2011
FILM RATINGS
2010 FILM RATINGS-REVIEWS
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2009 FILM RATINGS-REVIEWS
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HERE
RATING
SCALE
2.5 or more for a noteworthy film
3.5 for an exceptional film
4 for a classic.
1.9
-- EAT PRAY
LOVE, Ryan Murphy
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
Liz (Julia Roberts) leaves her husband. She has it all, a nice
house, a great job as a writer and pretty clothes, but she isn't
happy. She travels to Bali and there an old guru tells her she
needs to love, let go and then come back to Bali. Liz embarks
on a journey of self-discovery by traveling. First she goes
to Italy to enjoy the epicurean delights of food. The she goes
to India where she learns to forgive herself and the fact that
she left her boyfriend after she left her husband. In India
at the ashram, she meets an American rough-around-the-edges
man whose life was shattered by booze (Richard Jenkins). He
helps Liz learn how to pray and forgive herself. She is also
learning to chant and meditate. She eventually returns to Bali
to the guru and she is happy -- happier still because she meets
a man (Javier Bardem). They fall in love, but she is afraid
of love and rejects him. Finally, a friend tells her that balance
in life is not incompatible with taking risks in love. Liz and
her man end up happily ever after living in Bali for a while,
one imagines. The book was probably much better than the movie;
it left out huge hunks of her growth. I think had this been
made by a Europena director, the result would have been far
more moving. Jenkins was excellent in his role. Roberts is just
not my cup of tea in any movie -- even when she cries on cue
and lets out her famous laugh that seems to take over the entire
screen. (This film was viewed compliments of le Superclub Videotron,
5000 Wellington in Verdun, Quebec).
3.3
-- A
DANGEROUS METHOD, David
Cronenberg
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
David Cronenberg’s latest film will strike many as
uncharacteristically classic. The master of weird
(“Videodrome,”“Dead Ringers,” “Crash," “eXistenZ”)
adapts the successful London play that focuses on
the complex relationships between Sigmund Freud, Carl
Jung and Sabina Spielrein (unfortunately over-interpreted
by Keira Knightley). Weaving together fine conceptual
points regarding the budding field of psychoanalysis
with biographical elements, Cronenberg skilfully crafts
elegant dialogues between the three protagonists,
with a result that never feels like a filmed play.
Though intensely cerebral, the film remains sensual
in true Cronenberg fashion, with both Michael Fassbender
(Jung) and Viggo Mortensen (Freud) as equally sexy
as they stand as opposites. The sexual tensions run
so high, behind the Victorian accoutrement, that one
expects any given moment to explode into a full-fledged
orgy.
3.7
-- TINKER
TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, Tomas
Alfredson
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Based on John le Carré’s 1974 spy novel, “Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy” takes us back to the hottest
days of the cold war inside the British Secret Intelligence
Service. Although it has been done many times (“The
Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “The Russia House,”
“The Constant Gardener” and the upcoming “A Most Wanted
Man,” to name only a few) this is by far the best
adaptation of le Carré’s work. This time, the filmmakers
got the pacing, aesthetic and ambiance right, matching
the always uncertain world in which spies evolve.
With great attention to detail, the filmmakers re-create
the early 1970s universe with incredible authenticity.
It’s a world that is also remarkably compelling and
sexy in the most cerebral sort of way. This somewhat
romantic view of the good old days at the circus has
always pervaded le Carré’s work, and director Alfredson
beautifully translates this nostalgic feeling as well.
Some filmic adaptations make you want to go read the
book again. With superb acting by John Hurt (Control),
Gary Oldman (Smiley), Ciaran Hinds (Esterhase), Kathy
Burke (Connie Sachs) and Colin Firth (Bill Haydon),
this one makes you want to go see the film again.
2.9
-- MARGIN
CALL, J.C. Chandor
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Inspired by the 2008 financial debacle, “Margin Call”
is a fictional account of what might very well have
happened in several Wall Street investment banks:
the sudden realization that the upcoming financial
crisis has in fact already happened and that the only
way to get out of it alive (or, rather, filthy rich,
which in this universe seems to mean the same thing)
is to screw as many people as fast as market will
allow. There are many flaws with this film: its portrayal
of the financial villains seems, at times, too facile
(it’s easy to hate crooks in ties nowadays, and Chandor
is sure having a field trip), its overall fatalistic
tone is rather perverse, and its preference for the
under-said and heavy jargon will make much of the
plot incomprehensible to most. Most importantly, when
all is said and done, we are asked to empathize with
the obscenely overpaid perpetrators of the crash rather
than with our own. That being said, it is hard to
believe that “Margin Call” is J.C. Chandor’s first
feature, as the director could be giving master classes
in actor direction and pacing to the most seasoned
of Hollywood directors. Superb performances make this
film worth watching: Kevin Spacey’s transformations
through emotional qualms and ethical dilemmas are
incredibly moving, and Zachary Quinto steals the show.
As a boardroom drama, the film is closer to “Glengarry
Glenn Ross” than “Wall Street.”
2.8
-- CARNAGE,
Roman Polanski
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
One fine afternoon, the Cowans (Kate Winslet and Christoph
Waltz) visit the Longstreets (Jodie Foster and John
C. Reilly). The two couples have never met : An altercation
between their two respective sons has prompted the
meeting, an attempt at peacefully diffusing a volatile
situation. During the course of about an hour, all
four will bicker, take turns insulting each other,
get cockeyed and destroy various valuable objects.
"Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf" must have
been on television the night before. Like “Who’s Afraid,"
“Carnage” is based on a play, and Polanski never lets
us forget it. While Mike Nichols at least had the
decency of letting us out of the house once in a while,
“Carnage” makes you feel like the fifth suffocating
wheel, hoping to make a dash for the elevator. As
they deliver their razor-sharp lines with great gusto,
the actors -- who never transcend their status as
actors -- plunge head on in a sea of clichés that
are as predictable as they are improbable.
2.8 --
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN,
Simon Curtis
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
In 1956, Marilyn Monroe flew to England at the top
of her fame to shoot\ "The Prince and the Showgirl"
with Laurence Olivier. The result of this collaboration
has now famously gone down in history for the lack
and chemistry between the two stars; the reflection
of an acrimonious off-screen relationship. Olivier
-- hailed greatest stage-actor alive -- was fundamentally
incapable of dealing with Monroe’s notorious insecurity;
his fits of rage at her tardiness only upsetting an
already delicate environment. The story of this infamous
shoot is told as it was lived by then 3rd assistant-director
Colin Clark, whose luck had Marilyn take a liking
in him. "My Week" is a light yet terribly
entertaining film, which forecasts superb performances
by Kenneth Branagh (as Olivier), Judie Dench and Michelle
Williams (Monroe). It is an absolute delight to watch
Branagh simmer and boil over. And while Williams brilliantly
captures Monroe’s disarming vulnerability, the actress
can’t quite convey Marilyn’s unique sensuality. But
then again, maybe that was precisely the point : no
one could ever possibly out-Marilyn Marilyn.
3.5
-- SHAME,
Steve McQueen
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
By now, “Shame” has already gathered plenty of awards
and made many 'best of 2011' lists. Nevertheless,
many will stay away from the film because of its uncomfortable
subject matter: sexual addiction. Indeed, throughout
the film, we see Brandon (Michael Fassbender, in full
form) 'pleasuring' himself repeatedly, and yet the
movie makes clear that he derives no pleasure from
it, that he is rather acting on a morbid and self-destructive
compulsion. The film could have gone wrong in so many
ways that it’s a miracle it got done at all, let alone
turned out so well. Refusing easy avenues at every
juncture, director Steve McQueen plunges head on into
subjects that are as delicate as they are taboo. “Shame”
is not an easy or 'entertaining' film, much less pornographic
or voyeuristic fare, which doesn’t mean it won’t provide
less pleasurable rewards. It presents its subject
without judgment or sentimentality, and takes its
time developing characters without relying too heavily
on narrative. When Brandon is watching porn, it is
with complete disinterest and the boredom of watching
the most repetitious of film genres is palpable. Tellingly,
he flirts with his eyes, for he has nothing to say.
Besides, why carry on conversations when he’ll never
see the girls again? As a study in male sexuality
and existential void, “Shame” is reminiscent of both
"Midnight Cowboy" and "American Psycho."
2.0
--
SHAME, Steve McQueen
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Shamefully pornographic in content, this sexually turgid film takes
every possible plot hook and screws it up. The director
completely copped out of creating a plot. I doubt
he did any research on the subject of sex addiction.
In the film, Brandon is a sex addict. At his work,
porno garbage is discovered by his boss. That scene
goes nowhere. His sister Sissy is a nympho who has
a disturbing attraction towards him. Brandon can't
seem to shake her off. That intriguing piece of incest
history is never revealed properly -- except that
they are Irish. Yes, incest
is far more widespread among the Irish than
one cares to investigate; however, several academic
papers have dared to address this topic, revealing
statistics and reasons for its rampant occurrence.
Back to the movie: Brandon likes a lady at work, and
he goes nowhere with her. In fact, that is the only
hope of plot advancement; but neither their relationship
nor follow-up of episodes involving the two -- not
even their sexual encounter goes anywhere. Ironic
indeed. The only real dialogue takes place when they
go for dinner, but who cares anyway? In fact, this
movie is a series of sex scenes that overwhelm any
possibility of making an interesting film about a
sex addict. Why couldn't the director examine that
aspect -- the psychological making and unraveling
of a sex addict rather than focus so repeatedly on
the physical aspect of things? Michael Fassbinder
as Brandon played his role with taut introversion,
and Carey Mulligan was believable as the lost lady
without a home or a head -- for that matter. McQueen
needs to dig deeper into plot for any future film
he may dare to make, but right now, all I can say
to him about this film is: "Shame on you."
3.8 --
ORA, Philippe
Baylaucq
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Presented as an opening act, Philippe Baylaucq’s short,“ORA,”
puts Wim Wenders’ “Pina”-- about the recently deceased
choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch -– to shame.
Not that Wenders’ film is terrible -- it’s actually
quite good. “ORA,” however, and contrary to Wenders’
film, which could just as well have been filmed in
2D, really exploits the possibilities of 3D technology.
Created during a two-year residency with the NFB French
program, “ORA” uses infrared 3D cameras to render
thermal images of dancing bodies as choreographed
by José Navas. Thermal cinematography might be, at
this point, one of the most compelling ways of using
3D technology and Baylaucq triumphs in selecting his
subject matter for the medium and thereby truly creating
a film for 3D. One could say that the present situation
very much resembles the awkward years of cinema’s
transition to sound in the late 1920s: everyone can
see 3D’s possibilities, but very few know how to work
with the new medium to release its full potential
while avoiding distracting elements (and until we
can have prescription 3D glasses, that day may never
come for half the population). Beyond the technological
aspects, the dancers are beautifully choreographed
and the camera captures them as if its gaze were omnipresent,
never emanating from any specific point in space.
The result is an innovative and mesmerizing symphony
of bodies -- this decade’s version of a Busby Berkeley
sequence.
1.3 -- MELANCHOLIA, Lars Von Trier
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] What a bunch
of rubbish! Yes, the costumes, estate setting and
the background music -- Tristan Isolde symphony playing
to impending planetary plot doom -- a planet called
Melancholia is about to hit earth and end it for everyone
- were beautiful. Nonetheless, this 'art' film was
a pretentious piece of spineless drivel without character
credibility or plot probability for that matter. Although
attempts were made to examine the relationship between
two sisters, the manic depressive Justine (Kirsten
Dunst) and her restrained far more proper, stable
sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), realism, emotion
and tension were non-existent -- a failure in itself
for this is a film foraging into a family and its
disconnectedness. Justine abandons her husband at
their wedding which could rival any Hollywood superstar
mega-rich one. Hosted in the film by Claire and her
husband, John (Kiefer Sutherland), he realizes he
has wasted his money on the bride that bummed out
in her own wedding. By the way, Sutherland was the
only real deal in the film. Anyway, when the planet
melancholia finally ends it for the characters in
the film, it could come not too soon, as far as I'm
concerned. We are all waiting for that big bang moment,
and it was so anti-climatic. Please compare this film
with the Jody Foster film whose title I shamefully
forget, and you will tell the difference in all manner
of film greatness. 'Melancholia" was a total bore.
I was yawning when the planet finally pulverized it
for the rich folk. Ironically, this film is doomed,
and you know it from the get-go. No story, no character
credibility, and spunk. Any groom that placidly accepts
losing the love of his life -- a beauty without so
much as a tear or a tantrum shows you in a single
moment how flaky this film is.
3.5
-- THE
SALESMAN (LE VENDEUR),
Sébastien Pilote
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Sébastien Pilote’s first feature, “Le vendeur,” is
about everything and nothing. It is first and foremost
the story of Marcel Lévesque (the extraordinary Gilbert
Sicotte), a car salesman in a little town covered
in snow. Every day echanically repeats the inherited
and well-known routines: Marcel clears the snow off
cars, attends the town’s various social events, and
is nice to everyone because they’re all friends --
even more so, because Marcel is trying to sell them
a car. It’s not that Marcel’s a bad guy. Marcel simply
is a car salesman: his livelihood revolves around
selling cars to those around him, whether they can
afford it or not. Through this relatively banal and
uneventful story emerges an economic system that proves
most cruel when failing. Behind the dealership’s bright
colours and boisterous new models is a town whose
mono-economy is slowly decaying. “Le vendeur” was
recently hailed by TIFF as one of the ten best Canadian
films of the year, and it will surely earn Sicotte’s
incredibly subtle acting serious recognition.
3.1
-- INSIDE
LARA ROXX, Mia Donovan
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Mia Donovan’s first documentary introduces us to the
young Lara Roxx, who contracted HIV at 21 while performing
sex on camera. Freshly arrived in LA, and determined
to make fast money, Lara was quickly told that in
order to gain employment, she would need to agree
to perform anal sex and forego condoms— something
she was originally reluctant to do. Throughout the
film, we follow Lara as she tries to regain control
over her life. The journey takes us to LA, where she
confronts various players in the adult film business
and Montreal, where she struggles with health issues,
abusive boyfriends and addiction. “Inside Lara Roxx”
dispels any illusions one might still have about porn
being just another industry. Donovan demonstrates
great restraint and respect towards her delicate subject
matter.
2.4 --
CARNETS D'UN GRAND DETOUR, Catherine
Hebert
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
Following the footstep of Marc Roger who was born
in Barnako, Africa, but spent his time in France,
Hebert documents this white griot's on-foot trip to
Mali. Along the way, he meets up with various characters
and kids to whom he reads a story book full of pictures.
I found the man most uninteresting -- more interested
in himself than the people he meets up with. Hebert,
on the other hand provides a soft-spoken narrative
that is poetic and philosophical. She interviews people,
but we never see her. The film shows the terrible
weather, plight and poverty of many Africans -- most
who wish to leave for America. Yet, it was light in
spirit. This film did not move me in any way, and
although it garnered the award for the best Canadian
documentary feature, I was not impressed. It lacked
grittiness and intensity. This film played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
3.7 -- TAHIR,
PLACE DE AL LIBERATION, Stefano
Savona
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] January 2011, a date no one in the Middle East shall ever forget
-- a date that gave Egypt her crowing revolutionary
glory. For 18 days, young, old, Muslim and Christian
discussed, supported one another and fueled each others'
spirits as they occupied Tahir Square in Cairo. Despite
police violence, hunger and deprivation of basics,
a sea of determined Egyptians stood their ground,
forcing the loathed President Mubarak to resign. This
is a great documentary that at the very moment so
much happens it is being filmed. The director records
speeches, conversations between two women who are
plotting how to proceed after Mubarak's overthrow
while actively standing at the front lines of freedom,
and he also gives us a palpable sense of being there
with them all, hoping that they will win. What bravery
these students showed! This documentary is historically
important. This film played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
2.4 -- LA
BMO DU SEIGNEUR, Jean-Charles
Hue
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
Camper life in the backwoods of L’ile de France brings
us the nomad life of a poor abusive clan who fight
each other, make up, rob and drink. Two brot Joe despises
such stuff. Everyone is quick-tempered and ready to
start a fight. A stray white dog befriends hi, left
at night by his owner. The owner whom we never meet
had a miraculous effect on Fred. He was not violent
when Fred attacked him for trespassing at his camper
site. In fact, he was docile, an this made Fred a
believer in the divine. At the crux of the matter
is a white BMW stolen by Fred, but his guilt gets
the better of him. Joe ends up shooting the dog because
Fred put bullets into the hole of the car so that
no one could use it. After all, a hot car is does
not fall under the good eye of God. White trash is
what this film is all about, and I suspect these were
Quebecois as they did not have accents from France.
It plays out more like a fiction than a documentary,
so for this one must applaud the director. This film played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
4.0
-- HITLER,
STALIN AND I, Helena
Treštíková
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] The life of the Czech Jew, Heda Margolius Kovaly, is revealed as
she speaks to the camera about the rise of Hitler
and how she lost her entire family in the camps, including
her husband and mother. After the war, she remarried
but had to endure Communism. Her new husband was given
a position at the Ministry and within months was accused
of being a traitor. His fate was sealed. She recounts
her last goodbye with him minutes before he is carted
off to the firing squad. Utterly devastating, and
moving! This astounding woman lived through unbelievable
conditions with constant loss. Still, as she so aptly
says at the end of the filming: "Hitler and Stalin
are gone, but I am here. I won." Kovaly's sparkle
and determination to go on even after "you stumble"
kept her alive. Her father taught her about the importance
of never giving up. This woman's life was a miracle
in itself. She wrote books, moved to America, taught
at Harvard and lived to see her grandchildren grow
into youngsters. What makes this poignant documentary
so moving is the detailed personal revelations she
gives us. They evoke vivid images because of her gift
of expression along with the archival footage of the
camps, her first husband and other events that leave
us speechless. She was an inspiration. This film played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
2.8 --
YATASTO, Argyris
Hermes Paralluelo
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] In the suburbs of Cordoba, Argentina, are slums whose streets hold
garbage, and kids who with their parents learn how
to survive in the dirt and dust. As cartoneres, they
hitch a wagon attached to a horse that they direct
with a whip -- holding the reins to steer their horse
right over to big empty boxes and beer bottles and
all kinds of a stuff that can be sold for some pesos.
The three kids in this film live in the most primitive
of dwellings, yet their dreams never die. They are
funny and resilient. The school of hard knocks fills
their spirit with hope and humour. The funniest scene
is that between rebellious Ricardo whose mom is trying
to teach him how to steer the horse. She's a tough
determined cartero who has her hands full. Ricardo
is as obstinate as the horse. They load up boxes and
they all come tumbling down. We laugh at the sad,
absurdity of poverty. Yet they all seem happy in their
'boxed in' lives. This film played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
1.8 --
LES TROIS DISPARITIONS
DE SOAD HOSNI, Rania
Stephan
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] From the 1950s to the 90s Egyptian actress Soad Hosni owned the screen
appearing in over 50 movies. She began starring in
film at the age of 13 -- pig tails and all. As she
matured her roles were relegated to one dimensional
and stereotypical portrayals of women without a future
or a present, for that matter. Using archival clips
rapidly sequenced on the same theme, we witness shots
of her running several times, laughing, sobbing several
times, being slapped several times, being raped several
times, being rejected by a lover several times and
being seduced several times. This was a terribly facile
approach to adopt to reveal her supposedly complicated
life. In fact, nothing about her life was ever shown
nor discussed. The documentary was really a series
of montages. Evidently, she felt everything to the
extreme too many times and ended up committing suicide
in London. How many times did she or do we want to
see repeated pain expressed in a face of an Egyptian
Sophia Loren look-alike? Ironically, her life ended
tragically, yet had she lived on to tackle subtle
roles with intriguing plots, I imagine she could have
gained greater recognition abroad and felt at peace
with her expressive talent. There was no commentary
ever made about her by her peers in this documentary.
The director ought to have selected footage from personal
interviews spliced with some clips of her roles. I
had no feeling about her after I sat through the 70
minutes, other than her ability to run, cry and laugh.
This film played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
2.8 --
CRAZY HORSE, Frederick
Wiseman
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Enter those lovely ladies who perform at Crazy Horse, Paris's most
famous striptease, erotically charged nightclub. The
women -- most who hail from Russia -- are superb ballet
dancers. They move in the most tasteful and tantalizing
ways. Frankly, it is beautiful to behold, and as the
camera shows, couples of all ages and backgrounds
come to witness corporal poetry in motion. The choreography,
lighting, decor and costumes really bring the art
of nightclub naughtiness to a whole new elegant level.
Wiseman basically filmed all the different art departments
manned by visionary devotees of the Parisian pleasure
house. Conversations between them were funny and enlightening.
They are true artists who believe in raising the bar
to the most elegant levels. High standards are impeccably
adhered to for the entire spectacle. The film captured
many of the numbers in Crazy Horse's show, Désir.
Started in 1951, Crazy Horse has continued to mesmerize
audiences with wholly inventive acts. I was disappointed
though that not one of the ladies was 'exposed' in
another way. Too bad not one was followed or interviewed
to find out how and why she came to this place. It
would have been interesting if Wiseman somehow had
found a way to get them to talk about their backgrounds
and goals while still using the same non-intervention
interviewing technique that marks this film. But that
didn't happen. Still, the merging of beautiful movement
with the age-old art of enticing strip tease voyeurism
(though many numbers did not have any woman stripping;
their costumes were revealing enough) makes one realize
that perfect women's bodies in balletic undulation
is spellbinding. The film took 11 weeks of shooting,
and despite 13 months of editing, it went on far too
long (134 minutes) and the allure wore off. This film
played at the Montreal
International Documentary Film Festival.
2.5 --
MELANCHOLIA, Lars
Von Trier
[
reviewed by Andrée Lafontaine]
Cannes festival-goers must have had an eerie feeling
of déjà-vu as they saw Lars Von Trier’s "Melancholia"
following Terence Malick’s "Tree of Life."
It is indeed as if both directors had met and agreed
to each make a grandiose film expressing their respective
overview of life. Much less verbose than Mallick’s,
Von Trier’s latest effort shares with the American
director a passion for intellectual flamboyance and
tediousness that might irritate the most forgiving.
Von Trier takes us to the last days as planet earth
is about to collide with a mysterious planet, Melancholia.
John (Kiefer Sutherland) and his son, carefully measure
the planet’s orbit to conclude that the planet will
only pass earth by. Meanwhile, the women are unanimously
affected by the astronomical movements: Justine (Kristen
Dunst, who won a Palme D’or), knowing there isn’t
much time left, is incapacitated by deep depression.
Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), incapable of dealing
with her imminent death, madly surfs the web for conspiracy
theories. While the men can study the planets with
cold detachment, the women seem to connect viscerally
with them. Von Trier’s usual heavy-handed style and
gender binaries are obviously still very much at work
here. His obsession with utterly helpless and dependent
women as well. Having said all that, I much preferred
"Melancholia" to his previous work.
3.8
-- THIS
IS NOT A FILM, Jafar
Panahi
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
Purgatory has a plain face and so does Jafar Panahi,
the Iranian director who waits in house arrest for
an appeals court to uphold or overturn his sentence
of six years in prison and a twenty year ban on filmmaking
and travel. Helped by friend and fellow filmmaker
Motjaba Mirtahmas, Panahi records himself around the
apartment, eating, working, phoning his lawyer, ruminating
on his other films and reading from and blocking scenes
of an unshot script on the living room carpet. What
makes a film a film is the ostensible question, but
the appeals court’s recent decision to uphold his
sentence (as well as Mirtahmas’s) stresses what is
also clear: that this is a brave, humane record of
resistance by someone who would’ve been safer if he
hadn’t bothered. But things aren't so heavy. Take
the final minutes, when someone who might be Panahi
takes up the camera and follows a young garbage collector
in Dante-esque fashion down the levels of apartment
hell, ending in the dark bowels of the parking garage
and emerging out of doors with the fiery streets in
sight. It’s a dire closing image that is counterbalanced
minutes before, when the camera latches onto the young
Virgil and, in that exhilarating moment of discovery,
transcends house arrest before it steps outside.
3.3
-- REAL
STEEL, Shawn
Levy
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
A failed boxer and his estranged son rescue a sparring
bot named Atom from the trash heap and take it to
the robot boxing finals. Blocking the way are custody
laws, a violent mustached hick whom the boxer owes
money and a robot bruiser designed by a chic Japanese
super-geek. A female gym-owning love interest enters
occasionally to admire the boxer's physique. But unlike
most post-Rocky underdog tales, "Steel" has little
interest in admiring, building or brutalizing the
human body, or the violence it condemns in the hick
character and condones in robots bashing each other
to bits. Instead it's the robot body whose battering
redeems, whose metal is tested, who can take a hit
and keep on chugging, whose body anchors the metaphysical
suffering and unreal character of the film as a whole.
Like Stallone, it is a spectacle we can trust, invest
in, gawk at, and relish in the bashing of, as real
as the muscular body which, despite being so unreal
in so many ways, was actually, defiantly there. "Can
you understand me?" asks the boy, staring into Atom's
"Iron Giant" eyes. It's something "Real Steel" lets
us do, stare long and hard at still digital bodies
that spring to life and settle down, to flex our capacity
for belief that "Transformers" does not even bother
to acknowledge. It's a demand that popular cinema's
digital characters continue to make, from Gollum to
Caesar to "Tree of Life" dinosaur, that we should
wonder what's real for us after all.
3.5
-- CAVE
OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, Werner
Herzog
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
Werner Herzog’s latest film reclaims the promise of
exploratory documentary to show people the unseeable
and engender awe and wonder in the world around them.
A crew of filmmakers and scientists explores Southern
France’s Chauvet caves, ruminating on paintings unearthed
after tens of thousands of years in darkness. Proximity
alternates as the path runs closer to and farther
from the paintings, the film at times regarding them
up close, others ceding to the filmmaker or scientists
to engage them in a roundabout away. Moving inside
and outside the caves, between paintings and the people
who study them, "Cave" replaces the ethnographic exoticism
of those early documentaries, tales of culture gaps
and physical distance, with the exoticism of time,
the incomprehensible gulf that separates peoples and
which the paintings both reinforce and obliterate.
That the paintings look as if they were made yesterday
accentuates the familiarity and strangeness of the
people who made them, making those people seem at
once very close and very far away, connected and irreparably
strange. "Cave" approaches the unknowable past by
spending time with the scientists who study it, and
whose creative reverence for their subjects joins
them to the artists who painted horses thirty thousand
years before. Herzog gives equal time to the work
of both groups, using the 3D to help the paintings
and their creators “speak” alongside the scientists.
The contours of rock, the aesthetic difficulties the
painters faced and the impossible desire to extract
from flat images a depth of meaning are some practical
and metaphorical benefits that justify Herzog’s technological
choice. But it’s his willingness to acknowledge, even
with three dimensions, the capacity of images to withhold
meaning that situates his own work alongside the others’
in celebrating the inextricable link between the mysteries
of existence, of one’s place within a broader spectrum
of life, and creative expression. The human impulse
to know carries him (painter,
scientist and filmmaker)
outside the caves to the mutated alligators of a nearby
polluted lake, as he asks what the creatures are and
who we are who made them. From cave walls to digital
tape, the artist turns a bemused eye on animals, on
life as mystery, capturing the tender displacement
of alienation and recognition, life ever a mystery
outside and in.
2.6
-- DRIVE,
Nicolas Winding Refn
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Based on James Sallis’s 2005 novel, this neo-noir film
presents an unnamed stoic driver-for-hire (Ryan Gosling)
who unwillingly gets into trouble with the wrong people.
Director Refn and cinematographer N.T. Sigel capture
LA’s dark and seedy underbelly beautifully. Set to cool
electronic beats, the opening scene -- Gosling calmly
chauffeuring two armed robbers trying to avoid the police
-- is by far the strongest. Throughout the rest of the
film, however, the images’ lingering power is created
through shock, irrationality and by sacrificing character
psychology. Carey Mulligan’s beautiful face radiates
with so much force because she says so little. Ryan
Gosling’s image will linger on for days, mostly on account
of the white and gold dragon imprinted jacket he sports
in every scene. Why would a guy whose prime objective
in life is to remain inconspicuous wear such a tacky
eyesore? The jacket is wrong on so many levels that
when Gosling keeps wearing it, covered with the blood
of a recent killing, the audience barely reacts. Similarly,
extremely graphic violence erupts to punctuate an otherwise
restrained and low-key film. Like eyeballs floating
in a glass of milk, the end result is similar to that
of a Halloween joke: it all seems so gimmicky.
2.5
-- THE
IDES OF MARCH, George
Clooney
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
In its first minutes, “The Ides of March” gives the
impression of re-creating for the big screen an extended
episode of “The West Wing.” Paul Giamatti looks and
talks like Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), and Max Minghella
is a dead ringer for Otto (Ramon De Ocampo). Soon enough
though, one realizes that Clooney’s universe stands
as polar opposite to Aaron Sorkin’s. For one thing,
the dialogues aren’t as fast, crisp and witty. More
importantly though, there’s a sense of hollowness that
emerges where Sorkin would find substance and aspiration.
Where “The West Wing” produced intense cerebral pleasure
through well-written and delivered complex debates over
ideas, values and principles, “The Ides of March offers
a simple and concise message: politics is shit, only
naïve fools believe in it. Instead of inspiring trust
in the human potential for growth, in their power to
improve their lives, the film devotes its energy to
crushing every last hope for betterment. In The
Comedians, Graham Greene wrote that “cynicism is
cheap – you can buy it at any monoprix store – it’s
built into all poor-quality goods.” In these times of
political unrest and financial crisis, “The Ides of
March”’s message does indeed sound like a cheap and
facile cop out.
3.3
-- 50/50, Will
Reiser
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
The far less reprehensible of two recent films about
young people with cancer, "Restless" being the other,
"50/50" avoids that film's violent denial of human
experience but falls short of answering Susan Sontag's
call to rid the supposedly "intractable and capricious"
disease of myth and fantasy. Diagnosed with a cancer
he cannot pronounce and abandoned by his girlfriend,
a mid-twenties public radio employee struggles through
declining health and morale and divides his time between
therapy, hospital treatments and hanging with his
best friend. What follows refuses to acknowledge the
daily realities of disease or descend into cheap sob-mongering,
and the much publicized image of the protagonist shaving
his own head both admits the film is only pretending
and digs at over-sentimentalized, exploitative images
of bald-headed sickness. Medicinal marijuana, midnight
vomiting, much head-hanging and a few trips to the
hospital encapsulate "50's" interest in what constitutes
a large part of what it means to 'fight' a disease,
those daily redundancies so exhaustive to the body
and spirit. "50" prefers the fresh healthy face of
its pretty therapist and the handsome bald head of
its star, who retains his handsomeness even as his
condition ostensibly declines. But the interdependency
of protagonist, friends and family is far less fantastical,
and somewhat forgives the denial of reality it develops
alongside. "50" is unable to really look at disease,
to see cancer instead of Cancer, but the honest way
it observes people relying on one another in a stressful
time is perhaps one way it can begin to approach that
reality from the outside in.
2.6
-- KILLER
ELITE, Gary
McKendry
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
A trained killer forsakes civilization for the earthy
and artisanal pleasures of backwoods living, only
to take one last job for a sheik oil magnate who kidnaps
his friend and mentor. The British agents he targets
target him in turn, and a general disregard for human
life prevails that joins the opening intertitle –
it is a time of recession, corruption, global disorder
. . . it is the mid 1980s! – to target any illusion
of Reagan-era utopianism. But chipping away at myth
is just pretence for embracing cliché, as the film
begins to resemble the Reagan-era he-man tales of
old, where redemption is bought for a few corpses
and women are mostly absent from the spectacle of
men desiring and mutilating each other’s bodies. Like
this year’s “Fast Five,” “Killer” holds apart its
desiring bodies like two shivering magnets -- in this
case, Jason Statham and Clive Owen -- and rams them
into each other periodically to cap the sexual hysteria
that the throwaway presence of a female love interest
only superficially offsets. Bald, bearded and bomber-jacketed
Statham moves unchanged through a superstructure of
clichés that collapse as he passes, leaving one to
sift for evidence of idiosyncratic cracks. Such eye-catchers
here include: Clive Owen’s moustache; a sun-baked
sheik ripped straight from Edward Said’s nightmares;
and a white-haired version of Robert De Niro’s “Ronin”
operative, that casual mix of loyalty and deadliness
that both films mistake for nobility as they ride
him into the retirement sunset. In “Meet the Parents”
this sunset burns hot enough to calcify the insanity
at his heart, but “Killer's" casual cynicism is vague
enough to critique the past while letting its characters
escape it.
2.5 --
I AM SLAVE,Gabriel
Range
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Based on the real-life experiences of Mende Nazer, a young Sudanese
girl, daughter of BAH, a champion wrestler, the film
recreates her abduction from her village in the Nubar
Mountains by pro Arab government militia. They lay waste
to her village and sell her to a wicked lady in Khartoum.
Eventually, she ends up living for several years as
a slave to a family in London. She escapes and father
and daughter are reunited. The father has been searching
for her all this time. There are approximately 5,000
slave workers currently living in Britain. The director
fell short of moving us in this film, and unfortunately,
many scenes were melodramatically played; overkill was
the result. Or events that required further details
were whitewashed. There was a general unbalance, in
that key events fell into unexplained resolutions or
were skimmed over. Nonetheless, the film exposes a tragic
and insidious reality that resonates all the way from
Africa to England. The consequences are unconscionable.
This film was part the Montreal
International Black Film Festival.
2.4
-- THE
DREAMS OF ELIBIDI, Kamau
Wu Ndung'u & Nick Reding
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] This film is inventive in that the story unfolds as a play performed
in the slums of Nairobi by a group of traveling actors
on an outdoor stage whose cardboard 'set' has the words
'Ghetto Safe' written on it. The play is sending a message
about AIDS and HIV. Hundred of kids and adults stand to
watch events unfold. They are totally engaged in what
they see. The film cleverly shifts back forth from the
stage to the real setting where events take place. We
see the real story on and off stage. It's about a family
whose two daughters are HIV positive. One has been raped
by her boyfriend's brother. The myth is that AIDS victims
can be cured if they rape a virgin. The father abandons
his own family, but eventually returns to the fold. Each
of his four daughters find success in their lives, and
the play ends happily. This film vividly proves that a
low budget production can be rich in delivery and message.
This film was part the Montreal
International Black Film Festival.
2.4 --
GOLDEN SCARS, Alexandrine
Boudreault-Fournier
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] There's a rapper, a resistance fighter, friends and family -- all
involved in making music in Santiago de Cuba. It was
here where communist Cuba was first fueled by leftists
and the revolution that changed the face of Cuba forever.
But this documentary isn't about the growth of Cuban
music and politics. It's about bonds between friends
who dream of a better life. The rapper does end up singing
in a classical music choir, and so his chances of leaving
Cuba to do off-island performances is a strong possibility.
I liked this film because sweetness and resilience spill
splendidly off the screen into our hearts. The rapper,
also a poet, suffers from sickle cell anemia. His wife
brings tears to your eyes becasue of her caring and
loving nature. Their devotion to one another keeps them
strong and full of hope. One is amazed by these musicians
and their stories, their spirited joy and energy. We
are all the more inspired for they live in impoverished
surroundings; yet these beautiful people live for their
music -- wonderful music that the world will never hear.
These gallant young men are prisoners experiencing meagre
moments of freedom, but only when playing the notes
they compose for others to hear, though their lyrics
and cries for a freer Cuba fall on deaf ears.
This film was part the Montreal
International Black Film Festival.
2.9
--
COLOUR ME, Sherien
Barsoum
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Motivational speaker and rapper, Anthony Barson invites students
into a mentorship program to share and self-assess their
own feeelings about being black and living in Brampton,
Canada. What is their stance? Is there a black identity
and what does it mean? Is it about the swagger, the
bling, the rap music and hairstyles? Or is it about
being the best person you can be regardless of peer
pressure and skin colour? Adopted by white parents,
Anthony McLean does some serious reflecting on his own
feelings and ambiguous attitude towards both communities:
black and white. He discovers his true calling. He is
the ultimate entertainer who solidifies his own identity
in the black community. He is an energetic talent on
stage and in a room with teens, he inspires trust, which
encourages them to reveal their true feelings about
identity. Most inspiring is his pairing of black professionals
in various fields with each student. Also interesting
is the life inside the home of these students. We become
engaged in their unique family situations. Stereotypical
behaviour and our own prejudices if any of black teens
is subverted in this film, thanks to McLean wanting
to dig beneath the colour of one's skin, including his
own. This film was part the Montreal
International Black Film Festival.
4.0
-- MAMA
AFRICA, Mika Kaurismaki
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Simply the best film one can see on South Africa's most amazing woman,
Miriam Makeba. What a life! What a beautiful
creature -- a songbird whose flight allowed the world
to hear and behold her breathtaking voice. She said
she didn't sing politics, just the truth. So mesmerizing
was her talent, all leaders in Africa embraced her,
except the fascist prime minister of South Africa, whose
forces killed so many during Makeba's ascension to stardom.
Only when Nelson Mandela was freed was she allowed to
return from Guinea -- when not in Europe -- to her beloved
South African soil. Her voice was so magical, so hypnotic
that when not singing people yearned to hear her speak
and that she did -- at the UN when she pleaded for all
countries to help her people fight racism in Africa.
She dreamed of a united Africa, and by marrying Stokley
Carmichael, she was further emboldened by his
support and powerful political elan. Known as a generous
crusader, whatever country she traveled in, she gave
her concert earnings to students, who were always welcome
in her home where she cooked and sang and enchanted
the world. Her daughter, Bongi, was an astounding talent
as well. She also lost a baby son. She was never allowed
to visit her mother in South Africa and could not be
with her when she died. This documentary was rich in
so many ways: enlivened by interviews with her relatives,
children, her band members and other gifted singers
from her time. This film was part the Montreal
International Black Film Festival.
2.0
-- RESTLESS,
Gus Van Sant
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Beautiful young people dying is all the rage these days.
Opening this week are two films about young adults fighting
cancer: "50/50" and Gus Van Sant’s much postponed
"Restless." "Restless"'s original
release date (January) would have meant an overlap with
another film with which it actually has even more in
common: "Love and Other Drugs." "Restless”
tells the story of a blooming yet ill-fated first love.
Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasilowska) has only three months
left to live when she meets Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper)
at her friend’s funeral. Enoch did not know the deceased:
he is there because he crashes funerals when not playing
Battleship with his WWII kamikaze imaginary friend Hiroshi
(Ryo Kase). Shared fascination with all things morbid
ignites Annabel and Enoch’s fire, which Van Sant films
with palpably forced romanticism. The director treats
his actress with as much care and gentleness as one
would a porcelain doll, admiring her innocent smile,
playing dress up and revelling in her cute idiosyncrasies.
Hair always perfectly messed-up, Annabel and Enoch –
who no doubt have not only the same hairdresser but
also the same personal stylist – float through their
last moments with the swagger of runway models. This
little charade of stylistic perfection achieves ridiculous
proportion in an elliptical montage that could double
as a Banana Republic advertising campaign. Couched on
a weak script by newcomer Jason Lew, “Restless” never
quite comes together. Its contrived aesthetic makes
everything seem fake, which in turn makes it very hard
to believe or care about Annabel’s death. It might,
however, make you want to go shopping.
2.4
--
ABDUCTION, John Singleton
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Taylor Lautner as Nathan Price stars in this thriller which is rather
unique in plot. Price lives with his parents, but he's
always had the uneasy feeling of not belonging. Indeed,
he was taken from his CIA agent dad when he was just
a kid and hidden away from danger. Under the protection
of these two other agents who have treated him as their
son from the get-go, Price witnesses their murder and
spends the rest of the movie trying to escape these
murderous bad guys who want somethings he has. No fly
on the wall, Price is highly visible and that does not
work in his favour. Hiding everywhere with his girlfriend
neighbour, he begins to piece together that the good
guys who are pursuing him along with the bad guys also
want the same thing he is carrying around. In the end,
his real dad saves the day, and is in fact a very savvy
fly on the wall. It's a fun thriller, and performances
are pretty good, save for the untalented baby-faced
Lautner whose physique is the real attraction.
3.4 --
FAST
FIVE , Justin
Lin
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
The merry band of babes and beefcakes moves “halfway
around the world” to a Rio more cartoonish than Rio’s,
where the countryside is desert criss-crossed by train
tracks and Brazilians speak Portuguese with Mexican
accents. “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “The Italian Job”
as the crack team plans the impossible heist of an
impenetrable fortress, and the crew's sheepish smiles
are siphoned into the orgasmic jolt of men (and women)
pumping their gear shifts at high speeds. Diesel,
Walker and company are chased by cops; Diesel, Walker
and company are chased by criminals; but the "Fast"
franchise’s fine fifth installment distinguishes itself
by finally materializing the desire that has been
fueling it all along. That clamouring you hear is
a team of oil executives climbing over one another
to erect a derrick around The Rock, whose coked-up
Robocop has only Diesel on his mind and excretes something
just a bit lighter onto his shimmering, slick skin.
He is less man than engine, a composite of the human
and mechanical muscle that the series has split previously
between its humanoid and motorized attractions. But
his greatest function is realized only in the screen
time he shares with Diesel, in which steely glances,
monosyllabic exchanges and a glorious, bare-sleeved
wrestling interlude channel and finally cap the homoerotic
hysteria that has pervaded the films since day one.
"Fast" detours into the favellas to exorcise its pent-up
aggression and ducks out before it has the chance
to look around, all the while revving the Diesel-Rock
tension until the point of collision. Then, like a
particle accelerator, it smashes them at high speeds
into one combustible, improbable element.
3.3
-- FACE
TO FACE, Michael
Rymer
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
A conflict resolution session yields secrets and diffuses
guilt in Michael Rymer’s “Face to Face,” a dramatization
of loose-limbed, progressive justice that proceeds with
the well-timed, clicking exactitude of a wristwatch.
A professional mediator and nine civilians remand themselves
to an out-of-court room to settle an assault dispute
between the owner of an Australian scaffolding company
and a brutish, man-child employee. A clear-cut case
of hotheadedness becomes less clear, and assuredly the
hands of guilt and understanding circle the room, implicating
co-worker, secretary, foreman and friend. The conceit
is obvious, but the thrill of revelation achieves a
narcotic effect as disclosures pile up and each actor
has his or her chance to strut. At times the clockwork
admissions and reconciliations promise to lift “Face”
from melodrama to farce, yet the script is at once too
serious and too self-regarding to allow it, twice opining
“No more hugs!” through its most vocal character and
repeatedly turning to its bearded mediator to register
the proper emotional cues and anchor the film’s political
earnestness. A face whose physical shading suggests
layers of tenderness and receptivity and mixes parts
of Russell Crowe and James McAvoy, it is the mediator’s
warm rationality that most strongly recalls “Twelve
Angry Men.” As with Fonda’s white-suited juror, the
mediator's de facto lucidity casts an ironical pall
over the film’s democratic posturing and allows him
to orchestrate the emotional maelstrom without getting
blown around himself. “Face” excuses this strong-arming
by making the mediator a professional and his hard-edged
nobility an image of the whole process. Yet the limitations
of his characterization at least allow for an unspoken
inner life, while the other characters are exactly as
deep as the dialogue takes them. “Face” is unwilling
to disturb the virtue or challenge the pride of its
ethical guidepost and all-too-willing to air the faces
of its other subjects. Happily, its democratic spirit
cannot remain sensitive to the complexities of all characters
but one.
2.5
-- ON
DAY, Lone Scherfig
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
In many ways, “One Day” revisits “When Harry Met Sally:”
two university students meet on July 15, 1988, their graduation
night. She (Anne Hathaway) is straight-laced and determined,
he (Jim Sturgess), immature on too many levels for a relationship.
The film follows their frienship as it evolves over two
decades, showing us the two, chronologically, every July
15. Much like the relationship it portrays, “One Day”
has its highs and lows. Anne Hathaway is endearing as
always, and she, along with Patricia Clarkson and Ken
Stott, offers a strong performance. David Nicholl’s sharp
and witty dialogues, based on his own bestselling book,
are a real pleasure for adult ears. But a series of 20
snapshots is an idea that works better in writing than
on film -- identification and involvement with the story
being compromised by the constant disjunctions.
2.4
-- THE
HELP, Tate Taylor
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
It is hard to convey the enthusiasm with which the audience
greeted “The Help”’s release. The predominantly white
audience, of which I was part, cheered, laughed heartily,
and even shed a few tears before bursting into spontaneous
applause at the film’s closing, a reaction seldom seen
nowadays outside of the festival circuit. To be fair,
Tate Taylor’s film, based on Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling
book, contains brilliant dialogues and is expertly paced.
The star-studded cast (among them, Viola Davis, Octavia
Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Emma Stone, Allison Janney
and Sissy Spacek, to name only a few) delivers strong
and convincing performances. The film’s only fault, which
is by no means minor, is in granting equal weight to how
segregation affected blacks and whites, putting a little
too much emphasis on the tragic ways in which wealthy
white folks were peer-pressured into treating their black
maids as little more than glorified slaves. By doing so,
the film courts the risk of leaving us thinking that there
were in fact no real racists in 1960 Mississippi, just
a bunch of weak followers of social conventions.
1.2
-- SUR
LE RYTHME, Charles-Olivier
Michaud
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
A film about a 20-year-old girl’s (Mylène St-Sauveur)
struggle to escape her family’s firm grip to become a
dancer, “Sur le rythme” surfs the wave of these last few
years’ infatuation with dance on screen. Recent films
such as “Save the Last Dance” and “Step Up” have shown
the power that dancing numbers still hold over audiences,
a fascination that is no more evident than in the various
spin-offs of So You Think You Can Dance. Incidentally,
Nico Archambault, SYTYCD Canada’s first season winner,
was a major component of the film’s production, choreographing
some of the film’s dance numbers, recruiting fellow dancers
as extras, and playing the main character’s love interest
and dancing partner. Given the extent of his involvement
with the most important aspect of the project -- dancing
-- and given the fact that he, contrary to St-Sauveur,
is a dancer (and a very talented one), one cannot help
but wonder why St-Sauveur was chosen as the main vehicle
of the film. Critics will justifiably lament that the
movie fails in showing the dancing, the numbers being
both too few and too short. More importantly, the film’s
editing and camera angles do not let us see the dancers’
entire body as they move, choosing, instead, to segment
the body, showing faces and close-shots of body parts.
All of this due to the need of using a double in lieu
of St-Sauveur while not having “Black Swan”’s post-production
budget -- a non-issue when the main character is also
a dancer. The movie’s technical problems are far too numerous
to list here, and they pale in comparison to the inanely
weak script -- the writers clearly having no ear for dialogue
and serving us a myriad subplots, as forced as they are
unlikely. Aiming at a younger audience should never be
an excuse for serving such simplistic, clichéd and didactic
storylines. France Castel and Marina Orsini (respectively
benevolent grand-mother and evil mother) are by far the
pillars of this crumbling production. However, it is Archambault
whose telenovela lines are thankfully kept to a minimum,
who will be the film’s main draw, proving to be surprisingly
comfortable and charming in front of the camera.
1.0
-- SERVITUDE,
Warren P. Sonoda
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Have you ever had paralyzing qualms of conscience over
leaving a minimum-wage job or agonized for weeks unable
to quit waitressing for a career in law? Yeah, I didn’t
think so either. That, however, is the silly premise behind
“Servitude,” a movie about a waiter’s last day at work
at a kitschy ranch-themed family steakhouse. Dismally
unfunny, the movie plays like a low-budget 1980s sitcom
whose canned-laughter has been replaced with atrocious
music. Given that the audience remained dead silent as
they watched the actors overact through the most inane
clichés, the canned-laughter would have been a wise addition.
Ironically enough, this movie is part of the Just for
Laughs Festival.
2.4
-- ONE
HUNDRED YEARS OF EVIL, Erik
Eger and Magnus Oliv
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Let’s assume for a second that Adolf Hitler did not die
in his bunker in 1945 and that he in fact managed to escape
the Allied Forces. What would have become of him? Where
does one go after leading the entire world to the brink
of total destruction? What does one do after retiring
from dictatorship? “One Hundred Years of Evil” explores
these questions as it follows criminal psychologist Skule
Antonsen in his quest to prove his crazy theory that Hitler
moved to Connecticut and became a very diligent, charismatic
and organized, waiter. Reminiscent of Woody Allen’s “Zelig,”
this ludic, independent production judiciously does not
take itself too seriously. This film was part of Montreal's 2011 Fantasia Festival.
3.5
-- PHASE
7, Nicolas Goldbart
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Ever wondered what would happen if a world pandemic broke
out killing everyone around you? The filmmakers behind
“Phase 7” have, and their answer is: Not much. Chances
are people would keep going about their day-to-day business,
rationing their food and entertaining themselves as well
as they can until quarantine is lifted. We would still
quarrel over the last bowl of Froot Loops and who forgot
to turn off the lights. In other words, people’s personalities
and behavioural patterns would not change significantly
only because the end of the world is upon us. “Phase 7”
is deliriously funny precisely because it chooses to look
at humankind’s last breath with sobriety and level-headedness.
This film was part of Montreal's 2011 Fantasia Festival.
3.2 --
TOUS LES MATINS, Philippe
Claudel
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
In 1953, André Bazin wrote that, with the exception of
Jacques Tati, the French lacked any genius or talent for
making humorous films. Only one country showed the originality
and wit required for comedy: the United States. If 2011
has proven one thing, it is that Bazin now stands corrected
and that France excels at producing light yet witty comedies
that can be touching without being sappy. “Tous les soleils”
follows Alessandro (Stephano Accorsi), an Italian-born
young widower who teaches the history of baroque music
at the University of Strasbourg. Resolutely determined
to remain single, he now lives with his wife’s ghost,
his 15-year-old daughter and his brother Luigi. This deceptively
simple plotline serves as a very good excuse to assemble
a collection of fascinating and multi-facetted characters.
Luigi, for instance, is a fierce socialist who has launched
a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court
against Silvio Berlusconi for intellectual genocide and
who is now seeking political asylum in France. Director
Philippe Claudel, who teaches literature at the University
of Lyon and who is mostly known, in francophile circles,
for his novels, shows the same optimism towards life and
faith in human nature that he exhibited in “Il y a longtemps
que je t’aime,” his previous film.
2.7
-- THE
TREE OF LIFE, Terrence
Malick
[
reviewed by Andrée Lafontaine]
Terrence Malick has been nothing if not consistent in
pursuing a highly meditative cinema, one that makes the
audience step down from life’s conveyer-belt and sit down
to ponder on its ultimate significance. Much like a tree
planted in the backyard, “The Tree of Life” emerges and
slowly grows into a penultimate logical development in
the director’s career. Malick invites us to share the
life journey of a typical 1950s family, mostly told from
the eldest son’s point of view (Hunter McCracken plays
the young Jack, Sean Penn has a small role as the adult
Jack). The audience is made privy to Jack’s difficult
relationship with a caring but authoritative father (Brad
Pitt), and a submissive but eternally young, loving and
beautiful mother (Jessica Chastain). Voiced over this
story are the characters' ruminations as they go trough
various crises and question the meaning of their existence
and their faith. What failed for me was not so much the
form and technique Malick displayed. He should certainly
be commended for attempting to develop a cinema that blends
together both the narrative and the experimental traditions.
What annoyed and unnerved me was rather the condescension
with which it delivers its vacuous cogitations. Bluntly
put, I couldn’t shake the feeling that “The Tree of Life”
was an indulgent, solipsistic Oedipal wet-dream masquerading
as high philosophy.
3.1
-- THE
DEVIL'S DOUBLE, Lee
Tamahori
[
reviewed by Andrée Lafontaine]
Kiwi director Lee Tamahori’s latest film is a slick tale
inspired by Latif Yahia’s life story as Saddam Hussein’s
son’s body double. Wars in backdrop, the movie offers
a glimpse into a seducing world of extreme power, wealth,
and privilege. “The Devil’s Double,” however, is action
flic through and through. Conscious of his target audience,
Director Tamahori judiciously adapted the dictator’s world
to appeal to Western palates and fantasies. Hence, the
movie follows the narrative conventions of the genre.
At its best, the movie offers stunning action sequences.
At its worse, it serves us a pale version of “Lost Highway”
in a superfluous forbidden-love story which, oddly enough,
becomes the central focus of the film. Writing a compelling
female character, however, proved too challenging for
this testosterone-fuelled universe. Ludivine Sagnier (Sarrab)
is unusually flat as she moves from whore-with-a-heart-of-gold
to text-book femme fatale. “The Devil’s Double” is really
a one-man show, Dominic Cooper oozing magnetism and charisma
as he plays both Uday Hussein and his double Latif. Although
his Uday sometimes verges on caricature, his Latif is
remarkable in its subtle, quiet intensity.
1.5 --
RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE,
Jalmari Helander
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] In the wintery land Lapland, strange events are occurring. Reindeer
have been massacred, an American company has made a rare
discovery: a monstrous looking gaunt figure is buried
within their mine, children are disappearing and wolves
are afoot. Little Pietari believes in Santa Claus but
his books reveal he is a wicked one who kidnaps and punishes
children in unspeakable ways. It turns out that Santa
has sent tall old men to kidnap kids. Pietari finds a
way to get them back while staving off further invasions
of old men wishing to take away children. The film is
a spoof on the origins of Santa Claus, and a weird one
at that. It shows that there is such a thing as a school
to train old men who are sent all over the world to do
their job. A quirky film that has no purpose other than
to disappoint us with an absurd climax and equally silly
resolution. This film was
part of Montreal's 2011 Fantasia Festival.
3.6
-- OCEAN
HEAVEN, Xue Xiaolu
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] Wang Xingchang is devoted to teaching his autistic 21-year-old son,
Dafu, how to accomplish simple daily tasks such as getting
dressed, cracking an egg open, counting money to buy groceries
and getting off the bus at the right stop. Wang works
in the local aquarium as a janitor. There is a girl there
that dresses as a clown for children's entertainment whom
Dafu befriends. Everyone loves Dafu's adorable face, sweet
manner and cheery smile. Dafu is a superb swimmer and
swims in the big fish aquarium almost every day. Everything
seems to be going well for Dafu, but for Wang, his terminal
liver cancer is calling him to the pearly gates. Wang
teaches Dafu how to mop the aquarium floor. This scene
is amusing as are many of the teaching scenes. But knowing
he will not be around much longer, Wang tries to find
a home or institution that will accept Dafu after he dies.
Doors close in his face, and Dafu is far too old to be
integrated into an elementary school class. Wang's sister
and the former teacher of Dafu voluntarily promise Wang
they will to care for his helpless son. The devotion and
absolute attachment of father and son is touching in this
unusual, low key story. Jet Li as Wang is astonishingly
credible and and Wen Zhang is captivating as the autistic,
awfully fetching son. This movie is a gem. This film was
part of Montreal's 2011 Fantasia Festival.
1.1
-- EXIT,
Marek Polgar
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] If you are having trouble falling asleep and need to exit the waking
world for a good snooze, simply watch "Exit," and within
no time shut-eye happens. A girl is trying to find the
door to some city in Australia that will lead to a utopia.
Rumour has it, this mysterious door that sits in an ever
expanding city will assure goodness and beauty. The wrongs
of the present world are manifested in the characters
and life situations in the film: a break-up, dull jobs,
a manipulative predator, and an unscrupulous millionaire
who offers her the location and key to the door if she
pays him $10,000. She hooks up with a thug who eventually
convinces her to help him rob a convenience store. Money
is found, but he robs her of it. This movie is so boring
from the get-go that the viewer is looking for the door
that leads out of the movie theatre into the real world
-- imperfect as it is. This
film was part of Montreal's 2011 Fantasia Festival.
2.4
-- DETECTIVE
DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME,Tsui Hark
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] It's 690 AD, and for the first time, a female has come to the throne
in China. Viewed as unacceptable, her climb to the top
brought down a former policeman, Detective Dee who had
protested the event. Jailed for seven years for treason,
he is released -- ironically by the Empress herself. She
needs him in order to investigate why her sky-high humongous
Bhuddha, built for the upcoming coronation celebration,
is causing her important right-hand men to spontaneously
combust, leaving a trail of vapour. It involves amulets
and lethal fire turtle insects. After many journeys that
take the detective, an albino Supreme Court super cop
and the empress's stunning female personal guard into
various dangerous lands and situations, the truth is discovered
but not without incurring death to two of the heroes.
The martial art in the film is most imaginative, the action
pleasing, but the story is implausible though based on
some royal historical fact. This film was part of Montreal's
2011 Fantasia Festival.
END OF FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL RATINGS __________________________________________
3.5
-- PAGE
ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES, Kate
Novack & Andre Rossi
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] A documentary destined for media maniacs whose favourite form of
communication is print news -- specifically The New
York Times; the 90-minute film provides a close-up
look into the tumultous times that threaten the very existence
of the legendary newspaper. Its survival is heralded by
David Carr, a former crack addict whose tenacity and totally
weird way of expressing himself has made him poster-boy
genius of the paper. He is the media columnist on a crusade
to keep the Times afloat. We meet key operators
of the paper, step inside the boardroom where decisions
are made for the front page, and meet a lot of nerds whose
life has been singed, sealed and delivered by way of their
bylines.Most importantly, we are hit with a cacophony
of Internet sites that threaten print media as a whole.
This issue is deeply examined in the film and we are left
to ponder the future of this globally read paper. When
The Tribune filed for bankruptcy, thereby ending
such notable papers as The Los Angeles Times, The
Orlando Sentinal and of course The Chicago Tribune
along with its Philadelphia counterpart, Carr decided
to interview those who are about to hit pay-pauperhood
at The Tribune in Chicago. He discovers a memo
that makes sex and The Tribune's CEOs a shameless
combination. No wonder it folded. Brilliantly edited as
it reveals the precarious state The Times is in:
a failing economy, electronic media and media moguls competitively
set on sensationalism rather than scholarly reporting
-- a written value to which The Times diligently
subcribes. This film also debates the ambiguous relationship
and dependence of The New York Times on WikiLeaks.
Will, social networking via the Internet and the gazillion
electronic tools --all able to deliver news instantly
-- win out? Only "time" will tell.
2.0
-- BEGINNERS, Mike Mills
[
reviewed by Andrée Lafontaine]
“Beginners” tries very, very hard to be hip, young and cool. Like this year’s Oscars ceremony, though, the harder it tries, the more awkward and embarrassing it becomes for everyone around. Which is a real shame, because a very interesting premiss lies at the heart of “Beginners.” Following the death of his mother, 38-year-old Oliver (Evan McGregor) discovers that his dad (Christopher Plummer), now 75, is gay. Had the movie decided to explore their relationship in a meaningful way, “Beginners” could have been Ewan McGregor’s big come back. Unfortunately, unwilling or incapable of fully committing to what could have been a poignant story, the director choses to chase an entirely different rabbit: the old, tested and true sappy love story between Oliver and the beautiful Anna (Mélanie Laurent, who is either a famous French actress or a cute little house plant). The treatment of their relationship is as emotionally stifled as the pair is, the director trading character development for snazzy visual effects. Mary Page Keller is excellent as Oliver’s mom Georgia; we just wish Mills had written a full-fledged character for her, not just an anecdote.
2.3 -- MIDNIGHT IN
PARIS, Woody
Allen
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] This flop of a film is a tribute to Paris and Allen's infatuation
with the City of Lights and all
the artists that filled its cafes
and boulevards during the Belle
Epoque period (1890s) and the
roaring twenties. The plot premise
holds promise of great things
to come, but sadly,
Allen gets so caught up in recreating
famous characters, such as Hemmingway,
Fitzgerald, Stein, Dali and his
ken, that the plot takes second
place to such larger than life
visionaries. The entire movie is
a costume party without a story.
Briefly, Gil Pender, amusingly
played by Owen Wilson is suffering
from writer's block. He hates
his job in LA as a screen writer,
and comes with his fiancé and her parents to Paris to seek inspiration.
that's where the movie begins.
He falls in love with the city's
beauty and wants to stay. His
fiancé, Ines (miscast with Rachel
McAdams in that role) not only
is against the idea, she is unsupportive
of him, in general, especially
of the notion that he ought to
quit his job and become a novelist.
She puts him down at every turn.
Here's where fantasy and reality
meet. Walking at night through
the city, he takes a giant step
backwards in time. Here's where
the movie falls apart. It's midnight.
Suddenly, he ends up being picked
up in a car with Hemmingway in
the back seat. He is whisked away
to a party and there he meets
Fitzgerald and Zelda. Night after
night, he waits in the same spot
for the car pick-up, and each
time he meets more and more artists
from the past, including Picasso
and his lover Adriana. She and
Gil hit it off and before too
long, they form a close friendship.
The repetition of razzle-dazzle
parties, and meeting new characters
becomes silly in the film. Paris
appears as a cliché of its past
glory. There are some funny parts,
but they are too few. Allen excels
in making movies about characters'
relationships and their close
interactions which are funny because
their neurosis reveals a raw honesty
that is very human. There are
glimpses of this at the beginning
of this movie, but it is overpowered
by spectacle -- of the city itself
and the famous people Gil meets.
And there isn't a speck of wit
that ensues thereafter, except
in scenes when the family is together.
They are real people living in
the now, so we are interested.
"Midnight in Paris" is glamour
without substance. Hopefully,
Allen won't let this be his last
movie; he can do better, even
at the age of 75. After all, he's
a genius who belongs right up
there with the famous people he
has stride across the screen in
this far-fetched film.
3.1
--
LE NOM DES GENS, Michel
Leclerc
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
It is only with mild interest that
I set out to see, once more, the tired
story of the odd couple: the straightlaced
guy who falls in love with the crazy
girl who changes his life. Before
I knew it though, “Le nom des gens”
had crept up on me. For even though
its basic premiss may appear as pedestrian
as can be, as it sheds its layers,
the comedy reveals unusual depth,
tact, and intelligence. The scenario
(rewarded with a César in February)
ties in together many of the strands
that make up the French identity.
Its condemnation of national inbreeding
in favour of a more vital hybrid identity
is effective because heartfelt. A
particularly touching scene takes
place around the dinner table where
both families, who would never otherwise
exchange more than a glance, meet
for the first time. Sadly, as you
read this, you’re probably thinking
“Meet the Fockers.” You’ll just have
to trust me when I say that the complexities
of the Martin and the Benmahmoud family
dynamics make for much better humour.
3.5
--
POTICHE, François
Ozon
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Part Douglas Sirk, part Comédie-Française, “Potiche” is
all François Ozon. Its breezy lightness and meticulous attention
to details signal a deep love of both subject matter and
actors. And his actors respond equally generously. Set in
Northern France in 1977, “Potiche” tells the story of a
typical bourgeois family. Robert Pujol (Fabrice Luchini)
runs an active extra-marital life as well as an umbrella
factory inherited through his wife, Suzanne. Suzanne (Catherine
Deneuve) is the eponymous “potiche” -- the trophy-wife.
Like the good wife she is, Suzanne accepts her husband’s
indiscretions, occupying her time with keeping house now
that her two children are grown up. Suzanne’s children are
in fact just as complicit as her husband in keeping her
submissive and in her place. This family dynamic is bound
to change as Robert is taken hostage by the factory workers
who demand better working conditions and Suzanne is asked
to take over the family business. It is a real pleasure
to watch a radiant Deneuve in a role that seems to have
been written for her, as she moves from “madame au foyer”
to businesswoman. Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu (as the communist
elected official and lover) effortlessly keep the audience
laughing for two hours, as they reunite, once more, with
the same incredible chemistry.
3.5
--
LA PRINCESSE DE MONTPENSIER, Bertrand
Tavernier
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Considered by many a pioneer of the French novel, Madame de
La Fayette published “La princesse de Montpensier” in 1662.
The book, like the rest of her oeuvre, was of course published
anonymously, for Madame was, well, a woman. Set during the
Catholic-Huguenot religious wars which ripped France apart
under Charles IXth’s reign, “La princesse” is historical-romance
at its best. Bertrand Tavernier shows much sensibility and
understanding of La Fayette’s powerful prose in a refreshingly
un-sentimental depiction of a young woman too intelligent
and beautiful for her times. The director doesn’t shy away
from the historical complexities of the era and fluidly moves
from torrid passion and romance to gruesome combat and political
strategy of court life. Sceptics (of which I am not one) might
argue that Mélanie Thierry lacks the charisma required to
make this love-pentagon believable -- after all, four men,
no less, fall in love with her. Thierry is surrounded by a
horde of beautiful and talented actors and spectacular sceneries,
making “La princesse” a feast for the eyes.
3.0
--
THE CONSPIRATOR, Robert
Redford
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
In 1865, five days after the end of the American Civil War,
seven men were arrested for the assassination of President Lincoln,
as well as conspiracy to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson
and Secretary of State Wlliam H. Seward. A woman — Mary Surratt
(Robin Wright) — was also arrested as part of this conspiracy,
for she had rented rooms in her home where the young men met
and plotted. She was promptly tried by a military tribunal and
hung less than three months later. We will never know whether
or not she was aware of her lodgers’ plotting. Robert Redford
makes this a secondary issue, for his film is mostly concerned
with the procedures and legal precedents of expediency justice.
“The Conspirator” is an important film, for it poignantly demonstrates
the importance of Constitutional rights and impartial justice,
even — if not more so — in times of war. Lincoln enthusiasts
and history buffs will revel in the film’s careful attention
to detail. James McAvoy, on whose shoulders the movie largely
rests, is also nothing short of brilliant as Surratt’s young
lawyer. But many viewers will lack the patience required to
sit through such a linear treatment of the events. It’s not
only that we know the outcome, it’s also that the trial was
so obviously doomed from the start. And so, watching the movie
is as exciting and suspenseful as watching ice melt into water
on a hot summer day.
4.0
-- AFRICAN CATS, Keith Scholey & Alastair Fothergill
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] The lens used for this spectacular
documentary allows for inspiring close up shots to show the personal
stories of three formidable feline 'families:' one ruled by the
aggressive lion Kali and his four sons who dominate the north
side of the Mara's river's winding crocodile-infested waters on
the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya; and two other cat families who
live on its southern side: Sita and her cheetah cubs, and a pride
of loyal lions ruled by ageing Fang. Most of the lions in Fang's
family look to Leyla, the pride's matriarch for comfort and help.
Layla's sole wish is to ensure her cub Mara will be accepted by
her little cub cousins. Layla knows she is about to take her leave
forever. She is old and has had far too many fights to last much
longer protecting and teaching her Mara how to hunt. Indeed, Mara
ends up alone after Kali and his sons take over Fang's pride banishing
Fang forever from his family. The end of the film is so cute wherein
all the different species roaming the reserve are given film crew
assignment names (while the credits role) that match their particular
traits. This Disneynature masterpiece offers many touching moments
and terrible ones too that show us all that the life and death
struggle of African cats is one of near impossible daily endurance
and resourcefulness motivated by hunger and an outstanding love
for members of their own pride.
3.2
-- HOBO
WITH A SHOTGUN, Jason
Eisener
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
Four years ago, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse”
made a fetish and marketable product of 70s exploitation aesthetics.
Of the two films that comprised “Grindhouse,” “Death Proof” and
“Planet Terror,” it was Rodriguez’s “Terror,” with its long dry
spells, stagnant visuals and general lack of originality and virtuosity
that seemed a truer if inadvertently appropriate homage to what
were often very unprofessional, very bad films. Tarantino’s “Death
Proof” was the opposite, using the exploitation mandate as a platform
from which to launch a hip, streamlined, citation-rich riff on
bad films that was, technically and aesthetically, far more accomplished
than its acknowledged predecessors. “Hobo” continues this latter
approach, deploying exploitation’s visual and thematic tropes
with studied reverence and professional polish. A grizzled, middle-aged
hobo wanders into a modern-day suburban Sodom, wherein a maniacal
crime lord and his two manic sons terrorize and make bloody, pulpy
waste of the fearful population. It is not long before the hobo
has appointed himself surrogate father to a good-hearted young
prostitute and pump-action sheriff to the town’s blood-hungry
outlaws. Blood spills and bodies explode, and the actors bite
into hammy dialogue like so many bloody pounds of raw beef. Admirably
precise in the aural and visual rendering of cartoonish carnage,
“Hobo’s” attentiveness to the exploitation aesthetic nearly consumes
it whole; despite, or perhaps because of, its technical polish,
it captures the look and sound of the films it loves without completely
capturing the spirit, which is to say its nostalgia for disreputable
cinema leaves it dutifully and reputably reproducing it. Happily
its backward gaze is counterbalanced by Rutger Hauer’s gruff immediacy
and, among a number of inspired supporting appearances, an iron-clad,
soul-sucking assassin team called The Plague, arriving from death
in the final third to restore “Hobo” to rotting, malodorous life.
2.9
-- THE
ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, George
Nolfi
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
In terms of narrative efficiency, performances and the dynamic
use of space, George Nolfi’s first feature is one of the better
adaptations of Philip Dick’s fiction, though it is hard to imagine
the master approving of its treatment of political power as an
instrument of fate. All-American senatorial candidate David Norris
mistakenly uncovers the carefully-secular clandestine organization
that programs and monitors the world’s events. He soon discovers
that the organization’s plans for his political ascendance conflict
with his own desire to pursue the woman he loves, and sets about
to confound their mechanisms of control and adjust his fate. "Bureau’s"
skillful use of Manhattan locations adds a post-9/11 near-operatic
scale to the struggle of the individual against forces beyond
his control, yet the degree to which it sequesters this scale
to the experiences of a white, upper-class elite feels increasingly
fated as the film hurtles toward its conclusion. This is of course
not fate but choice, a focus made clear in a scene where Bureau
agents orchestrate a traffic collision to adjust the course of
Norris’s journey and in the process injure and bloody an Indian
cab driver. That the film quickly brushes this off as collateral
disturbingly implies that Fate prioritizes some people over others.
Fate has always, for select groups of people, justified strength
or suffering; but it's surprising to see a film whose star has
such a public affinity for the ideas of Howard Zinn join it so
earnestly to political power.
4.0
-- BIUTIFUL, Alejandro González Iñárritu
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] "Biutiful" is exquisite in its exposure
of Barcelona's exploitation and intolerance of immigrants, of
crooked cops taking their share from battered souls while combing
the streets -- where deals are done and immigrants are the currency.
Specifically, there is dirty laundering by the Chinese - two guys
in particular - exploiting their own kind in a freezing warehouse
used to churn out moniker-brand handbags that are sold on the
street by Senegalese desperados. The operation proves fatal. "Biutiful"
juxtaposes the love of a father willing to implicate himself in
it all for the sake of his children. Never was there a more passionate
but misguided family man than Uxbal. The choices he makes although
terribly human create mess after mess as a sequence of disatrous
events pile up like toxic garbage in the back streets of Barcelona.
Worst of all, Uxbal is dying of cancer. His bi-polar wife and
two young children create a family situation that further intensifies
his anguish, and ours too as we watch him desperately trying to
hang onto life and love. "Biutiful" is a masterpiece where ugliness
and sorrow sift out all illusion of hope and happiness. Javier
Bardem as Uxbal and Maricel Alvarez as his wife were brilliant
in their roles - a match made in heaven, though not made for marriage,
as poignantly illustrated in this gut-wrenching film - the result
of a confluence of greatness by all involved.
3.6 --
BIUTIFUL, Alejandro
Gonzalez Iñárritu
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
On the surface, the Oscar nominated "Biutiful" is anything but.
And yet, like order emerging from chaos, light shines through
darkness. Inarritu ("Babel", "21 Grams") takes us to Barcelona's
dark and dirty underbelly. This underground -- heart of a peripheral
economy catering to the upper classes' desire for a good deal
and a cheap hand bag -- is here completely demystified. Inarritu's
great achievement lies in presenting this state-of-nature-like
world through a disarmingly sober and a-moral camera. With stunning
performances by Javier Bardem and Maricel Alvarez and impressive
cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, "Biutiful" lingers, and is likely
to linger long after the end credits have rolled.
3.5 --
BIUTIFUL, Alejandro
González Iñárritu
[reviewed
by Robert Lewis@2010FNC]The
trials and tribulations of illegal immigrants and the locals purporting
to help them eke out a living is anything but 'biutiful.' "Never
trust anyone who's hungry," someone says. The backdrop is
Barcelona (Spain), but it feels more like Mexico City, with its
teeming multitudes and the multitudinous poor for whom the better
life is a 'not in your lifetime' near certainty. Uxbal (Javier
Bardem), gravely ill, caring for two small children (his footloose
wife is bi-polar), is forced to make decisions that stretch his
conscience to the breaking point. Like in "Babel," we
are made to inhabit decisions, both wise and unwise, that have
far-reaching consequences. The emotional intensity of this exquisitely
heartbreaking film derives from the understated camera work, the
cumulative effects of wonderfully crafted scenes and ear-perfect
dialogue, and the manner in which all the characters have to negotiate
the calling of conscience. In its quiet grandeur and luminosity,
"Biutiful" rises to the occasion of Greek tragedy. If
Iñárritu isn't the very best in the business, who
is?
3.0
-- FUTURISM, AN ART/LIFE MOVEMENT, Luce Verdone
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] His name was Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
(1876-1944). Founder of Futurism, Marinetti conceived and implemented
a prescient movement in 1909 that radically changed literature,
painting, sculpture, theatre and music. Marinetti was a genius
who no doubt had ADD. He spoke in fast clipping speech that mirrored
his obsession with speed (not only was he was in a car accident
caused by excessive speeding, but he made friends and enemies
faster than a lightning bolt). He believed people must advance
with the times. Believing all traditional concepts and forms must
be destroyed, he plunged Europe into a new aesthetic based on
progress devoid of morality. Machines, skyscrapers, war and subversive
societal values fueled his modus operandi. The film "Metropolis"
visually depicts his ideal world. He predicted the ipod, the notebook
and the blackberry, even jet planes. Exhaustive research involving
Marcotti's own family went into this fast-paced finely edited
film that included archival material, reenactments and visuals
depicting the formidable influences of Futurism in all the arts.
This great visionary was surely one of Italy's most memorable
revolutionaries. This 2010 film was part of FIFA's 2011 offerings.
3.2
-- JANE
EYRE, Cary Fukunaga
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Charlotte Brontë’s novel has been adapted countless times with
varying degrees of success. On the big screen, Franco Zeffirelli’s
1996 version was more than just a tad sirupy with all its heavy
pathos (oh, poor little Jane!) and ultimately felt like a poor
version of its made-for-television counterparts. Orson Welles’
far superior 1943 version, on the other hand, magnificently emphasized
the deep-seated passion between Welles and Fontaine but can’t
help but feel dated nowadays. Cary Fukunaga’s newest addition
to the Jane Eyre legacy opts for a sobriety, directness that suits
perfectly both Jane’s character and Brontë’s prose. The film’s
visual quality, its rendering of scenery and characters is unobfuscated
by heavy make-up and pouffy clothing, a move that is highly uncharacteristic
and bold for a “costume drama.” The use of natural light for most
scenes further adds to the film’s authentic feel. No doubt, many
will comment on Fukunaga’s downplaying of the emotion and physical
turmoil of Jane and Rochester’s attraction for each other. I am
still not entirely sure of how I feel about it myself. I both
admire the restraint yet hoped for more fiery passion. Although
I was denied being moved by the torrid love affair, I can’t help
but admire the courage of avoiding using cinema’s power to artificially
manufacture fireworks at will. Mia Wasikowska (from “The Kids
are All Right” and “Alice in Wonderland”) and Jamie Bell (Billy
Elliot, now all grown up) are both unrecognizable in their unconventional
unsexiness, which only adds to their peculiar beauty. Wasikowska
nails Eyre’s character with her direct, uncompromising yet intelligent
stares, and Judi Dench (Mrs. Fairfax) exudes so much maternal
love that she practically eclipses Michael Fassbender’s Rochester
as Eyre’s object of affection Those already familiar with Brontë’s
masterpiece will not be bored as the screenwriter Moira Buffini
has played with the novel’s narrative structure in interesting
ways.
3.7
-- JANE EYRE, Cary Fukunaga
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] What makes this "Jane Eyre" different
from the other 22 or so films that have been made (based on the
great novel by Charlotte Bronte) is the simplicity of focus around
the two main characters: the stalwart, isolated governess Jane
Eyre and the mercurial estate owner, Mr. Rochester. Jane, a teenager
comes to live at his huge dark Thornfield estate as tutor to his
ward, Adèle. True love will have its way, and although separation,
a dead marriage, a fire and loneliness seem to stalk and divide
their paths, ironically, it is these very elements that finally
unite heroine and hero. The film artfully builds on the unique
relationship between the young girl and the master of the domain.
Passion (Mr. Rochester) and restraint (Jane Eyre) combine as each
character creates a push/pull dynamics within his/her interaction.
Each scene carries its own excitement based on character contrast.
Their big divide is enhanced by the dark vastness of the estate,
Hadden Hall in Derbyshire. It provides the interior and exterior
setting for this moody, magnificent movie. This "Jane Eyre" has
an immediacy and truth about it. The director has excluded superfluous
elements that do not intensify the closeness of the two main characters.
Sparse yet sublime, this period film fits into contemporary times
despite the fact that love most noble is a passion relegated to
the past.
3.0
-- LES
INVITÉS DE MON PÈRE, Anne
Le Ny
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
The Paumelles are a typical Parisian liberal family. The patriarch,
Lucien (Michel Aumont), a doctor in his 80s, is a hero who spent
his life defending the rights of the sans-papiers (illegals).
Both of his two children have done very well for themselves; Babette
(Karine Viard) practicing medicine, and Arnaud (Fabrice Luchini),
business law. On Sundays the family gathers for brunch, where
culture and politics are discussed leisurely between the cheese
plate and apéro. When Lucien announces that he has finally decided
to provide more concrete help to the sans-papiers by lodging a
family, everyone commends him for it. It is indeed the next logical
thing to do: after all, hard-working African families do not belong
in the street. It turns out though, that the sans-papiers in question
are a very attractive 28-year-old Moldavian woman and her daughter.
Oh, and Lucien has married her in order to avoid possible legal
issues. Frank and multifaceted, yet light and fun, Anne Le Ny’s
explorations into the discrete charm of the petite-bourgeoisie
is thoroughly enjoyable.
2.8
-- THE MAN NEXT DOOR, Mariano Cohn &
Gaston Duprat
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] This film hits a chord with all of
us who have had to contend with an unreasonable neighbour: no
matter what tactics you take, the neighbour will not concede,
comply or co-operate. In fact, the neighbour nastily clings to
an unacceptable agenda which blatantly transgresses all civil
codes and boundaries in a variety of unnerving ways. In the case
of this unusual, somewhat suspenseful film, kind Leonardo (Rafael
Spregelburd) faces off with Victor (Daniel Aráoz), his vulgar
neighbour who is expressing his need for more sunlight by doing
the unthinkable: without regard to renovation laws or ownership
of property, this low-life louse is illegally destroying a wall
to build a window that directly looks onto Leonard's heritage
habitat -- which happens to be the famous Casa Curutchet, a Buenos
Aires landmark built by renowned Swiss architect, le Corbusier.
In fact, Leonardo owns the Corbusier, and as a successful industrial
designer, he is beside himself with anger and frustration. Pushy
Victor initiates several chats which eventually lead to Victor
insinuating himself in Leonard's life beyond reason and respect.
Leonardo slowly loses ground. It affects his marriage, job and
most notably his mental state. What is clever about the film is
Victor's constant clatter. Hammering and drilling builds into
a percussive crescendo creating a climax that is completely unpredictable.
In fact, plot-wise, it falls flat and lands ambiguously in our
laps without care. Suspense and humour actually merge in this
film where ironic moments are simultaneously disturbing and funny.
The actors' performances are second to none (other than the window
itself which took over in each shot). It was the scene stealer
in every sense of the word!
2.5
-- BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, Jonathan Liebesman
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
Jonathan Liebesman’s two hour commercial for the US military destroys
everything it touches, including the line between self-parody
and shameless, jingoistic ham. An occupying alien force besieges
the world’s major cities and deploys ground and air forces to
exterminate the human populations. Among the targeted cities is
Los Angeles, which a small group of stock military characters,
among them a rookie commander, a pansy, a butch femme and a pure
soldier penetrate to rescue civilians before explosives level
the area. On the way the group picks up an attractive female veterinarian
and a young boy whose Mexican father conveniently dies off and,
in a conciliatory scene between the pure soldier, the boy and
the veterinarian, sets up the surrogate family standard so common
to disaster narratives. That the film suggests this standard without
fulfilling it is indicative of its overall approach and source
of fascination, which is to nod at as many generic, ideological
and narrative conventions as possible without completely submitting
to one. A passing jibe at the use of drone warfare quickly vanishes
in the face of good old American heroics – “That was some John
Wayne shit, Sergeant” – while the stock characters are, even by
stock standards, so underwritten that the clichés through which
they communicate become our only way to communicate with them.
In other words, the ham becomes something like poetry, a blunt,
stupid grace the film is proud to call American and by which it
defines its leading man. One year after "The Hurt Locker,"
amid another American offensive, the pure soldier moves from bomb
squad to infantry and, as a friend notes, looks more like George
W. Bush than John Wayne, close-cropped, furrowed, hand-gunning
down an alien foot-soldier. American political life has long abandoned
the distinction between parody and jingoism; maybe it’s about
time its cinema caught up.
2.5
-- CERTIFIED
COPY, Abbas
Kiarostami
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
While critics unanimously loved "Certified Copy," non-professional
movie-goers have been more polarized. I was expecting to find
myself in the fist category, not because I think of myself as
having more “discriminate” tastes, but simply because everything
about this film tells me I should love it. This Abbas Kiarostami
“plotless” exploration of relationships, stars the ever so exquisite
Juliette Binoche and William Shimell as they walk through the
beautiful Tuscan landscape. Despite all this, I found myself bored,
when not down right annoyed by the long, absurd, and improbable
dialogues, no doubt inspired by an “Intro to Art” college class.
There’s an element of originality in Binoche and Shimell’s never
ending game of cat and mouse, as they alternatively change personalities
and never quite find happiness at the same time. There might be
a philosophical insight there, but the absurd masquerade through
which it is revealed can’t help but taint the message.
3.9
-- THE ILLUSIONIST, Neil
Burger Furman
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] Finally, a suspenseful thriller that
is unique, intelligent and unforgettable! Eddie Mora --
impeccably played by Bradley Cooper – is a down-and-out
writer with a chronic case of writer’s block. He bumps
into his former brother-in-law who offers him NZT, a new
not-on-the-market, magic pill that makes the brain work
at 100% capacity. People only use 20% of their brain on
the best of days. Eddie caves and decides to take the
pill handed to him. He loves it. He wants more, lots more,
because game too. He pays his brother-in-law a visit to
get more pills, but before receiving them, he leaves to
buy him food. Eddie returns to a dead brother-in-law and
calls the police. He frantically looks for the stash of
pills. He finds them. Eureka, his life changes! He now
relies heavily on the pills to create an ultra-rich and
famous life for himself. He’s writing novels, speaking
four languages, playing classical piano and accomplishing
death defying feats. Because of his phenomenal ability
to predict winning stocks, he gets hired by mega-mogul
Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro) who basically wants to
own the world, including Eddie. But being stalked by some
stranger, getting his girlfriend involved in danger and
nearly getting killed himself is not what he bargained
for. Twists never cease in this wonderful film that is
totally devoid of Hollywood hocus pocus other than the
effect of the pill on those who take it. Indeed, everyone
seems to be after this pill. It’s a great movie with a
fast pace and a plot to match.
3.5
-- JALOUX,
Patrick Demers
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Patrick
Demers’ delightfully dark and minimalistic first feature-film
“Jaloux” comes very close to perfection. Shot over 16
days, the film establishes a closed-space in which three
brilliantly chosen actors improvise around a deceptively
common plot (a couple tries to revive their relationship
with a weekend away in a cottage, where a dangerous man
they mistake for a friendly neighbour accosts them). Though
the film’s quality is largely due to the incredible improvisational
acting, the tight editing (which must have been a feat,
considering the nature of the shoot) and oozing music,
reminiscent of Bernard Hermann, add depth and interest.These,
coupled with sustained tension and dark humour, remind
one of Hitchcock’s long lasting legacy. The weird chemistry
between Maxime Dénommée (of the critically acclaimed Radio-Canada
series “Aveux”) and Sophie Cadieux (who seems to be everywhere
these days) is contagious and lends a rare sense of credibility
and realism to their fragile and flawed couple. Cleaning
up after a summer night’s excess and heavy drinking takes
on a whole new meaning.
2.3
LINCOLN LAWYER, Brad
Furman
[reviewed by
Nancy Snipper] Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey),
a low-key, clever, cool-as-a-cucumber Los Angeles lawyer
operates out of his chauffer-driven car most days. He’s
goes for the down and dirty type criminals, because they
pay well. A motor cycle gang is his type of folk. He is
defending Louis Roulet, yet another murderer -- a playboy
type (Ryan Phillippe), but this time, Haller actually
believes his baby-faced client who earnestly claims his
innocence. He emphatically says he never raped nor attempted
to kill the prostitute in question. We are duped by his
sincerity as is Haller. The film is somewhat novel in
its plot and character twists, but it’s requires a good
stretch of credibilty to understand how this good guy
is actually the bad guy and how the supposed bad guys
are really the good guys. In other words, the script writer
preferred to leave out some keys explanations. The acting
was good, and some lines were funny in a vulgar way, but
all in all, the movie moved along the typical lines of
formulaic plot: you could see the predictable curve balls
coming your way. It tried to be different, but didn’t
really succeed. Matthew McConaughey was refreshing to
watch and should take on more of these meaty roles. Still,
showing off his physical flexibility by licking his own
feet while doing yoga may prove to be his singlemost claim
to fame.
2.9
-- LULLY L’INCOMMODE, Olivier Simonnet
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] Somewhat contrived this biopic sets
the scene of Lully sitting for his portrait in a room
at Versailles. No other character is shown in the film
as Lully reveals his life to the unseen artist. Conceiving
and creating opera under Louis X1V, Lully garnered both
adulation and derision. The King idolized Lully and gave
him full run of the court as music director. Born in 1632,
Lully was able to circumvent political intrigues until
the end of his life when the king dismissed him from his
position as music director. Evidently, Lully had a thing
for the boys, but this time the king’s own page was the
object of the great composer’s affection. The page took
the fall for it all and Lully was not so happy about it
all. Lully’s Baroque music played by ensembles in the
film is glorious. Unfortunately, reenacting his life (delivered
as a monologue by Lully which albeit was credibly played
by Thierry Hancisse) was hokey. This 2009 film fell flat
for lack of sparkle, characters and scene reenactments.
However, the music made up for the one-dimensional quality
inherent in the use of monologue as a mode to mirror this
genius’ life. It was in the mix of music films presented
by FIFA. 227.
2.7
-- THE SACRED DANCER, Diego D’Innocenzo
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] Biswajit, a 15-year-old belongs to
a revered group of Indian dancers. He is a Gotipuas –
one of the boys trained from a very young age to dance
for Shiva at the temple in Dimirisena, a small Indian
village in the province of Orissa. Together with other
boys they costume themselves as girls. They dance angelically.
Long ago, girls called Devadsis initially danced this
sacred role. They were spiritually married to the god
Jagannath. The film does not clarify why Shiva replaced
this god, but it does say that Shiva and the boys become
one -- nameless, shapeless as they embody their sacred
god. They are pure rhythm and movement. Now no girl is
allowed to enter the all-boy group, but little Padma convinces
the Gatipuas teacher that she is able to do the dances,
having watched these superb students rehearse with him.
This unusual documentary follows Biswajit as he does graceful
movements to honour Shiva. However, he is now changing
into a man and he must bid good-bye to his life as a Gotipuas.
A young boy given by his parents to replace Biswajit knows
he is in good hands as Biswajit escorts him to the temple.
They disappear into the distance, and the film ends. Interesting
and worthy of watching, “The Sacred Dancer,” part of FIFA,
has lasting merit though it was made in 2009.
1.6
-- THE DEBUSSY FILM, Ken Russell
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] How anyone could take the life of
Debussy, one of the world’s greatest lyrical piano composers
(one of my favourite to play) and turn his tragic periods
into a pseudo-erotic biopic – well only insanity can answer
that! This film within a film goes on the premise that
Debussy (1862-1918) was a mooch, a gambler and a gad-about
with an impoverished mind that was more in love with lust
than music. The scenes were almost comic in their attempts
to show Louis, the fictitious seedy filmmaker whose reputation
for his pornography movies makes him manipulate Oliver
Stone to do such silly things. Stone plays himself and
Debussy in this highly pretentious piece of rubbish. I
need only play Debussy’s pieces from his piano collection
called “Children’s Corner,” which was dedicated to his
little daughter who died at the age of nine, to remind
myself that composers in the face of tragedy are able
to summon their genius to create everlasting beauty. The
same cannot be said for some filmmakers, particularly
the kinky artist who made this far-fetched and highly
forgettable film in 1965. Whatever was Russell smoking?
1.3
-- SOURCE
CODE, Duncan
Jones
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Jake
Gyllenhaal’s role choices seem to alternate in a way that
is both baffling and eerily consistent: every good role
is followed by a more than questionable one. Duncan Jones’
“Source Code” -- sandwiched in between “Love and Other
Drugs” and the upcoming “Nailed” -- was therefore bound
to disappoint. Pilot Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) awakens
one morning on a commuter train en route to Chicago. He
doesn’t know what he is doing there, nor why he is inhabiting
a stranger’s body. Eight minutes later the train explodes
and he finds himself in a box talking to a uniformed officer
(Vera Farmiga) who informs him that he must go back into
the past, onto the same commuter train in order to discover
the bomber’s identity. The first scene then repeats again,
again, (and again), “Groundhog Day”-style as he keeps
on failing to identify the bomber in time to prevent the
tragedy. Half-way through the movie, Stevens, himself
fed up -- perhaps taking it upon himself to voice the
audience’s frustration -- blurts out: “This makes no sense.
What are you talking about? I need to be briefed!” You
see, up to that point, none of us knows what’s going on,
which makes it difficult to care about what’s happening
on screen. Why should we care that a bomb explodes and
kills thousands of people if they are, for all we know,
mere figments of a programmer’s imagination? Eventually,
well past the point of no return, some of the intricacies
of the plotline are revealed. Infatuated by its own concept,
“Source Code” takes the 'smart movie' idea too far and
leaves its audience behind.
2.2
-- YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA, Samir Karnik
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] This Bollywood film is as confusing
as its title. Akin to India’s version of a Jackie Chan
movie -- full of action, fighting and comedic relief,
this long epic involves a son who lives in Vancouver.
His name is Paramvir. In order to find Gajodhar, his long
lost brother which would bring ultimate happiness to his
mother, he travels to Banaras and meets up with him. Long
ago, Dharam, his dad, ran off with the now missing brother
when he was a toddler. Like father like son: both Dharam
and Gajodhar are up to no good, conning people out of
money and stealing from stores. But family sticks together,
and Paramvir, who reveals to his dad his familial relationship,
is determined to stay by his brother’s side. His brother
does not know that his new sidekick is his own brother.
After many mix-ups, including a major entanglement with
a rich family keen on wedding their daughter to Paramvir,
everything straightens out: Paramvir is already a husband
whose wife and kids travel to India to find him so that
marriage will not take place. In the end, Gajodhar gets
the girl after the rich family finds out Paramvir is already
taken. Best of all, Gajodhar finds out that the man who
has been his staunchest ally, aside form his father, is
actually his own brother. The two brothers and father
return to Vancouver and mom is extremely happy. The dance
numbers, and wedding scene are fun entertainment, but
the comedic plot is over the top.
4.0
-- PARIS, THE LUMINOUS YEARS, PERRY Miller Adato
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] Montmartre was the mecca for all
the great ones who bandied together in a communal block
over a slaughterhouse on Larouche in Paris in 1903. There
was Picasso and his poet pal Apollinaire, Chagall, MiroZ
genius called Picasso comes to live iThrough a series
of archival interviews with his wife, two daughters and
son, along with great artists who collaborated with Rubenstein,
including conductors Zubin Mehta, and Daniel Barenboim
and pianist Mikhail Rudy, we come to know the genius of
one of the world’s greatest pianists. Clips from many
of his concerto performances in Poland, England, France
and Israel, provide a musical landscape to enchant us
all with his inimitable interpretations of Chopin, Liszt,
Debussy, Ravel, Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart, his favourite
composer. Rubenstein said: “Music lifts you up; you don’t
belong anymore to this planet”. Clearly, this family man
whose friends included Picasso and his peers along with
French writer Jacques Chancel delighted all who knew him
with his great sense of humour and gentleness. Rubenstein
loved the grand gaiety of life and people of all kinds.
He blamed himself for many years for not practicing enough:
“I was lazy; I preferred to go to the theatre, opera and
read books. But that developed sensitivity that comes
out in my music.” He felt that this sensitivity, so beautifully
reflected in his playing is what resonates with audiences
the world over. Rubenstein revealed insightful comments
on the masters of piano composition. He tells us that
Chopin only played Bach and Mozart, and that he was really
not a romantic. He revealed that he himself, like the
great Polish composer, only plays the sentiments expressed
in the compositions. His suppleness, fluidity and ease
in each phrase shaped by his nimble, strong fingers are
rapturous and astonishing. Rubenstein was remarkably happy.
His resilience and wonderful acceptance of life comes
through this film. Although all his family perished under
the Nazis (they were from Poland), nonetheless, nothing
seems to have darkened his outlook on life. Buried in
Israel with sculpted slabs resembling the keys of the
piano, Rubenstein has the last word in this lovely film.
From the grave (he died at 95), a voice rippling over
these huge stone “piano keys” humbly tells the world:
“Without sounding arrogant, I think I am the happiest
person I have ever met.” He certainly made everyone joyously
happy with his playing, and his marvelous energy and personality
simply enhanced it all. FIFA selected a film that immortalizes
the greatest pianist of all time.
3.9
-- PUCCINI,
Giorgio Capitani
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper] Your passion for Puccini will reach
ecstatic heights every second of this feature film. Rather
than being a mere period movie that recreates in pretentious
fashion Puccini and his life, the script brilliantly brings
us Puccini the man, the husband, the lover, and most of
all illustrates the ways his musical genius affected the
world – a man capable of making men and women cry during
the opening phrases of his magnificent arias, duets, solos
and tragic finales. It’s 1924 in Vienna. The film opens
introducing us to a 60-year-old sick man unable to finish
“Turandot.” He’s coughing, smoking and ripping up music
sheets. He has no inspiration. Through the meeting of
a lovely female journalist, he lets her know he is spent,
but this is not quite true; he does complete “Turandot,”
upon which his own finale soon follows. The movie takes
us back to his boyhood days in Lucca, Italy, his studies
at the Conservatory, his coquettish cabaret lover who
years later inspires the creation of the character, Mimi
in “La Boheme.” Touchingly and humorously, Puccini develops
his relationships with both eccentric and sensible people
who play an integral role in making him the world’s most
coveted maestro of opera. A large part of the film revolves
around his relationship with Ricordi, his lifelong publisher
who, through thick and thin, believed in his immeasurable
talent despite his first opera’s debut flop in Milan:
“Madame Butterfly.” But after that rejection, there was
no looking back. The rest of Europe loved him and soon
Milan did too. There are so many enchantingly intimate
moments in this film, such as when he meets Elvira his
wife who leaves her husband for him; his light-hearted
librettists whom he wakes up at all hours of the wee morning
when music comes to him and he must have the lyric written
instantly and hear it or he won’t let them sleep. Then
there is Dorio, a young angelic girl hired as the house
maid. She is fired by Elvira who fears this delicate little
domestique is stealing her husband away. Elvira forces
her to leave at night in the rain. It was Dorio who became
the maestro’s muse. At 40; he falls under her sweet spell,
and he finds he is once again inspired. Puccini never
cheated on Elvira. Tragically, Dorio poisons herself soon
after she is banished from the Puccini household. A masterful,
understated scene at the morgue makes us cry when we see
her lifeless body. Overall though, this film offers profoundly
light-hearted moments too. One extremely funny scene happens
when Toscanini appears at the rehearsal hall to inform
Puccini he changed some of tempo, accents, and more in
“La Boheme.” Puccini is horrified and rants to his publisher
he will not have Toscanini conducting his opera. If he
does, he will quit on the spot. As he continues to yell,
suddenly, he hears the opening notes of “La Boheme’s”
overture as it is being conducted in the rehearsal hall
by Toscanini; Puccini is swept away in awe. Both become
great friends.” Nessun dorma” ends the movie with Toscanini
leaving out the final phrase; he stops conducting on the
spot. He announces to the audience that Puccini is dead.
Everyone stands up in silence. Before throat cancer completely
consumed Puccini, he sought care at a clinic. The movie
comes full circle. The journalist reappears. She has her
finished article delivered to his room in the clinic.
Puccini look at it, then out his window and sees her in
the garden on a chair. Their eyes meet and she gives him
a little wave and walks away. So much beauty in this film;
so much history, such restraint, such rage, and rapture,
sadness and sunny days: so many funny moments. Above all,
the film’s glorious music and the acting are supremely
brilliant. Allessio Boni as Puccini played him as a real
person; you were enthralled, delighted, stunned and teary-eyed
by his portrayal of this great maestro. Aside from being
utterly handsome, he brought us a Puccini of poignant
personality whose legacy is immortalized in this Puccini
picture.
3.4
-- PALESTRINA,
PRINCE OF MUSIC, Georg Brintrup
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
This fine docudrama focuses on the almost mystical musical
imagination of the remarkable Renaissance composer, Giovanni
Perluigi da Palestrina. His quest to make music whose purity
imitated the spirit of God led to his analogy between music
amd planet rotation and space. He also likened music to
the geometry of the crystal, perfect and pure. From simpler
homorhythmic two-dimensional song melodies to full-scale
polyphonic melodic compositions where each melody seemes
to float on its own yet interconnect with other melodic
lines, Palestrina revolutionized Church music, freeing it
beyond the confines and restraints of the liturgy and sacred
word. His music is indeed crystal clear, sublime and transcendental.
He was not without despair though -- subject to the changing
rules of Pontifical political power. Serving Pope Julius
III, he was adored and given a lifelong position as cantore
ponteficio. But, during his life, he was also dismissed
by Pope Paul IV . Palestrina was married and because of
this he was forced to leave the papal chapel. Falling into
poverty, losing his wife to influenza and his two sons to
the plague, Palestrina eventually married a rich widow.
He was once again able to publish his music -- 400 compositions
in all at this late stage in his life. In 1571, he regained
his position at the Church and remained in great esteem
there until his death in 1594. As the most revered composer
in Europe during these latter years of his life, Palestrina
created music that divinely reflected the eternal soul of
God. The film uses actors to recreate the times as they
share their thoughts on Palestrina. They assume various
roles: his students, a jealous cardinal, Popes and one of
his sons who recounts his father's life. In this gem of
a film, Palestrina's music is brought to life through the
magical singing of the Ensemble Seicentonovecento, led by
conductor Flavio Colusso. The inspiring setting of Abruzzi
and its monuments including the Blessed Papal Antonia added
great beauty to the audio pleasure of this period film.Sadly,
shortly thereafter, most of Abruzzi was destroyed in the
earthquake that struck the region. Thus the film is an enduring
testament to a time and place now gone. This 2009 film was
one of 227 films shown at FIFA this year.
3.6
-- DOGTOOTH ,
Giorgios Lanthimos
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
The reality of Greece’s economic and political corruption hovers
over the unreality of Giorgios Lanthimos’s “Dogtooth,” a domestic
parable in the traditions of Michael Haneke and Lars von Trier
that outperforms either filmmaker’s recent output. A man with
a middle-managing industry job and his wife raise three college-age
children (one boy, two girls) in a secluded, walled-off piece
of suburban property that includes a pool, impeccable greenery
and a hyper-modern white-and-glass house. There the father and
mother groom the children under a strict routine of social and
sexual programming to curb “bad influence” and permanently forestall
entry into the corrupt outside world. This corruption breaks the
seclusion in the form of a female security guard, whom the father
pays to have sex with the son but whose sexual and cultural influence,
“licking” and movies specifically, soon spreads to the girls and,
tapping the violently repressed aspects of their personalities
and sexualities, precipitates their conditioning’s partial breakdown.
As social critique that touches on two distinct settings, “Dogtooth”
is equally critical of an economic ideal whose bureaucratic structures
impinge on professional, political and familial life as well as
the utopian isolationism that may arise as a response to that
ideal. A sense of corruption pervades both extremes of the spectrum,
and ironically it is through the process of borrowing, national
deficit notwithstanding, that the film locates some points of
resistance. These points take the form of American blockbusters
which are also borrowed and implicated in processes of economic
and behavioural conditioning and from which the children can,
paradoxically, perform –in a Stallone impression that brings down
the house - a resistant strain of identity construction. That
these performances are also completely scripted is more evidence
of the two-sided and ambivalent approach “Dogtooth” takes to all
questions of control and resistance, economic and interpersonal,
asking how those intent on putting up or breaking down walls can
recognize the true barriers that hold and define them.
2.8 --
FRANCIS BACON, David Hinton
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
This revealing documentary exposes the man behind the macabre
paintings he created. Many comprise contorted figures dripping
in blood with mouths agape; they seem to be screaming in anguish.
Conversations between this eccentric artist and his interviewer,
Melvyn Bragg, take place inside London’s Tate Gallery, the
famous Colony Club and Bacon’s horridly messy art studio.
Ranked as one of the 20th century’s greatest painters, Bacon
enjoys his notoriety. He is brutally honest and sometimes
mean; he appears immune to public reproach. Therefore, the
viewer is fascinated by his personality, even more than his
sparse paintings. His comments prove interesting, and entertaining,
shocking and frank. Bacon unabashedly states that he believes
in deeply organized chaos. Indeed, his paintings give the
viewer few images to lighten the heart. He takes his cue from
the Greek playwright Aeschylus who said:” The wreak of human
blood smiles up at me," When asked to comment on some
paintings -- shown to him on a slide projector -- by great
American artists, including Pollack and Rothko, Bacon is remarkably
glib and blunt. Simply put, he hates their work. Born in Dublin
and living in London, he left home at the age of 16. One gathers
he lived the life of hard knocks: “What could I make that
competes with the horrors going on in the world?” Bacon died
at 83, leaving a visual legacy of the extreme pain he perceived
as a plague in the 20th century.
3.1 --
ARTHUR RUBENSTEIN, Marie-Claire Margossian
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
Through a series of archival interviews with his wife, two
daughters and son, along with great artists who collaborated
with Rubenstein, including conductors Zubin Mehta, and Daniel
Barenboim and pianist Mikhail Rudy, we come to know the genius
of one of the world’s greatest pianists. Clips from many of
his concerto performances in Poland, England, France and Israel,
provide a musical landscape to enchant us all with his inimitable
interpretations of Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Beethoven,
Brahms and Mozart, his favourite composer. Rubenstein said:
“Music lifts you up; you don’t belong anymore to this planet”.
Clearly, this family man whose friends included Picasso and
his peers along with French writer Jacques Chancel delighted
all who knew him with his great sense of humour and gentleness.
Rubenstein loved the grand gaiety of life and people of all
kinds. He blamed himself for many years for not practicing
enough: “I was lazy; I preferred to go to the theatre, opera
and read books. But that developed sensitivity that comes
out in my music.” He felt that this sensitivity, so beautifully
reflected in his playing is what resonates with audiences
the world over. Rubenstein revealed insightful comments on
the masters of piano composition. He tells us that Chopin
only played Bach and Mozart, and that he was really not a
romantic. He revealed that he himself, like the great Polish
composer, only plays the sentiments expressed in the compositions.
His suppleness, fluidity and ease in each phrase shaped by
his nimble, strong fingers are rapturous and astonishing.
Rubenstein was remarkably happy. His resilience and wonderful
acceptance of life comes through this film. Although all his
family perished under the Nazis (they were from Poland), nonetheless,
nothing seems to have darkened his outlook on life. Buried
in Israel with sculpted slabs resembling the keys of the piano,
Rubenstein has the last word in this lovely film. From the
grave (he died at 95), a voice rippling over these huge stone
“piano keys” humbly tells the world: “Without sounding arrogant,
I think I am the happiest person I have ever met.” He certainly
made everyone joyously happy with his playing, and his marvelous
energy and personality simply enhanced it all. FIFA selected
a film that immortalizes the greatest pianist of all time.
here.
3.2 --
CLAUDIO BRAVO, Michael Hegglin
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
Bravo comes by his last name honestly. An accomplisher of
immense projects, he has devoted his life to the pursuit and
creation of beauty and perfection. He is an artist, designer
of homes, builder of hospitals and schools, collector of Moroccan
pottery and textiles. In fact, one of his most successful
New York exhibitions comprised vertical orange-hued drapery
framed like paintings. Bravo lives a charmed life surrounded
in nature and peace. He would have it no other way. He confesses
to being an artist who only creates beauty; he has no interest
in anything but forms and objects that inspire awe and tranquility.
Born in Chile, he ends up living in Morocco where he designs
and builds three different homes. His Marrakesh home is a
mansion of moderate size that rises majestically in the Medina.
His Tangier home boasts an expansive garden the size of Versailles
-- an oasis of lush land that immediately transports the viewer
into a Shangri-La world. The retreat in Taroudant is a kind
of fantasy house that resembles a fortress intent on holding
back the invading world. The interior of each of his homes
is adorned in stunning objects that only an absurdly rich
person could own. In fact, he actually bought the entire contents
of a pottery Moroccan pottery museum. This deeply beautiful
film spreads out like a canvas of perfection before the eye.
We are entranced by Bravo’s insight and remarkable ability
to set out on a dream and accomplish it long before old age.
This movie is like a magnificent piece of music made visual.
Magic before your eyes! FIFA’s inclusion of this 2009 film
is a gift to an audience that appreciates timeless art. It
makes us all want to be collectors.
2.0 -- L'APPAT , Yves Simoneau
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper]
This is a comedy that teams up two totally different cops.
Together, they must solve a Mafia crime. The cop from Quebec,
called Poirier, is adept at bungling everything. Not as funny
as Peter Sellers, actor Guy Lepage is still engaging as Poirier;
he pulls off a few fun gags. His serious cohort, Mohammed
Ventura -- played by Rachid Badouri is in fact a member of
the French secret service. He is slick, agile and cunning.
Having been sent by his French boss as an undercover underling
to Montreal, he is supposed to get to the bottom of the crime
without giving away his true identity to anyone. He therefore
poses as a student cop attempting to learn the tricks of the
trade from Poirier. But Ventura skillfully surpasses his Quebecois
sidekick. In the end, both guys discover that their very different
cop styles can actually combine effectively to solve the crime.
That's refreshing given that they start off on really bad
footing; Ventura does not suffer fools in a friendly manner.
Poirier finally discovers the true identity of Ventura and
together they discover another truth: their respective bosses
are the bad guys. This lighthearted film is comedy without
cleverness. Still it has some amusing moments.
3.3 --
THE ILLUSIONIST , Sylvain
Chomet
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
It is difficult in a short review to do justice to the context
of any film. I went into “The Illusionist” having read the
open letter Richard McDonald, middle grandson of Jacques Tati,
sent to a number of film critics and which was subsequently
posted online, in which he accuses the film’s director and
producers of obscuring the true and painful history behind
Tati’s original script. That history claims the script as
a letter of love and apology to the daughter whom Tati had
before the Second World War and, along with her mother, subsequently
abandoned. One cannot separate the question of Chomet and
the producers’ responsibility to this history from any legitimate
discussion of the film’s value as cinema or history. However,
as ambivalent as some critics have been regarding this question,
I am somewhat ambivalent about measuring the film against
Tati’s oeuvre, a comparison which might be fruitful but can,
if observed too strongly, obscure the film’s limitations as
well as its strengths; if nothing else, McDonald’s letter
reminds us “The Illusionist” is a Chomet film, the ethics
of adaptation notwithstanding. An aging magician carries his
failing act to a seaside town in Scotland, where an adolescent
girl falls in love with his magic and follows him to Edinburgh,
where the two form a surrogate father-daughter living arrangement.
Dwindling funds and opportunities force the magician to pursue
increasingly humiliating and dehumanizing work; meanwhile,
the glamour of urban capitalism, itself responsible for this
dehumanization, as well as the excitement of first love, its
codes of courtship framed within the capitalist rubric, claim
the place of magic in the girl’s attention and steadily pull
the two apart. “The Illusionist’s” deft and near-total lack
of traditional dialogue diffuses the hyperbolic praise lavished
on the first half-hour of “Wall-E,” which consisted of no
dialogue besides a metallic exchange of names and which some
critics regarded as a sort of miraculous silent film. Elsewhere,
and perhaps taking a cue from “Playtime,” albeit to a far
lesser degree, Chomet allows for the action to unfold within
a single frame or “shot” and on several planes of action,
two processes that remain rare in American popular animation.
He is also not shy about his debt to Disney’s hand-drawn tradition,
though it is perhaps when he is most direct about to whom
or what he would like to pay homage – at one point the magician
stumbles into a theater playing “Mon Oncle” – that “The Illusionist’s”
spell momentarily breaks. Admittedly these moments interrupt
an altogether agreeable, sometimes lovely story, but there’s
nothing here like grenade-fishing with the Triplets.
3.7 --
ALAMAR , Pedro
Gonzalez-Rubio
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
Before leaving with his mother for Rome, a young boy whose
parents have separated – his mother is Italian, his father
Mexican – accompanies his father to the Caribbean Island of
his father and grandfather’s birth to learn about life on,
or life and, the sea. That life’s daily routine of diving
for fish, selling fish, preparing together and eating fish,
provides a backdrop for the natural beauty of the endangered
reef and demonstrates how the region’s family and interpersonal
dynamics revolve around it. A work of fiction with untrained
actors or a scripted documentary in the Flaherty tradition
(I’d vote for the former), Rubio’s film is perhaps best categorized
as an exciting form of activist cinema that forgoes the demands
to reinvent form and of confrontational posturing. For much
of its running time, “Alamar” is content to regard the beauty
of the reef, of which the human body is one element among
many, on its own terms, a position that allows it, when the
film finally moves to Rome, to compare the two without demonizing
the latter; in fact, the film argues that a love of one can
enhance one’s understanding of and appreciation for the other.
Rubio extends this generosity to cinematic form, as tenets
of classical narrative, observational documentary and self-referentiality
wash over one another and, like the birds, crocodiles and
roaches that occupy and surround the family’s home, peacefully
co-exist. For seventy-three minutes, the coexistences at the
heart of the film’s form and setting emerge simultaneously
and inextricably from each other. It’s a form of activist
cinema so radical that you might be shocked to learn from
the postscript that the film has a 'position,' so interwoven
are its existence and its argument.
2.7 --
UNKNOWN , Jaume
Collet-Serra
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
On a trip to Berlin, an American professor's taxi careens
off a bridge and lands him in a coma from which he wakes
to find his wife, career and identity stolen by another
man. He soon enlists the help of a former Stasi agent
and a sexy, street-smart Bosnian immigrant to discover
if and why someone would conspire against him. The film's
ostensible question is if he is crazy or not, but viewers
familiar with Neeson's late-career renaissance know
the important question is when and towards what body
count the killer inside will shed the good manners that
stretch over it like a thin skin. But the film's true
attraction is the supporting German talent, the existence
of which has not been lost on American producers since
Christoph Waltz's celebrated performance in "Inglourious
Basterds." Bruno Ganz's former Stasi officer leads the
way, a relic of an older and mysterious post- Nazi Germany
which American cinema has always been reticent to visit
and of an older Berlin that has already disappeared.
Though "Unknown" does not change the fact that one must
return almost a full century for a definitive cinematic
portrait of Germany's capital, it does hint, in a beautiful,
understated scene between Ganz and a late-appearing
Frank Langella, at a history behind the changing faces
of people and city that are in the process of being
forgotten. It also nostalgically evokes a kind of cinematic,
spy vs. spy intrigue whose tension is propelled by performance
and registered in barely-discernable shifts in character
and communication, just one element of a disappearing
landscape that "Unknown" pauses to salute on its way
over the edge.
3.0 -- JOURNAL D'UN COOPÉRANT, Robert Morin
[reviewed by Nancy Snipper] When
Jean-Marc Phaneuf, an electronic technician, is sent to
Burundi to work with Radio du Monde, he decides to keep
a video diary. His trip soon exposes the sham of international
aid, but he continues to cooperate with his colleagues
and their requests to order more equipment. Jean-Marc
develops an infatuation with his cook's granddaughter.
He invites her to come swimming at his house every day.
Something ominous is afoot and soon he is inviting her
to model the clothes he buys for her. Jean-Marc is not
what he seems to those who befriend him. He is not as
good as he appears to be. In fact, the colleagues he disparages
in his video diary end up being the good guys. As his
scathing look at humanity deepens with each tragedy he
witnesses in his host country, his own deep flaws begin
to surface. The film exposes the horrid hypocrisy and
wickedness that lurk deep within supposedly harmless,
helpful people.
2.4 --
MOTS GELÉS (FROZEN WORDS), Isabelle D'Amours
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
Filmed in St Hyacinthe and its neighboring area, this
compelling film offers graphic landscapes of winter harshness
enhanced by the area's lonely mountain rising above a
world of white endless snow. Charles lives in a dark depressing
house that looks out to the mountain. He often walks towards
it without purpose. He is deeply troubled, lonely and
alienated. In fact, he is suffering from clinical depression.
His mother resides in a nursing home. She is catatonic,
and Charles is deeply affected by this. He visits her,
yet no words are ever shared. All she does is sit in her
rocking chair looking out the window. Charles' only pastime,
in between his job as a shop teacher, is cutting hundreds
of strips of paper. On them he writes short greeting messages
to his mother. He then rolls them up, puts them into ice
cube trays and shoves them into the freezer. Charles desperately
wishes to make contact with her; he loves her very much.
In the end, he reaches the point of no return. His depression
seals his fate. But before he takes his final walk towards
that mountain -- this time with a purpose in mind -- he
visits his mother. It will be his last visit. He takes
her hand and tells her he loves her. Pierre-Luc Brilliant,
who appears in every scene, puts in a masterful performance
as Charles, portraying depression with grace and empathy.
Still, the film trudges slowly along, and is more a study
in character than a plot pleaser.
3.0 --
LA CITÉ, Kim
Nguyen
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
In
1895, French colonial soldiers take over a northern Tunisian
outpost. The bubonic plague has killed off most of the sorry
inhabitants. But high up on the Aurès mountain range is
a little town (city) populated by the Herenite people who
have survived on their own for centuries, and presently,
they remain free from the plague that is quickly decimating
the townspeople below. Dr. Vincent, an army doctor who once
spent eight years serving his country in Tunisia, ends up
helping these so-called enemies of the soldiers living above
the chaos. Typically, the French soldiers tell everyone
it is these mountain people who are to blame for the bubonic
outbreak. The film features moments of great lyrical beauty,
such as when the fine mountain folk drop thousands of leaves
onto the quarantined town below manned by soldiers. On these
leaves they have written a touching message stating that
their gods may differ but all are brothers. Sadly, the heroic
doctor, who secretly visits the mountain town to bring food
to the people after saving a young boy who has been shot
by the soldiers, meets his own doom. He never makes it back
to France but takes his final resting place high up among
the people he has grown to love as guardian of their 'city.'
Poor editing and some stagey scenes weaken this otherwise
unique film.
1.4 --
ART AND EXPERIMENTATION -- GRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES, various
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
There is nothing meritorious about this collective of shorts
created by technically able directors who may have inadvertently
stumbled into a cure for insomnia. That said, Janet Perlman's
film, "Sorry Film Not Ready," was refreshing; it stood out among
the collective of eight films. Ironically, her film really was
not finished and was therefore gratifyingly short and concise.
That may have been why it got the most applause, though it did
have funny cartoon zippy characters in it. "Le Projet Sapporo"
cleverly turned Japanese calligrapher Gazanbou Higich's masterfully
made characters into the actual images they represented. Her
film employed animation to do thisAlso of note was Innu filmmaker,
Real Junior Leblanc's "Tremblement de Terre." It united his
poetry of sadness and despair with his life in northern Quebec's
forlorn landscapes. Born in Uashat, he is a member of the Wapikoni
mobile, a traveling showcase featuring films made by Quebec's
First Nations people. The only mature filmmaker in the lot of
films shown was Jean Detheux. What a disgrace. His interminably
boring film consisted of vivid colours fluidly merging together
across the screen without any variation. This travesty of a
film was set to Bach's La Chaconne. Entitled "Chaconne," it
was the worst of the lot; though it was nice to hear the music
as long as your eyes were closed during the film's 15 minutes..
3.0 --
DELTA, Kornél Mundruczo
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
This slow-paced film is Hungary's version of Appalachian life
gone wrong - ignorance and aberration abound thematically
in this film. Even the music and backwoods setting surrounding
the Danube delta tell an abnormal way of life. A young man
meets up with his mother and a sister he has never met. Together,
the siblings escape prejudice and repression by retreating
into the backwoods of the delta. This is understandable given
that the sister's step father rapes her when she tries to
leave. The brother and her build a wooden house on the delta
that seems to hold the promise of tranquility and love (ambiguously
demonstrated between the siblings). Small-minded folk determine
their fate, and it is a sad one indeed. The film captures
the beauty and beaucolic life along this unpopulated part
of the Danube. But their safety is dashed by Hungarian intent
on destroying those who do not follow the norm. here.
2.0
-- ANGLE MORT,
Dominic James
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Like a proud card-carrying member of the genre,“Angle mort”
ticks off, one by one, all the elements of the soft-horror/thriller
film: an ugly villain avenging his girlfriend’s death, a stranded
couple in distress, overpowering music to create tension when
there would otherwise be none, and a happy ending justifying
all of the preceding violence (who cares that a dozen cubans
are slaughtered so long as the ordeal strengthens our couple’s
commitment towards each other, right?). The filmmakers seem
unaware that most viewers have already seen this movie and that
suspense and interest can be maintained only if the formula
is somehow renewed, not simply repeated. Karine Vanasse (whose
character as a globetrotting photo-journalist seriously lacks
credibility) and Sébastien Huberdeau (as her beau), who have
both demonstrated their talents in “Polytechnique,” have very
little to work with here. The dialogues are reminiscent of daytime
soap operas, as is their text-book shot/counter-shot filming
structure. With all of its numbingly dis-believable narrative
elements, the film’s true reward lies in its brevity.
3.5 --
INSIDE JOB, Charles
Ferguson
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
The sloganizing of politicians and popular media risks saddling
“the worst recession since the Great Depression” with the
weight of myth, delegating its causes and effects to some
immediate and perpetual past. One of the great achievements
of Charles Ferguson’s second feature-length documentary is
to thrust the reality of this recession back into the present
and expose the players and institutions responsible. Not one
responsible party emerges unscathed – from the corporate financial
sector’s derivative fiasco, to the banks’ predatory loaning,
to the politicians who promise change and academics objectivity,
Ferguson’s film situates its critiques of people and institutions
within a broader critique of systemic corruption. As with
“No End in Sight,” Ferguson forgoes the populist theatrics
of Michael Moore and disguises his wide reach and personality
by starting small, using Iceland’s economic collapse as a
case-study and himself as an unobtrusive commentator. Exposition
interchanges with interviews to build the viewer’s knowledge
of seemingly complex economic systems alongside his distrust
of seemingly trustworthy subjects; finally, an educated viewer
and a now-combative Ferguson confront a disingenuous system
side-by-side. When, in a later interview, Ferguson’s voice
re-introduces Iceland and reveals for public scrutiny the
second face of one of his many two-faced subjects, the pang
of recognition is the viewer’s to share. But it is through
the juxtaposition of the many interviews against one another,
and the economic and cultural logistics spelled out between
them, that the film avoids mere witch-hunting and achieves,
like the best activist cinema, the therapeutic jolt that accompanies
the sudden revelation of truth.
1.3 --
FROM PRADA TO NADA, Angel
Gracia
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
One hundred thirteen years later, Angel Gracia's riff on "Sense
and Sensibility" realizes Mark Twain's famous desire to exhume
Jane Austen's corpse and beat it over the head with her own
shinbone. Half-white, half-Mexican sisters Nora and Mary Dominguez
inherit their father's unmanageable debt and forfeit their West
LA mansion for the hot, crowded, ultimately redemptive company
of their Mexican relatives in the east. In time Nora will learn
to open her heart to wealthy white lawyers and Mary that immigrants
are people too. What the film might say about working class
or immigrant life, the realities of integration or Los Angeles's
cinematically and politically underrepresented majority is consistently
downplayed in favour of cheap stereotypes (look out for punks
in low-riders!) and the girls' perennial search for love. "Beauty
isn't everything," says the beautiful Nora, establishing early
on a connection between beauty and hypocrisy that informs the
film's approach to the world - for the strange, dark and silent
mass's beauty can only be glimpsed in the buried ethnicity of
the film's tanned leads, while efforts to create a few "rounded"
Mexican characters - chiefly, one worthy of Mary's attention
- only highlight the inability of the people outside the film's
purview to speak for themselves.
2.3 --
THE GREEN HORNET, Michel
Gondry
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
An unlikable hero, insecure villain and surprisingly small doses
of analog wizardry distinguish Michel Gondry’s modest contribution
to the superhero club. A newspaper magnate dies and bequeaths
his empire to his hedonistic son, who joins his father’s brilliant
and lethal Chinese mechanic Cato to battle a corrupt district
attorney and a violently self-doubting drug lord. Gondry disperses
most of his do-it-yourself visuals into an informal tone and
lets his budget do the heavy-effects-lifting. Meanwhile, those
who would joke about what else Batman and Robin keep in their
closets will find plenty in the film’s hero/sidekick tension
to keep themselves occupied, including an extended fight sequence
whose deft use of stunt doubles, wires and shattering glass
is perhaps the film’s finest achievement. An attractive female
secretary enters between explosions to momentarily distract
from and finally reinforce the film’s dominant relationship.
But the buddy-bond is just one facet of the superhero genre
Gondry’s slapdash style gleefully lampoons and utterly believes
in.
3.5
-- THE EXTRAORDINARY
ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC, Luc
Besson
[reviewed by
Andrée Lafontaine]
Adèle Blanc-Sec -- Indiana Jones' cooler cousin -- is everything
I always wanted to see in an action hero: she uses her brains
instead of violence, she is strong and determined beyond measure,
has no romantic interest and does not need to wear a cat suit
to get what she wants. Above all, she smokes, drinks whisky and
wears the most outrageous hats. My kind of woman, and, apparently,
Besson's as well. Luc Besson has indeed understood the essence
of Blanc-Sec's charm: her complete disinterest in appearing charming
to anyone.The fiery Louise Bourgoin, who brings Tardi's creation
to life, is perfectly cast. Solid CGI recreates faithfully the
atmosphere of the comic book's world and is sure to entertain
the whole family.
1.5 --
THE MECHANIC, Simon
West
[reviewed
by Samuel Burd]
Jason Statham loses his shirt a record five minutes into Simon
West’s fifth feature, and only for a few seconds; sadly, “The
Mechanic’s” novelty ends there. A reclusive hit man named Bishop
follows questionable intel and assassinates his only friend
and mentor, grows a conscience then trains said mentor’s drifter
son as a protégé. Along the way are a hooker with a golden heart,
a conniving corporate shill and a homeless man who spouts down-home
wisdom from his cushioned seat on a boating dock. Two of the
three, guess which, end up dead; in fact, most everyone ends
up dead, though the film saves its grisliest violence for an
African-American and a seven-foot homosexual, while women appear
when the narrative needs a hostage or sex scene. “A hitman with
a conscience!” observes the corporate shill, implying a self-awareness
that the film does its best to fail to exploit. Elsewhere, Statham’s
suppressed body suggests a tension in the relationship of the
two leads that the film cannot engage; like one of Bishop’s
victims, it fires wildly as the genre suffocates it, piling
up bodies along the way. This is macho-homoeroticism at its
hypocritical best -- hateful, homophobic, violently incapable
of coming to terms with itself.
2.2 --
YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA, Samir Karnik
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
This Bollywood film is a confusing as its title. Akin to India's
version of a Jackie Chan movie -- full of action, fighting and
comedic relief -- this long epic involves a son who lives in Vancouver.
His name is Paramvir. In order to find Gajodhar, his long lost
brother which would bring ultimate happiness to his mother, he
travels to Banaras and meets up with him. Long ago, Dharam his
dad, ran off with the now missing brother when he was a toddler.
Like father like son: both Dharam and Gajodhar are up to no good,
conning people out of money and stealing from stores. But family
sticks together, and Paramvir, who reveals to his dad his familial
relationship, is determined to stay by his brother's side. His
brother does not know that his new sidekick is his own brother.
After many mix-ups, including a major entanglement with a rich
family keen on wedding their daughter to Paramvir, everything
straightens out: Paramvir is already a husband whose wife and
kids travel to India to find him, so that marriage will not take
place. In the end, Gajodhar gets the girl after the rich family
finds out Paramvir is already taken. Best of all, Gajodhar finds
out that the man who has been his staunchest ally, aside form
his father, is actually his own brother. The two brothers and
father return to Vancouver and mom is extremely happy. The dance
numbers, and wedding scene are fun entertainment, but the comedic
plot is over the top.
1.5 --
GNOMEO & JULIET 3D, Kelly
Asbury
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
Some kid's flicks -- some will say, the better ones -- will appeal
to the whole family by mixing different levels of humour or by
touching the kid in all of us. "Gnomeo and Juliet," an animated
garden-gnome version of the classic tale, does not. Its visual
aesthetic, characters, plot-line and humour are decidedly meant
to appeal strictly to a very young crowd. And that is fine. But
there's something odd when a movie addressed to 5-year-olds is
essentially selling holy matrignomy and Elton John's greatest
hits. The standard gender stereotypes also feature prominently,
reminding the adult viewer of just how ahead of his time William
Shakespeare really was. With voices from James McAvoy (Gnomeo),
Emily Blunt (Juliet), Michael Caine and Patrick Stewart.
3.0 --
FUNKYTOWN, Daniel
Roby
[reviewed
by Andrée Lafontaine]
"Funkytown" convincingly brings us back to Montreal's
nightlife of the late 70s, with all its disco balls, sequins and
broken dreams. Inspired by real people and events, the movie succeeds
in following -- Paul Thomas Anderson style -- the lives of seven
characters over a four year period. There's the election of the
PQ and a certain referendum in the background, but the music's
too loud for them to pay any attention to it. The filmmakers judiciously
opt for a good story rather than a history lesson, keeping the
overt historical references to a minimum. Opens January 28 in
French, English and Franglais.
2.4 --
MADE IN DAGENHAM, Nigel Cole
[reviewed
by Nancy Snipper]
This
wondrous film, set in 1968, charts with great accuracy the ridiculously
unfair and harsh conditions under which British women worked –
made all the more appalling when compared with their male counterparts
who always received the lion’s share of the salary pie.
Our heroine is Rita O’Grady, an unassuming factory worker
who along with 187 other sewing machinists works in Dagenham,
England. Everyday these women sew pieces of material together
for Ford car seats in the local factory. They have one male crusader
who spurs them on to change their conditions. He’s called
Albert, It’s hot in the dungeons of Dagenham, and so the
women work in their bras – a daily occurrence that causes
Albert great dismay and embarrassment. Unlike the other men in
this film, Albert is their staunch ally and spurs the women on
to better their conditions by meeting with the union rep. But
he turns out to be a snake-in-the-grass turncoat; he sides with
Ford.
As events escalate into strikes and meetings with Ford’s
fat cats, Rita refuses to compromise with the enemy. She walks
away from the table despite the company’s promise to “look
into their demands in due time.” Finding her own political
voice rooting for equal pay, she learns to fight and lead. Eventually,
she meets with with Barbara Castle, Britain’s Secretary
of State and Productivity. Through many slippery situations, Castle
convinces Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, that all British women
must be granted equality in the work place. In 1970, the Equal
pay Act became law. The cast is superb: Sally Hawkins from “Happy
Go Lucky” fame; Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund
Pike; and all the wonderful individual actors who colourfully
brought to life the collective plight of the machinists of Dagenham.
2.5
-- THE WAY BACK, Peter Weir
[reviewed
by Robert Lewis]
Peter Weir is not yet all the way back to the cinematic heights he
reached with “The Mosquito Coast,” “Dead Poets
Society” and “Fearless,” but he’s taken
a firm step in the right direction. “The Way Back”
begins in the hell of a Soviet Gulag in 1940. In its mesmerizing
attention to minute detail, the film’s first 30 minutes
are its most horrifically convincing as we learn why average life
expectancy in the Gulag is 12 months. Seven prisoners decide they
would rather die free than in hell on earth. The film follows
their harrowing escape and trek across Siberia in the worst of
winter, and then Mongolia (The Gobi) in the scorching heat of
summer before arriving safely in India. As such, this film is
as much about courage and sacrifice as it is about landscape.
To Weir’s credit in exercising restraint, he refuses to
romanticize (National Geographicize) the landscape, downplaying
its grandeur for its harshness, vastness and austerity as seen
through the eyes of the escapees who must negotiate it. “The
Way Back” is a bucking-the-odds, man against nature genre
film. If you’re a genre enthusiast, you’ll rate it
higher than this reviewer.
2.9
-- THE COMPANY
MEN, John Wells
[reviewed
by Robert Lewis]
The corporation, as a concept, came into existence in order
to facilitate carrying out strategies and directives that most
human beings, left to their own devices, would consider either
unthinkable or immoral. John Well's unspectacular but engaging
"The Company Men" follows the afterlife of three dedicated
corporate soldiers, Bobby (Ben Affleck), Phil (Chris Cooper)
and Gene (Tommy Lee Jones), recession casualties who have been
put out to pasture consequent to downsizing. But this cumulatively
absorbing film is much more than an indictment of the corporate
psyche; it's a study on how ex-company men (and women) deal
with humiliation and its many faces: losing face with friends
and family, wife and kids. The acting is nothing less than what
you would expect from seasoned veterans who get paid millions
for doing what they do better than well. What this film does
best, quite apart from the dead-on script, is to allow for the
subtle infusion of a lyricism of disbelief to haunt nearly every
frame of Well's first film. It redounds to Well’s focus
and purpose that this film feels like a work from a director
in his prime, who wants his audience to remain productively
engaged long after the credits have rolled by. Which is to say,
as much as one sympathizes with these corporate cast-offs who
have had to unload their $500,000 dollar homes and sports cars,
one cannot help but wonder what happens to the laid off worker
who can no longer pay the rent and provide for his family.
2.4
-- BLUE VALENTINE, Derek Cianfrance
[reviewed
by Sylvain Richard]
An average and formulaic portrait of a that-was-then-and-this-is-now
of a love that once was and is now no more. Dean (Ryan Gosling)
and Cindy (Michelle Williams) met by chance six years ago, fell
madly in love and rushed into marriage. Dean has little education
and works for a New York City moving company. Cindy is a medical
student, caring for her ailing grandmother and living with her
unhappy parents. They marry when Cindy discovers she is pregnant
from a previous boyfriend. That was then. This is now: their
daughter Frankie is now four, Dean paints houses and Cindy is
a nurse. To try and rekindle the marriage, Dean drags a reluctant
Cindy to a sleazy motel but it doesn't work out; when Dean wakes
up the next morning, Cindy is gone. She had been called in the
middle of the night to work at the hospital. Dean arrives at
the hospital angry and drunk and an altercation ensues. Will
their relationship survive it? Superb performances from the
leads, the film is compromised by the ineffective time shifting
between then and now and the predictability of the story line.
3.4 -- THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, Lee
Jeong-Beom
[reviewed
by Sylvain Richard]
Emotionally riveting crime action thriller that has all of the ingredients
necessary to justify its Korean blockbuster status (over six
million tickets sold since its release in September 2010 by
Korean Film Counsel -- KOFIC). Cha Tae-Sik (Won Bin) resides
in a dingy apartment and runs a pawn shop. Except for his upstairs
neighbour -- Soo-Mi Jeong (stunningly natural debut performance
by Sae-ron Kim) -- Tae-Sik has secluded himself from the world.
We later discover that he was a member of the Korean Secret
Service until 2006, when as a result of a mission his pregnant
wife was killed. Soo-Mi, who feels neglected, visits him whenever
her mother, Hyo Jeong ,is either strung out on heroin or has
men over. An unspoken friendship develops between them. Hyo
foolishly steals a drug shipment from a local dealer and hides
it in a camera bag, which she subsequently pawns to Tae-Sik.
The dealer tracks down Hyo and takes both her and her daughter
as hostage. Tae-Sik is forced to make deliveries for the dealer
if he wants to see mother and daughter alive. After one such
delivery, intended to humiliate a rival, the dealer kills the
mother and takes her organs for sale on the black market. Tae-Sik
sets out on a frantic and desperate search to save Soo-Mi before
it is too late. Though this thriller is blood-soaked with plenty
of well choreographed fight scenes and inherent Korean black
humour, the film features a compelling emotional dimension that
is enhanced with a rhythmic electro-orchestral score.
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