Grande illusion (La)

English title: Grand Illusion

Genre: war movie (in black and white)

With: Jean Gabin (Lt. Maréchal), Pierre Fresnay (Capt. de Boeldieu), Erich von Stroheim (Capt. von Rauffenstein), Marcel Dalio (Lt. Rosenthal), Julien Carette (Cartier), Georges Péclet (the Locksmith), Werner Florian (Sgt. Arthur), Jean Dasté (the Teacher), Sylvain Itkine (Lt. Demolder), Gaston Modot (the Engineer), Dita Parlo (Elsa), Jacques Becker (the English officer)  

Director: Jean Renoir

Screenplay: Charles Spaak and Jean Renoir

Release: 1937

Studio: Réalisation d’art cinématographique

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.9/10 

 

An Old World Blown Away, Never To Return 

 

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Story-line: France in the early stages of WW I. Maréchal, a working-class officer in the French Army, and Capt. de Boeldieu, an aristocrat, are shot down during a reconnaissance mission. Captured by the Germans, they are taken to Capt. von Rauffenstein, himself an aristocrat, who intends to treat them according to the conventions of war. Thus begins, for our two Frenchmen, a frustrating but eventful new life as POWs in Germany.  

Pluses: a credible cast led by Jean Gabin and Pierre Fresnay – as two very contrasting characters – with fine support from Marcel Dalio, Erich von Stroheim and a brilliant Julien Carette, a tight, thoughtful and detailed screenplay that uses carefully tailored dialogues and soupçons of witty humour to develop its subject, focused direction that maintains a steady pace, irreproachable camera work, modest but well-suited production values, an appropriate musical score and a surprising ending.

Minuses: none I can think of… Jean Renoir’s work is a masterpiece.

Comments: at a time when war was supposed to be a gentlemanly pursuit, World War I – and its unimaginable carnage – shattered old models and brought forth a much darker side of humanity. Such is the focus of LA GRANDE ILLUSION, a classic tale of resilience, uneasy alliances and defiance toward the enemy that doubled as a prescient warning of a second world conflict ahead. No need to comment on the illusion itself… its irony will hit you like a ton of bricks.   

 

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 Fog of War (The)

Also known as: The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

Genre: political documentary

With: Robert McNamara, Errol Morris (the Interviewer); archival footage of Fidel Castro, Barry Goldwater, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon and others

Director: Errol Morris

Release: 2003

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics, RadicalMedia, SenArt Films, The Globe Department Store

Rating: PG-13

MBiS score: 8.4/10

 

 

‟Never answer the question asked. Answer the question you wish that had been asked.”

 

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Story-line: in this chilling documentary, Robert S. McNamara, who acted as Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, talks about his personal and professional life and the lessons he has learned about war and global diplomacy while working with hawks, doves and other species of political birds.  

Pluses: McNamara’s direct and interesting take on our world past and present, strong and studious direction by Errol Morris, a thorough and well-constructed screenplay that uses impactful historical footage, telephone recordings and filler scenes to complement its talking-head format, very astute editing, modest but convenient production values and a superb musical accompaniment by Philip Glass.

Minuses: some viewers may be disturbed by the seriousness of the issues discussed and a couple of odd revelations (skull-breaking experiments?).

Comments: although it follows the usual recipe for documentaries, the Oscar-winning FOG OF WAR never feels static because of its relevance and Robert McNamara’s status as a consummate political insider. Aided by hindsight, he comes out of the exercise as a skilled and forthcoming fellow even when the questions raised are delicate and mistakes need to be acknowledged. At a time when some observers argue that we have entered a new Cold War, his take on the dynamics of diplomacy gives us a clear picture of what our world has become… intimidating, volatile and even scary.

 

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Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

English title: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Genre: western movie

With: Eli Wallach (Tuco the Ugly), Clint Eastwood (Blondie the Good), Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes the Bad), Aldo Giuffrè (the alcoholic Union Captain), Luigi Pistilli (Father Pablo Ramirez), Rada Rassimov (Maria)

Director: Sergio Leone

Screenplay: Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone (from a story by Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone)

Release: 1966

Studio: Produzioni Europee Associati, Arturo González Producciones Cinematográficas et al.

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.7/10 

 

Riding High for Filthy Lucre 

 

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Story-line: Texas, 1862. While the American Civil War rages on elsewhere in the state, Tuco the meanie survives a showdown with gunslingers in a dusty town. Not far away, another toughie, Angel Eyes, visits Stevens the rancher to inquire about a lost cash box and a missing man named Jackson. As for Blondie, our third protagonist, he shows up when Tuco falls into another trap laid by bounty hunters. As you can plainly see, these guys know how to keep busy!

Pluses: formidable acting from a legendary trio backed by a fine Italian cast, great direction and editing, a distinctive musical score known the world over (by Ennio Morricone), superb camera work and photography (in outdoor scenes especially), an intelligent and unpredictable screenplay built on vivid dialogues, occasional humour and strong suspense, striking settings and sensible production values.

Minuses: as admirable as this movie is, it does contain a couple of unlikely twists (SPOILERS AHEAD!): (1) a dynamite-planting scene is played out far more casually than it should, considering the proximity of enemy fire, and (2) where did Blondie get that horse and rifle in the final scene?

Comments: in the late 1960s, Sergio Leone raised many doubts this side of the Atlantic when he took on a quintessentially American genre – the cowboy movie – but his “spaghetti westerns” were and still are a genuine phenomenon, an astonishing collection of energetic horse operas. This fabulous film has spawned unforgettable roles for Lee Van Cleef (his smirky ways and thin-rimmed hat), Clint Eastwood (with his poncho, cigarillos and fascinating aura) and Eli Wallach (as the short and foul-mouthed pistolero). Though a good notch below ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, which boasts a richer, wider-ranging screenplay, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY will bowl you over with its spectacular tale of sometimes heartless and sometimes noble roughnecks.   

 

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 Three Burials

Original title: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Genre: personal adventure drama

With: Tommy Lee Jones (Pete Perkins), Julio Cesar Cedillo (Melquiades Estrada), Melissa Leo (Rachel), Dwight Yoakam (Sheriff Frank Belmont), January Jones (Lou Ann Norton), Barry Pepper (Mike Norton), Vanessa Bauche (Mariana the healer), Levon Helm (the Old Man with the radio)

Director: Tommy Lee Jones

Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga

Release: 2005

Studio: EuropaCorp, Javelina Film Company

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.0/10

 

The Title Says Plenty But There’s Quite a Story Behind It  

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Story-line: when the body of Melquiades Estrada, an illegal immigrant, is found by hunters in the south of Texas, his employer, Pete Perkins, asks for his remains so he can take them back to Mexico. His request is denied but he chooses to press on.  

Pluses: an evenly good cast spearheaded by Tommy Lee Jones, a mysterious, graphic and well-constructed screenplay that uses flashbacks and flashforwards to tell its unusual story in a logical and interesting way, irreproachable direction, fine cinematography (especially in barren areas of the Lone Star State), adequate production values and a genuinely surprising ending.

Minuses: although welcome in such a bleak drama, the screenplay’s humorous moments tend to be macabre. 

Comments: THREE BURIALS is a modest and efficient film that plays on themes of moral duty, remorse, humility and brotherhood. It has no place for heroes – only for common folk who struggle with life, cut corners and sometimes do bad things – and doesn’t try to do more than the essential, a wise choice considering its serious subject matter. Whatever your tastes in cinema, you will find value in this offbeat and sincere contemporary western.   

  

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 Rebelle

English title: War Witch

Genre: humanitarian drama

With: Rachel Mwanza (Komona), Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien (the Rebel Commander), Serge Kanyinda (the Magician), Mizinga Mwinga (the Grand Tigre Royal), Ralph Prosper (the Butcher), Jean Kabuya (the School camp coach)

Director: Kim Nguyen

Screenplay: Kim Nguyen

Release: 2012

Studio: Item 7, Shen Studio

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.4/10 

 

Sacrificed on the Altar of War    

 

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Story-line: somewhere in Equatorial Africa, a young woman named Komona speaks to the fetus in her womb: "One day, you will have to come out of my belly and I have to tell you how your mother became a soldier." Haunted by her appalling past, she prays God for the strength to love this child she had never planned on having.

Pluses: flawless acting by Rachel Mwanza and a convincing cast, a frank and logical screenplay that explores a tragic issue seldom discussed in the Western world, excellent direction that meets the technical challenges of location filming, beautiful cinematography (Nicolas Bolduc) and natural settings, professional production values.

Minuses: although some scenes are quite violent, they are essential to show the atrocious fate of child soldiers.

Comments: from the day she is orphaned and abducted at the tender age of 12 to the time of her pregnancy, Komona's life is a succession of horror stories that REBELLE documents unflinchingly but with the sympathy this woman truly deserves. What Québécois director Kim Nguyen has fashioned here is a very different, jarring and impressive film that weaves an extraordinary story and bears witness to human resilience in the face of brutality. This is what I call worthy, valuable cinema. 

 

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 Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Genre: science fiction film

With: Richard Dreyfuss (Roy Neary), François Truffaut (Claude Lacombe), Teri Garr (Ronnie, Roy’s wife), Melinda Dillon (Jillian Guiler), Cary Guffey (Barry, Jillian’s son), Bob Balaban (David Laughlin, the cartographer), J. Patrick McNamara (the project leader)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenplay: Steven Spielberg (with help from Hal Barwood, Jerry Belson, John Hill and Matthew Robbins)

Release: 1977

Studio: Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips Productions, EMI Films

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.6/10

 

If There Are Intelligent Beings in the Cosmos, Why Would They Bother with Us Humans?

 

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Story-line: while a French scientist and a group of Americans rush to the Mexican desert to investigate the discovery of training planes lost for decades but still in working order, airline pilots in Indiana report sightings of luminous crafts flying at close range. Also in Indiana, several people witness strange, inexplicable phenomenons.

Pluses: superb acting by Richard Dreyfuss (one of Hollywood’s best in manic, hyperactive roles), François Truffaut (always a treat as an actor) and a disciplined cast, an effective and solidly written screenplay that sustains the mystery throughout and stokes an eerie, unsettling atmosphere, outstanding photography, a celebrated score by John Williams, remarkable special effects and top-grade production values.

Minuses: although the film is international in scope, insistent and annoying product placement gives it a strong (even excessive) American flavour.    

Comments: personally, I was irritated by Steven Spielberg’s constant (and rather manipulative) efforts to whip up a frenzied, hysterical mood around his story – a fault which should have warranted a lower score – but CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND is truly redeemed by its technical merit and extraordinary ending. By defying conventional wisdom in the sci-fi genre, Spielberg provides a life-altering experience to his characters and otherworldly entertainment for movie buffs. Accept all of it – as little Barry has done – with a child’s openness and trust.   

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Phoenix

Genre: psychological drama

With: Nina Hoss (Nelly Lenz), Ronald Zehrfeld (Johnny Lenz), Nina Kunzendorf (Lene Winter, Nelly’s best friend), Trystan Pütter (the soldier), Michael Maertens (Arzt), Imogen Kogge (Elisabeth), Felix Römer (Geiger)

Director: Christian Petzold

Screenplay: Christian Petzold and Harun Farocki (based on Hubert Monteilhet’s novel)

Release: 2014

Studio: Schramm Film Koerner & Weber, Bayerischer Rundfunk et al.

Rating: PG-13

MBiS score: 8.4/10

 

The Role She Was Born to Play

 

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Story-line: in the days after World War II, a Jewish woman badly disfigured by the Nazis undergoes reparative surgery and sets out to find her husband without whom life would be meaningless.     

Pluses: impeccable acting by Nina Hoss and cast, a mature and riveting screenplay that evokes the surreal uneasiness of post-war Germany and progresses steadily toward a glorious conclusion, satisfying aesthetics and production values, first-rate direction, a fabulous musical score by Stefan Will (appearing as a pianist) and unusually crisp sound recording.

Minuses: some reviewers have faulted the screenplay as implausible but, try as I may, I didn’t find anything in it that requires more than the usual suspension of disbelief. What can I say… this movie really scored with me.  

Comments: in a way similar to the mythical bird, PHOENIX symbolizes Nelly’s return to life after terrible traumas and unsettling realizations. And her resurgence is all the more captivating in Christian Petzold’s mysterious movie that will haunt you well after its final credits. Speak Low When You Speak Love…  

 

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Stranger (The)

Genre: suspense film (in black and white)

With: Edward G. Robinson (Mr. Wilson), Loretta Young (Mary Longstreet), Orson Welles (Charles Rankin), Philip Merivale (Judge Longstreet), Richard Long (Noah Longstreet), Byron Keith (Dr. Lawrence), Billy House (Mr. Potter), Konstantin Shayne (Konrad Meinike)

Director: Orson Welles

Screenplay: Anthony Veiller (aided by Orson Welles and John Huston), from a story by Victor Trivas adapted by Trivas and Decla Dunning

Release: 1946

Studio: International Pictures, Inc., The Haig Corporation

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.4/10

 

Love Is Blind, So They Say

 

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Story-line: with the end of WW II, alleged crimes against humanity are investigated in Nuremberg and elsewhere. Before the Allied War Crimes Commission, the American representative, Wilson, argues that the Nazi mastermind he is after will only be found by freeing a former accomplice, a man named Meinike, and following him wherever he leads. Although opposed by some commissioners, Wilson's plan is accepted and, upon release, a nervous-looking Meinike hops on a boat headed for a Latin country. You can count on Wilson to be hot on his trail...

Pluses: fine performances by Edward G. Robinson (as enigmatic as always), Orson Welles (an actor not unlike Oliver Reed) and a convincing Loretta Young in a pivotal role, sober and systematic direction that keeps things rolling along, a brisk and serious screenplay that develops its characters with intelligence and stokes tension efficiently, modest but adequate production values, a suitable musical score by Bronislau Kaper.

Minuses: be forewarned: the film features a few chilling but appropriately used scenes from the Nazi death camps.

Comments: THE STRANGER has much more to offer than its generic title may suggest and, frankly, I found it rather daring in its treatment of Nazi psychology and war crime issues so early after WW II. It boasts marquee names in a taut, film noir-like story that makes remarkable use of watches and clocks to drive its point about evil men and the secrets they harbour. Here is a fine example of what Orson Welles could do on both sides of the camera and a film that Hitchcock would have gladly included among his better works.    

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The Bear

Genre: nature drama

With: Youk (the Bear Cub), Bart (the Kodiak Bear), Tchéky Karyo (Tom), Jack Wallace (Bill), André Lacombe (the hunter with dogs)

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Screenplay: Gérard Brach (based on James Oliver Curwood's novel)

Release: 1988 

Studio: Price, Renn Productions

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.1/10

 

 

They May Be Likeable on Screen But 

They'll Never Be Teddy Bears

 

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Story-line: the venue is British Columbia, the time, 1885. When its mother dies in an unfortunate accident, a bear cub has to fend for itself in an unforgiving habitat and guard against strange creatures that roam the forest on their hind legs and carry metal rods that go boom!

Pluses: an astute screenplay combining tragedy, suspense and genuinely touching moments, awesome direction, extraordinary camera work by Philippe Rousselot (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT), good acting from a smallish cast, outstanding special effects and production values, beautiful music by Philippe Sarde and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Minuses: be on notice that one hunter's trick involves bear turd. The dream sequences, albeit useful, seem a bit awkward and unrealistic.  

Comments: THE BEAR stands apart from usual wildlife features in that it avoids corniness and doesn't hide the more brutal aspects of our natural world. Having seen François Truffaut's LA NUIT AMÉRICAINE – in which he comments on the use of animals in cinema – I was truly amazed by Jean-Jacques Annaud's technical feat; I don't even want to know how he achieved it all (although Animatronics were certainly used at some point). As for rating this remarkable nature project, I gave it an 8.6 for technical merit, photography and editing but a 7.6 for the story itself, considering the limits to what drama, comedy and nuance one can pull from Kodiaks and grizzlies... thus my score of 8.1, admittedly lower than most. Kudos to J.-J. Annaud and team for a strong and lovely movie that pays due respect to the animal kingdom.  

 

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 Stop Making Sense

Genre: concert film  

With: the Talking Heads: David Byrne (guitar and lead vocals), Tina Weymouth (bass), Jerry Harrison (guitar and keyboards), Chris Frantz (drums); guest musicians and singers

Director: Jonathan Demme

Screenplay: Jonathan Demme, the Talking Heads

Release: 1984

Studio: Talking Heads, Arnold Stiefel Company

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.0/10 

 

Cure Your Anxiety with a Healthy Dose of Rock and Funk 

 

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Story-line: the Talking Heads, celebrated angstmeisters of rock's new wave era, are presented in concert for your viewing pleasure. 

Pluses: David Byrne's theatrics and fiery showmanship, the band's unbridled energy, a sparkling repertoire of songs founded in alienation, wry humour and irony, top-notch direction, editing and production values, Jordan Cronenweth's lovely and sometimes grainy cinematography and, very importantly, excellent s-o-u-n-d.

Minuses: don't be misled by the film's mellow beginning... it warms up in no time. Although well versed reviewers have called it the best concert film ever made, I can't see how it surpasses THE LAST WALTZ. As for the "big suit" worn by David Byrne in the final act, some people may find it offensive and, quite frankly, I didn't understand the concept behind it.

Comments: at the time this film was made, I saw the Heads in Montreal and, although they had delivered a fine set that night, I don't remember David Byrne giving such a torrid, exhausting performance as here. Let's give credit to Jonathan Demme for immortalizing these distinctive, off-kilter musicians at the height of their creative careers. Don't be straight, don't be normal, STOP MAKING SENSE!     

 

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