microcosmos. france, 1996. Fantastic, incredible cinematography. There’s no plot – it’s just 24 hours in a French field, shot at the scale of an insect. This is a film of beautiful, mind-blowing images, and the insects themselves are full of many all-too-human surprises.
banff mountain film festival. I saw several films: eiger b.a.s.e., cannibals and crampons, white trax and more.
le salaire de la peur (wages of fear). france, 1953. A very tight thriller, with even surprises to keep a modern filmgoer interested. The plot: drifters in a South American town take a job moving nitroglycerin by truck to an oil fire. If the truck is bumped, they’ll be blown sky-high. The start is quite slow, but once they get in the trucks the tension never lets up. Remarkable considering its age.
barbarella. usa, 1968. Yes, it’s camp. But it still feels to exploitative for my tastes, and I can understand why the one woman in the audience left after a few minutes.
himalaya: l’enfance d’un chef. uk / france / switzerland / nepal, 1999. Beautiful images, and a straightforward plot.
8 mile. usa, 2002.
repo man. usa, 1984.
the execution of wanda-jean. usa, 2002.
american movie. usa, 2001. A remarkably sympathetic documentary, with a mildly scathing view of American life mixed in for good measure.
bowling for columbine. usa, 2002. Quite entertaining, more than a little deceitful, and generally on-the-money. It even had a shot of my ex-girlfriend’s home, which was (inaccurately) labelled as a slum.
manhunter. usa, 1986.
punch-drunk love. usa, 2002. Good, sometimes great, but a little uneven. I’m still not sure what to make of it.
chinatown. usa, 1974.
spirited away. japan, 2002. First-rate, and much easier to absorb than princess mononoke was.
donnie darko. usa, 2001.
e v o. canada, 2002. AWFUL!! Stay far, far away. The worst film that I have ever seen, and that’s quite an accomplishment. Film school wankery at its worst, claiming scientific greatness and depth with visual daring, and failing on all counts. The world’s cheesiest special effects (palette- rotated blowjobs and porn, anyone?), pretentious text that the filmmaker clearly didn’t understand, and a few minutes of Richard Dawkins (the only redeeming feature, and clearly over the head of the filmmaker). Honestly, this will never make it to theatres or video, so no one else will have to suffer through the shit. Just feel sorry for me okay? And never, ever, bother with experimental film poetry.
dracula: pages from a virgin’s diary. canada, 2002. Excellent. Spectacular visuals, and the marriage of ballet and surreal cinema is perfect.
the trial of henry kissinger. uk, 2002.
after jenin. 2002.
seeing is believing: handicams and the news. canada, 2002.
lilya-4-ever. sweden, 2001. Lukas Moodysson’s together and fucking åmal were brilliant films, amongst the best I’ve seen during the last year. This one pales by comparison, but is still a strong contender. My largest criticism is that it doesn’t make a strong statement beyond nihilism. There’s a faint thread of “this could be happening in your everyday life; do something to stop it”, but it’s faint and uncertain.
fix: the story of an addicted city. canada, 2002. Marvellous.
view from the summit. canada, 2002.
a tree without roots. bangladesh, 2002.
hellhouse. usa, 2002.
waking life. usa, 2001. First rate.
vernon, florida. usa, 1981.
magnolia. usa, 2000.
about a boy. usa, 2002.
treed murray. canada, 2001.
lumumba. france, 2000.
lolita. uk, 1962.
blue crush. usa, 2002.
once upon a time in china 2. china, 1992.
red sorghum. china, 1987.
nikogarsnja zemlja (no man’s land). bosnia-herzegovina / slovenia, 2001. An intriguing film. In tone, this film is a much lighter-hearted look at the Serbian powderkeg than cabaret balkan was. But the message of the film is equally bleak: there is little solution to the mess that they’ve got themselves into, regardless of the good (or bad) intentions of the UN, the media, and the international community. There are some hilarious portrayals of different nations’ attitudes in here: the French peacekeepers who start every conversation with “Vous parlez français?”, without meeting a single french-speaker; the central role of a psychotic design of American-made mine; the British twit in command. A worthwhile film, if somewhat unhappy.
ulee’s gold. usa, 1997. I’d heard good things about this film, but I wasn’t honestly very impressed. It’s a slow drama starring Peter Fonda, who tries to help his family back from the brink of disaster after his son is arrested. Overall, it felt too much like a retiree’s fairytale: the old grandfather saves the day, everyone comes around and understands his passions, and no problem is too great. The way that the oldest grand-daughter changes is completely implausible, and the quick conversion to beekeeping was too easy as well. Nevertheless, the film does avoid some of the classic pitfalls of the genre, and would definitely make a good recommendation for any filmviewer who dislikes the more violent and unhappy cinema made these days.
amores perros. mexico, 2000. A truly excellent film. Violent, unhappy, etc. etc., but it has the potential to really make you think. This is a story of three sides of Mexico, and it’s also a narrative on the risks of love. The first part shows us the violent, crazy life of the hopeless lower classes, where tragedy is caused by love of money, and love unreturned. The second (and weakest) short story tells us about the upper classes, where the biggest risk to love is accidental destruction and self-love. The final (and strongest) segment follows a homeless man, and speaks of the risks of love destroyed by our own actions. I found this third part to be the most moving and human of the narratives, and it closes the film with a hopeful note. The movie is gripping in its violence and tragedy, but offers enough themes and depth to warrant contemplation after the fact.
insomnia. usa, 2002.
spike & mike’s classic animation festival. usa, 2002.
ghost world. usa, 2001. This proved to be a remarkable little comedy. Usually, I avoid anything based on a comic book, but reviews were quite positive. And the risk paid off – the film take risks and really succeeds. It’s a cynical sort of comedy, but it has some real insights into the present culture of alienation, and it’s not lacking in hilarity along the way.
spider-man. usa, 2002.
l’emploi du temps (time out). france, 2000.
reservoir dogs. usa, 1992.
lawn & order. canada, 1995.
project grizzly. canada, 1996.
stranger than paradise. usa, 1984.
city of lost children. france, 1995.
the white balloon. iran, 1995.
muppets from space.
a matter of life and death. uk, 1946.
the chocolate wars. usa, 1991.
slackers. usa, 1992.
le fabuleux destin d’amélie poulain (amélie). france, 2000.
le pacte des loups (brotherhood of the wolf). france, 2000. Whoa. This is one messed-up movie, a real genre-bender. Take an 18th century wolf legend, add some eighteenth century costume drama, then toss in some kung fu, iroquois mysticism and a dash of political intrigues. The plot makes almost no sense and is completely over-the-top (just wait until you see the sword / nunchucks scene), combining traditional french martial arts like savate with some serious Hong Kong action. The film’s visuals are quite spectacular, though: also over the top and excessively arty, but this is still a refreshing change in the tired action genre. Lots of cute slow-mo water shots, dripping blood, and supertight depth-of-field. The visuals almost make it worthwhile.
mononoke bure (princess mononoke). japan, 1999. I’ve never quite understood the anime movement. At Waterloo, the second-biggest club on campus was CTRL-A, the Club That Really Likes Anime. I saw akira in high school, and thought that it was mostly just excessively violent and weird. On the other hand, my favourite television as a kid were almost all Japanese: astroboy, g-force, voltron. So, after hearing overwhelming positive reviews for this film, I gave it a shot. The artwork is gorgeous, reminding me of my childhood anime, of older Japanese painting, and even battle scenes that looked like Akira Kurosawa’s ran. Some of the best scenes are in the forest, where Hayao Miyazaki composes a beautiful still with just the slightest animation. Unfortunately, the characters are very flat and the plot just goes to hell during the final third of the movie. It devolves into an akira-style holocaust in the end, and then tacks on a happy conclusion. Maybe holocaust is a notable theme of Japanese cinema, but my tolerance in this respect is a little limited.
35 up. united kingdom, 1992. 42 up. united kingdom, 1999. These films are the latest installments in the long-running 7 up documentary series by Michael Apted. The premise is simple: take 14 children at the age of seven, film them, then come back every seven years and interview them again. The series makes for potent criticism of English class structure, as we see the upper-class children achieve their dreams easily while the lower-class children struggle with variable results. You can’t help but compare your life to the characters’ lives. A truly excellent and engaging series – I’ll have to see the earlier installments.
le temps retrouvé (time regained). france, 2001. Marcel Proust’s writing is alleged to be almost indecipherable, and this film adaptation by Raoul Ruiz is certainly not an easygoing ride. I think that I tried to hard to understand what was happening, when the true content of the film lies in its style, its visual language. There are some truly luscious set pieces in the film, with some very disconcerting, swirling visual effects mixed in. It’s a beautiful piece, but it defied my understanding, at least on the first viewing.
meet the feebles. new zealand, 1989. I can’t believe that Peter Jackson ever 1) got money to make this; 2) got to make the lord of the rings after making this! It’s a totally twisted version of the Muppets, with a heroin-addict frog who has Vietnam flashbacks, a walrus / hippo pair to substitute for Kermit and Miss Piggy, a gay troupe director who puts on a splashy Sodomy song and dance number, and every bodily fluid imaginable. Gross, yes, but still occasionally funny. The Vietnam sequence is easily the best, and some of the other scenes are worthy, but the end was just gratuitously violent. Not for the squeamish.
harold & maude. usa, 1971. A curious little darkly comic oddity. Harold is 20, nearly mute, and likes faking suicides. Maude is 79, and a bit of a manic hippie. Somehow, they fall in love. It sounds improbable, but it (almost) works in the film… I was never fully convinced, but this is a fantasy-type film, really. Although the suicide part sounds dark, it’s not really a very dark film, more comic than anything. It’s quirky, but decent.
cabaret balkan. yugoslavia, 1999. They don’t come much darker than this. I’d heard that it was dark, but the first several scenarios weren’t too bad – grim, yes, but I’d seen worse. By the end, however, the film was as bleak and unhappy as anything I’ve seen. It’s a political allegory for the state of life in Yugoslavia, told in a series of chapters. In each story, a minor incident spirals out of control into violence, and the victims of one story become the aggressors in the next. The story flows very plausibly, giving a real feel for how violence begets violence. It’s a depressing film, but very well done. One scene in particular stands out: a man and his girlfriend are being held captive by a coke addict and a young boy, and the addict begins to rape the girlfriend, while forcing her boyfriend to sing his native Macedonian anthem. It was a very powerful scene, with brilliant acting and staging.
captain corelli’s mandolin. usa, 2001. I expected it to be dreadful, and it wasn’t. The scenery is gorgeous, the script is braver than you’d expect, the accents are atrocious, and the politics are braindead. It won’t get a high recommendation, but I won’t slag it totally I either.
mulholland drive. usa, 2001. Having just seen this again, I have to put some comments in. This is a truly fabulous film – everything that a film buff loves. It’s amorphous; don’t expect a clear narrative, logical progression, or anything so trite. The biggest virtue of the film, in my view, is that no one can agree on what exactly happened. Better yet, everyone who likes the film comes away and argues about the plot, about the meaning of symbols (what is that blue box supposed to mean?). And reinforcing the bewildering plot is a sumptuous style and excellent score, cinematography and directing. This one’s a winner, folks.
gosford park. uk, 2001.
the shipping news. usa, 2001.
the castle. australia, 1997.
the lord of the rings. new zealand / usa, 2001.
le dîner de cons (the dinner game). france, 1998.
le temps retrouvé (time regained). france, 2000.
trust. usa, 1990. My friend Lars insisted over and over again that I watch a Hal Hartley movie. Eric Brochu played this for a new movie night, and I now see why Lars liked the director. Initially, it felt a little too much like Ayn Rand: selfish characters interacting. But I warmed to the style, the verbal sparring and unreality that Hartley seems to favour. Good acting, and incredible considering the budget.
fucking åmål (show me love). sweden, 1999. Yes, after hearing about this film umpteen times from Lars, I finally got around to showing it. In fact, I played it for the Green College film nights, to much acclaim. It’s quite a well-assembled film, with excellent character development, and utterly real. If virgin suicides was the first film I’d seen that showed the high school prom accurately, then this is the first film that shows the high school house party correctly. I really liked the sympathetic shots of Elin’s male love interest – obviously a dim fellow, but still a nice guy, still human. Prime quality.
warren miller’s snoworld. usa, 2001.
kandahar. iran / afghanistan, 2001.
planet of the apes. usa, 2001.
rosemary’s baby. usa, 1968.
tilsammans (together). sweden, 2000. I have to put in a good word for this flick, since it’s one of the best films I’ve seen this year. If you’ve grown up with left-wing parents, then run to the nearest specialty video store and rent this film! Set in a 1970s Swedish hippie commune, it follows a wide range of characters lives. The primary focus is Elisabeth, who has just left her alcoholic, abusive husband to join her brother in the commune. The strange characters in this house are vividly portrayed, and the humour is first-rate. The director, Lukas Moodysson, does a great job of developing sympathy, and doesn’t take any cheap shots. Even the abusive husband is deserving of sympathy. This is the best comedy that I saw in 2001. (Note that I didn’t seen amélie until 2002…
le 15 février, 1839. québec, 2001.
atanarjuat, the fast runner. canada, 2001. The first film in Inuktitut is good, and not simply as an anthropological curiosity. A traditional Inuit tale of betrayal was set to film with real panache. Handheld cameras reveal the scale of the Arctic landscape and the rhythm of life in the north several centuries ago. The culture is undoubtedly alien, but human elements remain at the forefront, although there are (thankfully) no apologies for lifestyles that may seem politically incorrect to Western sensibilities. I found this film truly engaging, both in terms of culture and story.
moulin rouge. usa, 2001.
la goût des autres (the taste of others). france, 2000.
the godfather part ii. usa, 1974.
eat my twisted shorts. various. I saw this at the festival juste pour rire / just for laughs festival recently. The National Film Board put on two sets of shorts, one regular and one “twisted”. There were some hilarious films amongst the twisted set, plus a few that were a little too disturbing. The standout was definitely rejected from don hertzfeld (usa, 2000). From the first few seconds of stick drawings, the audience was already giggling – it’s that good. The premise is that the animator was commissioned to do a series of commercials for the (fictional) Family Learning Channel, which were rejected. And you can see why they’d be rejected… they’re kind of messed up and disturbed.
ai. usa / uk, 2001.
taxi 2. france, 2000.
apocalypse now. usa, 1979.
pulp fiction. usa, 1994.
pleasantville. usa, 1999.
the godfather part i. usa, 1972.
yi-yi (and a one and a two). taiwan, 2000.
chungking express. taiwan, 1999.
the dish. australia, 2000.
man on the moon. usa, 1999.
the virgin suicides. usa, 1999. So, the dark little flick from Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter Sophia came my way recently. I knew nothing about this, going in, but was pleasantly surprised. It’s not an easy film, and my John Woo-fan friends didn’t take well to it, but it’s well made. Flipping quickly from funny to bleak, it takes some adjustment. I liked the cinematography, and I really liked the shot of Lux leaving the football field… that really stayed with me. The little documentary-style inserts were intriguing too; usually, tricks like that feel manipulative, but this story lent itself well to that treatment. I’ll be watching for more from this director, and not just on account of her father’s name.
roman holiday. usa, 1953. Okay, so my friend Naomi loved it, and Sameera liked it too. Naomi even imitated Hepburn’s moves when she visited Rome. And it’s cool to see all of that familiar Roman landscape. But it’s still a pretty schlocky story, dripping over with silliness. I think I’d have to watch this in a really lovesick mood to enjoy it properly… I’m too critical otherwise. (Okay, it is funny, it isn’t too culturally insensitive, and it’s a classic. Don’t take my critical uppiness too seriously.)
wild strawberries. sweden, 1957. Ya gotta watch some classics some times. Ingmar Bergman’s best known film filled my evening a few nights ago, and it wasn’t bad. I’m not sure what to make of it overall – some of the characters seemed way too outlandish for 1950s Sweden – but it was well-made. I loved the silly flirtatious girl, and the yesteryear characters’ wickedly wanky mustaches. I still have trouble getting absorbed by black-and-white the way I do with colour, though.
la veuve de st. pierre (the widow of st. pierre). canada/france, 2000. Ben, c’est le premier film français que j’ai vu depuis… euh… septembre. Malheureusement, ça ne vallait presque pas la peine. Les trailers étaient les pires que j’ai vu de ma vie – des films québécois que j’espère sortiront jamais de la belle province. Le film lui-même avait des points forts: la cinématographie est exquis, des bleus muets et les paysages maritimes éblouissants. Quelques-uns des comédiens faisaient bien aussi, y compris Daniel Auteuil, mais la reste ne vallait pas la peine. Peut-être j’avais malcompris trop de la dialogue française, mais je trouvais l’histoire ennuyant et maladroit. Trop révisioniste pour mes goûts.
being john malkovich. usa, 1999. I’d heard so much about this film that it couldn’t possibly live up to the hype. The premise is cool, from the half-floor to entering John Malkovich’s brain, and much of it plays out well. I loved the world filled with John Malkovichs, and the ra-ra-puppeteering games. But I didn’t take well to some of the bits that felt too much like… my high school joke videos. The “we’ll build a place for midgets” gag was just sad, as was the “isn’t John Cusack pitiful?” running joke. Okay, the hippy people are clueless, just as the ad exec is predatory – show me a new cliché, guys. Ordinarily, I’d overlook this, but it doesn’t belong in such a highly rated film.
snatch. uk/usa. Okay, I probably shouldn’t admit that I really liked this… but then, I haven’t seen lock stock, so I don’t know how derivative it is. The film had me laughing most of the way through, even if it didn’t make much sense at times. Mostly, it’s about Brad Pitt’s kickass accent, or the gratuitous Madonna reference, or the slicin’ dicin’ Brit accents. I don’t know why del Toro is in this film, since he does basically nothing… but whatever. Enjoy.
oh brother where art thou? usa. I’m not used to the Coen brothers, honestly – I liked the big lebowski, and I liked this film, but I can’t really say why. The zany humour, the musical numbers, the uselessness of George Clooney’s character, the wacky interweaving of Homer references… none of these really explains how such an off-the-wall film was so damn enjoyable. I really did like that music, though, and I’ve never been one for country or bluegrass, although I have a soft spot for dixie jazz… which wasn’t in the film. So, screw my critical skills, and suffice it to say that the flick’s good stuff.
traffic. usa. Steven Sodenbergh’s new hit, with one of my favourite actors, Benicio del Toro (the usual suspects, fear and loathing in las vegas). A well-told story; not quite as edgy as I’d expected from the reviews, but then I’m not too accustomed to American drug politics, I suppose. I liked the deep and philosophical stoner kids, and the human portrayal of the Mexicans. In the camerawork, the sepia tones did a great job of conveying heat, and the grainy film gave a nice roughness to the Mexican scenes. There was one great upside-down helicopter shot that I loved, too. A good film, all told – a bit weak from the two principals (Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones), but decent nonetheless.
wallace & grommit. united kingdom, 1990s. I’d long been warned that these animations were first rate, but I’d never had a chance to see any of them. Expectations were high, based on reviews of chicken run, by the same animator. And the series didn’t disappoint – hilarious material, brilliant animation, and no shortage of quirk. The DVD consisted of three half-hour shorts, of which the standout was clearly the wrong trousers, which had my rolling on the floor laughing during the fantastic train chase scene, taking place entirely on a model railroad. Other highlights included the trousers themselves, the breakfast routine, the quirky sheep in a close shave, and the sawing scene in the first animation. This is the best animated feature I’ve seen in recent memory.
the emperor’s new groove. usa. A Disney movie that I actually liked? What is the world coming to? Yup, this flick’s got enough wit and whimsy to keep me laughing from start to finish, mostly due to the elimination of Disney’s staples: crappy musical numbers and wanky sidekicks. Smart writing, fast pace, and loads of throwaway visual gags had me laughing. Sure, it’s still a kidsish movie, but it’s better than any Rugrats junk.
crouching tiger, hidden dragon. china / hong kong / taiwan / usa. The people’s favourite at the Toronto film festival this year, and a fine film. I saw Ang Lee’s excellent ride with the devil at last year’s film festival, and his newest film is even better. How can I complain when he mixes good drama with sizzling martial arts scenes, honestly? Everything I like in a movie, all mixed up together. Honestly, it could have been a disaster, but Ang Lee pulls it off. The acting is superb, the scenery gorgeous, the fights fantastic. Some of the characters’ motivations are a little doubtful, and it still follows the hong kong fu formula a fair bit, but it’s fun. When was the last time that an action movie had enough character that you could question their motivations, anyways? Even though the film is in Mandarin and subtitled to English, it’ll please crowds, I think. Sure, illiterate Joe off the street won’t like it, but… well, keep him away from cinema anyways.
a time for drunken horses. iran. I have wanted to see this movie for quite a while. I tried to get tickets during the Toronto film festival, but it was sold out. I saved it for use as a date movie, but a mixup caused that plan to fall through. I thought it would be out of cinemas, but by a twist of luck, the Carleton put it on after it finished its run at the Cumberland. The film’s title may be a little catchy, but everything else about this film is gritty reality. Set in the mountains of Iran at the Iraqi border, it tells the story of a family of orphaned children. One child needs an operation to save his life, and the others go to great lengths to try to pay for the surgery. The “drunken horses” of the title are in fact mules, who must be imbibed with alcohol in order to get them over the cold mountain smugglers’ route to Iraq. The force of this film lies in its truth – the struggles faced by these children are just day-to-day reality for much of the world’s population. The filmmakers brought cameras into a remote town, where many had never seen television, and left them running without an operator, in an effort to capture the children acting as naturally as possible. It’s a charm.
urbania. usa. Stranger and stranger. This was a last-minute film choice, after missing another film, and it was very spur-of-the-moment. All I knew going in was 1) something to do with urban myths 2) it gets better 3) there’s a québécois actor in it. It quickly became apparent that the central theme was homosexuality, which was not anticipated, and that it was a little strange. By the end, I had mixed feelings – the movie did have something worthwhile to say, it turns out, but it took a long time and a few awkward moments to get there. The individual parts (acting, direction, cinematography) are all fine, but the story could use a little work. And the urban myth theme still felt gimmicky, especially upon reflection. The québécois guy’s small role was decent, at least.
requiem for a dream. usa. Wow… what a ride. A very powerful film, and not for the faint-of-heart. Darren Aronofsky (pi) directs another movie with MTV style, and real content. The film is unrated in the USA thanks to its relentless depiction of drug addiction, but it’s even less glorifying than trainspotting by the time the credits roll. Mostly, it’s a story of addiction, but it touches on medicine, old age, dieting, television, con artists, the sex trade and even racism along the way, and the messages hit like a sledgehammer. Well worth the while, but don’t expect to come out in a good mood. I left with an urge to quit my drug habits: no more alcohol, coffee, or vitamin C for me!
don’t be a menace to south central while drinking your juice in the hood. usa, 1993? Ah, fine humour. Hyperexaggerated ghetto life, with some of your favourite Wayans brothers. This isn’t a film to show your parents, but it’s funny stuff. I doubt it’d stand up to a second viewing, but seeing the granny-walker mugging was worth the while. I probably should have seen boyz in the hood to get all of the jokes, but even without that context it was a good belly laugh. And besides – with a badass title like that, how can you go wrong?
muppet treasure island. usa, 1996? Nothing special here. This was the first Muppets film after Jim Henson died, and they were clearly still regaining their legs. There’s one good joke at the start, and the rest is fairly sad, with lots of poor musical numbers. There’s some very strange humour mixed in (starfish in my pants??) that really doesn’t work. Don’t bother with this, but I hear muppets in space rocks the house.
how the grinch stole christmas. usa. This film is the showcase for my current employer’s software, with 65% of the computer graphics generated with Houdini. And beautiful those graphics are, from snowflakes to some very Seussian cloudscapes and trees. The film itself is… mediocre. It’s quite funny at times, but mildly disturbing at others, especially since it’s supposed to be for kids. Expect typical Jim Carrey – if you like him, you’ll like it, if you don’t you won’t. The backstory that pads the film to 90 minutes is hackneyed and horrible, but the acting won’t make you cringe. The one thing that make the film worthwhile is the huge range of visual gags, from milk-and-cookies hats to Seuss noses.
ran. japan, 1985. Well, I’ve never seen any Akira Kurosawa films before, so this was a good experience for a cinephile. Kurosawa is a legendary Japanese director, best known for his 1954 film seven samurai, which is still on my must-see list. This film is derived from Shakespeare’s king lear, set in Japan. The film is epic, with battles as violent as braveheart, but doesn’t share that film’s tone at all. Where Mel Gibson’s battles are heroic, Kurosawa’s are silent, no music and sometimes even no sound at all. Kurosawa likes different shots: no closeups, no slow pans, just beautifully composed still shots, smoky battles, harmonious Japanese interiors. That said, I had difficulty absorbing this film – Japanese culture remains fairly alien to me, rife with formal rules and conduct of which I’m ignorant. And I can’t judge much of the dramatic performances – often they seemed either cheap or strange, but that’s probably just my western upbringing speaking; I have no idea what a Japanese lord would do in that situation. All told, a good film, but only for cinephiles I think. In that vein, the DVD came with English subtitles, but definitely no version dubbed for anglophones.
the legend of drunken master. hong kong? So now I can claim to have seen Jacky Chan. Good comedy, it must be said. You don’t go into this type of film with high expectations, but I can’t really complain about the film – it was a fun romp. It’s good to see the other side of racial stereotypes – after however many American films with lousy Chinese stereotypes, it was cool to see Chinese versions of the British, dressed up in African safari gear, pith helmets and all, smack in the middle of China. The Chinese traitors supporting the western imperialists all wore suits and often glasses, of course, while our noble heroes adopted more traditional gear… while engaging in most non-traditional drunken boxing. Ya know. Gotta roll with the punches.
mallrats. usa, 1996? Okay, I was once a Kevin Smith fan, but my patience wears thin. This is better than dogma (which was pretty crappy), but not a lot better. Once again, Jason Lee carries the picture, and once again the lead character is useless. The sight gags are good, the comic book references suck, the romances are unconvincing. He still can’t write a female role. I think chasing amy was a flash in the pan, and we’ll never see anything else good out of this guy. Sure, it’s funny; sure, you’ll enjoy it. But it’s not a masterpiece.
charlie’s angels. usa. Do I have to comment on this film? This was a “hang out with guys from work” film, not an “appreciate the art of cinema” outing. (Just in case that wasn’t clear…) The big issue in this film is not “Was that the right angle for that shot?” but instead “Is Drew Barrymore hotter than Cameron Diaz?” That said, it was still funny, in a post-sexist sort of way. If a film like this wasn’t over the top, I’d hate it, but as it stood… well, even I laughed when they used sexiness to entice the computer geeks away from watching the security system. And there were good action scenes, plus an appropriately villanous villain, and even an appropriate clip of Prodigy’s smack my bitch up thrown into the soundtrack. All pretentiousness aside – guys will find this movie funny, some (many?) girls will be uncomfortable, and it’ll sell a lot of Nokia cel phones.
the insider. usa, 1999. I never got around to seeing this in Switzerland, but my parents were big fans, so I tried it on DVD. Having just rewatched heat recently, I couldn’t help but notice the parallels with Michael Mann’s last film: similar setup for tension shots, similarly glum appearance outdoors, Al Pacino again, and even the same artists on the soundtrack. A nice piece of film, with plenty to say: comments on mounties beating up natives in Oka, Québec were remarkably well placed, amongst other things. Mann appears to have a serious political bone to pick, which can’t hurt. It’s a compelling story, if a bit slow at times; I don’t think it’s the best film of the year, but it’s worth seeing.
girlfight. usa. I’ve never liked boxing, and I’ve never seen a rocky film. But this film caught my fancy, mostly thanks to its spunky-as-hell lead actress. The direction and editing of fight scenes are probably taken straight from the playbook of boxing films, but they’re still effective, and got my blood pumping nicely. The backstory is good, even if the row of annoying girls behind me thought the male lead was ugly. I found it refreshing to have such a true-to-life looking guy, to be honest, even if he’s no Leonardo DiCaprio. Worth seeing.
rocks at whiskey trench. canada. This was the final film I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival. This National Film Board documentary deals with a secondary incident during the Oka crisis at the start of the 90s: a group of native women and children escorted to safety by police being hailed with rocks by local Québec residents. It’s powerful footage, and an important chapter in Canadian native affairs. Reviews were dismissive, but from a purely political standpoint, I think this film is worth seeing.
harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien. france. Bien, je connais assez peu du cinéma français – j’ai vu un film de Truffaut et c’est peut-être tout ce que je connaît. Mais il faut dire que c’est bien refraîchant à voir un film telment bon ces jours-ci. Je n’ai jamais aimé les comédies noir, toujours trop macabre. Mais celui-ci marchait; c’était vraiment drôle en même temps que les corps tombaient, sans que les caractères en réflissaient trop. (Euhhh.. je ne peux pas écrire en français aujourd’hui…) Bref, ça vaut bien la peine.
two thousand and none. canada. A comedy, firing on most cylinders, but not always right. John Turturro leads, and does a sparkling job. He plays a paleontologist who discovers he’ll die from a rare brain condition. In confronting his death, he decides to develop his long-neglected sense of humour, with charming results. This isn’t half bad as a “date comedy”, half serious and half quietly funny. Some of the sex jokes were a little too forceful and improbable for my taste, but I liked the rest.
la moitié gauche du frigo (the left-hand side of the fridge). canada. Encore un film de la politique; vous dévinez mes intérêts maintenant, peut-être? Celui-ci s’occupe de deux colocs, l’un chomeur et l’autre cinéaste. Ce deuxième fait un documentaire du premier pendant son recherche de job. Pour compliquer l’affaire, le cinéaste est fortement politique, et il prend l’habitude de intérroger les enterprises pendant les interviews, ce qui n’aide jamais l’interview. C’est bien drôle, les deux colocs s’entendent bien en scène. Le photographie est digitale, qui ne traduit pas bien au grand écran, mais … bien, c’est canadien, on manque l’argent pour des superprods ici. On s’habitue. C’est bon, mais pas formidable. Néanmoins, il a gagné le prix pour “meilleur film d’un premier réalisateur canadien” au festival.
smell of camphor, fragrance of jasmine. iran. According to film buffs, Iran is the source for real cinema these days. The AGO’s Cinémathèque had something like six Iranian films in its top ten films of the decade. Needless to say, this piqued my curiosity. I couldn’t get tickets for a time for drunken horses at the festival, so I took this film instead. The plot is pulled from real life: the director, unable to get film scripts past the censors for ten years, is ready to give up on making films. The fiction begins here, as he decides to make a documentary on Iranian funeral rites, and winds up thinking about his own death in the process. Parts of the director’s own life are woven in and out of the film, including his memories of his wife, his son-in-law’s abuse of his daughter; I suspect that many of the friends depicted are his actual friends. Aspects of Iranian life are also included, from the promised funeral rites, to a woman who miscarried due to her husband’s beatings. All told, it’s an interesting look at a different world. The filmmaking didn’t strike me as particularly spectacular, I must say… but then, that’s why I’m not part of the cinema élite, right? I’ll reserve judgment for the next Iranian film.
faithless. sweden. Truly a perfect film. The story deals with a director, inventing a film. His lead actress is in the studio, and they are spinning a story from nothing, talking back and forth, using photos as prompts. Slowly, a story of a love triangle emerges, a marriage broken with an infidelity, and the bitter aftermath that must follow. It’s a painful, wrenching story, and cleverly framed in the dialogue between director and actress, questioning motivations, reasons. The acting is truly first-rate, making the Swedish language more beautiful than I’ve ever heard it. The film legend Ingmar Bergman wrote the screenplay, then handed it off to his longtime lead actress, Liv Ullman, to direct. The director in the film is Bergman’s mirror, and, just as the actress weaves the story in the film, Ullman must bring a female voice to the project to make it real. Clever, and cleverer still if you get to see it – I won’t give away any of the surprises. Beautiful cinematography, with perfectly framed shots of Bergman’s cabin, moody lighting, mmm! If you like film, you must see this.
