If only this were to be shown in every school classroom across the land. Children would never go near a stranger ever again. Mind you, they might never go near anyone at all again, either... A rash of gruesome child abductions and murders is sweeping the German capital and the only clues seem to be letters written by the purported killer to the newspapers. The police are doing their best but the public clamour for results, a constant stream of mis/disinformation and an increasing degree of urgency are leading to knee-jerk reactions and a general rounding-up of the criminal classes, but they are not stopping the crimes. With the lynch mobs looming, it may be that one blind balloon seller at the fun fair might have a clue. He may not have actually seen the killer, but he thinks he could recognise the voice - and maybe prove crucial in apprehending the killer. The detection stages of the film are intriguing to watch. In days when the notion of the "law" being an independent and fair institution were still developing, the public tendency to carry out their own justice proves just as much an hindrance to the investigators as the killer does. Indeed, their in-fighting and mis-trust might actually be helping perpetuate his reign of terror. It's the last fifteen minutes of this film that really stands out. An excellent effort from Peter Lorre bringing to an head the battle of the lawless and the lawful, and to that end Rudolf Blümner also shines as a man prepared to risk much to see that right is done - when it would have been so much easier to go with the baying flow. It's delicately and menacingly paced for two hours with a dark and gritty photography, scoring, lighting and a quite sparing but potent dialogue building to a denouement that is really enthralling. Big screen if you can - it looks so much murkier and grimier.
Reviews
3,603 Reviews
The Grandmaster
(2013)
The Grandmaster
9 May 2024
I'm a fan of Wong Kar-Wai's films but I reckon that I still prefer Wilson Yip's 2008 version of the Ip Man story. Set amidst the turbulent times in China that saw the end of the rule of Manchu dynasty, the embryonic republic established and then the Japanese invasion, we meet a man (Tony Leung) who lives peacefully in the small town of Foshan until he meets Wing Chun grand master Gong Yutian (Qingxiang Wang) who is looking for a successor. That is the beginning of a journey that will see him become a grand master of the martial art himself, whilst meeting, marrying and surviving! It's a superb looking film but for me just a little too over-stylised. The combat scenes are creatively choreographed but the use of the slowed-down visual effects didn't always work. Leung and the director are clearly on the same wavelength, and the story itself is a fascinating look at the rise of one culture through the wreckage of an ancient one. It's also clear that women too had their place in this society - and it wasn't always where stereotype might assume. A strong contribution from the adept and nimble Ziyi Zhang (Gong Er) demonstrates that well as battle lines between the old and new, the powerful and the aspirational are drawn and a good old dose of ancient tribal warfare sets up a proud story of heritage, loyalty and skill. Though a little soporifically scored at times, this is an enjoyable mix of history with touch of romance and plenty of action, and is well worth a couple of hours.
Tell No One
(2012)
Tell No One
9 May 2024
Though it's hardly an original bone in it's body, I did quite enjoy this. That's probably a testament to the engaging effort from Josafat Vagni as the twenty-something "Mattia". He's gay and just about everyone knows - except his family. He keeps trying to pluck up the courage, but each time he's on the precipice something thwarts him. Then he meets "Eduard" (Jose Dammert) and falls hook, line and sinker. A solution, he thinks! "Eduard" lives far from Rome in Madrid, so no need to tell anyone? Sadly, his beau wants to meet his in-laws - and he wants to meet them with some sort of status too. Can "Mattia" get over his cold feet in time to save his relationship? There's a little help from a comedy narration as we follow this hapless lad awards a conclusion that quite effectively points out that secrets are really, really, quite difficult to keep - especially from a tightly knit family that has eyes and ears. Vagni has a charm to him and that does much to keep this entertaining enough as he battles some bigotry, deals with some daft misunderstandings and hopefully gets his man. It's maybe a bit contrived at times, and no, you'll never remember watching it but it's still an easy watch.
Attack of the Puppet People
(1958)
Attack of the Puppet People
9 May 2024
"Sally" (June Kenney) ought to have had the alarm bells ringing when she goes for an interview with doll-maker "Franz" (John Hoyt) who positively begs her to take the job. They ought to have rung even louder when she discovers that his previous assistant never turned up at her new position. Swiftly, we discover that her new boss is collecting people - but at a fraction of their size and he is keeping them alive in glass jars. He lets them out to play every now and again and even manages to procure what has to be the smallest bottle of Champagne ever seen! Meantime, though, the slow on the uptake "Sally" is beginning to suspect something's amiss - especially when her beau "Bob" (John Agar) disappears too! She goes to the incredulous police who offer a cursory investigation - but can they, or she, rescue her love? I actually quite enjoyed this. That's entirely down to the almost maniacal (and accidentally comedic) effort from Hoyt. A frequent participant in daft sci-fi stories, but rarely with just such a big part as he has here. It's padded out a little too much, but there's some fun to be had with the giant telephones, a great big dog and a really annoying stage-door man at the theatre. The title doesn't really do it any favours, but if you like the B-feature horror genre then this is worth a watch, I'd say.
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
9 May 2024
Newspaper editor "Bill" (Leo McKern) is trying to keep his team focused on churning out the Daily Express whilst the Russians and the Americans are detonating nuclear devices all over the shop. When two of them explode simultaneously and knock the Earth out of it's orbit, things really do start to heat up and his reporter "Stenning" (Edward Judd) and feisty switchboard worker "Jeannie" (Janet Munro) have to try to get to the bottom of things. Just imagine the red tape involved as the government officials put up all sorts of barricades to him finding out anything - possibly because they don't really know a great deal more themselves. What now ensues is a mixture of romance coupled with some increasingly exasperating investigative journalism as we appear to be heading straight into the path of the sun. Might there be a way to arrest this inevitability? More bombs perhaps? We'll have to tune into the Prime Ministerial broadcast at 9pm... Made when the cold war was alive and well, this is quite an interesting story that when you strip it back offers us quite a potent look at the futility of nuclear weapons. The drama here doesn't politicise anything, but it does use the buzzing dynamic of the newsroom to present us with a story of mankind's own stupidity and bloody-mindedness. There's a solid supporting cast and a welcome bit of sarcasm in the dialogue and it's at the better end of the apocalyptic drama genre.
Repulsion
(1965)
Repulsion
9 May 2024
"Carol" (Catherine Deneuve) has arrived in London from her Balgian home to share a flat with her sister "Helen" (Yvonne Furneaux) and taken up a job doing posh people's nails in a beauty salon. She's no chatterbox, indeed she rarely speaks at all save when the subject turns to the subject of "Michael" (Ian Hendry) who is her sister's intrusive boyfriend and whom she abhors. As the story progresses, we begin to realise that it's not really him that she has a problem with, it's men in general. Her dreams are violent and sexually brutal affairs probably not helped by the sound of the banging headboard from the adjacent bedroom. Meantime, there's the hapless "Colin" (John Fraser) who sits in the pub pining for her. They are friends, of sorts, and he seems to be genuinely concerned for her - but any though of physicality causes her paroxysms. When her sister goes on holiday, she essentially barricades herself in her flat and that's where things turn almost surreal. The girl is now in a terrible state both emotionally and psychologically, and an attempt at intervention from "Colin" and a visit from the odious rent-man (Patrick Wymark) only make matters worse. Deneuve is superb here. She portrays the tortured "Carol" with an authenticity that is really quite hard to watch. Her illness is palpable but isn't so tangible, and as the story develops we begin to realise that she is increasingly unable to distinguish between truth and reality and that is impacting on all aspects of her life. Fraser also stands out here, his efforts as the would be suitor encapsulate an altogether difference series of frustrations. It's a toxic scenario that is uncomfortably presented but compelling to watch.
The Giant Claw
(1957)
The Giant Claw
8 May 2024
I'm not sure that if I'd been involved in this that I've have taken a credit at all, much less one of the multitude of big block capital ones that top this Kentucky Fried flop. It's all about planes that go missing - but radar can shed no light on the disappearances. Luckily, Jeff Morrow made it back to this island earth and together with "Sally" (Mara Corday) is trying to sort out the mystery for "Gen. Considine" (Morris Ankrum). Luckily, they have some balloons (the inflatable types not the writers) and they show us just what's been pecking at the USAF. Moreover, it appears to be extra-terrestrial and have some sort of radar bending ability so it can maraud at will, immune to everything the military can throw at it. What is it doing here? Has it a nefarious plan? I was surprised to see Morrow in this. He was never very good, but this is below the belt for just about everyone charged with delivering a terribly weak story supported by some frankly hilarious and not very special effects. If any Brits are watching they might remember Rod Hull and his "emu". This is reminiscent of that and really not worth the effort for an overlong seventy five minutes that could easily have been cut to fifteen.
Come Back, Little Sheba
(1952)
Come Back, Little Sheba
8 May 2024
I'd never heard of this film until I stumbled upon it today, and boy - what a stumble. Shirley Booth turns in one of the most intense performances I have ever seen. "Lola" is married to recovering alcoholic "Doc" (Burt Lancaster) and they live a meticulously ordered life with her the housewife and he at the hospital. As the story transpires, we learn a little more of what has driven them to their current scenario whilst she yearns for companionship. To that end she rents out their spare room to student "Marie" (Terry Moore). Initially, "Doc" isn't sure, but he takes a shine to the girl - if not to her all-American boyfriend "Turk" (Richard Jaeckel). She seems set on him, though, and as his paternal concern for her choices starts to mount his need for that lone bottle sitting in the cupboard starts to mount too! It's only really in the last fifteen minutes that the story all falls into place and we realise just why both of these characters are as they are. Lancaster plays his role in a measured and entirely convincing fashion as he foils the almost perfect effort from an entirely convincing Booth who elicits sympathy and exasperation in almost equal measure. What's also quite effective here is that the story isn't full of contrived pitfalls and disasters. It's a story of humanity with it's roots in a plausible scenario (of the time, anyway) that has provided these two, perhaps despite themselves, with a true and lasting affection. It's much more of a drama than a romance, and really is worth an hour and half of your time.
Riot in Cell Block 11
(1954)
Riot in Cell Block 11
8 May 2024
This begins with a television interview given by real-life prison reformer Richard McGee who reacts to a well documented spate of prison riots by informing the audience that they, too, must bear their share of responsibility for the conditions endured by the inmates. We are then taken to Block 11 where it does prove remarkably easy - especially given the prevailing tensions across the system - to nobble a guard, take his three colleagues hostage and then within a few hours take control of their entire prison. It's "Dunn" (Neville Brand) who came up with their plan, and escape isn't his intention. He wants both the prison governor (Emile Meyer) and the state one (Thomas Browne Henry) to agree to a series of demands that will ensure a more humane form of incarceration in future. What now ensues is a delicately played game of chicken. The prisoners reckon they don't have much to lose by killing one of the hostages if they don't get what they want. The authorities are terrified that acquiescing might just be a taper to light fires in institutions all across the country. Don Siegel delivers quite a poignant drama as the inmates begin to factionalise whilst the powers that be struggle to resist a more direct intervention and Brand, Meyer and Robert Osterloh's "Colonel" help create a story that offers food for thought. We have no idea why these men are in prison, which means we must make our evaluations as to the modern-day version of torture and solitary confinement imposed to keep discipline or to break spirits, or both, blindly? Yes, it is a bit predictable, but still worth eighty minutes.
Good Night, and Good Luck.
(2005)
Good Night, and Good Luck.
8 May 2024
There's a brief clip at the start of "Sink the Bismarck" (1960) that illustrates the impact of Edward R. Murrow's potent and succinct style of broadcasting that eventually led to him receiving an award from his peers at the beginning of this film. It's his acceptance speech that sets the tone for a retrospective that focuses on his time attempting to stand up for the civil liberties of many American people during the investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Minnesota into the alleged infiltration of just about all aspects of society by communists and their allies. David Strathairn delivers one of his best performances here as the man whose stance earns him plaudits from some quarters, but enmity from others who accuse him of being an appeaser - or worse. Determined, he nevertheless becomes dependant on the good will of his network chief executive (Frank Langella) and stalwart producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) as he issues a challenge to the politician and risks his career. In many ways these men had similarities of character. The use of archive footage of McCarthy and the pieces-to-camera from Strathairn offers us two contrasting styles, attitudes and sets of beliefs and though clearly the editorial is pro-Murrow, it still allows us to experience and evaluate some of the frenzy that prevailed at the time when the cold war was very much at it's height. Director Clooney uses a documentary style of intense monochrome photography to quite chillingly expose us to the perils of free reporting at a time when swimming agains a tide that would stop at nothing to rubbish it's opponents was no small gamble. It packs lots to think about into ninety minutes and emphasises the still quite dangerous scenarios that dogma coupled with a strong cult of personality can deliver to an unwitting population.
Sweet and Lowdown
(1999)
Sweet and Lowdown
8 May 2024
Presented in a documentary style, this drama looks at the life of the fictional jazz guitarist "Emmet Ray" (Sean Penn). Now, of course, he is American so is naturally the best in the whole wide world, well second best actually, and that is testified to by frequent obsequious pieces-to-camera from purported experts and then by his own performances as he plays standards from the likes of Django Reinhardt, the masterful Stéphane Grapelli and Duke Ellington. Director Woody Allen has a penchant for this style of music, and as faux-homages go this isn't at all bad. That's really thanks to a strong contribution from Sean Penn as the frankly pretty odious character who's selfishness was probably only eclipsed by his increasing obsession with the shy mute "Hattie" (a gorgeous effort from Samantha Morton) who comes to depend on him, but might he actually come to depend on her too - despite himself? It's a great looking film with plenty of attention to detail, and it does work well at illustrating just how important it is for people to have decent anchors in their lives. The dialogue is all a bit too relentless for me with very little time to come up for air as this rattles along but it's all genuinely and uncomfortably plausible at times, too. Pity about the constant hyperbole, though - how can anyone be the best guitarist? Hmmm?
Dirty Grandpa
(2016)
Dirty Grandpa
8 May 2024
Yikes, it's a coming of age film - for just about everyone concerned. Robert De Niro is an ageing gent who, having just lost his wife of 40-odd years - is intent on letting the badger loose. To that end, he recruits his rather straight-laced, soon to be wed, lawyer grandson "Jason" (Zac Efron) to drive him home. The journey proves anything but straightforward as they hit Daytona Beach on their road trip, meet a pair of lively girls and their gay pal and have some escapades that opens the young man's eyes to the aspirations of his grandad and, increasingly, of himself. De Niro has a bit of previous with this kind of role - though it's certainly more in your face than, say, "Meet the Fockers" (2004); the language isn't just a bit blue, it's fairly graphically explicit as he seeks sex with a perfectly willing girl Efron's age and at times it's actually quite poignant as he refuses to allow his age to consign him to the scrap heap. The humour is crass an a bit puerile, though - and the film really shows up the limitations of Efron as an actor. He is terribly wooden and never looks comfortable even when naked and high on drugs. The story tries, quite pitifully, to reconcile some more serious elements into the script - grandad is a Vet whose family don't know, is dysfunctional and that scenario is supposed to lend it some gravitas. Well, it doesn't. The ending is a twee, poor amalgamation of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994) and "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977) that left me squirming in my chair. Both stars work well enough together, and fans of both/either will probably enjoy De Niro's refreshing frankness that epitomises that age is no barrier to having sex, and Efron - well he gets his ass out a few times. That's about it....
Charade
(1963)
Charade
8 May 2024
This is a corker of a romantic thriller with both Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn at the top of their game. When her husband is found murdered by the railway line, "Reggie" soon discovers that he wasn't quite the man she had though - Walter Matthau ("Bartholomew") convinces her that he was on the run from the US Government with an huge stash of gold. Enter James Coburn; George Kennedy and Ned Glass who begin to cajole, intimidate and downright threaten her determined to obtain the stash. Grant - her knight in shining armour steps in to protect her from these avaricious hoodlums and the shenanigans begin. Stanley Donen really does get the best from everyone in this gripping, witty and stylishly sexy drama. The writing is subtle and nuanced - we have a thriller in which there is virtually no actual menace, but it still twists and turns and nobody is ever whom they seem/say, The characterisations are engaging, the ending is clever, fun and well worth enjoying again 60 years later.
Animal Farm
(1954)
Animal Farm
8 May 2024
George Orwell's politics were always front and centre of his work, but never more so, I reckon, that with this adaptation from Halas & Batchelor. It all starts in the farm where the farmer is a bit of a waste of space. Usually in the pub whilst the animals - pigs, horses, chickens, geese - are routinely neglected and left unfed. The "Old Major" calls a meeting to organise a plan of action, but he goes off to the big sty in the sky (not that Orwell would have believed in such a place) and that leaves "Snowball" in charge and they decide to quite entertainingly depose the useless farmer and do things by themselves. They even have their own form of constitution declaring equality, fraternity and - one may not eat the other, nor sleep in a bed! Their Elysian scenario prevails for a while but soon another insurrection looms in the form of "Napoleon" who sees their leader as weak and ineffectual. A coup ensues and gradually we see the emergence of a first amongst equals policy, then rules are arbitrarily altered, ostensibly for the good of the community then, yep - we are back with an overt dictatorship that spawns ideas of a little revolution now and again is a good thing. There are obvious parallels here with the decline of Imperial Russia (or even Bourbon France) being followed by a series of increasingly less benign dictators, and of the ultimate realisation that when you give people power, they will always want more. The animation uses the different animals to show strength - of body and/or will, well and the narration serves as a gentle tramline for what we can all see is the writing in the sand. Hierarchies clearly aren't just an human thing.
The Battle of Algiers
(1966)
The Battle of Algiers
8 May 2024
It's the mid 1950s and the population of Algeria are increasingly determined to break free from the colonial administration of France. From one perspective it's a fight for freedom, from the other a response to dangerous insurrectionism. What makes this drama stand out is the degree of impartiality with which it depicts the story. The French are still licking their wounds after leaving their Indo-Chinese empire and are desperate to avoid another defeat here. The local population are poorly educated and hopelessly outgunned but have the advantage of mobility and surprise as they seek to emulate their Oriental contemporaries. Neither side shies away from acts of brutality and that's depicted poignantly here with anyone in uniform a target for the rebels and any one at all a target by way of response. It has the feel of a docu-drama to it, with the characterisations of "La Ponte" (Brahim Hadjadj) and "Col. Mathieu" (Jean Martin) acting well as a conduit for both sides of a story that saw losers on every side and tested the humanity of each as any semblance of decency or a code of war went swiftly by the board. It's not just both sides here that are exposed to judgment, but the pretty hapless UN doesn't really come off any better (perhaps restricted by a potential French veto?). The photography and visual effects are very effective at presenting us with a largely urban war zone in which collateral damage was inevitable, and seemingly a price both parties were prepared to pay. The history of the scenario and it's results are fact, but Gillo Pontecorvo uses quite a considerable degree of creativity and sensitivity in demonstrating just how desperate times can result in desperate measures - and maybe even a little grudging respect. At times, the violence is claustrophobically presented and it's never an easy watch.
Drift Fence
(1936)
Drift Fence
8 May 2024
This was made in the same year that star Buster Crabbe was off fighting Charles Middleton's menacing "Emperor Ming" and he should maybe just have stuck to that? After a bit of quite exciting rodeo action, we meet "Travis" (Tom Keene) who is chatting with the check-clad "Traft" (Benny Baker) who isn't prepared to risk his hat to run his uncle's cattle ranch, so maybe he could manage it for him? What "Traft" doesn't know is that his new friend is really a Texas Ranger and this plan could work well as he is chasing an outlaw believed to be rustling the cows. Crabbe's "Slinger" owns the adjacent property and is soon embroiled in a plot designed to make people suspicious that it's actually him that's doing the thieving, so he's going to have to act. That's really the bit that lets the whole thing down. None of them are really very good at that, and it misses the cheeky, curmudgeonly, character usually employed to inject a little comedy into it too. Crabbe is just way too earnest and although Effie Ellsler has some fun as the granny wielding a gun easily as long as she is tall, it's all a rather procedural drama with little to remember about it. I think it's called "drift" for a reason.
Patterns
(1956)
Patterns
7 May 2024
When "Staples" (Van Heflin) arrives at the "Ramsey" building to take up his new executive job, he meets his boss "Briggs" (Ed Begley) then the guy with his name on the door (Everett Sloane), and is welcomed with open arms. Pretty quickly, though, he realises that "Briggs" - who has recently return from illness is in the firing line - and that he is to be the principal weapon used to replace him. The problem here is though "Staples" is fiercely ambitious, and his wife "Nancy" (Beatrice Straight) isn't so very far behind on that front, he actually quite likes "Briggs" and his more human approach to doing business. Indeed, when that man's secretary is arbitrarily attached to the newcomer, it would appear that the writing is on the wall so just how complicit will his scruples allow him to be? I found this to be one of Heflin's better parts, and he portrays his conflicted character really quite effectively. Begley is also on good form as a man maybe just a little past his use-by date and Sloane epitomises the family business obsessed mogul who cares only about power - and for it's own sake. What choices can "Staples" make? What choices does he want to make? This is a quickly paced look at humanity - warts and all, and for double the salary and an unlimited expense account, what might any of us do?
Day of the Dead
(1985)
Day of the Dead
7 May 2024
We learn pretty quickly that the world has been zombified and that scientist "Sarah" (Lori Cardille) might be part of the last dozen or so people left in the world who still prefer their food cooked! They use an helicopter to get about the place then take refuge deep underground in a military bunker run by the slightly maniacal "Rhodes" (Joseph Pilato). It's fair to say that there's quite a degree of tension amongst these survivors. The military element is asserting itself over the folks who are trying to find a cause for and solution to the plague on the surface. Things come to an head with "Prof Logan" (Richard Liberty) takes his experiments trying to re-humanise these creatures just one step too far for the heavily armed soldiers, and a deadly split occurs that could spell doom for everyone! Now the acting here is pretty terrible, and the writing does little to help with that but George Romero does well to create an increasing sense of claustrophobic menace as tempers fray and the human beings factionalise into groups more dangerous to each other than their topside terrors. It's the last half hour than enlivens this, though, as the civilian conclude that they need to get airborne and head for a quiet Caribbean beach. The plot is a little more sophisticated, there is the semblance of science here, but essentially it's all about hordes of marauding corpses - I'm sure I saw a tutu-clad ballet dancer amongst them - bent of a bit of gobbling. Even when the odds are stacked against people, they can still find reasons not to trust each other!
The Fall Guy
(2024)
The Fall Guy
7 May 2024
This does suffer a bit from having been trailed to death in the cinema, and the story is really pretty thin - but there's some engaging chemistry on display between the two stars as their adventures hot up. "Colt" (Ryan Gosling) is the stunt double for the all action hero "Tom Ryder" (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) whilst sort of dating aspiring director "Jody" (Emily Blunt). An accident on set drives "Colt" away from the business altogether until a random call from producer "Gail" (Hannah Waddingham) informs him that "Jody" is to direct her first film in Australia and he has been especially requested! Of course he hadn't, and when he turns up - much to the surprise of the production, they sort of settle for a truce as he gets back into the swing of rolling cars and jumping from burning wreckage. Where's the star though? Well it transpires that's what "Gail" has really brought him to establish. He's gone AWOL. Not for the first time, "Ryder" is a bit flaky - but all "Colt" need do is track down their wayward pretty boy and then he can escape this embarrassing scenario and go back home. Needless to say, his investigations soon immerse him in a dangerous world of drugs, unicorns and even more car chasing and pyrotechnics. Can he find his charge and maybe even restore his romance? There's precisely no jeopardy with any of that, even if there is quite a daft twist in the tale at the end, but that doesn't matter. This is an excuse for some good looking people to have fun celebrating the life of the movie stuntman. It's good fun to watch with Gosling oozing charisma as we go along on a trip that reveals just a little of the smoke and mirrors that is routinely used to convince us that what we see on screen is real - and that nobody usually dies! Sydney harbour is used to good effect, though I maybe wouldn't have wanted to be the general manager of the opera house when their film crew turned up, and the dialogue is quite a witty mix of hackneyed metaphor, old lines from famous movies and plenty of corn and cheese. ATJ doesn't really feature so much, but when he does he's clearly taking a pop at all things vain and superficial about the cult of image, and Blunt looks like she is enjoying herself as she tries to get her film in the can despite her missing frontman, the wrong kind of sand on the beach and her clearly having the hots for her ex. A good soundtrack helps it all along and though I doubt I'll recall much about this in three months, it's a lively poke at the characters that make movies and I quite enjoyed it.
The Woman in the Painting
(1955)
Amici per la pelle
6 May 2024
"Franco" (Andrea Sciré) is the son of a diplomat and is quite well educated and worldly when he arrives at his new school where he quickly befriends "Mario" (Geronimo Meynier). The fact that he lives in an exclusive hotel causes a little consternation with his new friend's family at the beginning, but pretty soon the two boys are inseparable and getting up to all sorts of mischief. Then they hit an unexpected bump in the road that sees them both in the same running competition - and of course, only one of them can win. What now ensures is something that I think we can all relate to. The complexities of maintaining an intensive friendship - it's almost like an addiction, and the two young actors here really do immerse themselves in the roles and offer us an amiably engaging look at a friendship tempered with some stupidity and soft-headedness. Fortunately the adult characters are pretty much on board here, and are also adept at leaving their sons to solve their own problems whilst offering a shoulder and some words of wisdom as required. It also shines a light on the behaviour of classmates who, with varying degrees of nastiness, are envious of something they aren't part of. They see the boy's relationship as something to be torn down rather than celebrated when the first sign of a crack emerges. It can be quite funny and is really an enjoyably paced and jauntily scored celebration of a simple friendship that we all hope endures in the end.
Manon of the Spring
(1986)
Manon des sources
6 May 2024
Continuing on from the story of "Jeanne de Florette", we have advanced many years to find "Ugolin" (Daniel Auteuil) and his uncle "Papet" (Yves Montand) running a thriving carnation business perfectly watered by their own spring. Indeed it's quite a feet of irrigation that has enabled them to enhance the family fortune by at least 50,000 Francs. As ever, though, "Papet" is looking to the future of his dynasty and so continues to pressurise "Ugolin" to marry. He's quite happy with the odd visit to the local whorehouse until he discovers "Manon". She (Emmanuelle Béart) is the daughter of the previous owners of the property and after her father's untimely death is now reduced to goat-herding in the hills. A chance encounter with new teacher "Bernard" (Hippolyte Girardot) seems to offer her the prospect of some joy, but it annoys the clearly infatuated "Ugolin" who declares his undying love for her - all to no avail. Gradually, village gossip about her father and his fate reaches her ears and thanks to a wayward goat, she finds herself in the position to wreak a little revenge on the "Soubeyran" clan and their complicit supporters. What will assuage her wrath? I didn't enjoy this so much as the first part of the story. Though it effectively deals with retribution and, to a certain extent, the superstitious nature of religiosity, it doesn't really develop the character of "Manon" as much as I'd have liked and it is a little as what can so often be said of the second act of a play - slightly rushed. It also, thanks to village elder "Delphine" (Yvonne Gamy), introduces a further degree of tragedy into this already sad story that seems odd to have been such a long-kept secret in a place where everyone knew just about everything about everyone else. Auteuil is again effective, though, as is a Montand whose character starts to lose a bit of his confident smugness as tables begin to turn and he faces his own, life-altering catastrophe. Béart brings a naive innocence to her character - but that's not to say she's meek, far from it - and by the denouement I felt that maybe things were concluding fittingly. It looks great and the score from Jean-Claude Petit sets the whole thing off nicely. Both films together offer us quite a poignant look at human nature - warts and all, and are really well worth watching. Just what do they do with the thrushes?
Jean de Florette
(1986)
Jean de Florette
6 May 2024
"Ugolin" (Daniel Auteuil) returns from the war to his wealthy uncle "Papet" (Yves Montant) with some inspiration. He doesn't divulge his cunning plan until he is ready, and then presents the man with some perfectly cultivated carnations. It turns out there's money in flowers, but they also need a great deal of water. Gallons and gallons of the stuff. It occurs to "Papet" that their curmudgeonly neighbour might be willing to sell his land, upon which there is a clogged-up spring. No such luck there but an accident shortly afterwards fills them with hope. Sadly for them, their plans are further frustrated by the arrival of the hunch-backed and enthusiastic city boy "Jean" (Gérard Depardieu) and his wife and child who move onto the farm. They are decent and hard-working relatives of the dead man and are determined to use science to make a go of things. Whilst feigning friendship with the family, "Ugolin" and "Papet" cement over their water supply and leave them at the mercy of the unpredictable weather and a rather ropey cistern system. Their farming days would appear to be doomed unless God intervenes. What now ensues sees the family "Cadoret" increasingly struggle to make money breeding rabbits and growing fruit and vegetables - amidst the mother of all heatwaves, as their cognisant neighbours look on unwilling to point out that their salvation is buried but yards away. Will the cynical ploy of the "Soubeyran" clan prevail? There's a great cast doing the work here, with Auteuil especially effective as the slightly conflicted nephew who doesn't always come across as the full shilling; Montand as the calculating, dynastically motivated, manipulator and finally a great effort from Depardieu who manages to portray a man plumbing the depths of despair - whilst always seemingly open to a degree of optimism and hope, really compellingly. The drama is peppered with loads of earthy humour and the small town setting provides for many of the usual characterisations of village life that is sceptical of, if not downright hostile to, new arrivals. It's also quite a potent look at just how crucial running water is, too. It continues through into "Manon de Source"...
Things to Come
(1936)
Things to Come
6 May 2024
This is a rather fanciful adaptation of the HG Wells tale. Mankind is all but obliterated by war; reduced to tribal existences - under the overly theatrical leadership of Ralph Richardson and Margaretta Scott - fighting plague, tyranny and the elements. Then they encounter Daniel Massey ("John Cabal") who helps reconcile and rebuild society to an almost Utopian level. It manages to intertwine megalomania with human aspiration; an overpoweringly rousing score and some truly Shakesperian style soliloquy. It comes to force a future upon us that is eerily portentous of an Orwellian style dictatorship; of interstellar exploration to spread our plague of self-destructive ambition to other worlds - and all, broadly speaking with the consent of the masses. Sadly, i saw a colourised version which robbed this film of almost every element of potency; indeed it rendered it little better than a very poor cartoon. It's still just about worth watching; but Massey is no Olivier and I found it all rather preposterous.
The Silent World
(1956)
The Silent World
5 May 2024
As he travels aboard his floating laboratory "Calypso", we follow the exploration of renowned marine adventurer Jacques Cousteau as he and his crew travel the world exploring the depths of the sea. He takes his kit to the deepest part of the water where neither man nor camera have ever been before, nowhere near the bottom but still as black as pitch and only slightly illuminated by their bright lamps. The photography would have offered many their first glimpse of whales, porpoises, giant turtles, sharks - and many in a natural environment that isn't always so easy to watch. Neither, it has to be said, are some of his methods. "In the name of science" would have been a defence for dynamiting fish so they can count the species, or leaving many on the beach to suffocate to death before they are photographed or dissected for the specimen jar. Whilst there can be no doubting this team had a respect and admiration for the natural world, they still had that superiority complex of mankind towards it and at times I simply didn't like the man nor his approach. That said, it was made at a time when the quest for knowledge was more along the lines of the end justifying the means and doubtless some of his astonishing discoveries will have informed a more enlightened touch to investigation in later years. Cousteau was a ground-breaker, no doubt, and his adaptation of technology to take us deeper and deeper in safer ways delivers us an fascinating look at what has long existed without the intervention of man. By no means how Sir David Attenborough would make it now, but of it's time it is an interesting and cleverly photographed look into the unknown.
Children of Hiroshima
(1952)
Children of Hiroshima
5 May 2024
It's been six years since teacher "Takako Ishiwaka" (Nobuko Otowa) lost her parents in the Hiroshima blast and she is now planning on returning to the city to visit friends and to remember her family. On arrival, she stays with "Natsue Morikawa" (Miwa Saitô) who has been rendered infertile by the toxic after-effects of the explosion. The is where this emotionally heart-rending story starts. She explores what's left of the city only to discover that in many areas, a remarkable regeneration has occurred. In others, though, people are living an hand-to-mouth existence and that includes her father's former colleague "Iwakichi" (Osamu Takizawa) who is all but blind and living amongst the ruins whilst his grandchild lives in a nearby orphanage. She is informed that a few of her own fellow school pupils have also survived and so visits them - providing director Kaneto Shindô with an opportunity to present us with three different examples of post-war life and of the resignation, stoicism and maybe even slight optimism of those starting to rebuild - whilst they all turn nervously to the sky when they hear an aircraft overhead. Accompanied by some flashbacks to happier times, this tells a touching story of people whose lives, and in many cases beliefs, have been utterly destroyed. Their infrastructure is gone - physically and phsochologically, yet she epitomises a decency and the imagery cannot help but engender a sense of pity from anyone watching. Not, it doesn't put this into any form of context with the abhorrent behaviour of the troops who fought in their name elsewhere, so no real attempt is made to politicise the situation. It's more a series of personal tales that do quite succinctly bring home the true horrors of the original weapon of mass destruction and of human resilience.
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