Biutiful

Genre: personal drama

With: Javier Bardem (Uxbal), Maricel Alvarez (his ex-wife Marambra), Hanna Bouchaib (his daughter Ana), Guillermo Estrella (his son Mateo), Eduardo Fernández (his brother Tito), Cheikh Ndiaye (Ekweme), Diaryatou Daff (Ige, Ekweme’s wife). Cheng Tai Shen (Hai), Luo Jin (Liwei, Hai’s associate)

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Armando Bo and Nicolas Giacobone

Release: 2010

Studio: Mod Producciones, Ikiru Films et al.

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.5/10

The Mess You Leave Behind

QuickView

Story-line: when his life takes an unexpected turn, a Barcelonian wheeler-dealer tries to do things right for the sake of his family and associates.

Pluses: a fine cast led by a driven and brooding Javier Bardem, a complex and original screenplay featuring multi-faceted characters, genuinely touching moments and startling visual transitions, masterly direction, superb photography by Rodrigo Prieto (note the dominant Sagrada Família church), adept editing and appropriate production values.

Minuses: some scenes remain cryptic even after attentive viewing… but they contribute to the film’s unusual, almost mystical charm. 

Comments: BIUTIFUL is a lyrical and hard-edged redemption movie whose European feel reminded me of LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF and several works by the great Krzysztof Kieslowski. I was especially impressed by Javier Bardem as a character entirely different from his cold-blooded killer in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. As this film eloquently shows, no life is ever a complete success nor an outright failure. It’s the effort you put into it that really counts.

MBiS

© 2018 – All rights reserved

Faces

Genre: relationship drama (in black and white) 

With: John Marley (Richard Forst), Gena Rowlands (Jeannie Rapp), Lynn Carlin (Maria, Richard’s wife), Fred Draper (Freddie Draper), Seymour Cassel (Chet), Val Avery (Jim McCarthy), Dorothy Gulliver (Florence), Joanne Moore Jordan (Louise Draper, Freddie’s wife), Darlene Conley (Billy Mae), Gene Darfler (Joe Jackson)

Direction and screenplay: John Cassavetes

Release: 1968

Studio: Walter Reade Organization, CONTINENTAL

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.7/10

Pathetic Men and Women Groping Frantically for Love        

QuickView

Story-line: one fateful evening, Richard Forst, a Los Angeles producer, and his pal Freddie go to a nightclub where they meet a very attractive lady named Jeannie Rapp. While they chit-chat and fool around, Jeannie and Richard establish a rapport that will soon threaten his seemingly happy marriage.

Pluses: exceedingly natural acting by Gena Rowlands, John Marley and cast, remarkable dialogues and telling hesitations, an offbeat and unpredictable screenplay that features engaging characters and robust drama, impeccable helming, fine cinematography by Al Ruban (with Maurice McEndree and Haskell Wexler).

Minuses: the movie is very talky but never dull.  

Comments: what struck me most about FACES is the emotional range of its characters (at times tender, serious, irrational, humorous or brutal) and how they change moods in a fraction of a second. These frustrated people are ready, on the spur of the moment, to risk what they have built up over the years for something that may or may not be love. Will they succeed in their quest or will it all end in silence? Cue final credits…

MBiS

© 2018 – All rights reserved

Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki

English title: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Also known as: Quand une femme monte l'escalier

Genre: psychological drama (in black and white)

With: Hideko Takamine (Keiko Yashiro, aka ‟Mama”), Masayuki Mori (Nobuhiko Fujisaki), Reiko Dan (Junko Inchihashi), Tatsuya Nakadai (Kenichi Komatsu, the manager), Daisuke Katô (Matsukichi Sekine), Ganjirô Nakamura (Goda, a customer), Eitarô Ozawa (Minobe, another customer), Keiko Awaji (Yuri)

Director: Mikio Naruse

Screenplay: Ryûzô Kikushima

Release: 1960

Studio: Toho Company

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Part Friend, Part Wife, Part Lover… and Some Kind of Slave

QuickView

Story-line: like 16,000 other women in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Keiko works as a hostess in a bar. Although she’s been doing it for years, there’s nothing she hates more than climbing those stairs to the Lilac where she entertains businessmen at great personal risk.

Pluses: strong acting by the radiant Hideko Takamine and a credible cast, a subtle and well-developed screenplay in which even minor characters are essential, splendid cinematography, seamless direction and a jazzy musical theme suited to the subject matter. 

Minuses: some of the dialogues may seem ineffectual but they do serve a purpose. The story loses some momentum early in the third act (when dealing with Keiko’s family problems) but picks up nicely afterwards and ends on a surprising note.

Comments: WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS is a mature and uncompromising portrait of ladies leading a precarious life. Although not exposed to violence like sex workers often are, these hostesses face moral ambiguity, financial pressures, sexual dilemmas and emotional tailspins. As Keiko knows only too well, ‟Aging is hard on a woman.” How true, how very true…  

MBiS

© 2018 – All rights reserved