Monday, 30 April 2012

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen








If Jason Statham is starring in a film you know there will be guns - lots of guns. In that respect Safe doesn't disappoint. Where it does disappoint is in the lack of emotional development of the two main characters - Statham playing Luke Wright and Mei (Catherine Chan making her full-feature debut).

The story begins in the world of New Jersey cage fighting - but this is soon forgotten never to return. Throughout the film the character Wright is shown to be the only one with any moral fortitude. Having said that, his personal body count must enter three figures - so even that is relative!

The first half-an-hour or so of the film seems to offer three stories in parallel which suddenly click into interwoven synchronicity - all linked by Wright and Mei who are thrown together intermittently, in an unlikely pairing. There is a scene near the beginning which should evoke an affective response from viewers but Statham's coldness for me missed an opportunity. At the end of the film there is an endearing scene - the 80 minutes in between are devoid of emotional currency. It's a simple bloodfest.

The story is complex and is well handled by Director Boaz Yakin. It doesn't matter if the story focuses on the Chinese, the Russians or the Cops - they're all crooks. This film does little to bolster any sense of confidence in those elected to office and those who serve the public through that office. I won't say more for fear of spoiling the plot.

If you like gangster thrillers with lots of guns and blood, then this is a fine example of the genre. If organised crime, racketeering and fighting are not your thing, my advice is to avoid it. It is the only film on locally that I wanted to see (where is Salmon Fishing in the Yemen when you have the time?) and given that there are some theatres here with 20 screens, that's all a little disappointing. A solid film of its type - but it could have been a lot more. I'll give it 6.5/10.

Thursday, 26 April 2012

The Way Back

A road movie with a difference - they cover 4000 miles - on foot!

Set in 1941 this film tells the story of a group of prisoners in one of Stalin's Gulags in Siberia. The motley crew - a Pole who is there because his wife was tortured into making a false confession about him, an American Engineer there because he tried to escape the depression back home, a baker, and a Russian gangster-type thug. An unlikely group supplemented by a man blinded by the vitamin deficient diet of the Gulag and as they journey by a runaway girl. Indeed, a motley crew if ever there was one.  The premise is simple - walk to freedom in Mongolia.

Everyone is in the Gulag for different reasons - most of them concocted by the State. When three of the inmates decide to escape, their numbers rapidly swell and seven end up making the break under the cover of blizzard which covers their tracks. Led by the Pole Janusz (Jim Sturgess) who is at home in the forests and mountains, the group make their way continually south. Russian soldiers, wolves and mosquitoes all prove worthy foes but the group continues to make progress. they eventually cross into Mongolia only to find that the Mongolians are in cahoots with Russians and so they continue to press on south.

The group adopt a runaway teenage girl Irena (Saoirse Ronan) whose amiability lubricates the social cohesion of the group. Colin Farrell does a very passable Ruski accent as the gangster thug but it is Ed Harris' Mr Smith who adds the gravitas to the band of unlikely travelling companions. With food ranging from snake, to bugs, to deer and fish and at one point even the idea of cannibalism is discussed, so they travel ever southward.

Many adventures befall them on the epic journey. It is a long film but Peter Wier's Direction keeps it moving and the characterisations are always engrossing. I won't spoil the content or the outcome any further for you. This is a fine film and worthy of your attention. It's a pity that all the main characters are played by British/American/Irish actors when there are many fine eastern European actors around (see In Darkness to evidence that point!) Please do get hold of the disc and watch it. National Geographic is one of the sponsoring bodies and much of the cinematography would be at home in that illustrious magazine. I'll give it 7.5/10.

I've seen a total of 8 films in Winnipeg in a week - not bad. Many thanks Vic.

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

In Darkness

The title of this film works on different levels. It graphically and painfully portrays the human capacity to act in ways which are inhuman. It depicts the darkness that hope sometimes requires us to stumble through if we are to come out the other end. For the most part the film is set within the darkness of the sewers under the Polish city of Lvov.

Set in World War II as the Nazi's purge the ghetto in Lvov, the film follows a group of Jews who in desperation break into the cities sewers in the hope of escape and survival. They are unaware of the harshness of the environment they are about to enter - raw sewage, darkness, lack of food and water, loss of privacy, plagues of rats and the constant threat of being discovered.

The Nazi's offer 500 Zloty for each Jew betrayed - for some this was to become a lucrative business. For the city's sewer Inspector, Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz) the prospect of earning multiples of that sum for the Jews that have invaded 'his sewers' is an appealing prospect - once he has taken all the money the Jews have in the first place. What begins with the coldness of a business transaction prior to betrayal, gently transforms into an heroic act of defiance that affirms the good that resides in human nature. Socha is no easy pushover. The film graphically depicts the open racism and hatred of the Poles towards the Jews - and others. A hatred and distrust that is all too often reciprocated.

With his unique intimate knowledge of the sewers, he moves a small group of them to a more secure location leaving the others to fend for themselves. Not knowing how long the ordeal will last they live from day to day. Socha places himself and his family in extreme jeopardy and time-and-time-again they come close to being discovered. News of the war on the Eastern Front is the only comfort they receive.

This is a kind of 'Schindler in the Sewer' type film. There is despair and the need for the most basic human drives to find expression, but there remains hope. An older member of the group continues to pray, chanting in rocking motion to the sewer walls - they are even able to celebrate Passover with some Matzos Socha rescues from the ghetto. What reinforces the utter bleakness of the group's condition is that they have with them two young children who in different ways become traumatised by their experience. One of them - the last remaining survivor of the group has published her memoires in  The Girl in the Green Sweater.

I won't spoil the story by disclosing any more detail. Whilst this is not easy viewing, it repays the investment of time and emotional energy. There is no romanticised Hollywood cinema here. The Polish Director Agnieszka Holland was born a decade to the day before me. The daughter of a Catholic mother and Jewish father. Her mother was active in the Polish resistance and the film carries an authentic shadow of personal family experience. I was born in West Germany in the continuing aftermath of the war - its shadow still looms large over several generations. I hope we can all remember the pain and choose not to reinvent it again - anywhere. We need to hear stories like this one - we need to be shocked into our right senses. The heroism of Socha and others like him needs to be celebrated as collectively and vicariously they offer a way from darkness to light. Let us remain in light.

A brave, intelligent and compelling film. I'll give it 8.5/10. If you have the stomach for it - watch it.









Sunday, 22 April 2012

Monsieur Lazhar

Another Canadian film, one which was nominated for best foreign language film Oscar. Monsieur Lazhar is set in Montreal in an Elementary School with a class of 13/4 year-olds. It begins in the depths of snowy winter and throughout the story the cycle of the seasons mirrors the emotional and psychological health of the class.

One morning, Simon the milk monitor, discovers that their class teacher Martine, has hanged herself in the classroom. Trauma. An Algerian immigrant pitches up at the school claiming to be a teacher and offers to take on the class. The under-pressure Principal accepts the offer and so Bashir Lazhar sets to work. His methods seem clumsy and out of kilter with the ultra politically correct Québécois education system - yet his style and gentle empathy endear him to the children and colleagues alike.

The School brings in a Psychologist who excludes Lahzar from her sessions with the class much to his incredulity. As the story goes on, the effects of the event on the children emerge in different ways. The adults - teachers and parents alike - all 'hush up' what has happened and cut off the children's opportunities to achieve healing for their emotional wounds. Lahzar takes a much more holistic approach - informed by his differing cultural reference points and his own bitter personal experience - to use creativity and metaphor as tools of healing self-expression for his charges.

Lazhar's methods begin to work but the path is bumpy as the children's behaviour often puts them on a collision course with their parents who are less able and willing to process and deal with the consequences of Martine's suicide.

Needless to say there are many sub-plots going on within the story and I will not spoil it for you by discussing them or the outcome. This film is a strong as it is sensitive, as insightful as it condemning of system that has been hijacked by empty principles that serve nothing more than a detached an inhuman philosophy. The warmth of Lazhar (played by the Paris-based comedian Fellag) is captivating and the acting of the children has a natural energy and spontaneity that is both compelling and completely believable.

This film is so new it not yet available outside Region 1, but when it is, I for one will certainly be getting a copy. It is a gem - a story about loss, exile and how adults control what children may be allowed to feel and think. As soon as you get the chance - go and see it. I'll give 8.5/10.

Saturday, 21 April 2012

Trilogy One: On the Run

Last night we watched the first in a trilogy from French Director Lucas Belvaux. This is an unusual trilogy in that all of the three films are happening contemporaneously and each feature stories and characters that cross over. The first film is a thriller, the second a comedy and third a drama.

I am going to wait until I have seen all three before commenting, even though each can be viewed as a stand alone film.

Watch out for more....

Barney's Version

My Canadian host decided to show me a good Canadian film! The story is told as Barney (Paul Giamatti) recalls his life - his version of his life. Others would see it differently perhaps. The fact that the film is set in his memory is important as the story ends with the onset of alzheimer's and Barney losing his memory.

Barney is as endearing as he is impossible. I loved him and loathed him in equal measure. He is a politically incorrect hedonist who is unable to take responsibility for the way he treats people and who is unable to exercise any self-control before acting. He does not know what self-restraint means and he is his own worst enemy.

Living a bohemian and indulgent lifestyle with a group of close friends in Rome he does the honourable thing when his girlfriend becomes pregnant and marries her - only to discover at the child's (still) birth that it is not his. He immediately separates from her and in a fit of lover's pique she kills herself.

His uncle gets him into TV production back in his native Montreal and he eventually becomes the producer of a very successful TV show that is truly awful made by his 'Totally Unnecessary Productions' company. This makes him wealthy and he is able to fund his high-class apartment, a mercedes and an endless supply of cigars and whisky.

His father Izzy (Dustin Hoffman), is a retired cop and very Jewish. He fixes Barney up with a Jewry socialite with a wealthy father and they marry. At the reception, Barney encounters Miriam (Rosamund Pike) and confesses to his closest friend Boogie (Scott Speedman) that for the first time in his life he is in love - with Miriam.

Trapped in a stifling marriage with his second wife (Minnie Driver) Barney bombards Miriam with presents, cards and flowers. He plots his escape to allow him to pursue Miriam. Barney's lucky break comes when he catches Boogie and his wife at it in the bedroom of their lake house. The adultery gives Barney the let-out clause he has been looking for and as the ink dries on the divorce papers he is on the phone to Miriam.

To cut a long story short, they marry and have two children and happily enjoy family life for 20+ years. Miriam is portrayed as a wise saint who is good for Barney and who challenges him just enough about the excesses of his lifestyle. Miriam dispenses the kind of wisdom that only a loving wife can. When Miriam want's to return to work as the children flee the nest, Barney objects. Miriam relaunches a successful career as a radio presenter and Barney becomes jealous of this and the Producer Blair.

Increasingly trapped by Barney's drinking, his rudeness to all her friends and his general selfishness, Miriam decides to visit their son in New York for a week. Barney is beside himself being separated from her and seeks solace in a bottle - lot's of bottles. He runs into an actress who once featured in his TV show and a drunken one-night stand ensues. When Miriam returns from New York Barney's guilt causes him to act strangely and he is forced to confess. On his third marriage when he had it all, he still wanted more and couldn't rein in his appetite. Miriam leaves and divorce follows - she marries Blair. Barney keeps on smoking and drinking and gradually begins to forget things as alzheimer's sets in. Barney dies before his time and the clear implication is that it's because of the booze and smoking.

I have not dwelt on the many sub-plots that spin within the story so as not to spoil it for you. There are many strong acting performances in this film - Giamatti won a Golden Globe for his performance, Hoffman is great but for me Pike steals the show as the classy, wise and glamourous Miriam. The make-up was nominated for an Oscar, but I was enchanted by Giamatti's evolving characterisation of the ageing Barney - with hair lines, a paunch and perambulatory style to match.

The film is painful to watch as Barney constantly excels in self-destruction. He clearly does have a soft and tender side but I was left wondering if his blind pursuit of pleasure meant that he could not see or appreciate intimacy and self-giving love in anyway. This is a big part of what makes him such an infuriating character. There are plenty of moral scenarios to ponder as well as the dynamics of the various relationships within the overall story. I really liked this film and commend it to you. I'll give 7.5/10.

Friday, 20 April 2012

Another Earth

This film was the winner at Sundance 2011 and as usual, Sundance winners don't disappoint. It offers itself as a sci-fi film but it actually delivers an intense and thought-provoking exploration of emotions - in particular guilt, redemption and love. It also posits the philosophical question 'what would it be like to meet myself?'.

For me, the film pivots on two acts of violation perpetrated by Rhoda (Brit Marling) - both predicated on selfishness, but each for different reasons. It's impossible to discuss the film in a realistic way without giving something of the storyline away, so if you'd rather not know, stop reading now.

Rhoda is a beautiful bright blonde with a passion for astronomy and astrophysics. She also likes to party. She has just been offered at place at MIT and we are told that for her, anything is possible. Driving home from the party she listens to the radio where news is breaking of a new earth-like planet appearing in the night sky as blue dot. As Rhoda leans out of the window to locate the phenomenon, she drives at speed into another car. This kills the pregnant woman passenger, her son and leaves the husband, John (William Mapother) in a coma. Rhoda is comparatively unscathed - physically. This is the first violation - one predicated on a selfishness of naivety and an invincibility born of hegemony.

As a minor, her details are with-held and she serves four years in gaol. Meanwhile the earth-like planet gets ever-closer and is discovered to be an exact copy of the original earth. Apparently it has no effect on gravitational fields or the tides - a weakness in the story. Questions begin to be asked about whether 'Earth 2' is an exact copy of the original - or whether they view us as 'Earth 2'.

Rhoda is still riven with guilt for the damage and pain she caused and rather than take up her academic career, she becomes a school janitor. Returning to the scene of the accident on the fourth anniversary, she sees the surviving father drive up and place a toy against the lamp post in a shrine-like way. This ramps up her feelings of guilt even more.

Rhoda lives in a baggy boiler suit and keeps her golden tresses under a wooly hat. She strips her room of all artefacts and instals a mattress on the floor. It is as though her job and lifestyle are a self-imposed penance - an attempt to ameliorate the guilt she is burdened by. Rhoda even strips off to lie naked on the frozen snow but is rescued and treated for hypothermia and frostbite. John has similarly let himself go as he deals with the demons and depression in the aftermath of the accident. He slums around in a dressing gown consuming booze like it's going out of fashion.

Finally Rhoda plucks up courage to visit John to apologise in person. As he opens the door her courage evaporates and she invents a story about her being from a cleaning company which is looking for new customers and offering a free trial clean. John accepts and is so impressed he asks her back and this becomes a regular thing. Each week Rhoda tears up the cheque on the way home. As time goes by, her persistent cleaning inspires John to begin living more 'normally'. As her efforts bring about a cathartic transformation in John, she experiences the same. As time goes by the two of them get closer together and eventually make passionate love at John's home - the second violation. Rhoda's selfish need for redemption has propelled her into the giving of her very self as a form of ultimate redemptive self-sacrifice.

A space travel company is planning a trip 'Earth 2' for those who can afford it and one place is up for grabs to the winner of a 500 word essay competition. After prolonged hesitation, Rhoda enters and forgets about it, feeling she doesn't have a chance. She wins - the fulfilment of her childhood dreams. Not long afterwards, as John hosts a celebratory meal, she finally confesses to John. The impact on him is understandably immense. He demands that she leaves.

She later tries to see him again but he will not open the door. She forces her way in and after an ugly and violent encounter, she leaves her ticket for him. Based on the theory that when an individual first sees 'Earth 2' the parallels stop, and so for Rhoda it was just prior to the accident, it may just be possible for John to meet up with his wife and children again. John makes the trip to 'Earth 2'. Then one day as Rhoda returns home, she encounters herself - presumably because the Rhoda on 'Earth 2' also won the essay competition to visit 'Earth 1'.

So how would it be, if you were to meet a different version of yourself, perhaps from a parallel universe? What would you say? What would you talk about? Would you anticipate being 100% identical in every way - including memories and experiences? Presumably it would be impossible to conduct a conversation with yourself as you would both ask the same question of each other at the same time? What would be the point? Surely it would only be of value if there were some differences?

This is an immensely engaging and worthwhile film that will provoke an affective response from viewers. The story is co-written by Brit Marling and the Director Mike Cahill - impressive. I am sure we will be seeing a lot of more Brit Marling who delivers a strong performance in this. I would recommend this to everyone - but don't expect a sci-fi film! I''l give it 7.5/10.

Thursday, 19 April 2012

The Descendants

I had been avoiding this film. Sadly it was the shortest on offer and the only one that would conclude before the plane landed. It left me feeling decidedly depressed. George Clooney stars as Matt and in common with his most recent offerings, this is another film that is more of a vehicle for Mr Clooney than any story he may be caught up in. This film is high on melodrama and serially tweaks at the heart as Matt's emotions get dragged through the mud.

This is more of a road movie where Matt is cruelly given the opportunity to shift focus from his law practice and relearn what it is to be a husband and father. As Matt makes each emotional discovery, so his body jerks into a new pose to demonstrate he has registered the emotion. The journey holds out hope that Matt will arrive somewhere new, perhaps more balanced, but he never quite makes it.

The script could be smoother. There are extended voiceovers where Matt gives the back story and telegraphs the importance of what the viewer has just seen or is just about to see. "My family is like an archipelago and they are spread all over Hawaii" Matt tells us as a map of the islands unfolds on screen.  I know we live in a messed up world, but how likely is the confluence of all these events in one person's life? Even the weather in each scene mirrors the state of Matt's emotions!

What adds to the disappointment for me are the attempts at humour that pepper the film. Rather than adding spice to alleviate the tension each attempt fizzles out like damp firework. It may be that my cultural reference points are skewed, but for me the humour didn't work at all ... and what was that running style all about?

Not only do we have a comatose mother, issues of withdrawing life-support, two unruly daughters and an adulterer with a seemingly wonderful wife and family, we also have the additional emotional pull of Matt being the centre-pin of a decision that threatens to betray the Polynesian dynasty he is a part of and whose heritage promises to make him and his cousins extremely wealthy. The film is punctuated by a series of people coming before Matt's comatose wife and telling her what they think of her/the situation. I kept expecting her to make a recovery and then hold all these people accountable - it is that kind of film. Mercifully I got it wrong.

Where the film does deliver - and by the bucket full - is through the performances of the two daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) who turn in a tour-de-force. They should have been Oscar nominated, not George Clooney! The family falling apart suddenly coheres and bad behaviour disappears without any real plot development taking place.

The conclusion of the film is ambiguous. Does Matt really act out of respect to his forebears or revenge to hurt the adulterer? A further bright flicker in an other wise dull film is Beau Bridges' contribution as one of Matt's cousins. He brings a warmth and pathos to the story that is otherwise lacking.

I was right to have tried to avoid seeing this film. Only incarceration at 38,000' made me watch it! I wish I'd being flying to Vancouver rather than Winnipeg and then I could have chosen a longer film. The performances of the girls and Bridges drag this one up to 5/10.

Monday, 9 April 2012

Space Cowboys

It took four hours to watch this movie on US TV because of the ad breaks! A lesser film would have caused me to give up, but this one is endearing - even if the outcome is predictable. Clint Eastwood stars and Directs this film and as a consequence it is solid and moves with a good and even pace. Add to that a supporting cast of Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland and you know this has the potential to deliver something good - and it doesn't disappoint.

The plot is simple. These four were top military guys in their prime in the late 1950s as they were training to be the first US astronauts. They screwed up and their project was pulled in favour of sending a chimp into space. The one who did the pulling is now in need of their services to save his own ass and agrees for them to go on a final mission as a team to fix a rogue satellite whose orbit is failing.

The presenting issues are deceit and ageism. The deceit is down to the Programme Director and his self-serving scheming. The ageism is down to almost everyone. These guys did their stuff when computers were in their infancy and more was done by 'feel' and instinct. It is these qualities that shine through in how the team operate and it is how the team functions - old men coming to terms with 40 year-old hurts and disappointments that gives gravitas to the story. The dynamics of the relationships are handled with sensitivity and come across with believability which endears the foursome to viewers. There is love, forgiveness, pride, sacrifice and disappointment on show by the bucket load. For a potentially soppy and wet film, it holds up very well.

I know it's more than a decade old, but I for one was glad to catch up with this film. If it comes around on TV (with more sensible ad breaks) or on disc, it's well worth a punt. I'll give it 7.5/10.