The Sky Crawlers is set in an alternate reality when war has been privatized, countries hire corporations to fight their wars. Our hero is a genetically modified teenage ace fighter pilot for the Rostok Iron Works, who has been posted to a new airbase where people are reluctant to answer questions especially about his predecessor. Eventually he hears a rumour that the base commander shot him. He is also troubled by a sense of deja vu. His attempts to uncover the mysteries about himself, his unit and the war don't uncover much until 2 hours later when a female colleague tells him the secrets about his predecessor and why none of them get any older.
The Sky Crawlers feels vaguely like a reworked Catch-22 without the humour.
Ian's rating 1/5
Friday, July 31, 2009
My Year without Sex
My Year Without Sex was, in a word, disappointing. I really liked writer/director Sarah Watts' Look Both Ways - it was innovative and touching and funny. MYOS tried to be all those things and somehow missed the bus. The potential was there - Natalie, happily married thirty-something Mother of two, has a brain aneurysm and almost dies. Her doctor tells her cheerfully that a recurrence in the year following is fairly likely and could be triggered by sneezing, straining to have a bowel motion or having sex and that the ones that could be avoided, should. The film recounts the year that follows, in 12 chapters - one per month.
As you can imagine, the scenario has huge tragicomic potential. Natalie explores a number of ways to cope, but I thought she and her husband were just too nice to each other to make the film interesting - he was so reasonable and understanding. The kids were amusingly self-centred but there's nothing remarkable about that. The chapter structure seemed arbitrary, and it seemed a bit like watching sanitised reality TV.
Anne's rating 2.5/5
As you can imagine, the scenario has huge tragicomic potential. Natalie explores a number of ways to cope, but I thought she and her husband were just too nice to each other to make the film interesting - he was so reasonable and understanding. The kids were amusingly self-centred but there's nothing remarkable about that. The chapter structure seemed arbitrary, and it seemed a bit like watching sanitised reality TV.
Anne's rating 2.5/5
Rachel
Rachel Corrie was a young American who spent time in the Gaza Strip in 2003. The Israeli Army was building their now infamous wall on the border between Gaza and Israel and were demolishing the homes of Palestinians near the construction zone. Rachel and other young activists stayed in homes likely to be demolished hoping that the presence of international citizens would slow the destruction and they actively campaigned for it to stop. One fateful day Rachel and her companions were out in the demolition zone, armed with megaphones, trying to halt the Israeli bulldozers' progress when Rachel was crushed to death by one of the bulldozers.
Rachel the film is an exhaustive investigation and exploration of the incident. The director interviews the full range of people involved - Rachel's fellow activists, the Palestinians with whom they stayed, soldiers stationed in the Gaza strip at the time, the bulldozer driver, an Israeli Defense Force spokeswoman, the investigator for the original military enquiry, Rachel's parents and Rachel's university teachers, the pathologist who did the post mortem and I'm sure there were others.
This is not an easy watch and some of the revelations are shocking. I think there were three interviews that made a particular impression on me. The first was with one of Rachel's companions who describes watching her being crushed. The interview was five years after the incident and it was clearly very traumatic still. It reminded me that there was a big personal toll on those who witnessed this incident quite apart from any political and philosophical implications.
The second was with a soldier who was stationed in the Gaza strip at the time. He said that shooting water tanks was a particularly popular activity for soldiers because it looks so pretty through your night vision goggles! He also spoke of the huge numbers of houses they destroyed and admitted to having killed some civilians. It really struck me that since all the soldiers are so young they can take childish pleasure in actions that once they're older they might regret, but too late.
Thirdly the statement from an Israeli Defence force spokeswoman "The IDF doesn't intentionally kill anyone, unless they are terrorists" - which apart from being mind-boggling, struck me as unusual - I don't think I've ever heard a military spokesperson talking about intentional killing before - using the term killing is rare.
Rachel is packed full of jaw-dropping facts. You learn things and come away with more stuff to think about. It's a good film but it isn't fun. It's depressing, probably because its emotionally involving - the interviewees are all very much real people with real opinions, even if you can't fathom why some of them hold such opinions. So you can't go home and dismiss the experience as you would with a bad or boring film.
Anne's rating 4/5
Rachel the film is an exhaustive investigation and exploration of the incident. The director interviews the full range of people involved - Rachel's fellow activists, the Palestinians with whom they stayed, soldiers stationed in the Gaza strip at the time, the bulldozer driver, an Israeli Defense Force spokeswoman, the investigator for the original military enquiry, Rachel's parents and Rachel's university teachers, the pathologist who did the post mortem and I'm sure there were others.
This is not an easy watch and some of the revelations are shocking. I think there were three interviews that made a particular impression on me. The first was with one of Rachel's companions who describes watching her being crushed. The interview was five years after the incident and it was clearly very traumatic still. It reminded me that there was a big personal toll on those who witnessed this incident quite apart from any political and philosophical implications.
The second was with a soldier who was stationed in the Gaza strip at the time. He said that shooting water tanks was a particularly popular activity for soldiers because it looks so pretty through your night vision goggles! He also spoke of the huge numbers of houses they destroyed and admitted to having killed some civilians. It really struck me that since all the soldiers are so young they can take childish pleasure in actions that once they're older they might regret, but too late.
Thirdly the statement from an Israeli Defence force spokeswoman "The IDF doesn't intentionally kill anyone, unless they are terrorists" - which apart from being mind-boggling, struck me as unusual - I don't think I've ever heard a military spokesperson talking about intentional killing before - using the term killing is rare.
Rachel is packed full of jaw-dropping facts. You learn things and come away with more stuff to think about. It's a good film but it isn't fun. It's depressing, probably because its emotionally involving - the interviewees are all very much real people with real opinions, even if you can't fathom why some of them hold such opinions. So you can't go home and dismiss the experience as you would with a bad or boring film.
Anne's rating 4/5
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Black Pirate
A funny thing happened on the way to the picture theatre. Well, not funny from my point of view, and all as a result of a silly omission in the morning. On Thursday I had three films back to back (Flame & Citron, Camino and The Black Pirate). But I left for the first film not knowing this vital fact. For some reason I got it into my head that there was quite a big gap between the second and third films and thought I could come home and blog a bit between films. So I thought nothing was wrong in going out without my ticket to The Black Pirate.
The first inkling I had of the impending disaster was discussing the rest of my day with Anna as we walked down the Courtenay Place after Flame & Citron. She said that all she knew about Camino was it was a long film. I did some mental arithmetic Camino was due to start in 25 minutes and The Black Pirate less than 3 hours after that. I hoped Anna was wrong and silently cursed my hubris. While buying a coffee I bumped into Lance which took my mind off things for a bit. Any hope that Anna was wrong was dashed as Camino is one of those films where the ending happens slower than global warming. I was glad I resisted the temptation to leave before the end, because the final two scenes are quite good, but I found myself in Courtenay Place again with 25 minutes to go and no ticket.
I decided to go home and get my ticket. 5:50pm is rush hour and while taking a bus might have saved me some time, I had no idea how slow the bus would be and trying to sit still while the bus crawled its way through town didn't seem a good idea. So I set off on foot, alternately walking and running (I think my lack of fitness slowed me more than my jandles). At home I rushed up stairs, grabbed the ticket and back down to the car. I backed it out of the garage and set off just as the film was due to start. Rush hour and Thursday night meant that it was a slow trip through town and the nearest park I found was on Oriental Parade. So I am running again, this time I catch my toe on the curb and find myself sprawled on my hands and knees in Wakefield St just as the lights turn green.
So that is why I can't tell you what happens at the beginning of The Black Pirate. But I am glad I made the effort. The Black Pirate is a silent film made in 1926 but surprisingly it was made in colour. The camera work is non-existent, no zoom, no panning or tracking, just a fixed camera. All the skill is in the action and the pianist (in this case Neil Brand playing with one eye on the screen). I arrived just as Douglas Fairbanks is marooned and the pirates are dividing some spoils and hide the gold in a cave on an island. Douglas Fairbanks decides to join the pirates and sets out to make himself their leader and calling himself the Black Pirate. Things become difficult when the first ship he captures has a beautiful female passenger, who he naturally falls in love with and tries to save.
The often repeated stunt where someone slides down a curtain or sail using a dagger or knife originated in The Black Pirate. There is another scene you might have seen repeated in a more recent pirate movie where a group of soldiers is filmed swimming in formation under water to retake the ship the pirates have seized. One of the funniest scenes is where a pirate is trying to keep awake by jamming dagger, point upwards, under his chin, and when nods off the dagger slips and and point goes up his nose.
The piano accompaniment was very well done, with a convincing piano explosion when one of the ships explodes. At the end Douglas Fairbanks gets the girl once she realises that he is actually a Duke in disguise (she turns out to be a Princess -- though what she is doing in the Caribbean is not explained).
We are so used to cameras following actors around or zooming in on the action that it is disconcerting when the camera does not act as we are used to.
Ian's rating 3/5
The first inkling I had of the impending disaster was discussing the rest of my day with Anna as we walked down the Courtenay Place after Flame & Citron. She said that all she knew about Camino was it was a long film. I did some mental arithmetic Camino was due to start in 25 minutes and The Black Pirate less than 3 hours after that. I hoped Anna was wrong and silently cursed my hubris. While buying a coffee I bumped into Lance which took my mind off things for a bit. Any hope that Anna was wrong was dashed as Camino is one of those films where the ending happens slower than global warming. I was glad I resisted the temptation to leave before the end, because the final two scenes are quite good, but I found myself in Courtenay Place again with 25 minutes to go and no ticket.
I decided to go home and get my ticket. 5:50pm is rush hour and while taking a bus might have saved me some time, I had no idea how slow the bus would be and trying to sit still while the bus crawled its way through town didn't seem a good idea. So I set off on foot, alternately walking and running (I think my lack of fitness slowed me more than my jandles). At home I rushed up stairs, grabbed the ticket and back down to the car. I backed it out of the garage and set off just as the film was due to start. Rush hour and Thursday night meant that it was a slow trip through town and the nearest park I found was on Oriental Parade. So I am running again, this time I catch my toe on the curb and find myself sprawled on my hands and knees in Wakefield St just as the lights turn green.
So that is why I can't tell you what happens at the beginning of The Black Pirate. But I am glad I made the effort. The Black Pirate is a silent film made in 1926 but surprisingly it was made in colour. The camera work is non-existent, no zoom, no panning or tracking, just a fixed camera. All the skill is in the action and the pianist (in this case Neil Brand playing with one eye on the screen). I arrived just as Douglas Fairbanks is marooned and the pirates are dividing some spoils and hide the gold in a cave on an island. Douglas Fairbanks decides to join the pirates and sets out to make himself their leader and calling himself the Black Pirate. Things become difficult when the first ship he captures has a beautiful female passenger, who he naturally falls in love with and tries to save.
The often repeated stunt where someone slides down a curtain or sail using a dagger or knife originated in The Black Pirate. There is another scene you might have seen repeated in a more recent pirate movie where a group of soldiers is filmed swimming in formation under water to retake the ship the pirates have seized. One of the funniest scenes is where a pirate is trying to keep awake by jamming dagger, point upwards, under his chin, and when nods off the dagger slips and and point goes up his nose.
The piano accompaniment was very well done, with a convincing piano explosion when one of the ships explodes. At the end Douglas Fairbanks gets the girl once she realises that he is actually a Duke in disguise (she turns out to be a Princess -- though what she is doing in the Caribbean is not explained).
We are so used to cameras following actors around or zooming in on the action that it is disconcerting when the camera does not act as we are used to.
Ian's rating 3/5
Mary and Max
If you like to leave the cinema feeling that you're more well-adjusted than the characters in the movie you've just watched, then this could be the movie for you. You may also leave with the feeling you've been laughing at people with unfortunate disabilities, which might or might not be a good thing. Mary and Max is an oddball movie about oddball characters which does make you laugh but is rather a sad tale overall. Mary is a friendless bespectacled child with an alcholic mother and "eyes the colour of mud and a birthmark the colour of poo" who gets Max's name and address out of the New York telephone directory and begins a correspondence with him, hoping he'll answer her burning questions about life the universe and everything.
Max is overweight, Jewish, anxious and afflicted by Aspergers syndrome. He doesn't have any friends either, which is possibly what inspires him to write back to an Australian child that he's never met. He does his best to answer her questions even though some of them ("where do babies come from?" for example) cause him panic attacks that last for hours.
Based on a true story, the movie follows the correspondence all the way to its end - which is many years later when Mary is an adult. It makes you ponder the meaning and mechanics of friendship and human relationships and is probably quite unlike any movie you've seen for a while.
Anne's rating 3/5
Max is overweight, Jewish, anxious and afflicted by Aspergers syndrome. He doesn't have any friends either, which is possibly what inspires him to write back to an Australian child that he's never met. He does his best to answer her questions even though some of them ("where do babies come from?" for example) cause him panic attacks that last for hours.
Based on a true story, the movie follows the correspondence all the way to its end - which is many years later when Mary is an adult. It makes you ponder the meaning and mechanics of friendship and human relationships and is probably quite unlike any movie you've seen for a while.
Anne's rating 3/5
Tulpan
If all you know about Kazakhstan comes from Borat then Tulpan will take you by surprise. This is not the Kazakhstan of Paper Soldier either. The endless vistas are there and two humped camels, but this is summer and the steppes are dry and dusty and almost devoid of people.
Asa has come home after serving in the Russian fleet. He intends to implement his dream of being a nomadic sheep herder on the steppes, but he is told that you need to be married before you can get a flock. There is only one girl in the district, Tulpan, who lives half a day's drive away -- and she objects to Asa's ears. It turns out that Asa is no more successful at helping his brother-in-law with the sheep than he is with girls. Despite his incompetence, Asa remains defiantly optimistic and determined to succeed. The supporting cast includes Asa's little niece who sings incessently and the more annoyed she is with her father the louder she sings.
The camera work in the outside shots is beautiful, and the film could almost be viewed as a documentary on yurt based life on the Kazakh steppes.
Ian's rating 3/5
Asa has come home after serving in the Russian fleet. He intends to implement his dream of being a nomadic sheep herder on the steppes, but he is told that you need to be married before you can get a flock. There is only one girl in the district, Tulpan, who lives half a day's drive away -- and she objects to Asa's ears. It turns out that Asa is no more successful at helping his brother-in-law with the sheep than he is with girls. Despite his incompetence, Asa remains defiantly optimistic and determined to succeed. The supporting cast includes Asa's little niece who sings incessently and the more annoyed she is with her father the louder she sings.
The camera work in the outside shots is beautiful, and the film could almost be viewed as a documentary on yurt based life on the Kazakh steppes.
Ian's rating 3/5
Making of Samson and Delilah
In contrast with Samson and Delilah itself, this "making of" documentary is sheer good fun. Initially it follows Writer/Director Warwick Thornton and Producer Kath Shelper around while they hunt for the teenage actors for their film,and then it sits in on the shoot.We get to know the actors chosen (Marissa Gibson and Rowan MacNamara), in a small way - she's more self possessed and he's very shy, but they both turn out to be great actors. His participation in the film is in doubt initially due to a date with the youth justice system which could have ended up with a curfew being imposed, but we get to sit in on the restorative justice session and this particular crisis is averted.
Its fun to watch them getting to grips with acting and following instructions,with interacting on film and then watching themselves. The writer and producer are also entertaining to watch and the whole process just seems genuinely good-humoured. My favourite moments were Marissa getting cold feet about cutting off her hair and at the end when Warwick and Kath bring the film to each of Marissa and Rowan's family homes so they can watch it on the laptop before it goes to the big screen. So there's a big family group on the verandah in each case, glued to the computer and all giggling appreciatively.
This was a great way to spend 50 minutes, and I discovered that the Film Archive does great coffee.
Anne's rating 4/5
Its fun to watch them getting to grips with acting and following instructions,with interacting on film and then watching themselves. The writer and producer are also entertaining to watch and the whole process just seems genuinely good-humoured. My favourite moments were Marissa getting cold feet about cutting off her hair and at the end when Warwick and Kath bring the film to each of Marissa and Rowan's family homes so they can watch it on the laptop before it goes to the big screen. So there's a big family group on the verandah in each case, glued to the computer and all giggling appreciatively.
This was a great way to spend 50 minutes, and I discovered that the Film Archive does great coffee.
Anne's rating 4/5
Balibo
Balibo was the second docu-drama I have seen at this film festival. It follows young, cocky José Ramos-Horta as he co-ops Roger East a veteran Australian reporter who is living in alcoholic semi-retirement in Dawin to come to East Timor and head up the new East Timor news agency. He temps East with the story of 5 missing young journalists from Australia's channels 7 and 9. Roger East is completely uninterested in the job offer, but is interested in fate of the other journalists. Once in East Timor he nags José Ramos-Horta into driving him to Balibo (a town on the border with Indonesia).
The story of the 5 missing journalist is told in parallel using more grainy footage. I found this confusing as the two stories take place only 3 weeks apart. It becomes clear from this story line that José Ramos-Horta was also involved here. The personalities of the 5 are not clearly differentiated and their story is fragmented and hence harder to follow than Roger East's story. What also isn't clear is the chronology of political events. When does East Timor become independent with respect to the two stories? Is José Ramos-Horta a government official or does he represent a would-be government?
The Roger East story line is the best acted and directed part of the film. José Ramos-Horta comes across as a sunglasses wearing superhero. He seems to know the secrets of three governments (Australia, Indonesia and East Timor) even when many km from any telephones and knows everyone in East Timor personally! This persona is only shaken twice during the film. Roger East seems to shake off his retirement and alcohol dependency very quickly and turns into a reporter again. Their conflict is very watchable.
I guess it was intentional that Roger is so much more interested in the fate of 5 white guys than the fate of a country being invaded. The director is challenging us to think about the implied racism in our attitudes to the 3rd World.
Ian's rating 2.5/5
The story of the 5 missing journalist is told in parallel using more grainy footage. I found this confusing as the two stories take place only 3 weeks apart. It becomes clear from this story line that José Ramos-Horta was also involved here. The personalities of the 5 are not clearly differentiated and their story is fragmented and hence harder to follow than Roger East's story. What also isn't clear is the chronology of political events. When does East Timor become independent with respect to the two stories? Is José Ramos-Horta a government official or does he represent a would-be government?
The Roger East story line is the best acted and directed part of the film. José Ramos-Horta comes across as a sunglasses wearing superhero. He seems to know the secrets of three governments (Australia, Indonesia and East Timor) even when many km from any telephones and knows everyone in East Timor personally! This persona is only shaken twice during the film. Roger East seems to shake off his retirement and alcohol dependency very quickly and turns into a reporter again. Their conflict is very watchable.
I guess it was intentional that Roger is so much more interested in the fate of 5 white guys than the fate of a country being invaded. The director is challenging us to think about the implied racism in our attitudes to the 3rd World.
Ian's rating 2.5/5
Looking for Eric
You might find this hard to believe, but Ken Loach has made a life-affirming,
cheer-you-up-and-make-you-laugh movie to which you must go, without further ado. Looking for Eric has plenty of trademark Ken Loach grittiness, realism, swearing and terrace houses but it also has charm, imagination, humour and a happy ending.
Eric is postman in his fifties who is prone to panic attacks. He lives in one of the aforementioned terrace houses with his 2 obnoxious stepsons and he hasn't had sex in a long time. Fortunately for Eric, his fellow postmen are particularly supportive friends, and one of them introduces him to the self help concept of imagining yourself and your life through the eyes of one of your heroes. Eric's hero is Eric Cantona the footballer, and before you know it, there is Eric Cantona (played by Eric Cantona) in Eric the postman's bedroom, giving him advice.
Watching Eric help Eric sort out his life is an experience you shouldn't miss - so don't.
Anne's rating 5/5
cheer-you-up-and-make-you-laugh movie to which you must go, without further ado. Looking for Eric has plenty of trademark Ken Loach grittiness, realism, swearing and terrace houses but it also has charm, imagination, humour and a happy ending.
Eric is postman in his fifties who is prone to panic attacks. He lives in one of the aforementioned terrace houses with his 2 obnoxious stepsons and he hasn't had sex in a long time. Fortunately for Eric, his fellow postmen are particularly supportive friends, and one of them introduces him to the self help concept of imagining yourself and your life through the eyes of one of your heroes. Eric's hero is Eric Cantona the footballer, and before you know it, there is Eric Cantona (played by Eric Cantona) in Eric the postman's bedroom, giving him advice.
Watching Eric help Eric sort out his life is an experience you shouldn't miss - so don't.
Anne's rating 5/5
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Daytime Drinking
Have you ever been surrounded by apparently well meaning people who badgered you into doing things you didn't want to do, and if you tried to refuse they got angry and offended? Are you familiar with the phase "Just one more"? Have you had friends who enthusiastically made plans and included you in them and they didn't show up? If you haven't experienced what I am talking about then you won't "get" Daytime Drinking.
Our hero/sucker finds himself on a trip to the country enthusiastically organised by his three pals who fail to show up. He discovers the countryside is populated by wierdos who are either unhelpful or too helpful.
Actually the title is a bit of a misnomer as the drinking goes on day and night. Daytime Drinking is a funny and sad tale of the dangers of being accommodating and letting friends and strangers have too much control over your life ... and over your drinking.
Note: this is a video or DVD and hence doesn't look good on a big screen (trailer)
Ian's rating 3/5
Our hero/sucker finds himself on a trip to the country enthusiastically organised by his three pals who fail to show up. He discovers the countryside is populated by wierdos who are either unhelpful or too helpful.
Actually the title is a bit of a misnomer as the drinking goes on day and night. Daytime Drinking is a funny and sad tale of the dangers of being accommodating and letting friends and strangers have too much control over your life ... and over your drinking.
Note: this is a video or DVD and hence doesn't look good on a big screen (trailer)
Ian's rating 3/5
Adventureland
Adventureland is a feel-good movie. There are no surprises here. Every character can be pigeon holed in 5 seconds and their part in the plot is inevitably obvious, as is the plot itself. It is American college kids on their summer break in 1987 who are obsessed with sex (and love) as seen through the rosiest of rose-tinted spectacles. Even the cinematography is done in warm Kodak style colours. It feels like a movie that you have seen before. But unashamedly that is what director Greg Mattola is aiming to do, to make you feel comfortable. Wall-to-wall cliches and tropes. This is movie comfort food.
A jaded cynic would complain that everyone is white and middle class or aspiring middle class (and are disproportionately Catholic and Jewish). They would also complain that the film doesn't challenge its audience, blah blah. Hopefully such people are wise enough to skip this film and go to something high brow or obscure instead.
I enjoyed this film. All the actors seemed to throw themselves into their parts and are generally given good dialogue especially Bobby the boss of the adventure park, who is perhaps the one surprise of the film as he isn't as lame as his character could have been. After many of the more serious and depressing films in the festival I was in the mood for some cinematic comfort food.
Check the trailer to see if it suits your palette.
Ian's rating 3.5/5
A jaded cynic would complain that everyone is white and middle class or aspiring middle class (and are disproportionately Catholic and Jewish). They would also complain that the film doesn't challenge its audience, blah blah. Hopefully such people are wise enough to skip this film and go to something high brow or obscure instead.
I enjoyed this film. All the actors seemed to throw themselves into their parts and are generally given good dialogue especially Bobby the boss of the adventure park, who is perhaps the one surprise of the film as he isn't as lame as his character could have been. After many of the more serious and depressing films in the festival I was in the mood for some cinematic comfort food.
Check the trailer to see if it suits your palette.
Ian's rating 3.5/5
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Paper Soldier
The Russians certainly know how to do depressing. Paper Soldier starts off confusing and bleak, and goes down hill from there. The ramshackle buildings of the cosomodrome in Kazakhstan exist in endless vistas of mud, snow and ice and look almost indistinguishable from the gulag that is being burnt down not far away. Soldiers, cosmonauts, medical staff, Kazaks, ex-gulag inmates, ex-guard dogs, trucks and a camel wander aimlessly around. People prefer to carry bicycles rather than ride them. Conversations seem almost equally aimless, as no-one seems to be listening to what anyone else is saying.
Paper Soldier is not about the cosmonauts or the space program; they are the backdrop to the disintegration of Daniel, a doctor working with the cosmonauts. Daniel is haunted by the fear that, given the number failures in the unmanned test flights, the cosmonauts may die in space. He shuttles back and forth between his wife, Nina, in Moscow and Vera in at the cosmodrome, being rude and inconsiderate to both of them and his friends and colleagues (and to a third woman who unbelievably is also besotted with him). He doubles up in psychosomatic pain from time to time. Why can't he just drink himself into oblivion like any good Russian? I didn't warm to Daniel.
Just watching this film makes you want to put on a scarf and gloves ... and reach for the Valium.
As a foot note to cheer you up, 10 years after Daniel has gone Nina and Vera share a flat in Moscow.
Apparently any "true lover of the giant screen poetics" will find this film mesmerising -- be warned.
Ian's rating 0/5
Paper Soldier is not about the cosmonauts or the space program; they are the backdrop to the disintegration of Daniel, a doctor working with the cosmonauts. Daniel is haunted by the fear that, given the number failures in the unmanned test flights, the cosmonauts may die in space. He shuttles back and forth between his wife, Nina, in Moscow and Vera in at the cosmodrome, being rude and inconsiderate to both of them and his friends and colleagues (and to a third woman who unbelievably is also besotted with him). He doubles up in psychosomatic pain from time to time. Why can't he just drink himself into oblivion like any good Russian? I didn't warm to Daniel.
Just watching this film makes you want to put on a scarf and gloves ... and reach for the Valium.
As a foot note to cheer you up, 10 years after Daniel has gone Nina and Vera share a flat in Moscow.
Apparently any "true lover of the giant screen poetics" will find this film mesmerising -- be warned.
Ian's rating 0/5
Samson and Delilah
Samson & Delilah is a movie to touch your heart. And disturb you. And, importantly to make you feel that there's always hope. It's the story of the love affair between two aboriginal teenagers, one of whom is a petrol-sniffer. There's no sex to speak of, and almost no dialogue but there's physical beauty, charm and rock-solid loyalty and then there's kick-you-in-the-guts awfulness but the film-maker seems to have got the doses of each just right so you CAN bear to go on watching.
I loved Samson throwing rocks at Delilah as if he were six not sixteen, and I loved him dancing on the verandah. I liked the hand gestures Delilah made to him on the way into the store and I liked them eating 2 minute noodles with their fingers. I liked Gonzo the drunk under the bridge in Alice Springs who didn't say much but he was positively chatty compared to the hero and heroine. I loved Delilah's Nana and I've always loved the landscape of Central Australia.
Clearly, not everyone loves this film and here's a totally contrasting viewpoint for you . I don't think you should go to Samson and Delilah if you need a light and fluffy movie, but I think you should go sometime.
Anne's rating 4/5
I loved Samson throwing rocks at Delilah as if he were six not sixteen, and I loved him dancing on the verandah. I liked the hand gestures Delilah made to him on the way into the store and I liked them eating 2 minute noodles with their fingers. I liked Gonzo the drunk under the bridge in Alice Springs who didn't say much but he was positively chatty compared to the hero and heroine. I loved Delilah's Nana and I've always loved the landscape of Central Australia.
Clearly, not everyone loves this film and here's a totally contrasting viewpoint for you . I don't think you should go to Samson and Delilah if you need a light and fluffy movie, but I think you should go sometime.
Anne's rating 4/5
Love on Delivery & Ticket to Paradise
In Thy, a region of northern Denmark, there are over 500 Thai women married to Danish men. Apparently it all started with Niels who went to Thailand as a sex tourist and met Sommai in Pattaya. They returned to Denmark and got married. Sommai's success meant that she has become the go-to woman for Thai women from her village who want to leave Thailand and marry a white man.
Love on Delivery is the first of two documentaries on this process. It follows Kae, Sommai's niece, who is visiting Denmark on a 90 day visa in order to find a husband. With no time to learn Danish Sommai teaches Kea some useful phrases "Good morning", "good night", "I have a headache", places an advert in the paper, teaches Kea how to behave with a Danish man -- lots of hugs and kisses. Sommai's friends also enthusiastically pitch in with advice and warnings on a variety of things including the dangers of large Danish penises.
Sommai selects Kjeld a local man (whose mother despairs that he will find a woman) from the replies to the advert and Kea is packed off to live with this quiet smiling bachelor. Neither of whom can speak a word of each other's languages. A Thai-Danish dictionary borrowed from the library becomes necessary to negotiate the basics of domestic life. Sommai pushes the relationship along by chiding Kea for ignoring the advice on daily hugs and kisses. Eventually as time is running out on Kea's visa the couple is put on the spot. Do they want to marry each other or not?
The Danish government uses a bond system to ensure that the marriages are "genuine". The couple (i.e. the husband) pays about $20,000 which the government returns after 7 years if the couple are still together! The Thai brides have to return to Thailand after the marriage until their residency application is processed.
No secret is made of the fact that the Thai wives intend to send money home to their families, and many do factory work in Denmark to earn this. What is not always made immediately clear to their potential Danish husbands are the children these women have in left behind in Thailand and that they want to bring to Denmark too. Here the government says that the child has be reunited with its mother within two years otherwise it is deemed to have had its parental bond broken.
Ticket to Paradise follows one such couple as they go to Thailand to negotiate with the reluctant Thai father to hand over the child. The two films were made about 5 months apart and include many of the same couples. The explicit tying together of love and marriage with economic security will sit uncomfortably with those who feel that love and marriage are so "sacred" that they shouldn't be linked to other concerns. As far as we the viewer can tell these marriages with the big cultural difference, economic tie-ins and in some cases big age differences seem to work. How much this is due to love and how much it is due to the cost of failure is not explored (and perhaps not explorable). Do concerns beyond love enter into our relationships? Is this a bad thing?
Ian's rating 3/5
Love on Delivery is the first of two documentaries on this process. It follows Kae, Sommai's niece, who is visiting Denmark on a 90 day visa in order to find a husband. With no time to learn Danish Sommai teaches Kea some useful phrases "Good morning", "good night", "I have a headache", places an advert in the paper, teaches Kea how to behave with a Danish man -- lots of hugs and kisses. Sommai's friends also enthusiastically pitch in with advice and warnings on a variety of things including the dangers of large Danish penises.
Sommai selects Kjeld a local man (whose mother despairs that he will find a woman) from the replies to the advert and Kea is packed off to live with this quiet smiling bachelor. Neither of whom can speak a word of each other's languages. A Thai-Danish dictionary borrowed from the library becomes necessary to negotiate the basics of domestic life. Sommai pushes the relationship along by chiding Kea for ignoring the advice on daily hugs and kisses. Eventually as time is running out on Kea's visa the couple is put on the spot. Do they want to marry each other or not?
The Danish government uses a bond system to ensure that the marriages are "genuine". The couple (i.e. the husband) pays about $20,000 which the government returns after 7 years if the couple are still together! The Thai brides have to return to Thailand after the marriage until their residency application is processed.
No secret is made of the fact that the Thai wives intend to send money home to their families, and many do factory work in Denmark to earn this. What is not always made immediately clear to their potential Danish husbands are the children these women have in left behind in Thailand and that they want to bring to Denmark too. Here the government says that the child has be reunited with its mother within two years otherwise it is deemed to have had its parental bond broken.
Ticket to Paradise follows one such couple as they go to Thailand to negotiate with the reluctant Thai father to hand over the child. The two films were made about 5 months apart and include many of the same couples. The explicit tying together of love and marriage with economic security will sit uncomfortably with those who feel that love and marriage are so "sacred" that they shouldn't be linked to other concerns. As far as we the viewer can tell these marriages with the big cultural difference, economic tie-ins and in some cases big age differences seem to work. How much this is due to love and how much it is due to the cost of failure is not explored (and perhaps not explorable). Do concerns beyond love enter into our relationships? Is this a bad thing?
Ian's rating 3/5
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Strength of Water
I'm finding it a bit hard to describe The Strength of Water. I think essentially it's about getting to grips with death; about getting used to living without someone you've been close to and about the process of saying goodbye. You might be thinking that this is sounding like another addition to New Zealand's great tradition of dark cinema, but despite the theme that's not entirely true - it's more a sort of grey, and that's certainly how the Hokianga landscape (where it's filmed) looks.
The chief characters are ten year-old twins, Kimi and Melody, who live on a poultry farm near the Hokianga Harbour. They deliver eggs for their parents after school and have a pet hen called Aroha. Melody dies from an asthma attack associated with an accident while she's with Tai, a teenager who is a a newcomer to the district, and Kimi continues to see her after her death, even though she's invisible to the rest of the family.
Kimi and Melody are a delight to watch - the actors do an awesome job. Kimi is fat and resentful and Melody is just a sweetie and they are a very tight team. Naturally his sister's death fuels Kimi's feeling that life is unfair.
We saw this the same weekend as Samson and Delilah, and comparisons seem inevitable. New Zealand film /Australian film; Maori teenagers who talk in rationed sentences liberally laced with expletives/ Aboriginal teenagers who don't talk at all; grey Hokianga seascapes/Northern Territory sunshine. I feel slightly disloyal but I think Samson & Delilah is the slightly better film overall - but the big strength of both films are the central two characters, who in each case are worth seeing in their own rights.
Anne's rating 3.5/5
The chief characters are ten year-old twins, Kimi and Melody, who live on a poultry farm near the Hokianga Harbour. They deliver eggs for their parents after school and have a pet hen called Aroha. Melody dies from an asthma attack associated with an accident while she's with Tai, a teenager who is a a newcomer to the district, and Kimi continues to see her after her death, even though she's invisible to the rest of the family.
Kimi and Melody are a delight to watch - the actors do an awesome job. Kimi is fat and resentful and Melody is just a sweetie and they are a very tight team. Naturally his sister's death fuels Kimi's feeling that life is unfair.
We saw this the same weekend as Samson and Delilah, and comparisons seem inevitable. New Zealand film /Australian film; Maori teenagers who talk in rationed sentences liberally laced with expletives/ Aboriginal teenagers who don't talk at all; grey Hokianga seascapes/Northern Territory sunshine. I feel slightly disloyal but I think Samson & Delilah is the slightly better film overall - but the big strength of both films are the central two characters, who in each case are worth seeing in their own rights.
Anne's rating 3.5/5
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