4 out of 5. Satyajit Ray's THE BIG CITY marks a moment in time when a woman steps outside of her role as housewife in contemporary India and sets to earn to help out the family even more. His ability to capture very real and honest portraits of life is always mesmerizing to me. He's one of the few directors who I completely trust to get at the emotional center of his characters. The circumstances he creates for his characters elicit a universal response while remaining unique to that character. Like the Apu Trilogy, his power of listening is as great as his gift of showing. I can't wait to seek out more of his films.
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4 out of 5. This is one of those movies from the 70s I remember as a kid. A stranger in an even stranger small town and things just go wrong. Ted Kotcheff is bold and daring in WAKE IN FRIGHT. Gary Bond as the lead is great but Donald Pleasance somehow gets under your skin. There's some excellent cinematography and lens choices that really create paranoia and fear. I have to admit though, it's a little rough around the edges, especially during the kangaroo hunt which was relentless and real. There was a real mix of that relentlessly male dominant culture verging on the edge homoerotic and then obliterating that line. It's raw, it's rough and it's a significant Australian film worth a watch.
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4 out of 5. Masaki Kobayashi's THE HUMAN CONDITION 1-3 was a masterfully done almost 10 hour epic telling the tale of a pacifist in totalitarian Japan during WWII. The cinematography was gorgeous and the acting was fantastic. You follow the main character Kaji, played by Tatsuya Nakadai (of SAMURAI REBELLION) as he's given a job in a mining town after marrying the love his life. He doesn't want to run things the way his bosses want him to. It's a clash of ideals and he spends most of the film trying to keep the humanity of his men in tact while almost losing his. Having to watch it in 2 hour chunks a night, made it feel quite episodic and gave one much food for thought. Highly recommended.
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4 out of 5. I think Rupert Wyatt's RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES washed a bad taste out of most people's mouths that the sequels of the original left. I mean, if I was truly being honest aside, other than the killer score by Jerry Goldsmith, the Planet of the Apes is a well-made B-movie. This one however was a great popcorn flick. It had a nice story set-up, great set-pieces, and characters who's actions were believable given the extraordinary circumstances. It delivers on all cylinders and doesn't leave you with an empty stomach like most tent-pole movies. It was a wild ride that you didn't want to stop. The motion-capture and stunt acting is tremendous. What are you doing right? GO WATCH THIS, ALREADY!
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4 out of 5. Thomas McCarthy is a really fantastic director and THE VISITOR is just as good if not better than his other works. I think being an actor really helps if one sets out to direct. I generally see better performances overall and Richard Jenkins does great as the lead. Usually I find a lot of unique story situations come out of South East Asia or especially when they are culturally specific. This is a unique story where the recently widowed main character finds illegal immigrants living in his apartment. The setup is great and possibilities keep you guessing, making this film feel fresh and believable as everyone finds their way. It's a great film with deep repercussions.
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4 out of 5. Wolfgang Petersen's DAS BOOT should also be called a psychological thriller as it messes with your aural senses the entire time. This WWII film has a unique perspective of taking place for the most part in a German submarine. The claustrophobia and grime of living and making choices in close quarters grips you the entire time. Relief doesn't come until near the end where things open up and without warning the real Hell breaks loose. The cinematography choices were excellent all around especially in the sub. The detail could have easily overwhelmed the frame but choosing to use atmospheric fog and variations in saturated and desaturated lights to evoke mood was smart.
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4 out of 5. It's hard to imagine it but Gavin Hood who just completed Ender's Game actually made an amazing crime/drama in TSOTSI. It was reminiscent of City of God with it's music and atmosphere. The cinematography was sharp and clear and I loved the palettes overall. But Presley Chweneyagae was the real diamond in this tragic storyline. Man, what a great performance. The subtle qualities and shifts of emotion constantly telegraphing everything he's thinking without saying a word. What a treat. The casting was excellent all around and the acting was really top-notch with clear defined motivations and character. There was only one technical hiccup for me that didn't make sense otherwise this was a near perfect film.
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4 out of 5. Yasujiro Ozu's minimalist approach continues to be timeless and expressive in letting characters breathe, especially in AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON. I haven't seen anything of his since TOKYO STORY. His strong locked camera choice is so signature that it showed me possibilities of characters and their relationship to the space around them. There was nothing wasted in frame and it all served the scene. The cinematography, costumes and production design are equally deft in illustrating this point. When you watch a simple story like this in the hands of an artist there's a lot more that is peeled back and revealed. In that is where Ozu truly shines.
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4 out of 5. BLAST OF SILENCE, by Allen Baron is raw on every
level. I'll admit it I flinched a little, I'm not proud. Allen Baron is
not only ambitious but he portrays a really tough bastard of a killer
who takes on the world with equal
heavy-handedness. There's a lot of great scenes in this film and the
story is compelling. All of it combines if a very textural piece that
has a teeth-clenching finale that you won't want to miss. Universal
Studios buried this for years but now it's been finally released by
Criterion. There's a reason for it. This isn't polished hollywood
noir...it's the stuff crime novels are made of.
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4 out of 5. Jason Kohn captures the flavor and feel of a filmic bygone era in MANDA BALA. More than once I had to check the date because the cinematography and color-timing of this great little documentary had me thinking it was from the 70s. There is so much to like about this quirky film. From the players, connected to political crime bosses, to the framing of people on the extreme edges of the camera. There's an underlying threat throughout the interviews too from a plastic surgeon who makes ears out of rib cartilage to a guy who specializes in bullet-proofing vehicles. There's a few very unsettling scenes but if you can hold steady you'll be surprised by this film.
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4 out of 5. Fatih Akin's THE EDGE OF HEAVEN seamlessly weaves together a Gordian Knot of words and pictures without making it look overly clever. Through careful cutting he shows us that we are watching the film in a different order than we realize. Or that we perceived it correctly and it served the through-line but that it was transmutable. Thus giving it a different meaning. The way characters are brought together make this story really interesting and unique. Luckily, would could have been a drastic coincidence is smartly avoided. The acting is really good, too. At times, many of the characters have such ferocity that the domestic setting they're in seems on the brink of destruction. There's good energy in the film even if there is a slow and easy pace. The movie is an hour fifty-five but feels longer. Beautiful ending.
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4 out of 5. Director, Majid Majidi's CHILDREN OF HEAVEN is a deceptively small film with big talent just under the surface. For the two Persian child-actors, who have never acted before or since, to carry this film was amazing. Their sincerity rang true. As brother and sister, their characters were genuinely caring of each other, which I haven't seen the likes of in a very long time. Maybe, because it lacked the cynicism of the west. The cinematography had me wondering time and again whether this was shot in the 70s. The lighting was gorgeous and the film grain grounded us in reality. Nothing slick here, except for the smart engaging script and storytelling. The ending asks a lot of the viewer but really, we all know the outcome.
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4 out of 5. Hirokazu Koreeda's NOBODY KNOWS constantly walks the line between documentary and ficiton. A single mother with kids from different boyfriend's is a great setup for a story that I'm surprised I have not seen before. The non-acting that is going on in their interactions and the handheld close-in camera-work makes it feel like a documentary. There's so much to like about this film and yet the crushing sensation of where the story takes you is really tough. Artistically, Koreeda's handle on the writing, directing and editing score really high marks. The believability of the situation and how well the kids handle it tend to be what pulls you back from the edge of realism.
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4 out of 5. Fabián Bielinsky's THE AURA is a quiet minimalist crime thriller that gives you very little clues as to what happens next. It's austere atmosphere also helps to make this film very engaging. The main character, played by Ricardo Darin embodies all these elements as his dialogue and acting are both understated. His face reveals a man who is thinking through the decisions and yet he gives away nothing of what's to come.This is one of those films that are full of surprises in terms of acting, directing and overall filmmaking. There's a transition in here from Esteban's home to a traveling sequence that I've only really seen used in comics and works wonderfully here, too. If you want something different and evocative this would be it.
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4 out of 5. Director Steve McQueen's HUNGER shows an alarming skill as a filmmaker. Seemingly to come out of nowhere he's surgically crafted a rather beautifully shot, well-acted, gut-wrenching poem. The writing by he and Enda Walsh is verbose and yet spills over with story. The pacing is intense at times and then cold empty silence. There's one scene where the camera is locked in a two-shot of a prisoner and a priest that is essentially the bulk of the dialogue. It goes on far longer than you expect but what is revealed makes it necessary for the director to get out of the way. While the performances are quite good the emotional detachment is the elephant in the room and I think the audience feels it too. Smart and skilled...it'll be hard to do better. Because of the rough subject matter (think Midnight Express amped up) it was hard to fully "enjoy" it. Yet it's a must see for filmmakers.
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4 out of 5. David Michôd's ANIMAL KINGDOM was
beautiful surprise of cinema when I first saw it. The clarity and depth
of his characters was alarming. What I didn't realize, was like SLING
BLADE this was shot once before, but
from a different POV with many of the same cast. It was a short film, a
practice run if you will, that made this film feel so polished. If you
like crime and want a taste of something a little different check it
out.
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4 out of 5. Director Benh Zeitlin found the right alchemy with people and place in BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. As far as indie films go, which I do not watch many, this has opened my eyes to some fantastic possibilities. Perhaps it was his short film GLORY AT SEA that got me excited to see his feature. It's smart storytelling with an intensely successful DIY approach to just about everything. I say this because they get a lot of mileage out of so little. The Art Direction of this film is as textured and prevalent as the acting. Easily one of the best films I saw last year.
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4 out of 5. Kar Wai Wong's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE reinforces the sensitivity of a director toward the interplay of
emotions and images. He gets relationships in their beautiful clumsy
ways that give Ang Lee a run for his
money. The costuming and casting is perfect. I love the two leads. You
literally ache for these people to be together without all the Hollywood
schmaltz that infects most things stateside.
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4 out of 5. Yôji Yamada's THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI
reminded me a lot UNFORGIVEN. The plot centers around a widowed samurai
who has lost any sense of self-worth. He's internalized a lot of the
pain and denies himself the opportunity
to move on. The acting is really good. The story feels like the last
samurai movie that will be made because of the introduction of guns and
the end of the Edo period. Slow, thoughtful and very good relationships
make it worth a look.
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4 out 5. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL is pretty damn cool. He boldly faces every convention
available to him and makes a palpable story with characters that get
under your skin. I had no idea what I'd
expect after watching Fox and His Friends but I'm amazed by this
director's ability at clear and creative storytelling. It's almost
stylized in many ways from the art direction and clothing choices,
there's some heavy symbolism throughout. If you like to keep chewing on a
film after your done watching it...check this one out.
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