filled films you have seen in a while, hunker down and watch it. You will not regret it.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT : "HANA BI / FIREWORKS"

Having just reviewed a French film called “Le Samourai” that has categorically nothing to do with Japan; I thought it was only fitting to review a Japanese film that… Well actually has nothing to do with samurais either… If you are confused as to what the film is doing here however, not only is it an excellent crime film, it is also a masterpiece from an auteur, Takashi Kitano. Now Kitano’s films also have a slight reputation of being hard to watch. This reputation, I have to say, is justified in pieces. But to be fair, it is all about being used to watching a certain type of film. True, the use of dialogue is minimal, true there are VERY long pauses in dialogue and in action. However the cinematography is so masterful and the way the story is told so touching that once you get out of the “mainstream mindset” there is no reason why you shouldn’t love this film as much as I did. Nishi (Takeshi Kitano himself) is a veteran police officer who is going through an extremely rough patch. His wife is dying of Leukemia, but that’s just to start with. One evening, when his partner of many, many years and close friend Horibe sends Nishi off early so he can spend time with his wife, Horibe is attacked and shot, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheel-chair for life. Horibe’s wife abandons him and Nishi is racked with guilt. But he doesn’t have the time to help is partner as much as he would want because his wife is going downhill very fast. Nishi then looks back at his long, distinguished career and makes a decision. Sometimes, to be able to do what is morally right, one has to transgress the law. This may be particularly hard for an officer of the law, but Nishi has decided that he will do what he has to do. The associations writing this blog has thrown up for me are quite extraordinary when I think about it. Looking back at Hana bi and comparing it with Le Samourai (see above) one can’t help but notice the similarities in layout. In effect, yes, Hana bi is a Japanese film noir. It is, however, a modern film noir and so heavily influenced by Takashi Kitano’s very original and personal style that it may be a bit tough to recognize it as such at first. Yet there it is. Nishi is hard not to sympathize with, despite the fact that he is a man of very few words indeed and a rather disturbing penchant to sudden outbursts of violence. The story is sad, violent in places… Yet with all these familiarities there is something different. And the biggest difference I would suppose is Kitano’s own style. The long silences are never awkward; they are often pregnant with emotion; so much so you may not even “notice” they are silent in places. The other thing is the cinematography. Kitano is, among other things, a painter. And his “painters eye” is very obvious in his beautiful frames. While we are on the subject it is also worth mentioning that all the artwork we see in the film is Kitano’s own artwork. Now, yes, we all have to admit, he is “plugging” himself ever so slightly. But the pictures are so good and the artwork is so appropriate in the film, I honestly think we can give him that one…

ESSIE SPEAKS OF UNSUAL ASIA

Howdy folks!

I am in a state of post-vacation panic. I have just returned from a visit home over Easter. The visit, as you can imagine, was categorically brilliant. The amount of academic work that piled up in the course of the two weeks, was definately less brilliant. So as you can imagine I am currently tunneling through it all but I am not so distracted that I am neglecting my weekly dose of suggestions for your cinematic pleasure.

So, what have we got in store today? Today, we take a trip to Asia. Now, Asia and Asian cinema have many connotations, some of them quite artistic and refined. But Asia also has a reputation for being the birth place of some of life originals, be it inventions, concepts or people. I have concentrated on the more "original" directors this week, picking out films that you may not have gone for in the first instant. That are outside of quite a few comfort zones. But that, in my opinion, provide experiences that are not to be missed. I hope you enjoy!

happy viewing,
Essie

HANDLE WITH A LOT OF CARE : "AUDITION"

I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard of Takashi Miike. And I am also pretty sure that what we heard wasn’t exactly pretty. I mean, I’ve had to watch a few of his films for one of my modules this year. And Ok, it definitely isn’t what you might call “pretty”, but I mean on a lot of levels you have to admire the guy, he pulls some pretty amazing stunts in his movies – and gets away with them! However, although I did toy with the idea of having a “Takashi Miike week”, I kid you not, I was afraid you might give them all a go, despair of my taste and never visit the blog again. Please note that I am not trying to be funny, the possibility seriously concerned me. Thus I have decided to put bold lashings of “Handle with care” all over every entry of his and “sprinkle” the Miikes throughout the blog if you will. Here is my first attempt, and my favorite of the films I have watched so far. This doesn’t mean, however, that you will find it easy to watch. I mean I couldn’t watch bits of it. But overall it’s worth the effort. Let me try and explain what I mean by that…
Mrç Aoyama is a film director. His beloved wife has passed away and he is doing a pretty good job of bringing up their son on his own. However, time goes by, loneliness begins to set in and he decides to remarry. There is a problem though. He doesn’t want to marry just anyone. She has to be a) quite a bit younger than him (he is now in his 40s) and b) similar to his ex-wife. What starts as a joke with a friend in a bar however, soon turns into a rather bizarre undertaking. Our hero's good friend is a producer. He says they can cook up a film project – something that doesn’t “really” exist of course – then, advertise for the “character” and hold auditions. This way ?? can pick and choose is wife with ease. And who knows, they might even be able to actually make the film… So auditions are held and Mr. Aoyama is instantly taken by Asami, an ex-ballet dancer. She is beautiful, graceful, meek and seemingly obedient. Our hero is ready to marry her straight away his friend however, basing himself on the premise that if something seems too good to be true it usually isn’t, urges caution. Love however, as we know, laughs in the face of danger and so does Mr. Aoyama. This, as you can guess, will turn out to be a mistake.
Now, I will try and explain, without giving anything away, what makes Miike’s films so brilliant and so difficult to watch. Miike is a master of suspense. All through the films information is “eked out”, we are constantly forced to keep guessing as to what is going to happen next. The beauty of it is, that Miike’s stories are so far off the wall, such a long way away from the beaten track that the chance of your actually figuring out what happens next or how it comes about is pretty darn slim. Now this, as you can guess, is a good thing and a bad thing. Because when Takashi Miike is concerned unusual, usually means unusually violent. Or violent in a particularly “creative” way. I mean, I’m a massive fan of Quentin Tarantino. He is notorious for the amount of blood spilled, the profusion and violence with wich this blood is spilt and lastly, the unexpected way said violence erupts. I have pretty much seen all of Tarantino’s work, and I pretty much love it all, but all that definitely did NOT prepare me for the finale of Audition. At the grand old age of 29, I actually peeked through my fingers at it. No kidding. But if it’s adventure, adrenaline and mystery to tease your mind that you want, look no further than Audition. There is a strong possibility it will give you nightmares, but it is DEFINITELY one heck of an experience.

A MOMENT FOR REFLECTION : "SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING"

A change of pace, methinks. If you have tried Miike, his editing is as frantic as his weird and err… I don’t quite know how to describe it, although wonderful would be one way of putting it doesn’t quite capture what I mean… Anyway his weird and … More weird acts of violence are enough to tire anyone out, we need to slow down and chill out a bit. And as we are in Asia, we can go all the way into the mountains, to a Buddhist monastery and do just that…
In this extraordinarily beautiful and striking Kim Ki-Duk fim, none of the characters have names. Not that there are many characters to name. We are in a Buddhist monastery hidden in the mountains, somewhere in Korea. In the middle of a tiny island on a hidden lake this small monastery has one master and one very young pupil, living a quiet, Buddhist life in the timeless mountains, far from the modern world in more senses than one. The pupil, starting off as a child in the spring of his life, will with the changing seasons become a young man. And of course, like most of the young, he will be filled with emotion, passion and curiosity towards the world. As the seasons continue, the call of the outside world is balanced with the fact that the old monk is dying and the young man’s turn is coming to become the teacher… Which will win? The wisdom of the Budhist world or the passion of the outside?
As you can probably already imagine, this film is more about philosophy and less about actions and adventures. Kim Ki-Duk uses beautiful, subtle symbolism to reflect on life, love and the passage of time. And while we’re on the subject of beauty, the cinematography and scenery simply have to be noted. Ki-Duk’s is some of the most, subtle and graceful I have seen, and of course the natural beauty of the shooting location – wherever it may be – doesn’t hurt. There are scenes from the film one could frame and hang on the wall, such is their grace… As for the content, naturally a lot of the content reflects the Buddhist outlook on life. But the great thing is, they are neither over-explained nor rammed down our throats, they are just, very powerfully “there”. Like the old monk, who prefers to teach his young pupil not with long lectures but single, powerful demonstrations we watch, experience and are led to draw our own lessons and conclusions…
It is strange, that with so little happening – in truth if I told you any more I will have given the entire film away – this film is so powerful and so thought-provoking. Definitely watch it when you’re in a mood to think and reflect. As you will quickly realize, there is a lot of depth to be covered here…

A WOMAN'S ANGLE ON VENGENCE : "LADY VENGENCE"

Ok, I’m sorry, but I really, really cannot have a week of “original” Asian films without touching on that all-time great among those directors that are slightly more “original” than others (otherwise known as mad), Park Chan-Wook. And by the way I do realize that the title of the post is slightly misleading in that Park Chan-Wook is not a woman, but the perspective presented in the film is a woman's, so... Mmm, I think we it counts =) The film I have in mind is the last film of his “vengeance trilogy” that started off with Oldboy and continued with Sympathy for Mister Vengence. Lady Vengece, if a little lighter on the twisted side of things (and don’t get me wrong, I mean that as a compliment!) definitely doesn’t let up on the adrenaline and emotion. And don’t forget, I said it just went lighter on the twisted… So do handle with care…
13 years ago, Geum-Ja caused absolute scandal in Korea when, at the age of 20, she admitted to kidnapping and brutally killing a small boy. She is sent to prison, as you can imagine. But in prison her legend only continues to grow, not as a notorious killer but as an “angel”, one of the most good-hearted people ever to have existed. Her sentence over, she is out of prison, and as anyone can imagine, more than ready to start her life over. The thing is, before she actually can start her life over, she has things to do with her past that she must deal with. This is, notably, the man whose fault it is she ended up in prison in the first place. Having had 13 years to plan this vengeance, and since this man is a person of particular evilness, Geum-Ja has an extra-special kind of vengeance planned out for him…
I have been thinking on what makes Asian films so darned successful. I mean, not everyone likes them but why are they so popular with the people who do (I’m talking about the fans who are originally from the “Western World” you understand). I think with films like Lady Vengece, like in Audition (see above) actually, it is the element of suspense. In Asian films the suspense is usually two-fold. Firstly, there is the information, leaked little by little. Watching Lady Vengence takes a serious amount of background effort; we slowly piece together the puzzle of Geum-Ja’s story, starting from the press reports about her at the time of her incarceration and moving slowly on to a more personalized account as the film carries on. Then there is the fact that we are thus led to constantly guess what will happen next. Only the thing is, because the directors of these films have such personal styles and since the conventions they use originate in a culture so different from our own, we rarely succeed in figuring out what will happen next. When the adrenaline rush resulting from this mixes with the adrenaline rush from the film itself, the story, the action and the “reveal” at the end, well… It makes Park Chan-Wook’s films among the most exciting these days one can watch. Even if the themes undertaken and the way they are undertaken are a tad hard to stomach sometimes, in this time of the “uniformity” of the mainstream, I find something original that surprises me very, very refreshing. Plus, Lady Vengence reads very much like a sort of “vigilante” style crime story, there is a crime that has been committed and all Geum-Ja really wants is to bring the real perpetrator to justice. If you’re into the crime-drama scene and if you’re on the hunt for something original, look no further than this one I say. You will not regret it.

ESSIE SPEAKS OF THE BEST OF BRITISH

Well the best I've seen so far, anyway.

Ok here's the thing. I have now moved to the U.K sorta permanently. I've been persuing a masters degree here for a while. I'm happy living here. And I have an entire module reserved to British Cinema this term. So it felt awkward at best to ignore British cinema entirely. Especially with so many good films going. But don't worry, I haven't buried you alive in period dramas. There is fast-moving British wit, a cult classic and what could well be called a modern classic, all of British origins. I loved every one of them for different reasons. I hope you guys do too...

happy viewing!
Essie

FAST LIVING, WHEELING AND DEALING WITH "SNATCH"

I had heard a fair bit about this one. Mainly in connection to Brad Pitt’s Irish accent therein. And, as a side note, said accent is something to be marveled at. Even Irish friends gave it the seal of approval and trust me, they do not approve of every Irish accent going in cinemas these days. Now, I am not, generally speaking, a great fan of Guy Richie. I was actually surprised to see he directed this little number. But what can I tell you, apparently there is an exception to every rule and I just hit mine. Snatch is a fun and fast-paced piece of comedy – action, ideal to brighten up your evening after a tiring day at work…
Turkish (Jason Statham) is a boxing promoter. Only he isn’t a big-shots boxing promoter yet, so he mainly concentrates on illegal bare-knuckle boxing stuff. The whole thing’s a bit iffy ofcourse but Turkish has a few good fighters on so he makes a living. That and the slot-machine arcade. One fine day, however, the whole operation comes into a bit of jeopardy. It all starts with Turkish deciding to buy a new caravan (he lives in a caravan and the old one is… Well… Falling to pieces). Only he decides to buy said caravan from a group of Irish travelers who are passing through the area. This turns out to be a big mistake. What starts as a simple business transaction ends in his best fighter (who is due for a fight with the fighter of the local crime boss in a matter of days by the way. And like most crime bosses, “Bricktop” does not like this kind of nasty surprise) being hospitalized by the Irish Traveller’s equivalent of a bare-knuckle boxing champion (Brad Pitt and his impressive… Accent ;) ). Turkish can only really see one way out of the whole thing, getting the traveler to fight instead. But not only does the traveler not quite perform as he is asked / expected; an 84 carat diamond, three very inept robbers, a dog and a Russian ex-KGB agent enter the mix with alarming speed. It will take all his ingenuity – and possibly a miracle or two – for Turkish to get out of this mess alive…
Ok, so, the thing to remember is, don’t expect this film to actually change your life – if you see what I mean. It is, however, genuinely very good fun. It is classic British humor, one cannot avoid that fact, however it is mixed with a lot of action comedy, some old favorites (like the dumb robbers) and some new, innovative characters (like Brad Pitt’s character – I mean honestly, how often do you see Irish travelers as part of a big-budget movie?). In short, it is in my opinion a very successful mix. I mean, you will, in some places get a bit tired of the clichés; the ex-KGB agent for example. Or any number of Jews and Jewish stereotypes that, as you can imagine, come attached to the 84 carat diamond. And yet they all interact so brilliantly, the dialogue is so witty and the adrenaline flows so freely that, honestly, this film is one of those little numbers where even though there are some obvious little faults here and there, really, they are so easy to overlook… I know IMDB is not considered an “academic” source, but it is composed of people’s votes, which gives it a different sort of value. And if this film made it into the top 250 over there, there definitely is a reason for it… And I can see exactly what it is…

A CULT CLASSIC I WOULDN'T DREAM OF INTRODUCING : "TRAINSPOTTING"

Ok, let’s continue with our gallery of shifty characters shall we? While we’re on the subject of shifty characters and British cinema, not to mention having watched the film again quite recently, I really, really couldn’t pass over Trainspotting. I mean not really. The film is a legend in its own right, be it for the soundtrack, astounding special effects and crazy characters but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s get a lowdown on the story first.
Welcome to Edinburgh. Only when I say welcome to Edinburgh don’t think the Castle, the festival or any other big tourist attraction you read about online and see on the telly. We are talking the backwaters of Edinburgh, where the folks who have decided to “not choose life” (we all remember Renton’s opening speech, right kids?) or rather choose the sort of life that their parents and societal conventions disapprove of live. Renton and his friends Spud, Sick Boy, Begbie and Joey drink, use heroin and don’t give a hoot what their “future” is going to be. Their crazy lifestyle, punctuated by unexpected (and often uncalled-for and unprovoked) bouts of violence and Sick Boy’s off the wall schemes and theories will, however, after a time, start to come apart. Renton is the only one with the sense to try and abandon the “sinking ship” but tragedy, circumstances – not to mention his beloved friends – will make it very, very difficult for this to happen indeed. Will Renton finally be able to escape the snowball of mounting heroin and drug-related tragedy? Or is this just another pause before yet another relapse?...
Now, as I said, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting is a legend in its own right. It gives an uncompromising look at the drug culture, and the interesting thing is that he doesn’t, in the vein of mainstream films, portray it all as doom and gloom. I mean, not entirely. Comedy and fantasy play a very, very big part in the film not to mention the music which is not only brilliant (and with names like Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Blur and Pulp on the list I honestly don’t see how it could NOT be brilliant) it is also upbeat. I think it is precisely this, Boyle’s ability to mix the good and the bad so believably, that makes Trainspotting so watchable. Take Begbie for example. Begbie is a small-time crook. He doesn’t do drugs, but does pretty much anything else, including chucking beer glasses at innocent passers-by simply because he is bored and wants to start a fight. He would be a truly terrifying character if met in real life – and we realize this at the end of the film, when things get serious – but at the beginning he seems little more than a character put there for comedy relief. “Everyone goes on about how terrible drugs are, no one talks about how much fun it is.” Complains Sick Boy, “I mean, if it wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t do it!” I think that’s a brilliant summary of the film. If the film had constantly harped on about the truly horrible and sad things it portrays (and believe me it does) it would be a film notorious for its sadness and hard to watch, a bit like Darren Aaronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. In its stead, our highly sympathetic leading man Renton, the plethora of characters that we cannot help watching partly because of their unbelievable and creative antics, partly out of horror of what they might do next and the uncompromising stare at real events that Boyle portrays brings us smoothly to the end of the film without us having understood where the two hours went.
So Ok, does this mean that drugs are encouraged, as some critics say? In my opinion the answer is a big, fat no. Because, like real life, the good is portrayed with the bad, the funny with the sad, it makes the negative events in the film all the more realistic, even horrific, and less melodramatic. Let me give you an example; a classmate of mine told me he watched this film with his 13 year-old triplets (fast – forwarding the sex scenes, naturally). At the end, apparently he overheard them talking amongst themselves, saying how horrible drugs were and that they didn’t understand how and why people did drugs… So go figure… They seem to have got the message at any rate =)

SOME GREAT THINGS COME IN SIMPLE PACKAGES : "YES"

Now, here’s another great British director I had never heard of. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I read the DVD sleeve for this film; a response to the negative sentiments post 9 /11, the DVD cover said, the love story between an English /American married woman and an Arab doctor who has emigrated to the UK and now works as a chef to get by. O-oh I thought to myself, hankies at the ready, this is bound to be melodramatic. Needless to say it was. But not in a “bad” way. One really has to try and not be tricked by appearances. An original director like Sally Potter can do wonders to even the most banal sounding story.
Ok, so the basic storyline I have, in fact, given away in the first paragraph. She is a married woman. She has a successful career of her own and her husband is a politician. They seem to have everything they need, but in fact their marriage is crumbling. Their lives have grown almost completely apart. It is at this point He, an Arab surgeon, an educated and cultured man who has been reduced by circumstances to working as a chef in a restaurant, enters her life quite by chance. She is attracted, at first by His exoticism, he is after all from the mystical Middle-East, and he has a whole different perspective on most things in life. But as the relationship deepens, another kind of exoticism begins to attract her. The novel feeling of truly loving and being loved in return.
Like I said. The story itself smacks of melodrama. It is, however, the way this love is portrayed that makes Potter’s film truly extraordinary. The film is, for example, characterized by direct to camera narration and long monologues. Potter adds to the distanciation already created by making her characters talk in rhyme, like a Shakespeare play, not prose. This may seem odd, especially since the film relies very heavily on monologues but it does, in fact make sense. The film is deeply, deeply philosophical. Yes 9 / 11 does come into it – how can it not at this point, it has, on a level, changed pretty much the entire plant – but that’s not just it. Potter has filled the film with poignant observations and reflections on life. She is deeply sensitive to the normally “unexplored” parts of life and it is possibly because I loved and agreed with this philosophy so much that the film has become one of my all-time favorites. It is around this point that that sense of distance that I was mentioning comes into play. If we were to try and “engage” (you know, enter into) and identify with the film and characters too much, perversely, this would make the long monologues hard to follow. Interest would wane. You would get bored and not listen to half the things said. But since you are kind of watching “from the outside” already, and since there are other little idiosyncrasies – such as the use of rhyme – that make us truly pay attention to the film, you cannot help but listen to the philosophy and reflect on it as well. After all, it is this “from the outside” attitude that helps us reflect on films, we don’t do that much thinking if we are completely engaged, we rely more on feelings. But here, we do a whole lot of thinking. And as we think, if we find ourselves agreeing with Potter’s philosophy and take on life, well… Fandom of the film just comes of its own accord. I really, really must encourage you to give this one a whirl. It is original, it is definitely not what you are used to, but by God, if it’s your thing you are going to thank your lucky stars you sat down to watch it… One of my personal favorites of all times, for sure.

ESSIE SPEAKS OF WORLD CINEMA

I know. I have done world cinema before. About half a dozen times. But please bare with me. It's a big world. And there is a lot of cinema to cover.

And another thing, at least I'm keeping the menu as varied as possible. I have a typical social realist film with Ken Loach - who is British I grant you but hey, Britain is part of the world too :) - An Indian period piece laced with social criticism with the work of Satyajit Ray and lastly but by no means least, a film that defies explanation from Jee-woon Kim, a director you may know from Korean horror films such as A Tale of Two Sisters and I saw the devil. But no worries, this is NOT a horror film, quite the opposite :)

In short, something in there for everyone. Please enjoy. Though perhaps not all at once. That would be just plain confusing.

happy viewing!
Essie

THE TITLE SAYS IT ALL FOR THIS ONE : "THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WIERD"

This is yet another film I have taken an embarrassingly long time to get round to. It was shown – and I purchased it – in the Istanbul Independent Film Festival a couple of years back, and then literally forgot it existed for about four years (Yes, that IS how big my film archive is). I came across it just the other night, it was one of those nights when, you know, you want to watch something, and you just have no idea what you want to watch. Five minutes of this… Nah… Ten minutes of that… Mm, maybe later… At around my eleventh try – and I was on the verge of considering a very early night at this point – I randomly started watching this one. Now, you know that, with classic films, usually the first 15 minutes of a film is exposition – setting the scene – then “something exciting” that starts the ball rolling usually begins (wise men and women have discovered that if the exciting thing takes longer than that to happen we tend to get bored. Usually. The Godfather, for example, is an exception to this, but then again it is an exceptional film). Anyway, so I start watching this film, right? 15 minutes in, I am excited, invested in the story – and yet I have no idea what is exactly going on!! The adrenaline (and there is A LOT of it in this film) and intrigue – kept me glued to the screen. By the time I had figured it out completely, it was about 40 minutes into the film and I simply had to watch it. Because I HAD to know the end of the story… Awesome, exciting and funny, if you need something to pep up a boring Sunday night, look no further!
Ok, so, the context of the film is so crazy and complicated that I actually needed to go online and check when the damn thing was set. It’s 1940’s Manchuria. (Manchuria, for those not in the know, is a region comprising Korea and China). Anyway, in the 1940s, Manchuria was occupied by the Japanese army. In this confusion lawlessness was pretty much rife. In the midst of everything, a mysterious map appears on the “Ghost Market” (market for stolen goods) one day. It disappears pretty quickly, because everyone – Chinese bandits, the Japanese army, the Korean resistance movement, not to mention any number of Korean gangsters and ne’er do wells are all after the map. No one is quite sure what it is a map of, but rumor has it, it’s a great buried treasure dating from the Qing dynasty. Thus starts our story. But where will it go? How will it end? You will have to watch the film itself to find that out…
First up, if the name wasn’t a big enough clue, yes, this is basically a western set in Korea, and made by Koreans. Now, don’t wrinkle your nose up at it; like I just said, it’s one of the most amazing things I’ve seen lately. The Western themes are skillfully mixed with a very specific brand of Eastern humor. There is a whole plethora of characters (I mean, I have been a bit sketchy about that part but it’s on purpose; I want you to go through that bewilderment and excitement of trying to figure out what the f..k is going on in the first half hour too. It’s not confusing at all, it’s great fun and I literally couldn’t stop laughing. My point is, there are actual protagonists. Three actually. Yep you got it : The Good, The Bad and the Weird. Just like the classic movie hehe). Oh I seem to have forgotten half a sentence at the beginning of that parenthesis. I’ll start again shall I? Ok, there are a plethora of characters and yet each is distinct, memorable and once you actually figure out what the heck is going on the story isn’t difficult to follow at all. The one thing I may “knock” about it, is the fact that the whole historical context of the thing is not actually explained until well into the second half. In fact, I got the year it was set in by checking online, the whole thing is very ambiguous and they use horses one heck of a lot for transport so I actually thought it was set a lot earlier, like turn of the century or something. But even without context, it’s just such fun and so funny that really, you can’t find fault with it. One of the funniest films I’ve seen in a long, long time.

A JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE AND TIME : "THE CHESS PLAYERS"

It is, I feel, rather fitting that we should move from Britain to India, especially with all the historical ties the two countries have. True enough, these ties have been formed through colonialism and this is never a thing to be approved of, but it is fitting to mention this as I start my review of Satyajit Ray’s The Chess Players. Satyajit Ray is, as some of you know, one of India’s most forthcoming art directors and his films have been awarded numerous accolades in festivals all around the world. And this particular film is set in 19th century India, in a small local kingdom, just as it is about to be taken over by the British Raj.
Mir and Mirza are two Indian noblemen, living in one of the last independent kingdoms in India. They have rather typical lives for men of their stature in life; large houses, massive personal fortunes and no need whatsoever to actually work. Thus they have time to while away the hours in each day through their shared obsession: chess. Their obsession with chess is at such a point that it makes them completely oblivious to what is going on in their own houses; much less what is going on in the city around them… This may seem strange to you; but Mir and Mirza’s outlook on life is also shared by Wazed Ali Shah, the ruler of the kingdom. Not that bothered by affairs of state, he is more interested in the arts, composing songs and entertaining. Thus, no one really notices what is going on when General Outram (Richard Attenborough) is sent as a representative to this little kingdom with the specific aim of preparing the territory for the British takeover….
Over the course of my studies this year, I have been able to watch quite a few of Satyajit Ray’s films. This is by no means the most famous of his works. It does however contain a critique Ray seems to constantly level at the educated upper classes. In a lot of Ray’s films, strangely enough for the western viewer, education doesn’t necessarily seem to be a good thing. The educated and artistic people are usually portrayed as having their heads in the clouds, being cut off from real life, and as it is very much the case here, neglecting their duties. Although this may seem a slightly populist stance (and a mild contradiction in terms for an art film), considering the context this is not entirely surprising. What must be remembered is that India is a massive country, and although the situation is now in the modern age a lot better than it used to be on every front, there is still massive poverty and education is not always affordable. In the places where poverty is abject, and the gulf between the rich and the poor is so great, the rich and educated do have a duty towards their fellow man to work towards a better society, especially if they are in the position of ruler or noblemen like our heroes. And yet, sometimes out of greed, sometimes out of sheer negligence, duties are neglected and personal positions coveted. This is a wonderful, subtle film all about life, duty and priorities. It is also an elegant portrait of a historical epoch and a now disappeared culture… And my personal favorite amongst all the films of Satyajit Ray that I have seen…

AND BACK HOME AGAIN - BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT : "SWEET SIXTEEN"

Not everyone is a great fan of Ken Loach. This, by the way, is something I can quite understand. Social realism is all well and good, heck, I’d go as far as saying that it is necessary, but it is very hard to watch at times. Ironically, it is hard to watch for different reasons whether it is done well or not; badly done it reeks of melodrama and takes itself far too seriously; well done it can be heart-rending, the sort of thing that sticks in your mind for days afterwards. Nearly all Ken Loach’s films are, without a doubt of the second kind. Sweet Sixteen is one of his more recent works that takes an unflinching look at the difficult lives and choices faced by people living in Scotland.
At 15 years old, Liam has already dropped out of school and is something of a businessman. He and his best friend Pinball have a tidy little business selling cigarettes – among other things – on the streets. Liam has had to learn to take care of himself quickly; his Mother is in jail, his father is not in the picture and his mother’s latest boyfriend Stuart is a total and utter bastard and his older sister is busy trying to raise her son on her own. Bleak as the situation may seem, Liam has a dream. His mother is due to come out of prison soon, if by that time Liam can buy a nice house for her to live in, he can get her away from his latest step-father and they can start a new life together, mother and son. What is more, a chance encounter with one of the important men in town seems to offer Liam the break he needs. Sure the dealings he has to get involved in are more than a little shady, but does that really matter if they bring him closer to his dream? Whether the closeness of the dreams is an illusion or a reality however, remains to be seen…
As is most of his films, this too is a stinging critique on the part of Ken Loach of the system we live in today. In Liam’s world, determined by material needs, ethics really do not have a place. Liam’s dreams are those of many young people today really, he dreams of money, a house, material gain. All this, he hopes at any rate, will “buy” him the happiness and more importantly the motherly love he craves. So goal-oriented is young Liam, and also of course he is in so deep at such a young age, that he doesn’t even realize there is an important price to pay for all these, especially in the way he is trying to achieve his goals. As he gets sucked into the underworld, Liam will change, but sadly he will lose very little of his initial naiveté; thus he ends up mimicking the gangsters in films; Scarface and the like, or more immediately for him the real live gangsters all around him, all leading to the films dramatic climax…
As some of you may know, Loach has a number of films specifically about Scotland and the North of England, detailing the economic strife and tough life lived there. This is not least because he is originally a miner’s son from the same area. However, just because a message has been repeated often, it doesn’t make it any less true. And not just in Scotland; all around the world wherever there is economic under-development. Sweet Sixteen is a beautiful and sad reminder of our times, well worth watching and ruminating on…