jwill602 Reviews

Abel (2010)

A bizarre gem drenched in Lacanian imagery

[8/10 · 24 April 2014]

From a brief description, Abel sounds like a lighthearted comedy. A boy, possibly autistic, takes charge in his household when he realizes that his mother is struggling to raise her three children. After staying up all night watching Pedro Infante movies, he begins to act like a father, taking care of his younger brother and older sister. However, problems arise when he takes his role too far. The film gets slightly disturbing when Abel begins thinking he is actually an adult. There are predictably cute moments that occur when a child acts like an adult, but they are constantly undermined by slightly disturbing moments. Don't get me wrong, Abel is still somewhat of a comedy, but it has a much darker side.

Luna is clearly well versed in Lacan (or, at the very least, he's read Mulvey). Abel's problem is with his identification. Something went wrong in the mirror stage and now his entire understanding of the symbolic order is incorrect. He rejects the name of the father and things get strangely Oedipal. In a climactic sequence, Abel's father makes use of a mirror in an attempt to correct Abel's identificatory issues.

Usually, Lacan is evoked for commentaries on the medium itself. Luna gives the ideas a fresh take by tackling them within the plot. If you've read Lacan or are familiar with his ideas, you'll definitely get a kick out of this film. Even if you haven't (but if you're interested in film, you should definitely read Mulvey's short article Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema) you can still enjoy the film as a bizarre story about a kid who challenges his absent father.

Mr. Fix-It (1918)

An Exceptional "Lost" Gem

[8/10 · 3 October 2012]

Allan Dwan's Mr. Fix-It unfortunately does not exist in its entirety, but what remains is fantastic. The last print came into the possession of the George Eastman House and was restored (complete with re-written intertitles) in 2010 by students at the Eastman House's Selznick School of Film Preservation, supervised by Ken Fox. Luckily, I was one of the lucky few able to see the restored print projected at the Eastman House on October 2nd, 2012.

What remains of the film, approximately 50 minutes out of an unknown amount, is relatively cohesive. The film climaxes suddenly, and at least one scene is obviously missing (Fairbanks leads a few friends into a room to meet his friend's family and suddenly leaves the room through a different exit, excited that the encounter went so well). Other moments seem sudden, but are by no means confusing. Also, the final shot of the film is lost, but the build-up is there and the final gag is relatively obvious.

The story itself revolves around Dick Remington (Fairbanks), who goes to America in place of his friend, who hasn't been to the states in 15 years. His rich family would surely not approve of his fiancée, who, though by no means poor, is not a member of the elite class that the Burroughs belong to. Remington essentially gets himself into a serious of interactions and, with an endless good attitude, attempts to fix their situations.

The film is quite funny, with a substantial amount of humor coming from Fairbanks' impressive physical ability. Though it sounds like a fairly typical silent comedy (in some ways, it), the film still excels and keeps audiences laughing. The characters are well-developed for a 50 minute film and the plot is similarly intricate. Nonetheless, it all comes together with a typically heartwarming Hollywood ending, done well enough, yet predictable enough, that the missing final shot doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

If this film ever comes to a screen near you, I highly recommend you take the evening to go and see it! Hopefully, by then, more footage will be found, but even if no more is ever found, what's left is still charming.