Festival of German Films 2010 - Preview

The Festival of German Films 2010 opens with Fatih Akin's new comedy Soul Kitchen at the Como cinema on Thursday 22 April. The FoGF has gradually increased on popularity, and more by serious programming rather than populist. In fact, I suspect this has had an influence on the French Film Festival, which has until recently had too much of a focus (in my opinion) on popular mainstream cinema. Don't get me wrong, the FoGF is showcasing films that audiences will find appealing; it's just that the festival doesn't shy away from edgier themes.

I spoke briefly to festival director, Klaus Krischok from the Goethe Institute, about his criteria for selecting films for the festival. This year for the first time, there are different streams. He acknowledged my suggestion that the Culinary Comedies was chosen largely because of Akin's new film. (Akin is, of course, well-known for his sublime serious dramatic films like The Edge of Heaven and Head On.) Not only have other comedies been selected with a culinary theme, but film-goers will have a rare opportunity to see earlier films by Akin: Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istanbul, a documentary from 2005, and Short Sharp Shock, an inter-cultural drama from 1998 (These are both top of my list of films I want to see at the festival).

Another stream is 'Berlin Based', films focusing on Berlin. I've seen the first episode of The Wolves of Berlin, reviewed below, and hope to see the remaining two episodes during the festival. In answer to my question about his criteria for the 'German Currents' films, Klaus said that history and politics are strong themes that he feels that make German cinema distinctive. His three top recommendations for the festival are: When We Leave, Soul Kitchen and My Words, My Lies - My Love.

Of the following films that I've previewed, my pick are The White Ribbon as 'must-see', and Whisky with Vodka, Vision, Storm and The Wolves of Berlin as 'worth-seeing'.

In addition to screenings of 33 films, there will be panel discussions for Storm and The White Ribbon, and Sönke Wortmann, who has three films screening at the festival, and feminist author Erica Fischer, author of Aimée & Jaguar, will also be in attendance.

• Die Tür (The Door, Anno Saul, Germany, 2009)
• Die Standesbeamtin (Will You Marry Us?, Micha Lewinsky, Switzerland, 2009)
• John Rabe (Florian Gallenberger, France/China/Germany, 2009)
• Schwerkraft (Gravity, Maximilian Erlenwein, Germany, 2009)
• Whisky mit Wodka (Whisky with Vodka, Andreas Dresen, Germany, 2009)
• Die Wölfe: Nichts kann uns trennen (The Wolves of Berlin: Part One - Nothing Can Part Us, Friedemann Fromm, Germany, 2009)
• Sturm (Storm, Hans-Christian Schmid, Germany/Denmark/Netherlands, 2009)
• Vision - Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Vision, Margarethe von Trotta, Germany/France, 2009)
• Das Weiße Band (The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke, Austria, 2009)

The Door
An artist loses his young daughter and gets another chance at making things right when he finds a doorway that takes him to another place. I suppose this paranormal thriller has parallels with films like The Terminator or Donnie Darko (without the sci-fi or special effects), with ideas that could have been used more effectively than they are here. On a micro-level, the acting is generally proficient, and the film looks nice enough. The problem is in the difficulty that a discerning audience will have in suspending disbelief at certain key moments, and it's the writing that is the weak point. Ultimately, the film should be entertaining for a mainstream audience but disappointing for cinephiles.

Will You Marry Us?
A civil celebrant is having marital problems and is asked by an old love interest to perform his marriage ceremony. This Swiss film is more romantic than comedy, though the film's premise and English title certainly suggests romantic comedy. The nature of markets, I suppose, means that distributors or film programming requires that genre labels be applied. All the contrived devices and predictable trajectory of the rom-com are employed. Yet the film remains a touch above the Hollywood standard by slightly understating the narrative and keeping the humour to a minimum. The visuals are lovely and there's a deliberate production theme using yellow primarily and the occasional use of the other primary colours. Anyone who enjoys romantic comedies shouldn't be disappointed with this.

John Rabe
This is a big studio film, a kind of cross between two Steven Spielberg films - Empire of the Sun and Schindler's List. It certainly looks good, depicting John Rabe, a German industrialist living in Nangking when it was invaded by the Japanese in 1937. He is credited with the saving of some 200,000 Chinese lives through his part in creating a safe zone. The 'Rape of Nangking' is a contentious issue between China and Japan. Japan has yet to fully acknowledge the extent of its wartime atrocities which include pillage, rape and mass murder - some 300,000 are estimated to have been killed in 6 weeks.

The film certainly works well cinematically if you're looking for a Spielberg-like war film. The more brutal aspects are largely sanitised for the big screen, though we do see glimpses of beheadings and mass executions, but very little is hinted at about the extent of rape.

I've never been particularly cognisant of this chapter in history, and it seems that Rabe has been an under-appreciated hero, despite his Nazi-party affiliations. Mind you, he hadn't lived in Germany for some thirty years prior and after his return to his homeland, he was silenced by the Nazis, had his diaries confiscated, and died a pauper in 1950. However, he remains a well-known hero in China.

The film benefits from an international cast, many of whom I recognised in films from their respective countries. Much of the dialogue is in English. I'm in no position to judge the film's historical accuracy, but it succeeded in prompting me to do some cursory research on its content. John Rabe's wins include best film and best actor at the German Film Awards.

Gravity
This is a strange film, strange as in I can't quite work out what the director is trying to achieve. A sociopathic bank loans officer experiences an existential crisis after a customer blows out his brains during a meeting with him, and takes to part-time crime with a former associate, while simultaneously trying to reignite an old relationship with a woman who he's been stalking.

The film looks nice enough, the acting is certainly adequate, but the story is just weird. It plays out mostly as drama and thriller but it doesn't quite cut it as either genre because there's a strong level of unreality (largely due to massive implausibilities), and one senses there's an attempt at black comedy, perhaps styled on the Coen brothers. The film is clearly aimed at a young, hip audience, evidenced by the music choices and other visual elements but there's still something not quite right. Comedy works best when it's based on fundamental reality but this film seems to ignore human psychology with characters, reactions and scenarios not feeling quite real.

The film makes some social commentary in passing, like equating business with crime, but is never - to it's credit - didactic. I think to enjoy it, one has to really suspend disbelief to a degree that some might find difficult. It will probably appeal to the target audience of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Like that film, for me this feels better suited for television. It's OK for a debut feature, and it'll be interesting to see what Erlenwein does next.

Whisky with Vodka
This is quite an endearing film about film-making that is like a cross between Catherine Breillat's Sex is Comedy and Mia Hansen-Løve's Father of My Children. Like Breillat's film, the film depicts the difficulty a director (and indeed, the whole film crew) experiences dealing with actors. And like Father of My Children, the film depicts the difficulties for the producer.

In Whisky with Vodka which, despite its description as a comedy is more drama with just a touch of wry comedy, a film's completion is threatened when it's aging and popular lead actor can't control his fondness for alcohol. The producers insist on two shoots, one with the original actor, Otto Kullberg (Henry Hübchen), and one with the possible replacement, a younger Arno Runge (Markus Hering).

The director Martin Telleck (Sylvester Groth) objects to this scenario, insisting he's "not a bucket for everyone to shit in". The film manages to both entertain without falling into parody (which it easily could have done) and remain thought-provoking. There are a number of good lines in which characters describe their craft. The film also gives a glimpse at how one person's ego can cause grief to dozens of others, and how dysfunctional an environment a film set can be. The characterisations and scenarios are very good. I found the film quietly satisfying.

The Wolves of Berlin: Part One - Nothing Can Part Us
The Wolves of Berlin is a three-part made-for-TV miniseries that centres on life in Berlin at three important points in time: 1948, 1961 and 1989. I've only seen the first episode, but I can say that it's well put together and looks good on the big screen. I hope to see the remaining episodes during the festival.

The story follows a group of teenagers in post-war Berlin, struggling for survival and who make a pact to stick together. The film focuses on the personal impact of the changes that were taking place at the time, as Berlin was divided into four sectors and blockaded.

The film has a clever visual style - sometimes black and white, sometimes slightly tinted and other times muted colour. Inserted from time to time is historical footage, also of varying qualities, which appears organic to the rest of the film. It lends an authentic and pleasing feel to the film. Because the film opens in the present, in a tense situation, we know there's bad blood, some of which will be divulged in later episodes. Recommended viewing.

Storm
This political thriller by German director, Hans-Christian Schmid, illustrates some of the difficulties in bringing war criminals to justice. Here, a former Serbian officer is accused of atrocities against Bosnian civilians. With an international cast, the predominant language is English and centres on a Hague prosecutor Hannah Maynard (Kerry Fox) in her oft-thwarted attempts to collect evidence. It also features Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) in a convincing role as a surviving witness.

Storm has a social-realist feel to it, underscored by lots of hand-held camera (slightly more shaky than required, but not fatally so) and has a feel to it more akin to films of this genre from Latin America than Europe. The film's arc is quite relevant, especially given recent attempts to bring an alleged war criminal to trial from Australia. One problem the film points out is that such people are often considered war heroes in their native lands. This is a solid film without being showy.

Vision
Margarethe von Trotta has had some hits (The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, 1975) and misses (I Am the Other Woman, 2006). This latest film, an historical biopic, falls more into the camp of the former. It's beautifully photographed, depicting the life of a twelfth century Christian mystic and prominent author, Hildegarde of Bingem. Tithed to a monastery at the age of eight, she eventually became the leader of her nun community and went on to found two other monasteries.

Vision underscores for me how much suffering the Christian church (and religion in general) has forced upon humanity. It's not really religion to blame per se, but human nature, which uses religion as an excuse for inexcusable behaviour - and not much has changed over the millennia.

Different schools of Christianity developed over time that speculated or concocted their own brands of the central teachings. Some (as depicted in this film) felt it a virtue to punish themselves by flagellation, "to suffer as Christ did". Others focused on theological or intellectual studies while others became involved in dastardly Inquisitorial 'activities'.

Hildegarde was very fortunate to escape the latter, after her revelation of mystic visions. Many thousands of others perished throughout the Middle Ages (from around Hildegarde's time, and especially during the reign of Pope Gregory IX, 1227-1241). Perhaps what saved her was her noble background and the support she had from prominent members of the Church.

Von Trotta does a good job of telling the story, though a bit of restraint in pointing out the obvious would have been welcome. Other than The White Ribbon, this has the best visuals of any film that I've previewed from the festival.

The White Ribbon
This Haneke film was my favourite at MIFF last year and also made it into my list of top films of the year. It's simply stunning and demonstrates a master film-maker at the peak of his game. I love how Haneke creates a riveting human story which is about what it appears to be about, and yet there is so much important sub-text which doesn't consume or overwhelm the primary story. It may well be that Haneke's underlying themes are more important to him than the apparent story, but it's never didactic. This is in direct contrast with Lioret's recent Welcome. Here are my original comments about the film, posted during MIFF last year:

The White Ribbon is perhaps Michael Haneke's most mature and entrancing film. That's quite some claim, given the awesome body of work he has created (in my mind, there is no such thing as a bad Haneke film). It encompasses or flirts with a number of themes and genres already covered in his earlier films (such as social realism, horror, crime, thriller, supernatural), perhaps playing with our expectations and yet subverting them, but never in a cheap, contrived manner. Haneke plays it straight with the audience, but you never really know where he's going. What's important with this film is to focus not on the destination, but the journey.

This is a film in which you really need to concentrate, take note of who is who (and there's a lot of people to keep a track of) and which children belong to who. There's also a lot of children, who play some stunning roles. Some of them may be victims, some of them innocent bystanders and some of them something more sinister. If evil exists, can you blame the children? Or the often well-meant but deluded parents. Some of the imagery used is amazing, in particular the chastised boy with the simple cross on the wall behind him. Many times the camera takes a point of view shot to very good effect. The characterisations, period detail and reproduction of mannerisms and social mores are all at the very highest levels of achievement and it's not hard to see why this film was awarded Cannes' highest honour.

The story is superficially much more conventional than one associates with Haneke. At first it seems a slightly rambling, rustic, rural tale. A subversion of expectations? Maybe.

Eventually, like Hidden, the film has something to say about politics, and more besides. There are broadsides at religion and society in general. At the outset of the start of World War I, Haneke seems to suggest that the brutality of the next two wars over thirty years could perhaps be traced to the cruel ways that humans treat each other on the micro level: within villages, communities and families. The film is shot in black and white, a bold choice by Haneke, but it works very well. It resembles a Carl Dreyer film (think Gertrude) or even Bergman.

The Festival of German Films screens in Melbourne at the Kino and Como cinemas from 22 April to 2 May.

Cross-posted on Club Troppo

French Film Festival 2010

The Alliance Française French Film Festival 2010 is once again approaching and I must say the line-up this year looks impressive, perhaps the best I've seen. The last couple of years or so I've seen about a dozen films each festival but this year, even on first glance, I identified 8 films I want to see just by director alone. Names like Tony Gatlif, Claire Denis, Christophe Honoré, Robert Guédiguian and others - some of my favourite French directors. And the French Film Festival - my favourite outside of MIFF - always has lots of hidden gems to be discovered from emerging directors. This year I'm hoping to see 16 or more of the 42 films on offer, and that's weeding out most of the comedies and mainstream family dramas.

Three of these are reviewed below, with more to come between now and the festival's opening on 4 March. Matt Ravier's festival preview is also essential reading - he's reviewed and recommended a number of films.

As I've written before, I'm a big fan of French cinema (selectively, of course), and this was behind my decision to take up the French language a couple of years ago. Perchance, I took lessons with Alliance Française, though I must say with family, work, life, etc, I feel it's a struggle. I really must get to France to learn it seriously - that's my wish.

While we might find pre-screening sponsor advertisements annoyingly repetitious, my involvement as a committee member of Melbourne Cinémathèque has made me appreciate how important sponsorship is to programming and other elements of a festival. Patrice Pauc, the Melbourne director of Alliance Française, yesterday mentioned that thanks to the financial support of Unifrance, there will be a number of visiting directors attending the festival. Three are confirmed so far: Philippe Lioret (Welcome), Jan Kounen (Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Micmacs). I'm not sure what Q&A sessions will be held, but I'm told by Patrice that Jeunet will be giving a masterclass at the VCA during his visit.

These are the titles that are at the top of my list - I plan not to miss any of these:

1. Korkoro (Liberté !, Tony Gatlif, 2009)
2. White Material (Claire Denis, 2010)
3. Making Plans For Lena (Non ma fille tu n’iras pas danser, Christophe Honoré, 2009)
4. The Army Of Crime (L’armée du crime, Robert Guédiguian, 2009)
5. Wild Grass (Les herbes folles, Alain Resnais, 2009)
6. Micmacs (Micmacs à Tire-Larigot, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 209)
7. Bellamy (Claude Chabrol, 2009)
8. Welcome (Philippe Lioret, 2009)
   

Gatlif's cinematic celebrations of the Romany culture has always resonated with me, culminating in his previous film, Transylvania, my equal favourite film of 2008. His latest film, Korkoro, is "an historical drama based on real-life stories of gypsies rounded up in the German-occupied
France of 1943." This is top of my list. Denis' White Material is not far behind. After the great Kieslowski's Three Colours: Blue, her Beau travail is my favourite French film. It leaves me breathless and I have a lot of her earlier films to catch up on. Meanwhile, I make it a point to catch all her new ones.

Honoré's Ma mère blew me out of the water, one of the most powerful transgressive films I've seen. While his more recent films haven't affected me in the same way (but, it should be said, did they try to), I'll see anything by him. Guédiguian is a director whose social themes really resonate with me, and I love the way he's used the same crew for decades. I love Jeunet, in spite of his unapologetically populist films. They're quirky, dark, affectionate and they move me.

François Ozon is another of my favourite French directors. His latest film, Ricky, is screening everywhere except Melbourne, because it has an exclusive season at ACMI from 25 February to 10 March.

All these look worth seeing - I plan to see as many of these as possible:

1. Anything For Her (Pour elle, Fred Cavayé, 2008)
2. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (Jan Kounen, 2009)
3. Gainsbourg : Je t'aime… moi non plus (Gainsbourg (vie héroïque), Joann Sfar, 2010)
4. I'm Glad My Mother Is Alive (Je suis heureux que ma mère soit vivante, Claude Miller & Nathan Miller, 2009)
   
5. In The Beginning (À l’origine, Xavier Giannoli, 2009)
6. Regrets (Les regrets, Cédric Kahn, 2009)
7. Skirt Day (La journée de la jupe, Jean-Paul Lilienfield, 2009)
8. OSS 117, Lost In Rio (OSS 117, Rio ne répond plus, Michel Hazanavicius, 2009)

Some of these are on my list due to Matt Ravier's recommendations. OSS 117 is a [not-so-] guilty pleasure - I loved the previous film's James Bond/Maxwell Smart spoof. French comedies generally don't appeal to me, but the earlier film was a blast. I'm Glad My Mother is Alive is a film I want to see simply because it was produced by Jacques Audiard. His earlier films have impressed me, none so much as his just-released A Prophet. If you haven't see it, do it - you'll be lucky to see another French film as good and strong as this and, had I seen it a few weeks ago, it would have made my top 10 of 2009 (which I have yet to post).

If, like me, you try to focus on films that aren't getting a cinema release, for your information, these are the films getting a commercial release:

• Micmacs - 1 Apr
• Welcome - 1 Apr
• Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky - 15 Apr
• The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life - 6 May
• Leaving - 20 May
• The Hedgehog - 3 Jun
• Mademoiselle Chambon - 2010
• Wild Grass - 2010
• Gainsbourg - Sep 2010
• Father Of My Children - TBC
  

And these are the films I've already seen (notice they're all by women):

• Every Jack Has a Jill (Jusqu’à toi, Jennifer Devoldère, Canada/France, 2009)
• Queen To Play (Joueuse, Caroline Bottaro, France/Germany, 2009)
  
• Father Of My Children (Le père de mes enfants, Mia Hansen-Løve, Germany/France, 2009)
  

Every Jack Has A Jill
OK, I admit it. Since Inglourious Basterds, I have an obsession with the talented Mélanie Laurent (Shoshanna) and Every Jack Has a Jill is a guilty pleasure. There's something about Laurent's face, her ability to convey conflicting emotions, exuding both unconventional beauty and intelligence. I found that so with her role in Don't Worry, I'm Fine, directed by Philippe Lioret, whose Welcome is also screening at this year's festival.

Every Jack Has a Jill (gee, I hate some of these English translations, which have nothing in common with their original titles) is a romantic comedy, not a genre I normally have much affection for. But it does have a lot going for it, if you're prepared to suspend some of your critical faculties and go along for the ride. Which of course you should if you're going to see this genre of film. It's certainly not the style of film that Emmanuel Mouret makes (oh how I hated Change of Address and Shall We Kiss?). Rather, it's more in the style of L'appartement (Gilles Mimouni, 1996), a kind of romantic thriller.

Director Jennifer Devoldère has crafted an impressive debut, though not quite as strong as Mimouni's film. It looks great with it's use of naturalistic colours and lighting, subtly stylised with muted blues and greys and strategic placement of brilliant reds. There is a number of path-crossing like L'appartement (and a shot straight out of Fight Club) with a sense of inevitability like Sleepless in Seattle. And like that American film, this story concerns two long-distance potential lovers. One an American, the other a Parisian. Their shared idiosyncrasies, personality types and circumstances pull them into close proximity but as fate would have it, not close enough.

The film is every bit as contrived as Sleepless in Seattle (another guilty pleasure) and that's part of the enjoyment. This is a good date flick, a fun film - at times downright silly - but I enjoyed it most for Mélanie Laurent. As an aside, you may recognise the hotel receptionist as the Algerian Majid, who comes to an abrupt and bloody end in Michael Haneke's Caché.

Queen to Play
The best thing about the rather ordinary 1995 romantic comedy French Kiss was Kevin Kline's sleazy Frenchman alongside Meg Ryan. In Queen to Play, Kline plays a role like nothing else you've seen. It's completely serious, quiet and understated - and all in French. He looks great and is well-cast as a widowed Doctor Kröger on the island of Corsica.

Sandrine Bonnaire plays Hélène, a hotel chamber maid who develops an interest in chess. She is tutored by Kröger, whose house she also cleans. Hélène's life is routine and a struggle both financially and emotionally. Her progress in chess is a metaphor for her journey as she seeks personal fulfillment.

In Australia, we have Jane Campion and Gillian Armstrong but few other female directors who tell universal stories of substance. France seems to have more opportunity for women directors, or at least, there are more who take up that option. Queen to Play very much has a woman's touch, but it's no chick-flick. It's a human drama by director Caroline Bottaro, and it's an impressive debut.

The film looks beautiful with the unique Corsican landscape as a backdrop. The lighting is naturalistic with lots of muted blues and greens. The performances are strong - Bonnaire is always good value - though sometimes the story is less than subtle (a minor criticism, really). The film will no doubt be very popular among the mainstream Palace crowd, and I also found it quiety satisfying. And - despite the fe

Father Of My Children
Father of My Children is the second feature by talented Mia Hansen-Løve, which won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes last year and the French Lumiere award for best screenplay this year. Inspired by the story of Humbert Balsan, an independent film producer, the film is both a touching and insightful family drama as well as an ode to the role of producer in the making of films.

The film does very well what I love about French cinema and what I feel makes it unique (at least the arthouse films). It doesn't have a conventional linear narrative (though events are certainly depicted in a linear manner). It doesn't necessarily have a point to make, nor are all matters raised reconciled, leaving many loose ends - which leaves much to the imagination, a wonderful thing in my book.

I don't want to give much of the narrative away (not that I usually do) because much of the joy is to not know where the film is going. In this respect, the film has an almost thriller element to it (though it is no way a thriller). It has much in common with L'heure d'été (Summer Hours) in that it's a quiet meandering film, with a story that doesn't seem to go anywhere in particular, yet in its course, it says much. Incidentally, Alice de Lencquesaing plays the teenage daughter in both films and may be the real-life daughter of Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, who plays her father in this film (both pictured above). The performances of the leads in this film are just spot on, and the three children are all delights. Father of My Children has more to say about the film industry than family, but these two elements are skillfully interwoven to produce a story that is immensely satisfying, in a way that only the French seem to be able to pull off. Viva les françaises !

The Alliance Française French Film Festival opens on Thursday 4 March with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs and runs until Sunday 21 March at the Palace Como, Balwyn, Westgarth and Kino cinemas.

Links: Official Website / Palace Cinemas / Last Night With Rievera Preview

Two Weeks in Review - 12/4/09

It was three months ago today that I had my accident. My physio told me that when a footballer presents with a torn posterior cruciate ligament (the knee injury I received), her response is to expect to be off the field for three months. I'm pretty keen to get back on my bicycle, and hope to ride to work tomorrow.

I didn't post a Week in Review last week, even though I didn't see much. This week has focused on La Mirada, and I'm posting these separately. Here's what I've seen over the last two weeks.

FILMS

• The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, USA, 1940)
• Erotikon (Mauritz Stiller, Sweden, 1920)
• Furtivos (The Poachers, José Luis Borau, Spain, 1975)
• Uncle/Cousin/Brother/Harvey Krumpet (Adam Elliot, Australia, 1996/1998/1999/2003)
• Mary and Max (Adam Elliot, Australia, 2009)
• Tulpan (Sergei Dvortsevoy, Kazakhstan/Germany/Poland/Russia/Switzerland, 2008)
• Bilbao (Bigas Luna, Spain, 1978)
• La lengua de las mariposas (Butterfly's Tongue, José Luis Cuerda, Spain, 1999)
• La buena vida (The Good Life, Andrés Wood, Chile/Spain/Argentina/France, 2008)
• Arrebato (Rapture, Iván Zulueta, Spain, 1980)
• Surcos (Furrows, José Antonio Nieves Conde, Spain, 1951)
• La casa de mi padre (Blacklisted, Gorka Merchán, Spain, 2008)
• La mujer sin cabeza (The Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2008)
• Mi querida senorita (My Dearest Senorita, Jaime de Armiñán, Spain, 1971)

The Shop Around the Corner
Terrific little gem, a Hollywood classic. The structure of the narrative seems well-suited for the era, but nothing done in recent decades seems to come close. Romantic comedies today seem forced, derivative an manipulative. This one is smart and works so well because of the excellent characters and snappy dialogue. The support cast really embellishes the story.

Erotikon
Quite a number of people walked out during this film, the late film at Melbourne Cinémathèque. I put that down to the time, the medium (silent film) and that it's not one of the really classic examples of the medium. Still, as someone interested in the history of cinema and where we've come from, it was worth staying for. I found some of the takes and dissolves quite well developed for its time. The story was OK, but nothing special.

Uncle/Cousin/Brother/Harvey Krumpet
See my earlier post.

Mary and Max
I think that with Mary and Max, Adam Elliot doesn't quite maintain the momentum of his short films, but that's not to say that the results are anything less than excellent. With each successive endeavour, his work seems to get more and more sophisticated. Yet there's a consistency and continuity. You could almost piece together each of his works and make one mega-film. The visuals, the structure (voice-over narrator), the semi-autobiographical nature (or at least the appearance of it), the quirkiness, the pathos and the humour are all constants in his work. As I've said several times lately, I think this is the most engaging and entertaining Australian film made in recent years.

Tulpan
A 'nice' film, the type that I'm kinda over. You know, the National Geographic ethnographic-type piece that we've seen done (better) in The Story of the Weeping Camel or (not as good) in The Cave of the Yellow Dog. It's an enjoyable enough film, but if you've seen the above-mentioned films, there's really no point seeing this one. Basically, it depicts a way of life that is slowly disappearing, using the story of a sailor returning to his remote country to woo a local girl as a pretext to depict the way of life of these nomadic goat and camel herders.

The Week in Review (x2) - 19/10/08

Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
- REM, Losing My Religion

This used to be my favourite song. It was important to me at an important turning point in my life, when I lost religion (even though that's not what the song is about). It's also a song that pops into my head when life is full, too full, when it's big, bigger than you. And you are not me. Get the drift?

Well, it's been two weeks. Life has been so full, and I still scarcely have time to post my weekly summary. But I want to do it, for myself at least. I can't do credit for many of these films, but here goes.

• Del rosa al amarillo (From Pink… to Yellow, Manuel Summers, Spain, 1963)
• Ta'm-e gilas (The Taste of Cherry, Abbas Kiarostami, Iran/France, 1997)
• Waitress (Adrienne Shelly, USA, 2006)
• Zert (The Joke, Jaromil Jires, Czechoslovakia, 1969)
• Kladivo na carodejnice (Witches' Hammer, Otakar Vávra, Czechoslovakia, 1969)
• Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff, Australia, 1971)
• Burn After Reading (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA, 2008)
• Towelhead (Alan Ball, USA, 2008)
  

From Pink… to Yellow
Screening as part of the ACMI Focus on Víctor Erice & Abbas Kiarostami, I suppose this film by Manuel Summers sneaks in as Erice has only made three films. It fits in thematically, with its depiction of life from a child's perspective. I can't say it overly grabbed me and when the narrative shifted to an elderly couple, I dozed off.

The Taste of Cherry
I loved this film, which reminded me of Kiarostami's later film, 10. Shot mostly from within a car, a guy drives around town looking for someone to assist him in his mission to take his own life. The story is elusive (we never find out his exact reasons) and it has a controversial and ambiguous ending. The story is somewhat episodic as different people find themselves in the car with our 'hero'. The different characters and their respective responses to our hero are convincing and compelling. The final character's role is just fantastic, as he shares a story with our hero. I really related to it, as he describes how he also, some decades earlier had contemplated suicide, and what got him through. It reminded me of the adolescent neighbour in American Beauty, how he saw beauty everywhere, even in a plastic shopping bag blowing in the wind, or the way light reflected in the still warm blood of his neighbour. Very moving.

Waitress
The missus was watching this on DVD and it had lost none of the sparkle that did it for me the first time on the big screen. One of the best romantic comedies of all time, not that it follows any romantic comedy conventions. For the record, my other favourites are Truly, Madly, Deeply and Like Water for Chocoloate.

The Joke
Wow, this Czech New Wave is seriously good stuff. No wonder the commies didn't let this film see the light of day for twenty years. A guy is cynical, unhappy and unable to form meaningful relationships. When he revisits his hometown, old memories flood his mind, and we learn how he got to be the person he is. Fundamentalism, in all its guises, stinks.

Witches' Hammer
Attacking exactly the same themes as The Joke, this story of medieval witch hunting is just as overt a criticism of communism, in spite of its use of metaphors. It also didn't see the light of day until 1989, when the iron curtain came down. I hadn't realised how widespread the hysteria over witchcraft was in Europe, and explains why many fled to the US (where a different form of hysteria-fundamentalism has arisen).

Wake in Fright
I was initially put off when I realised this MUFF screening was from a DVD. But once I got into it after a couple of minutes, it didn't really matter. The story is that good, and the visuals were quite OK. Now I know why this film has such a strong reputation; it is a genuine compelling film.

Burn After Reading
I found Burn After Reading absolutely entertaining. I didn't have high expectations as I think the Coen brothers get mixed results when they do comedy. The humour in this film is full of deadpan irony, greatly understated at times, farcical at others, but always unpredictable yet believable.

While it is in no way an explicit commentary on The War On Iraq, clearly that's the subtext. I'd say it's the first successful film to tackle the issue of homeland security in the US, post 9-11, simply because it doesn't reference it at all. Like most Coen films, people motivated by greed have a plan, and things don't go to plan. There's blood and a reasonable body count. As in all matters concerning national security, it doesn't matter who gets hurt, innocent or not. What's important is that leadership is decisive, bodies are disposed of and people are seen to be doing their jobs. Right?

The lineup of actors looks awesome on paper, and they don't disappoint. Most of them play against type. The film is very original, very exciting and very contemporary. Well-worth seeing.

Towelhead
With all the hysteria over Bill Henson and his photography of naked or semi-naked children, it's amazing that Towelhead has been released with scarcely a whimper of complaint.

This is quite a gutsy film, tackling taboo subjects head-on and pulling few punches. This is intelligently written. It looks like what I call a quirky-indie comedy but isn't. There's so much truthful depictions that reflect the complexity of real-life issues such as racism, teenage sex and paedophilia. Like American Beauty, there are generally no good or bad guys, but both good and bad exist in most characters.

I liked the way Towelhead doesn't force a message down your throat. You don't necessarily know Ball's stance on an issue, such as teenage sex. He just depicts it a certain way, and you make up your own mind.

Toni Collette plays a fairly typical-looking role to what she generally does in US films, but her role is better written than most (like Little Miss Sunshine et al). The visuals of the film were a little distracting for me, such as the over-use of golden-sunset hues and over-contrast, something that has been done to death on US network TV shows. Most won't have the same problem with it as I (my missus didn't even notice). There are a couple of minor scenes that slightly lacked plausibility, but for the most part, the film successfully pulled off some pretty major risks. Big kudos for that.

The Week in Review

What a week of contrasts: Monday I saw what I consider the year's best mainstream release (by the Coens brothers), to date at least. Yes, even better than Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. And Friday gave me one of the year's worst: Tell No One. My Alliance Française classes are over for 2007 (I've completed 3 terms), so it was good to get three French films in during the week.

FILMS:

• No Country For Old Men (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, USA, 2007)
• The Wild One (Lásló Benedek , USA, 1953)
• The Big Red One (Samuel Fuller, USA, 1980)
• Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One, Guillaume Canet, France, 2006)
• 2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy, France, 2007)
• Ensemble, c'est tout (Hunting and Gathering, Claude Berri, France, 2007)
  

No Country For Old Men
"The best Coen brothers film since Fargo" is the general buzz by Melbourne critics about No Country For Old Men. Utter crap! This film absolutely leaves Fargo way behind and is easily the best film Ethan and Joel Coen have made (at least among the ones I've seen, which admittedly is about half of them). Impatient audiences may prefer Fargo's pace, but this is a much more confident, masterful and mature offering.

The character development is excellent, with some actors playing against type and some with. The film messes with expectations, but in a natural, fluid manner. Like many Coen brothers films, it's about violent crime, and how things often go to plan. And, as someone pointed out to me, the lengths people will go to over money. Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is an everyman who stumbles upon $2 million of drug money and a bunch of dead guys. He makes a choice which leads him down a dangerous path.

The film is kind of like a cross between both of Cronenberg's latest two films, and Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, as well as Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. The film is shot in similar country to the latter, and Jones puts in a similarly performance. Those lines in his face just keep getting deeper and he really portrays a weary lawman with conviction. One reviewer compared him to a character in a Sam Peckinpah movie.

The action in the film is thrilling, the violence chilling, but more than that, the suspense is excellent (many comparing it to the expertise of Hitchcock). The dialogue is great, but the confidence the Coens show by restraint, often using just the visuals is a joy to watch. I'm a big fan of Cronenberg, but this film is easily better than Eastern Promises (which I liked a lot), and I consider No Country For Old Men the best mainstream release of the year (thus far). I'm going to see it again when it gets its Boxing Day release.

The Wild One
There's not much I can say about this classic other than I enjoyed it a lot. Screening as part of the Lee Marvin season at Melbourne Cinémathèque, it was great to see Marvin in such a screwball role (a beatnik biker gang leader). How society has changed! This film was banned in several countries in its day for its subversion. Marvin pairs off against rival gang leader, famously played by Marlon Brando, in one of the roles that has made him a legend. Marvin has the best role, though.

The Big Red One
The Big Red One was a personal project for Sam Fuller, who had fought in all the major campaigns depicted in the film as part of the US First Infantry. Armed with this piece of information gave me a heightened appreciation of the heart that went into the film's making. There's a underlying sense of futility of war, and the film's connecting theme at the start and finish is quite poignant. I don't think the film is the masterpiece that some find it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.


Tell No One
125 painful minutes. That's what I endured, though it seemed much longer. I didn't have high expectations, but as the film's farce (unintended, I assure you) unfolded, the film pushes suspension of disbelief to a ridiculous level. Basically, it's an English who-dunnit crossed with a very mediocre Hollywood thriller, with a French flavour. The soundtrack is all English-speaking (including Jeff Buckley and U2), so presumably the film was made for either an international audience (think Palace cinemas, and the oft-mediocre French films screened) or the mainstream French audiences who like Hollywood films.

There are so many things to fault in this film that I couldn't even begin to try to list them, but some do stand out. The convoluted layer upon layer of unbelievable plot development and hackneyed characters, the gratuitous nudity, the childhood lovers (at 9, kissing like adults) who have a 15 year age difference in middle-age (he 45, her 30), the stereotypical bad guys, the convenient plot setups, the bad dialogue... should I go on? Nah, just suffice to say that after about 20 minutes I was looking at my watch, and at 45 minutes I was thinking it must be coming to an end (only to be disappointed to see how little time had passed). It just goes on and on and bored me shitless. But, it did have a great car crash sequence on a highway that looked magnificent.

2 Days in Paris
Set in Paris, with a French-born (but now US-based) director/actress and French-produced, 2 Days in Paris is really a US-style romantic comedy, but not puerile like most that genre produces. Delpy has adopted or absorbed some of the Linklater style used with Delpy in both Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, in much the same way that Hal Hartley's influence on Adrienne Shelly can be seen in her directorial effort with Waitress. Yet, with both actress/directors, they have put their own mark on their respective films.

Like Linklater, Delpy has written a story in which there is much dialogue, and much of it is quite sharp and intelligent. The characters in 2 Days are not dissimilar to Linklater's characters, but the rest of the film is otherwise quite different. I was particularly impressed with Delpy's not exploiting her own asset of beauty and looked mostly un-made up for most of the film. It enabled us to absorb her character without that distraction and gave the film a more authentic and naturalistic feel.

The film is a kind of 'meeting-the-parents', as the two lovers finish off a European trip with a 2 day stopover in Paris before returning home in New York. Delpy captures the dynamics of the cultural and language difference quite nicely. Delpy's real life parents (both veteran actors) put in excellent turns as her stage parents. Her father portrays an art gallery owner, and his actual art is seen in the film.

This film is not high art by any stretch of the imagination, but in a genre which typically aims for the lowest common denominator, both in the US and France, 2 Days in Paris is quite a refreshing change. It is quite an accomplishment by Delpy who not only wrote, directed and starred in the film, but also edited and composed the music (we hear her vocals over the final credits).

I found the hand-held camera a bit distracting at times. For the life of me, I can't understand the OFLC's MA classification. The only part that could have been considered offensive in any way was some of the art was sexual in nature. This is puritanism gone stupid.

Hunting and Gathering
I didn't really know anything about this film but went because it is French (and want to practice my listening skills) and because I like Audrey Tatou. Yes, I'm one of those that liked Amélie, and liked it a lot. Perhaps more so because I saw it several months before its release and knew nothing about it. It was so heavily marketed that I think it would have spoiled the magic for me had I seen it later.

I've liked Audrey Tatou in just about everything I've seen her in, and while her performance is OK in this film, I just couldn't get into the film at all. It's the kind of middle-of-the-road French romantic drama that does really well at the French film festival or a release at the Como. It's about young people looking for sex and love, and finding it in unlikely places. Hunting and Gathering goes through all the hackneyed motions, without offering anything new. It's the kind of film the occasional film-goer can go to on a Saturday evening with a lover or with friends as a social event, have a good time and forget before the night is over. The ending looked like it might improve, but then turned feel-good for everyone. That totally spoiled it for me.

The Week in Review

FILMS:

• Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986)
• The U.S. vs John Lennon (David Leaf & John Scheinfeld, 2006)
• Så som i himmelen (As It Is In Heaven, Kay Pollak, 2004)
  
• Changement d'adresse (Change of Address, Emmanuel Mouret, 2006)
  

OTHER:

• MIFF 2007 Programme Launch
  

As It Is In Heaven
I can't say I've seen many films from Sweden, and this 2005 nomination for best foreign Oscar doesn't exactly have me enthused to rush out to see some more. Basically, it's a middle-of-the-road story (as you'd expect for an Oscar nominee), definitely aiming to be a feel-good crowd-pleaser, tempered somewhat awkwardly with a little bit of a dark edge. A famous conductor has a heart attack and returns to his childhood village for the quiet life where he inspires a village choir.

While I've been known to nod off during mediocre films, it's not often I embarrass myself by snoring (which I did during this). There are numerous contrived devices, but it is funny and moving at times. I think the film's visuals should have been better than we saw at the Palace Como, who appeared to be screening from a DVD. This is a trend that bothers me. If I wanted to watch a DVD, I could do this at home. At least the Nova somewhat alerts audiences when they are screening from a DVD by using the words "Nova Digital" in their advertising.

Change of Address
Instantly forgettable French romantic comedy suitable for a light night's entertainment, or practising French language listening skills. No points for guessing which one it was for me. I had free tickets and thought it was OK - definitely more enjoyable than I Do, but that's not saying a lot. Like most films in this genre, it completely lacks plausibility, so there's no buy-in for me.

The Week in Review

I recently started a new short-term role at a very large Australian corporate. I'm working as part of a small team that is automating the production of monthly financial reports to the company board (we're talking figures here in the billions of dollars).

Unknown to us, our manager had promised the assistant CFO certain deliverables that he has now ascertained are not likely to be met at the current rate. He called us together during the week and requested that we put in extra hours for which we will be remunerated for on a pro rata basis (which is not common in the corporate world).

The short of it is that for the next two weeks, I'll have even less time for film, writing and sleep than I do now, so something has to give. I think my film-going will slow down a little for the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, this week has been on the busy side, so this might be my biggest post for a short while.

FILMS:

• Ma mère (My Mother, Christophe Honoré, 2004)
• Fong juk (Exiled, Johnny To, 2006)
• Lucky Miles (Michael James Rowland, 2006)
• Prête-moi ta main (I Do: How to Get Married and Stay Single, Eric Latigau, 2006)
• Clubland (Cherie Nowlan, 2007)
  

DVD:

• The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)

SHORT FILMS:

• Syrinx (Ryan Larkin, 3 mins, 1965)
• Cityscape (Ryan Larkin, 2 mins, 1966)
• Walking (Ryan Larkin, 5 mins, 1968)
• Street Musique (Ryan Larkin, 8 mins, 1972)
• Ryan (Chris Landreth, 14 mins, 2004)

Exiled
Why this film never got a wide theatrical release is a wonder (in Melbourne, it screened only at the Chinatown Cinema). Surely the primary demographic that the cinemaplexes are trying to woo would flock to see a cool flick like this. Gangsters, shooting, double-crosses, revenge – this is Hong Kong action cinema at its best. Quentin Tarantino, with all his cinematic excess, has done much to bring Hong Kong action cinema into the mainstream and I don’t think subtitles are a barrier today to a film like this having wide appeal.

While I’m generally not a big fan of the genre, Johnnie To has injected an enormous amount of style in Exiled. Long takes, terrific camera angles, stand-offs between characters without dialogue, lush cinematography – the screen frame is used effectively and the film is full of visual appeal.

There is an air of intrigue as the film takes its time for the story to unwind and we gradually make sense of why these guys with guns are waiting for our exile to return home. The intrigue is maintained throughout the film as not everything is spelt out to us. So, while it’s an action flick, it's not mindless.

While I didn’t pick it up straight away, half way into the film, when the plot moves to a quarry, To makes it clear he is paying homage to Westerns. We hear banjo music, and the protagonists look like cowboys walking through a canyon.

Though I have yet to see The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, from the clips I have seen of it, Exiled seemed reminisicent of that type of film-making. Then today I read from the Melbourne Cinémathèque notes that describe it as To’s tribute to Sergio Leone. While a lesser director may have made this a parody, To pulls off this audacious shift with clever effect and nuanced tongue-in-cheek humour.

There are a number of twists with typical Hong Kong excess that I found very enjoyable. However, towards the end the film starts to overstay its welcome a little. It may have benefited from cutting ten or so minutes of its screen time. Having said that, and while I’m no expert in the genre, it’s the best Hong Kong action flick I’ve seen yet.

Lucky Miles
Michael Winterbottom has done a good job of raising refugee issues through his films. This film is like a cross between say, In This World and Little Miss Sunshine with a definite Australian flavour. While there is little of Winterbottom's gritty social realism, and while it is full of humour (much of it intelligent and understated), it does have a subtle humanitarian undercurrent with a lot more going for it than that turgid American crowd-pleaser with Toni Collette.

The film pays homage to real life events as a group of hapless refugess are left on a beach in the far north of Western Australia and get lost in the desert. The film concerns itself with the dynamics between the various characters, the difficulties they encounter, the shenanigans they get up to, and the attempts to round them up by the authorities.

While it's not quite my kind of film, it is for most parts a better than average film that has the potential to be a crowd pleaser and is a worthy effort for first-time director Michael James Rowland. He found various means to engage the audience, and I was surprised to see how well he pulled off one unlikely stunt involving a car that should not be able to start.

While it is a bit of a feel-good film (even though that description doesn't do it justice), it did take risks by using middle-eastern and Asian characters (who looked good on screen) and didn't go down the route of using hackneyed dumb-arse Ockerisms. The Australian characters were quite good without being exceptional, and though the film does stretch incredulity on occasions, it does manage to pull it off for an audience that is prepared to suspend disbelief. So, if you''re prepared to leave your critical faculties at the door and open for a bit entertainment, it's worth seeing, and it's also a good one for the kids.

Link: interview with Rodney Afif

Ryan Larkin
The above-mentioned short films by the very brilliant Ryan Larkin screened as part of this week's Melbourne Cinémathèque screenings. I was gob-smacked at their sheer brilliance and visual inventiveness, with little or no dialogue. His work was highly influential, and one can see its impact on the psychedelic animations of the time (like the Beatles' Yellow Submarine).

A talented artist with quick success, it's tragic that Larkin burnt out on cocaine and alcohol early in his career, and went into a downward spiral that he never recovered from (he died in February this year). The animated documentary by Chris Lambeth depicts his reimagined images of Larkin against actual recordings of his words. It works very effectively.

Links: Ryan Larkin on Wikipedia \ IMDB

Below are a couple of Larkin's short films that can be found on YouTube.

Syrinx


Walking


Street Musique


Interview with Ryan Larkin



I Do
I avoided this film at the French Film Festival as I knew it had a theatrical release scheduled, and also because I'm not into light French comedies. I received free tickets as an AFI give-away, and went with the family. I saw it as an opportunity for some exposure to French-speaking that can only assist me with my learning French (I'm into week 8 of classes at Alliance Française).

At the risk of sounding repetitious, and trying to remain polite, this film is a middle-of-the-road crowd-pleaser, the sort of film one associates with Palace Cinemas. It has the intelligence of an Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell comedy. I don't know what Dendy is doing screening it (I saw it at the Kino). The whole film was a set-up. It had no verisimilitude whatsoever. It just felt like a bunch of actors sitting around playing roles and delivering the lines the script demands. I couldn't get into any of the characters at all. The funny bits were completely unfunny and I laughed at all the wrong times. The sad thing is that there is big market for this kind of film. With some of the key songs being in English and postcard-like Paris images, it felt this film was made with international distribution in mind.

Clubland
With low expectations, I wasn't overly disappointed with this film, and found it enjoyable by suspending my critical faculties. The crowd obviously enjoyed it, laughing in unison at all the right places and applauding at the end.

It's a fairly typical Australian family drama/comedy, lifted by the presence of the effortlessly talented Brenda Blethyn. But then, this is territory she's covered before, most notably in Little Voice (Mark Herman, 1998) which was a superior film with many experienced actors.

This film should do well in the Australian market, and director Nowlan (who with Blethyn introduced the film) announced that the film has been signed up for European and US distribution by Warner. Unfortunately, there is a little sex and nudity which makes it slightly inappropriate for a primary school-age audience, though my six-year old son sat through it OK.

There were a number of contrivances that I could overlook, and it's not my kind of film, but for middle-of-the-road entertainment, it's OK.