MOVIE REVIEW
The Ape (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
"The Ape" is an unsettling and uncomfortable picture; it's raw, emotive, unforgiving and brutal. It's a trying and difficult piece of work that makes no concessions to its audience and proffers no apologies for neglecting to do so. Writer-director Jesper Ganslandt thrusts his audience into the rapidly unraveling world of Krister (an anxious Olle Sarri) who awakes on a bathroom floor covered in blood. What thus transpires is a visceral insight into Krister's fragmented psyche as he seemingly tries to recall — or indeed forget — what has gone before.
Continue reading “Hell on Wheels” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Father of My Children (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
Mia Hansen-Løve’s second feature picked up the Special Jury Prize in the Un certain regard category at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, a prize that recognizes exceptional young filmmakers. With “The Father of My Children,” Ms. Hansen-Løve certainly and confidently asserts herself as one such talent. Inspired by an encounter with legendary French film producer Humbert Balsan, Ms. Hansen-Løve delivers a touching, incredibly personal familial portrait that deals with artistic drive, pride, the inherent fear of failure and its tragic consequences.
Continue reading “Art Debilitates Life” »
Festival de Cannes
I am slightly ashamed to admit that many of 2009's more lauded pictures have passed me by. Whether by circumstance or design I shirked away from such heavyweights as "A Serious Man," "The Hurt Locker" and "District 9." Upping my game, I took in almost 30 films in October at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival and Raindance Film Festival in what was truly a joyous month.Both festivals were brimming with gems, although sadly 99 percent of what I saw is not scheduled for release until 2010, which by the way looks like it's shaping up to be a vintage year.
So back to 2009, which for me personally was a far from classic cinematic year; it's particularly telling that of my top 10, the two standouts were documentaries and that four were comedies. So I bid farewell to a limp(ish) 2009 and welcome 2010 with open arms. It should be a standout year, but for now here's the best I bore witness to in 2009:
Continue reading “Reality Rain Check” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Me and Orson Welles (2009)
Liam Daniel/CinemaNX Films One
On paper, an adaptation of Robert Kaplow's novel "Me and Orson Welles" appears an unlikely breakthrough picture for Zac Efron. Yet the fact that it's the latest work of Richard Linklater, director of cult slacker movie "Dazed and Confused," is perhaps more surprising. Mr. Linklater's period piece charting Orson Welles's legendary 1937 production of "Julius Caesar" at the Mercury Theatre is an intriguing proposition that unfortunately never really delivers on its promise. While Mr. Efron's portrayal of naïve aspiring actor Richard Samuels will inevitably stir the public's interest, Mr. Linklater's picture in fact firmly belongs to Christian McKay's exceptional turn as the unpredictable Welles.
Continue reading “Touch of Evel Knievel” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
With "The Disappearance of Alice Creed," screenwriter and first-time director J Blakeson has avoided the numerous pitfalls that befall many fledgling filmmakers by thinking small. Shot in four weeks with a cast of just three actors, Mr. Blakeson has evidently concentrated on getting the crucial aspects of successful filmmaking just right; a strong cast, slick direction and an engrossing plot that’s brimming with greed and deceit.
Continue reading “Wit to Be Tied” »
MOVIE REVIEW
At the End of Daybreak (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
Inspired by a tabloid crime story, Malaysian director Ho Yuhang’s “At the End of Daybreak” is a tale of class divides, tragic love and the loss of innocence. It’s a slick, hectic and moody picture that’s tinged with anger and passion that cements Mr. Ho’s already exciting reputation.
Continue reading “The Dead-Leaf Echo of the Nymphet” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Woman Without Piano (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
FIPRESCI award-winning director Javier Rebollo teams up with Spanish TV stalwart Carmen Machi for an atmospheric character study that touches on feelings of helplessness and discontent and the lengths some people will go to define their existence.
Ms. Machi is Rosa, a middle-aged Madrid housewife who wiles away her time watching daytime television and tending to trite chores; Mr. Rebollo neatly highlights the banality of her routine with shots of a made bed and a plate of food. She has long, tedious conversations with people she doesn’t want to speak to: a salesman on the phone, an unhelpful woman at the post office. It all makes for a fairly miserable and meandering existence, which Mr. Rebollo emphasizes by filling the picture with shots of clocks highlighting the slow passage of time. Yet when night falls, Rosa appears to lead a secret life and donning a wig she disappears into the night.
Continue reading “Wondering in the Night What Were the Chances” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Starsuckers (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
Chris Atkins may be the most influential documentary maker currently working in Britain. His 2007 BAFTA-nominated film, “Taking Liberties,” examined the gradual erosion of civil liberties and the rise of a surveillance society under New Labour; it’s an informative and terrifying picture. His follow up, “Starsuckers,” is a damning indictment of the power of the media and the cult of celebrity; and it’s perhaps the most relevant and hard-hitting picture of the year.
Continue reading “La Douche Vita” »
MOVIE REVIEW
She, a Chinese (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
The enigma that is 21st-century China and the effect that rapid modernization has had on its younger generation forms the crux of Xiaolu Guo’s latest film, “She, a Chinese.” Ms. Guo’s inherently sad tale follows the personal journey of Li Mei (an exceptional Huang Lu) from the Chinese countryside to the big city and eventually to London as she vainly searches for an identity and meaning.
Continue reading “Slow Boat From China” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Giulia Doesn't Date at Night (2009)
Donatello Brogioni/
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
Italian director Giuseppe Picconi’s latest picture is a touching, wonderfully understated tale of boredom, love, deception and ultimately tragedy. It’s a well observed and beautifully shot film that benefits from some fine central performances and — despite its inherently solemn tone — is a fascinating and thoroughly compelling watch.
Continue reading “Holding Breath for Romance” »