Retelling one of the greatest stories of (oral) literature, that has enthralled generations for over two thousand years, is no small undertaking. Director, David Farr (the Night Manager) has chosen - rightly - to use colloquial English, rather than faux 'Thou's and Thee's. And he has remained close to the original tale, rather than ramping up the action sequences.
To choose a cast of faces that are relatively unknown is also adroit, as we have few associations with the actors. The setting (filmed in South Africa) is sufficiently exotic to be convincing, and the city of Troy - when we get to it - is impressive.
Paris, the lost prince, gets the story moving by giving the golden apple to Aphrodite, thus earning the wrath of both Hera (Power) and Athena ( Wisdom) but getting a chance of romance with the most beautiful woman in the world (Helen of course). The way the goddesses are represented - immortal but very human in their jealousies with supercharged wrath in their emotions - is true to Homer's original.
Helen (ably portrayed by Bella Dayne) is smuggled on board his ship as he leaves the realm of Menelaus to return to King Prium in Troy. Thus the war between the Greeks and the Trojans is set into play.
What on earth are those who have given the first episode of this production 1's and 2's, are looking for is beyond comprehension. The acting has been fine throughout so far and Farr is taking his time over unfolding the story, so the tough but dim (Hector) and smooth but wily (Odysseus) are only just beginning to reveal their true natures.
We have already seen that Paris is headstrong with an over-inflated view of his own abilities. But Fate chose him to judge between the three Goddesses, so his lack of savvy is necessary to the overall tale.
Brilliant and well worth watching.
Reviews
26 Reviews
Trust Me
(2017–2019)
Just a bit of a let down
10 August 2017
Although any drama involves a suspension of disbelief, this one has too many holes to go to sea safely.
Of course Jodie Whittaker is good as the nursing sister in a failing NHS hospital whose whistle blowing costs her her job. Indeed the acting is competent all round and the settings (Edinburgh) refreshing. But ... the plot is simply unbelievable.
We are expected to think Jodie takes the identity of a doctor who has emigrated. She picks up a post at an Edinburgh A & E department. Somehow she does this with no bank account details or references. It is simply beyond credibility and the writers should be admonished for not even giving a nod to how she pulls this off. If you accept that, and her willingness to have sex in the bathroom of her consultant (a private house)on day two or three, then maybe the story line is captivating enough to see where it goes.
Luckily Jodie achieved the Dr. Who post before this medical posting unravels.
Of course Jodie Whittaker is good as the nursing sister in a failing NHS hospital whose whistle blowing costs her her job. Indeed the acting is competent all round and the settings (Edinburgh) refreshing. But ... the plot is simply unbelievable.
We are expected to think Jodie takes the identity of a doctor who has emigrated. She picks up a post at an Edinburgh A & E department. Somehow she does this with no bank account details or references. It is simply beyond credibility and the writers should be admonished for not even giving a nod to how she pulls this off. If you accept that, and her willingness to have sex in the bathroom of her consultant (a private house)on day two or three, then maybe the story line is captivating enough to see where it goes.
Luckily Jodie achieved the Dr. Who post before this medical posting unravels.
A revealing perspective
28 February 2017
At the moment we get our information about vaccination from our doctors and from the pharmaceutical industry. Both the 'medical model' and the 'corporate view' hold most sway in the way this story is presented in the media.
Vaxxed makes this point early on in the documentary with endless shots of a shock/horror story about measles running rampant across the USA. It builds to a revelation of something over 600 cases ... out of the whole USA. In other words a very tiny number of people. But, it came at a time that the take up of the triple vaccine was under scrutiny.
The film is completely gripping, and has demonstrated to this writer, at least, that something very wrong has been going on.
The documentary shows how since the triple vaccine (MMR) was introduced the rates of autism have sky-rocketed. This condition was almost unknown in the 1930's. Now among African Americans, it could rise to 1 in 2 male children by 2030 if the current trends continue.
The film is a chance for Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who raised the dangers of the MMR vaccine in the first place, to put his case, forcefully. And he has the right to do so, as the documentary asserts there has been fraud at the highest levels in the regulatory body in the USA. this was revealed by a whistle-blower, who happens to be (or have been) the chief scientist at the Centre for Disease Control.
Wakefield points out he was never against vaccination per se, just the triple vaccine. After watching this you may agree, at the very least, he has a point.
Vaxxed makes this point early on in the documentary with endless shots of a shock/horror story about measles running rampant across the USA. It builds to a revelation of something over 600 cases ... out of the whole USA. In other words a very tiny number of people. But, it came at a time that the take up of the triple vaccine was under scrutiny.
The film is completely gripping, and has demonstrated to this writer, at least, that something very wrong has been going on.
The documentary shows how since the triple vaccine (MMR) was introduced the rates of autism have sky-rocketed. This condition was almost unknown in the 1930's. Now among African Americans, it could rise to 1 in 2 male children by 2030 if the current trends continue.
The film is a chance for Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who raised the dangers of the MMR vaccine in the first place, to put his case, forcefully. And he has the right to do so, as the documentary asserts there has been fraud at the highest levels in the regulatory body in the USA. this was revealed by a whistle-blower, who happens to be (or have been) the chief scientist at the Centre for Disease Control.
Wakefield points out he was never against vaccination per se, just the triple vaccine. After watching this you may agree, at the very least, he has a point.
Falling down the rabbit hole
21 November 2014
David Hooper - the excellent director of this intriguing documentary - came to doubt the official narrative about 9/11 relatively recently. But he made a thorough investigation and has valuably chronicled his journey in this film.
There is not much here that is entirely new to those who have had their doubts for years, but the way he has marshaled his arguments is powerful. He successfully demonstrates the weakness of the NIST case. He demonstrates the duplicity of those who claimed "no-one heard explosions" by referencing the 118 separate instances of those who did. Some of the footage of this was new to me. He points out that the molten metal pouring from WT1 or 2 has never been adequately explained. And he adds that fires remained burning underwater for days after the collapse (that was new information for me too). There is no explanation from the 9/11 Commission or NIST that explains that phenomenon. Nor are there explanations offered for the presence of the chemical signature of nano-thermite (which cannot be produced by burning paint as argued by some 'debunkers') His ending is powerful, suggesting those so motivated need to continue their own research. He gives enough hints to suggest this 'conspiracy' is darker and more widespread than most realise. It is an odd synchronism for me that I received my copy of his DVD the same day I found out a film has been made about the sinking of the USS Liberty in 1967 - a cut and dried case now of a false flag event.
There is not much here that is entirely new to those who have had their doubts for years, but the way he has marshaled his arguments is powerful. He successfully demonstrates the weakness of the NIST case. He demonstrates the duplicity of those who claimed "no-one heard explosions" by referencing the 118 separate instances of those who did. Some of the footage of this was new to me. He points out that the molten metal pouring from WT1 or 2 has never been adequately explained. And he adds that fires remained burning underwater for days after the collapse (that was new information for me too). There is no explanation from the 9/11 Commission or NIST that explains that phenomenon. Nor are there explanations offered for the presence of the chemical signature of nano-thermite (which cannot be produced by burning paint as argued by some 'debunkers') His ending is powerful, suggesting those so motivated need to continue their own research. He gives enough hints to suggest this 'conspiracy' is darker and more widespread than most realise. It is an odd synchronism for me that I received my copy of his DVD the same day I found out a film has been made about the sinking of the USS Liberty in 1967 - a cut and dried case now of a false flag event.
Place of Execution
(2008)
Outstanding drama with compelling acting
21 July 2014
A complex story certainly. The twists and turns take you across decades with much of the story told in flashback. A girl has gone missing. A young detective takes on his first case with national notoriety. He is up against prejudice in his own police station being the only copper with a university background. His prime suspect is a man with real power and considerable arrogance.
40 years later a journalist (played masterfully by Juliet Stevenson) revisits the case and wonders if there was a miscarriage of justice. This production has done remarkable justice to a highly complex plot. The final hour of the three hour mini-series had me on the edge of my seat throughout. A very high quality drama and one that deserves to be seen.
40 years later a journalist (played masterfully by Juliet Stevenson) revisits the case and wonders if there was a miscarriage of justice. This production has done remarkable justice to a highly complex plot. The final hour of the three hour mini-series had me on the edge of my seat throughout. A very high quality drama and one that deserves to be seen.
The Young Montalbano
(2012– )
Top notch detective series complete with wine and pasta
6 November 2013
This series unfolds how Montalbano starts as an inspector.
The settings are sumptuous, the acting is great and the plot lines do not leave you scratching your head at the end. But each story builds real tension. What is most appealing is the humanity of the show. Placing the action in Sicily creates many dramatic possibilities and provides a wonderful backdrop to the stories, full of craggy fishermen, giant butchers, mafiosi, corrupt politicians and amusing colleagues.
I am amazed this only gets a 6 point something score on IMDb - which shows the limitations of that sort of scoring. In terms of pure entertainment value it is, for me, one of the best TV shows currently available. One of the sub plots is the relationship Montalbano has with Livia, his beautiful architect girlfriend. How the relationship starts is presented in an entirely believable way.
Great TV series not to be missed if you do not mind subtitles and meditations on excellent Italian cooking!
The settings are sumptuous, the acting is great and the plot lines do not leave you scratching your head at the end. But each story builds real tension. What is most appealing is the humanity of the show. Placing the action in Sicily creates many dramatic possibilities and provides a wonderful backdrop to the stories, full of craggy fishermen, giant butchers, mafiosi, corrupt politicians and amusing colleagues.
I am amazed this only gets a 6 point something score on IMDb - which shows the limitations of that sort of scoring. In terms of pure entertainment value it is, for me, one of the best TV shows currently available. One of the sub plots is the relationship Montalbano has with Livia, his beautiful architect girlfriend. How the relationship starts is presented in an entirely believable way.
Great TV series not to be missed if you do not mind subtitles and meditations on excellent Italian cooking!
Dancing on the Edge
(2013)
Highest quality as expected from Stephen Poliakof
26 February 2013
Cannot understand the current rating of this outstanding drama. The story, set over a few weeks in 1933, follows a talented black leader of a jazz band as he tries to get his band established in the London club and hotel scene. He soon finds he is meeting with royalty but that something dark is also going on.
Dancing on the Edge explores the slimy corruption of real evil as royalty, masonry, bigotry and sensuality all combine to provide a very particular view of the upper reaches of British Society.
The production values are excellent, and the 1930's are recreated in remarkable detail. The acting is uniformly excellent, with Chiwetell Ejiofor providing a compelling performance of a man caught up in circumstances spinning beyond his control.
Highly recommended as BBC drama at its best.
Dancing on the Edge explores the slimy corruption of real evil as royalty, masonry, bigotry and sensuality all combine to provide a very particular view of the upper reaches of British Society.
The production values are excellent, and the 1930's are recreated in remarkable detail. The acting is uniformly excellent, with Chiwetell Ejiofor providing a compelling performance of a man caught up in circumstances spinning beyond his control.
Highly recommended as BBC drama at its best.
Thrive, is what the world should do
28 February 2012
Foster Gamble presents this documentary, directed by his wife. He comes from that ruling elite in America that he suggests is behind the most extraordinary coup carried out in history. Power has gradually been usurped, he suggests, and those who truly influence our lives have become virtually unaccountable. The political faces we see about us are just the tip of an iceberg that has truly murky depths.
His premise will be very uncomfortable indeed for those who do not have an inkling about the way in which false flag operations have been used to justify the wars that have drained ordinary citizens of money in Europe and the USA and made certain small parts of society, that control armaments and oil, immensely wealthy.
He interviews those who are in a position to know what is going on with regard to power, the military and also the question of free energy and extra-terrestrial involvement. It is not surprising that this film attracts criticism, as it will have many elements that stretch belief; on his web site he gives links that provide much credence to all the key points he makes.
The film is presented very cleverly seeming to take the viewer off planet to get an overview of earth and its inhabitants. A film like this could just be depressing as it is suggesting that shadowy powers have tried, and nearly succeeded in stripping fundamental freedoms away in the Western World, and in particular in the US where many are sleep walking into a legal framework where they have little if any recourse to justice and real freedom at all.
This hidden coup has been accomplished by the expert deployment of technologies of mind control initially developed in the Nazi era and exported to the USA through the infamous Operation Paperclip.
So is it another of those documentaries that suggest The End is Nigh? In a way, but it is not at all without hope and points to the very many areas where extraordinary developments are taking place. It is easy to watch this documentary and recommend it to your friends. It may not be comfortable viewing but the very fact someone has bothered to make it, and make it quite so well, is encouraging. We do indeed live in interesting times.
His premise will be very uncomfortable indeed for those who do not have an inkling about the way in which false flag operations have been used to justify the wars that have drained ordinary citizens of money in Europe and the USA and made certain small parts of society, that control armaments and oil, immensely wealthy.
He interviews those who are in a position to know what is going on with regard to power, the military and also the question of free energy and extra-terrestrial involvement. It is not surprising that this film attracts criticism, as it will have many elements that stretch belief; on his web site he gives links that provide much credence to all the key points he makes.
The film is presented very cleverly seeming to take the viewer off planet to get an overview of earth and its inhabitants. A film like this could just be depressing as it is suggesting that shadowy powers have tried, and nearly succeeded in stripping fundamental freedoms away in the Western World, and in particular in the US where many are sleep walking into a legal framework where they have little if any recourse to justice and real freedom at all.
This hidden coup has been accomplished by the expert deployment of technologies of mind control initially developed in the Nazi era and exported to the USA through the infamous Operation Paperclip.
So is it another of those documentaries that suggest The End is Nigh? In a way, but it is not at all without hope and points to the very many areas where extraordinary developments are taking place. It is easy to watch this documentary and recommend it to your friends. It may not be comfortable viewing but the very fact someone has bothered to make it, and make it quite so well, is encouraging. We do indeed live in interesting times.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
(2012)
Somehow the tension was never there
19 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Usually BBC adaptations are outstanding; this one lacked something. As it is Dickens unfinished work it is hard to know if it was a failure on his part in the overall conception or whether the writer and director of this version just was not able to intuit where Dickens was taking this story.
The acting is good and Mathew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters) is suitably menacing as the opium raddled John Jasper. Freddie Fox is also good as the eponymous Drood, spoiled and totally self absorbed.
The arrival of the Ceylonese brother and sister provides one of the more interesting plot possibilities, but somehow the anger of the brother is never that convincing.
In the end, watching the final climax, it was possible to see exactly how it was going to end, and it ended as predicted. There was a feeling of, 'oh is that it?' A missed opportunity or maybe the book was never really worth finishing.
The acting is good and Mathew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters) is suitably menacing as the opium raddled John Jasper. Freddie Fox is also good as the eponymous Drood, spoiled and totally self absorbed.
The arrival of the Ceylonese brother and sister provides one of the more interesting plot possibilities, but somehow the anger of the brother is never that convincing.
In the end, watching the final climax, it was possible to see exactly how it was going to end, and it ended as predicted. There was a feeling of, 'oh is that it?' A missed opportunity or maybe the book was never really worth finishing.
The Conspirator
(2010)
A story for our time
4 January 2012
Well made films about great events of the past are always commentaries on the present - it is why the writers write the scripts and the directors direct. This is no different. After 9/11 many rights have been stripped from Americans (and Europeans) who seem hardly to have noticed. This film shows how politicians tinker with justice for their own ends and also shows how important it is for people to hazard their own reputation to sustain the truth.
A tightly constructed story that holds you until the inevitable end, and beyond. You will see why if you watch until the credits.
James McAvoy is excellent as the Northern Captain retained to represent Mary Surratt, whom he and everyone else believed was guilty of conspiracy. Gradually he comes to question that view even though he comes under intense pressure. The manoeuvring of the politicians of the time is understandable, but has little to do with justice.
Robin Wright Penn is excellent as the owner of the boarding house, Mary Surratt, where the plot to assassinate Lincoln was hatched.
A tightly constructed story that holds you until the inevitable end, and beyond. You will see why if you watch until the credits.
James McAvoy is excellent as the Northern Captain retained to represent Mary Surratt, whom he and everyone else believed was guilty of conspiracy. Gradually he comes to question that view even though he comes under intense pressure. The manoeuvring of the politicians of the time is understandable, but has little to do with justice.
Robin Wright Penn is excellent as the owner of the boarding house, Mary Surratt, where the plot to assassinate Lincoln was hatched.
Jane Eyre
(2011)
Beautiful rendition of a timeless love story
18 October 2011
This film is great in many ways. Some of the cinematography is quite literally breath-taking and Adriano Goldman has produced something of real beauty in shot after shot. Most of the night time shooting appears to have been done entirely with candlelight which adds to the powerful build up of atmosphere and tension at Rochester's house.
The direction is assured and the acting of Mia Wasilokowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as the mysterious and irascible Rochester holds the centre ground of this believable love story. Charlotte Brontë wrote a wonderful book with a heroine that is far from too good to be true, but is a young woman whose humanity is central to the whole purpose of the book. Mia captures both her strength and her depth through very understated acting.
The torment that faces Rochester is gradually revealed – and the mystery of his household will not be revealed in this review. Fassbender manages to be both frightening and attractive; quite an achievement. They are surrounded by excellent actors like Judi Dench as the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax and Sally Hawkins as the deeply unpleasant Mrs. Reed.
When a film is a perfect example of its genre it deserves 10 in my view. This is and does.
The direction is assured and the acting of Mia Wasilokowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as the mysterious and irascible Rochester holds the centre ground of this believable love story. Charlotte Brontë wrote a wonderful book with a heroine that is far from too good to be true, but is a young woman whose humanity is central to the whole purpose of the book. Mia captures both her strength and her depth through very understated acting.
The torment that faces Rochester is gradually revealed – and the mystery of his household will not be revealed in this review. Fassbender manages to be both frightening and attractive; quite an achievement. They are surrounded by excellent actors like Judi Dench as the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax and Sally Hawkins as the deeply unpleasant Mrs. Reed.
When a film is a perfect example of its genre it deserves 10 in my view. This is and does.
Page Eight
(2011 TV Movie)
Powerful political thriller
8 October 2011
The cast is strong and the writing adept, and this carries a fascinating film dealing with the tensions between politics and intelligence gathering. David Hare clearly has been disturbed by how closely our (British) politicians may have become involved with 'extraordinary rendition' and intelligence gathered from the use of torture by the Americans.
Bill Nighy leads as a cerebral senior intelligence officer dealing with a world where fellow spies are not all Oxbridge, even if the Prime Minister is. His neighbour seems to appear from nowhere, and in the form of the lovely Rachel Weisz. Can she be trusted? And what of his one time tutor and now boss, played convincingly by Michael Gambon? The early scene where the spies meet the politicians, in the form of the Home Secretary (Saskia Reeves) and her assistant, is pure Hare theatre. A wonderful script delivered with panache.
The tension builds slowly but relentlessly. Maybe the grasp of the world of spies does not have Le Carre's inside track, but Hare gives us a film well worth watching.
Bill Nighy leads as a cerebral senior intelligence officer dealing with a world where fellow spies are not all Oxbridge, even if the Prime Minister is. His neighbour seems to appear from nowhere, and in the form of the lovely Rachel Weisz. Can she be trusted? And what of his one time tutor and now boss, played convincingly by Michael Gambon? The early scene where the spies meet the politicians, in the form of the Home Secretary (Saskia Reeves) and her assistant, is pure Hare theatre. A wonderful script delivered with panache.
The tension builds slowly but relentlessly. Maybe the grasp of the world of spies does not have Le Carre's inside track, but Hare gives us a film well worth watching.
Mao's Last Dancer
(2009)
A story of courage
23 September 2011
One clever element of this film is the way in which various people who are significant in Li Cunxin's life, tell him stories with a message. The frog trapped at the bottom of a well is one. He hears from a toad at the top of the well that the big wide world is worth seeing.
The whole film is a story with a message - and the message is one that uplifts without in any sense being cloying. Beresford, the director, even manages at several stages to invoke the idiom of Chinese revolutionary film and theatre. The scenes actually shot in China are some of the most authentic in the film, which is not uniformly good in this regard. Somehow, the slightly stagy acting of some of the Huston Ballet Company characters, ceases to matter because the lead parts are well carried and the storyline is strong.
Li Cunxin defected to America partly for his art and partly for love. The wonders of the materiality of Huston are perhaps a poor substitute for losing your country; yet that country was deeply scarred by the Mao's cultural revolution. To watch the part early on where the benefits brought by Chairman Mao to the Chinese people, are laid out by Party Functionaries, has a dark poignancy, given that today we know he was directly responsible for the death of many, many millions.
The dance sequences are done very well and the film pleases at that level as well as a tale with more twists and turns than you might imagine.
A film of some subtlety and considerable beauty; recommended.
The whole film is a story with a message - and the message is one that uplifts without in any sense being cloying. Beresford, the director, even manages at several stages to invoke the idiom of Chinese revolutionary film and theatre. The scenes actually shot in China are some of the most authentic in the film, which is not uniformly good in this regard. Somehow, the slightly stagy acting of some of the Huston Ballet Company characters, ceases to matter because the lead parts are well carried and the storyline is strong.
Li Cunxin defected to America partly for his art and partly for love. The wonders of the materiality of Huston are perhaps a poor substitute for losing your country; yet that country was deeply scarred by the Mao's cultural revolution. To watch the part early on where the benefits brought by Chairman Mao to the Chinese people, are laid out by Party Functionaries, has a dark poignancy, given that today we know he was directly responsible for the death of many, many millions.
The dance sequences are done very well and the film pleases at that level as well as a tale with more twists and turns than you might imagine.
A film of some subtlety and considerable beauty; recommended.
Aimee & Jaguar
(1999)
Multilayered and magical
21 September 2011
This is an exceptional film.
The setting is (mainly) Berlin in 1944, with some flash forward to the late 1990's. It is a story about love in a time of war, with the complication that it is lesbian love and 'Jaguar' in the film is a Jewish woman, passing herself off as Aryan and surviving by being a secretary for the editor of a Nazi Newspaper, and keeping close to officers in the military.
The acting by the two lead women is quite exceptional, capturing the great contrast between their personalities and revealing a relationship that is entirely believable.
The sets, scenes and costumes are authentic and create the era really well; the camera work is excellent. The sense of menace, just somewhere off the screen, is well established and provides one of the real tensions of the film. This is a love story but it is also a story of courage and humanity. Well worth watching.
The setting is (mainly) Berlin in 1944, with some flash forward to the late 1990's. It is a story about love in a time of war, with the complication that it is lesbian love and 'Jaguar' in the film is a Jewish woman, passing herself off as Aryan and surviving by being a secretary for the editor of a Nazi Newspaper, and keeping close to officers in the military.
The acting by the two lead women is quite exceptional, capturing the great contrast between their personalities and revealing a relationship that is entirely believable.
The sets, scenes and costumes are authentic and create the era really well; the camera work is excellent. The sense of menace, just somewhere off the screen, is well established and provides one of the real tensions of the film. This is a love story but it is also a story of courage and humanity. Well worth watching.
John Rabe
(2009)
An unsung hero
15 September 2011
This is the second film about the Nanking (Nanjing) massacre of 1937, to come out recently. Both feature a man whose bravery saved many thousands of lives and who was largely unknown to the wider world until very recently. John Rabe was a member of the Nazi party and had worked in Nanking as the senior executive for Siemens for many years. In the eponymous film it's suggested that he is about to return to Germany, but his departure is prevented by the sudden attack with over-powering military force, by the Japanese.
Rabe stays, and heads a committee that sets up a safety zone around the Siemens works and the main embassies. When the Japanese take Nanking, and embark on wholesale rape and slaughter, this zone keeps more than 200,000 Chinese in greater safety that elsewhere in the city.
The story is seen through Rabe's eyes mainly and focuses more on Westerners than the Japanese, although the dire impact of a member of the Imperial Family on the decisions made by the Japanese to execute unarmed soldiers, is highlighted .
Some beheadings are shown but the wide scale practice of rape and enforced prostitution is skirted around. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of menace, instant arbitrary death and fanaticism is established effectively.
The film grips and, in its own way, inspires. It is interesting to see this film and the more symbolic approach taken by Chuan Lu in 'City of Life and Death'. Both cover the same time period. Both are films that leave you pondering on human nature, its heights and its gross distortions.
Rabe stays, and heads a committee that sets up a safety zone around the Siemens works and the main embassies. When the Japanese take Nanking, and embark on wholesale rape and slaughter, this zone keeps more than 200,000 Chinese in greater safety that elsewhere in the city.
The story is seen through Rabe's eyes mainly and focuses more on Westerners than the Japanese, although the dire impact of a member of the Imperial Family on the decisions made by the Japanese to execute unarmed soldiers, is highlighted .
Some beheadings are shown but the wide scale practice of rape and enforced prostitution is skirted around. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of menace, instant arbitrary death and fanaticism is established effectively.
The film grips and, in its own way, inspires. It is interesting to see this film and the more symbolic approach taken by Chuan Lu in 'City of Life and Death'. Both cover the same time period. Both are films that leave you pondering on human nature, its heights and its gross distortions.
City of Life and Death
(2009)
War as humanity within inhumanity
11 September 2011
This is a remarkable film. Shot entirely in black and white it has the feel of newsreel footage in some parts. Nanking is a dreadful testimony to the excesses and cruelties of war and one that Japan has not been fast to acknowledge. However this film goes beyond simplicities and goes beyond the particularity of this city's torment and destruction.
War blights victor and victim alike. The story is told through the eyes and feelings of a few characters, that at the end you feel you knew, somehow, somewhere. There are some moments of stunning originality and unpredictability. The acting is convincing even if sometimes it feels almost balletic in the way scenes are played out.
Perhaps the budget was low because the scenes feel like they were largely shot in a studio - but somehow that does not matter - just as the best of stage plays can be entirely convincing, so is this film. It absorbs, horrifies and moves. Not a film to be missed but perhaps not a film for the faint hearted either.
War blights victor and victim alike. The story is told through the eyes and feelings of a few characters, that at the end you feel you knew, somehow, somewhere. There are some moments of stunning originality and unpredictability. The acting is convincing even if sometimes it feels almost balletic in the way scenes are played out.
Perhaps the budget was low because the scenes feel like they were largely shot in a studio - but somehow that does not matter - just as the best of stage plays can be entirely convincing, so is this film. It absorbs, horrifies and moves. Not a film to be missed but perhaps not a film for the faint hearted either.
The Princess of Montpensier
(2010)
Wonderful production values but . . .
31 August 2011
The Princess is sumptuously filmed, with a great eye for setting and costume. The eponymous princess is very well acted.
So why is there a slight air of disappointment when you get to the end. Partly it is because her husband and the pretty boy who would be her lover, are just a trifle wooden; the great weakness though is the fight scenes. They are filmed well but lack credibility. You can sense the rehearsals and guess what will happen next. The battle scenes are just confusing, not in the fog of war sense, but in having no explanation why a soldier would jump off an unwounded horse to fight on the ground. It may have looked exciting, marginally, but verged on the ridiculous.
That aside, the story bounds along quite well and will take your mind off the next banking crisis.
So why is there a slight air of disappointment when you get to the end. Partly it is because her husband and the pretty boy who would be her lover, are just a trifle wooden; the great weakness though is the fight scenes. They are filmed well but lack credibility. You can sense the rehearsals and guess what will happen next. The battle scenes are just confusing, not in the fog of war sense, but in having no explanation why a soldier would jump off an unwounded horse to fight on the ground. It may have looked exciting, marginally, but verged on the ridiculous.
That aside, the story bounds along quite well and will take your mind off the next banking crisis.
The Whore and the Whale
(2004)
I'm free because I was born that way
17 April 2010
One of the beauties of this film is that it is shot in a location completely different to North America. The colours and contours of South America are an extraordinary backdrop to this meditative film on what it means to be a truly free spirit. What happens to such a person if they are betrayed, in the one case by a lover and in the other case, by an illness.
A novelist, goes on an assignment to write about certain photographs from the 1930's and through a mixture of fortune and persistence comes across a tangled tale of love and betrayal from that turbulent era. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón very convincingly plays the novelist who discovers she has cancer whilst on her assignment. Gradually, through her own pain and despair, she learns the truth about La Puta, the Whore, ably depicted by Mercè Llorens. The 1930's in a remote part of Patagonia, is recreated in a way that gradually illustrates the danger that lurks in the extraordinary dance, the Argentine Tango.
This is not a perfect film but it is powerful and well worth watching. The themes of being stranded, the nature of freedom and love, weave throughout this nicely nuanced drama. "I'm not free because they let me go; I'm free because I was born that way" is one of the more powerful quotes in the film.
A novelist, goes on an assignment to write about certain photographs from the 1930's and through a mixture of fortune and persistence comes across a tangled tale of love and betrayal from that turbulent era. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón very convincingly plays the novelist who discovers she has cancer whilst on her assignment. Gradually, through her own pain and despair, she learns the truth about La Puta, the Whore, ably depicted by Mercè Llorens. The 1930's in a remote part of Patagonia, is recreated in a way that gradually illustrates the danger that lurks in the extraordinary dance, the Argentine Tango.
This is not a perfect film but it is powerful and well worth watching. The themes of being stranded, the nature of freedom and love, weave throughout this nicely nuanced drama. "I'm not free because they let me go; I'm free because I was born that way" is one of the more powerful quotes in the film.
Partir
(I) (2009)
Love has its reasons
23 March 2010
Kristin Scott Thomas holds this very French love triangle drama together through exquisitely nuanced acting. The one leap of faith for the audience is that she, a great beauty, would fall for the local handyman, Ivan; but love has its own logic and the possibility does not stretch credulity. The way they get together involves some of the most amusing sequences in the film, ably directed by Catherine Corsini. The action centers entirely, apart from one telling sequence, around Suzanne. We see the story through her eyes, a woman hopelessly in love.
Her husband Samuel, played convincingly by Yvan Attal, is devastated at the prospect of losing his wife. He is a pillar of the local establishment of a provincial town in South West France. He will use his power to keep her in line. Do watch for the moment, recognisable to all parents who have teenage children, when Suzanne, having prepared a roast chicken for the evening, is informed by her son that "he had chicken for lunch". The film has many such vignette moments and you will find both the dilemmas and the way they are presented, returning to you long after the film has concluded.
A Truffaut like moral tale it is small in scale but nevertheless a perfect vehicle for the emotional range of Kristin Scott Thomas.
Her husband Samuel, played convincingly by Yvan Attal, is devastated at the prospect of losing his wife. He is a pillar of the local establishment of a provincial town in South West France. He will use his power to keep her in line. Do watch for the moment, recognisable to all parents who have teenage children, when Suzanne, having prepared a roast chicken for the evening, is informed by her son that "he had chicken for lunch". The film has many such vignette moments and you will find both the dilemmas and the way they are presented, returning to you long after the film has concluded.
A Truffaut like moral tale it is small in scale but nevertheless a perfect vehicle for the emotional range of Kristin Scott Thomas.
Princesses
(2005)
You are real if another person thinks about you
10 March 2010
This is an exceptional film about the world's oldest profession. It is exceptional, not just as an insight into the emptiness of a whore's life but into the richness of a friendship entered into with kindness. The story is small scale with minor villains and fleeting loving. At no point is it salacious, and yet the film does not flinch from its subject matter.
The direction is sensitive and the performances of Candela Pena as Caye and Micaela Nevares as Zulema is understated and riveting. The most moving moments are ones when the humanity of those involved in this unfolding story comes to the fore. There is a lightness of touch that is refreshing and moments of real humour to lighten what could be very downbeat subject matter. There are also moments of philosophy in the script that are a delight and Fernando León de Aranoa as writer and director produces some memorable quotes (as with the title given to this review).
All in all this is a film that is well worth making an effort to find and to see.
The direction is sensitive and the performances of Candela Pena as Caye and Micaela Nevares as Zulema is understated and riveting. The most moving moments are ones when the humanity of those involved in this unfolding story comes to the fore. There is a lightness of touch that is refreshing and moments of real humour to lighten what could be very downbeat subject matter. There are also moments of philosophy in the script that are a delight and Fernando León de Aranoa as writer and director produces some memorable quotes (as with the title given to this review).
All in all this is a film that is well worth making an effort to find and to see.
Anlat Istanbul
(2005)
Magical tales in a murky world
22 January 2010
This film is beautifully structured with a plot that seems very complex at the beginning and simplifies as you move into the story. Like many of the Grimms' Fairy Tales which are referenced as the story unfolds, it has a dark aspect. The seedy side of life in contemporary Istanbul is presented through several interweaving stories with more than a hint of violence, a potion of deep selfishness and a charm of great kindness. There are musicians whose music produces magic, enchanted castles, sleeping princesses, unfaithful princesses and a truly malevolent wicked step-mother. There is even a dwarf with seven brothers. How do you draw to a close in a film where the dark side seems, perhaps, to be in the ascendant? Well, watch closely. There is one event that shows how the story, apparently so fixed, will come to a different ending. It could easily be missed. There is not a moment in this film where your attention wanders or the magic wanes, for the magic is not anything of the supernatural, but is the enchantment of human life, in the Great Whore of Istanbul. This is not a film of great acting and I suspect only a few of the cast were professional actors - but it is nevertheless made up of compelling moments that flow effortlessly into each other. See it; enjoy it.
Billy Jack
(1971)
Memorable and Moving
28 August 2009
This is one of those films that has stayed in my memory over the decades.
When I saw it in 1971, the Vietnam was was dominating the headlines and those who were in their early twenties were very aware that young men (and women) of a similar age were caught up in a war that seemed senseless and endless. Billy Jack is a gripping film that I suspect now shows its age. Like other commentators I would agree it should be seen in the context of the time when it was made and compared to the production values of those times. Now it is perhaps a piece of social history but nonetheless well worth seeing if you have missed it. The martial arts sequences do not dominate the film but add most effectively to its drama. They stand as a metaphor for those who were against the values that had allowed such a destructive war to occur. Perhaps it is that bit that makes this film transcend its time - for many of the same motives have led to the senseless war in Iraq.
When I saw it in 1971, the Vietnam was was dominating the headlines and those who were in their early twenties were very aware that young men (and women) of a similar age were caught up in a war that seemed senseless and endless. Billy Jack is a gripping film that I suspect now shows its age. Like other commentators I would agree it should be seen in the context of the time when it was made and compared to the production values of those times. Now it is perhaps a piece of social history but nonetheless well worth seeing if you have missed it. The martial arts sequences do not dominate the film but add most effectively to its drama. They stand as a metaphor for those who were against the values that had allowed such a destructive war to occur. Perhaps it is that bit that makes this film transcend its time - for many of the same motives have led to the senseless war in Iraq.
The Hurt Locker
(2008)
Fascination with war's futility
16 August 2009
Some films transport you to a world so completely that for a time you enter the minds and hearts of those the film seeks to portray. It is interesting that it has taken the genius of a female director, Kathryn Bigelow, to evoke for our time the soul destroying futility of the world that men make, the world of war. We see the war in Iraq through the eyes of a bomb disposal crew. It is a micro view of a massive tragedy scarring the current generation of young American and British men who have been put "in harm's way", to use that awful euphemism for those who risk their lives for the dreams of silver haired politicians, many of whom made sure they were never in a place of greater harm than the golf course.
We learn in the first minute of the film that "war is a drug". Its insidious allure creates moments of extraordinary bravery. But those who get high on that particular drug, the 'wild men' who know they are alive when their lives are in great peril, lose something very precious. This is touched on seemingly in passing in the film, but is perhaps the main motif.
The three key actors are excellent in portraying that mix of despair and elation, courage and abject fear that perhaps have been the soldiers' lot since time immemorial. In particular the acting of Jeremy Renner, as staff sergeant William James, is powerfully convincing.
Some moments in this film create a tension as high as that of the most eloquent work of Hitchcock or Michael Mann. The enemy are ever present because any ordinary citizen of Iraq could be that enemy. Yet Bigelow avoids making these enemies super villains; they are just the other side in a life destroying endeavour that the film does not seek to explain, because for the troops on the ground, such explanation is virtually futile.
For me this film is a perfect example of its genre, the intelligent war movie, and deserves to be seen widely and thought about deeply.
We learn in the first minute of the film that "war is a drug". Its insidious allure creates moments of extraordinary bravery. But those who get high on that particular drug, the 'wild men' who know they are alive when their lives are in great peril, lose something very precious. This is touched on seemingly in passing in the film, but is perhaps the main motif.
The three key actors are excellent in portraying that mix of despair and elation, courage and abject fear that perhaps have been the soldiers' lot since time immemorial. In particular the acting of Jeremy Renner, as staff sergeant William James, is powerfully convincing.
Some moments in this film create a tension as high as that of the most eloquent work of Hitchcock or Michael Mann. The enemy are ever present because any ordinary citizen of Iraq could be that enemy. Yet Bigelow avoids making these enemies super villains; they are just the other side in a life destroying endeavour that the film does not seek to explain, because for the troops on the ground, such explanation is virtually futile.
For me this film is a perfect example of its genre, the intelligent war movie, and deserves to be seen widely and thought about deeply.
The New World
(2005)
Meaningful tale beautifully told
5 May 2009
John Smith was a real soldier, adventurer and colonist. Pocahontas was a favoured daughter of a local important Powhatan chieftain. She was a young teenager when they met and it is reliably recorded that her interventions aided the colonists as they tried to survive an early tough winter. Much else about the story has been embellished in comic books and the Disney cartoon. Terence Mallick takes the elements of the story that are believed to be true to give substance his excellent exploration of the contact between two contrasting societies with very different needs and interests. Yet this compelling film is not primarily a history. It is a meditation presented through beautiful imagery offset by savagery and stupidity. Colin Farrell manages to capture the enigmatic Smith with his genuine wonder about this new world. In one scene he proceeds up a river on his own looking like something escaped from the Tower of London, for he wears a metal helm and body armor as he wades through a river. He is of course completely vulnerable and either very foolhardy or extremely brave. He is easily captured and shortly after we see the well known, but possibly fictitious, life-saving intervention of Pocahontas. Q'orianka Kilcher is a most convincing Pocahontas, deftly combining child-like awe at the beauties of the world around her and great spirit when it comes to dealing with Smith and the somewhat gross colonists. The film has a dreamlike quality in parts that is reminiscent of Tarkovsky, who delighted in slow explorations of water and the beauties of the natural world. For each society, the 'Naturals' as they are described, and the Colonists, the others are so beyond understanding that they might as well be from a dream. It is this dreamlike quality that pervades the whole film. Perhaps the abrupt editing and the way the story is presented in chunks with very spare dialogue may be too stylised for some. It worked for me, as did the musical score which is a counterpoint to the imagery. This is a film to watch when you have time to become really absorbed. It is not a film to miss.
Offside
(2006)
Poignant, funny and not just for soccer lovers
5 January 2008
This is a totally delightful and unexpected film. You start by following a young person who hopes to get into the qualifying football game between Bahrain and Iran. If Iran win they will get into the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The problem is the young person is a girl and girls (or women for that matter) are not allowed into football matches to "sit with men". What follows is a wonderful comedy, played with consummate skill by a small ensemble cast. The film explores the absurdity of restrictions on the freedom of women (and for that matter the young soldiers who have to corral them). There are some excellent set pieces, not least when one of the girls must go to the toilet and, of course, the stadium has no toilets for women. The camera work is of the simplest and in some ways this story could have been told as a stage play. Yet it is the small scale that gives the film its bite. Great cinema? No, probably not; great entertainment - for sure.
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