"LUCY" THE NEXT, "NEXT GENERATION" HUMAN...

When I began bemoaning my utter disappointment upon watching Lucy, I was met with loud protests from my male friends. I was amused by their argument : “Did you watch it on a small screen? Well that would be it then. It’s an action film, you’re supposed to watch it in cinema!”. I do realize that action as a genre is supposed to be heavily visual. You know, don’t ask too many questions. Enjoy the spectacular fight scenes and the big explosions. OK fair enough, the genre has its fans, and I am just as capable of appreciating a good explosion as the next man. But when putting Lucy into this context, two questions spring to mind. Firstly, since when have “pretty action sequences” been a legitimate saving grace if the rest of a film has gone awry? Secondly, my main point would be that Lucy is actually trying to be more than that. It’s just… You know… Failing.

The story of Lucy is told quickly enough. “Baddies” have discovered a new drug. Oh the kids are going to love it! It is the synthetic form of a hormone produced naturally by pregnant women and induces growth. Lucy is the typical “innocent stander by” roped into a dastardly situation. She, along with a few other randoms, are chosen by what looks suspiciously like the Yakuza (but we are in Taipei so possibly not) to be the couriers of this drug to European capitals. The thing is, Lucy’s trip goes horribly wrong, the packet she is carrying in her abdomen bursts and the drug starts seeping into her body, which in turn allows her to unlock the “unused” parts of her brain. This… Well… It has unexpected results…

Now, here’s my argument as to Lucy trying to be more than just an action movie. I mean, before I get into it let me underline this, the action sequences are nothing short of stunning. I am not; as you may know by now, the biggest fan of one single hero steamrolling every single opponent without so much as breaking a sweat but… You know. Let’s not get lost in details. It’s a genre, and in its own way its very well done – it’s just not to my own personal taste.  But come on. This is Luc Besson we are talking about. Since when has he been into making “just” action films?

From pretty much the get-go we are surrounded by hints that the film is trying to ground itself very firmly in science. The action in the film interspersed with what appear to be stock images from a David Attenborough documentary that “cleverly” parallel the action. You know, we cut from Lucy just before she is attacked in some way to a group of deer grazing in the Savannah, then she is attacked and we see a lion attacking the group of deer. That kind of thing. Rather too  much of it at that – but ok, you have to be blind to see what the film is trying to do, we are grounding ourselves in natural history, disenchantment of the world and all that jazz, humans are animals, predators in fact, and we should not “separate” ourselves from it by pretending any “mystic” side. Okey dokey. Then we get a looong explanation of the whole “humans only a limited percentage of their brain… Let’s imagine what would happen if we could use it all” theory. The saving grace of the whole “lecture” (both as a filmic device and in the actual storyline) is that it is delivered by Morgan Freeman. By that time, of course Lucy is now rampaging around the globe, able to control electronic devices from a distance (I’m still not exactly sure how that conversation between her and the doctor from Taipei to Paris actually worked on a technical level but ok, moving on) and her aim is to get to the Professor so she can pass on the “information” she has gained to the next generation just like any other mammal. OK HERE COME THE SPOILERS. Then she spectacularly kills all the baddies, she reaches 100% brain capacity, this makes her immune to the concepts of space and time and we finally see that she is tantamount to becoming God, as she sends a last message to the cop who has rather ineffectually being “assisting her” (he at least has the good grace to point out that he is not being much help) “I am everywhere”. Yeah, so she becomes God. It’s a wonderful atheist / humanist parable of how God is a construct of our own minds and if humans would only unleash their own capabilities they would be the only God they would ever need… There is even a slightly Nietschean rant in the film about how men limit themselves from realizing their true potential etc , just in case you missed the actual point of the film.

To make a complete aside for two seconds, in an age where we are seriously debating uploading our consciousness onto computers this is definitely a matter to be discussed. I mean the concept isn’t even new, think of Ghost in the Shell, think of Neon Genesis Evangelion – the Japanese, true to form, saw this coming 20 years ago. My point is that Lucy tries to clunk a very complex ontological concept onto a very flashy action movie packed with clichés and add it weight with a mock- David Attenborough documentary. Oh and to get this whole thing across in 80 minutes. Err… Yeah.

And if you thought that our final “God” is a woman is some kind of saving grace, think again. Lucy is pretty much the only speaking female part in the film (her flatmate hardly counts, she is only on for 2 minutes and has about 20 lines, almost all, incidentally about her date the previous night so yeah. It barely passes the Bechdel test because Lucy ends up giving her some advice about her health – but does it count if the other party doesn’t respond? Weigh in here someone… ). We barely get to know her anyway, apart from one conversation with her mother and the mention of exams, so she is some form of student... So yeah, she is the only woman literally surrounded by male gangsters, academics and police officers and she can only “outsmart” them by becoming less and less human and decidedly less feminine. So her whole empowerment actually amounts to beautiful blonde beating up a bunch of guys which, I believe, is considered a fun night out in some circles…

 We have had quite a few ones about computer-human hybrids and how we as humans would cope with consciousness  levels amped up infinitely, haven’t we? There are clues in this film that it is possibly meant as tongue in cheek, ranging from the very fact that Morgan Freeman’s iconic voice is used to lecture us to the fact that the secrets of the universe actually end up on a USB stick… I dunno, maybe I’m taking this a tad too seriously… But… I mean lay aside the pretty action sequences… You do see what I mean, don’t you? Go on… I know you do… 

LOVE STARTS AT HOME "ANGEL – A"

Ok, finally my conscience is at rest. I have finally, after such a long time, watched a “serious” movie. I do admit that going from animation straight to Luc Besson, the most serious of French art cinema may have been a bit of a leap. However as you probably know by now, this is the way my mind works. And I mean, come on. It isn’t likely to shock your system or give you brain freeze or something. I mean it might but only if you watch it in close succession with How To Train Your Dragon, for example. Don’t do that. I mean, even I don’t do that. Seriously.

That being said, just because Luc Besson directed it, it’s French and in black and white, please don’t let Angel-a scare you off. I know all that screams absolutely unwatchable in most cases, but this film is just so… Well in a word adorable. I laughed out loud. I even shed a few tears. And I marvelled at Besson’s wonderful black and white photography, framing the beauty of Paris. Seriously guys, this is not one you want to miss.

This is the story of André Moussah. André is a small time wheeler-dealer. He usually survives thanks to his gift of the gab and his ability wriggle out of shady deals relatively unscathed. However, as is often the case with this kind of life, he finally talks himself into a corner he cannot talk his way back out of. He is basically broke, with no prospects of getting any money and two very dangerous men to whom he owes a total of around 50 thousand euros. Seeing that his chances of surviving beyond midnight are getting rather slim, he decides to make everyone’s job a tad easier for them and kill himself. And just as he has climbed onto a bridge over the Seine, contemplating his last seconds on earth what should he see right on the balustrade beside him, except a beautiful woman, also preparing to kill herself. In fact, the young woman turns out to be a good deal more determined than André as she actually jumps. André however, being a good man at heart, jumps straight in after her and rescues her. However, it soon transpires that this young woman, or Angela as she calls herself, is not just a random passerby. In fact she is not even human. And her mission on earth is to change Andrés life for ever.

Ok, so maybe I shouldn’t have told you she isn’t human. Then again, Besson peppers the film with clues and honestly, this is not exactly the point of the film. I mean, unless you are really not watching the film properly, you will understand pretty quickly what Angela is. I’ll give you a hint – the name is a dead giveaway. So is the way Rie Rasmussen pronounces it. This film is about serious stuff. And I don’t mean random “arty” stuff. I mean stuff like learning to love yourself before you can learn to love another. Stuff like how that love can change you and change your life. The film is brilliant in that it doesn’t let up on the comedy. And Jamel Debbouze (whose name you do not know but whose face you are bound to recognise if you have watched a French film in the last 10 – 15 years. He is slowly becoming an “institution” like Reno or Depardieu, and for a good reason) is an excellent choice as a comic actor. The sharp contrast with tall blonde (VERY Swedish) Rie Rasmussen makes it just that little bit funnier. Honestly, you can’t get people to think about something so serious and so important without a bit of comedy though. Think about it, anything else would be just too much. A little  too cloying. And a bit like a cheesy greeting card. However mixing up the funny with the serious, the smiles with the tears, Besson puts a very important message into the context of real life, thus forcing us to really think about it. Note how hard André ultimately finds it to come to peace with himself. And ask yourself if, deep down, you have a similar problem as well…

 This is a beautiful movie on so many levels. Please don’t let the French or the black and white scare you off…

A FILM PERTAINING TO THE FACT THAT MOST THINGS THAT MATTER IN LIFE HAVE NO AGE : "LEON"

Well, what a film this turned out to be, eh? I defy anyone to watch this film and not be moved, even the most ardent “anti-French cinema” supporter among you… Luc Besson, Jean Reno and what a debut for Nathalie Portman, eh? It’s very strange to watch the film today, knowing what this film led to, what she became… Now, this is not a film for the faint hearted. I mean, it is violent but not gory, that is not my problem… But some people (my Mom for instance) cannot “take it” when children are involved and sadly (because it’s truly a great film) she may not be able to take it… Just so as you know… Heads up…
Mathilda (Nathalie Portman) is a 12 year old, living in New York. She has a pretty average life living with her father (who stores drugs for various shady characters around the house) her step sister, step mother and kid brother. She lives across the landing from Leon (Jean Reno) a quiet guy who keeps to himself and just happens to be one of the best and most ruthless hired killers in town. Not that any of his neighbors know this, they just know he’s a weird guy who drinks a lot of milk… Anyway, one day, one of Mathilda’s dad’s deals goes south. The entire family, minus Mathilda herself, is slaughtered. Mathilda takes refuge in Leon’s apartment. But once she figures out what her new friend actually does for a living, she isn’t scared. Quite the contrary: She wants to learn how to be a killer. She wants revenge – and she wants to get it herself…
Leon is just one of those films where… Well, one of those films where you are asked your opinion on the film and there is so much to say, so much emotion involved, you just don’t know what to say or where to start… The main theme of the film is love. Not necessarily romantic love; but that comes into it too (don’t cringe there is NOTHING err… “worrying” going on between Mathilda and Leon – their love is a lot purer than that). No, it’s about the basic need we all have to be loved really. And what we are prepared to do once / if we find that love. Love of a family, a lover, a sister, a brother, a child… Two runaways, two lonely creatures united in their need to belong, even though Leon, like most grownups, has great difficulty admitting this need. It is about growing up, getting older and the difference between the two…
But the trick is to see beyond the age difference between Leon and Mathilda. A lot of people did of course, but as I said, it could be tricky. The thing to remember is that souls are in fact very different from bodies and you can easily have a 12 year old whose soul is much older or a grownup who is barely twelve in some respects… You will be thinking about this and a lot more as you watch the film…
It is also a brilliant reminder as to why exactly Jean Reno seems to turn up in about half the French films that make it worldwide (I say half because the other half usually contains Gerard Depardieu. Not that I have anything against either actor but it’s a funny coincidence, no?). Brilliant acting in a tough part. And you wouldn’t expect it to be tough would you? The silent hit man that keeps to himself… NOT that simple… Not that simple at all… And what about the pint-sized Nathalie Portman? I admire her greatly but having seen her in a few more things I genuinely think she has yet to do anything better… She is so brilliant as Mathilda; not quite an adult but definitely not 12 anymore either…
In short, you would have to have a heart of stone not be touched by it…