Raise the Red Lantern

Also known as: Da hong deng long gao gao gua
Genre: psychological drama
With: Gong Li, He Caifei, Cao Cuifeng
Director: Zhang Yimou
Release: 1991
Studio: Era International, Salon Productions, China Film Co-production Corporation – Orion Classics
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 8.5/10


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Story-line: after accepting to marry a rich Chinese master, nineteen-year-old Songlian moves to his mansion… to live with his three other wives.
Pluses: beautiful visuals and costumes, impeccable acting, remarkable direction and a strong story about household politics.
Minuses: none whatsoever.
Comments: this brutal Chinese film set in the 20s showcases Zhang Yimou’s world-class talent as a director and Gong Li’s fearsome acting chops. No doubt about it, this picture is a biggie.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Genou de Claire (Le)

English title: Claire’s Knee
Genre: psychological comedy
Director: Éric Rohmer
Release: 1970
Studio: Les Films du Losange
Background material on Éric Rohmer: bloomberg.net
Rating: –
MBiS score: 8.0/10


Dietrich Was Right… You Can Be Both An Intellectual And A Pervert


In the late 70s and early 80s, one of the best comedies on TV was BARNEY MILLER, which featured a squad of NYPD detectives and the cases they were assigned to solve. Though its stories almost exclusively took place in one cramped and dingy precinct office and were based on personal interaction between its regular characters, I never found it boring. Among the cops, my favourite was Arthur Dietrich, the conspicuously clever one who often got on his colleagues’ nerves. The title of this review refers to one episode in which a woman had laid indecency charges against a college professor and the prof had protested to Dietrich that he was a ‘scholar’. Dietrich’s retort, as hinted above, was less than supportive for the alleged offender.

LE GENOU DE CLAIRE is our first foray into the late Éric Rohmer’s film universe and, if you’ve heard about him, you’ll understand my reference to BARNEY MILLER. In a typical Rohmer, sets are of little importance, dialogues drive the plot much more than concrete action and story-lines feed on character psychology and personal interaction. Overall, this director kept his dramas light and his comedies refined, thus authoring films that some people will find tediously genteel but others quite wise and rewarding. Among the handful I have seen, my top choice remains MA NUIT CHEZ MAUD but the perverse LE GENOU DE CLAIRE is a fine introduction to Rohmer’s original style of moviemaking.

Generally speaking, LE GENOU DE CLAIRE goes like this. Jérôme (Jean-Claude Brialy), a French diplomat posted in Sweden, returns to his homeland to settle personal matters. In the process, he hitches up with Aurora (Aurora Cornu), a novelist and dear friend, who introduces him to Mrs. Walter (Michèle Montel) and her family. Feelings of love will soon be revealed… in addition to an ardent, unsettling attraction that should be left unexplained for now.

In this dryly funny picture, what stands out is the rapport between Aurora and Jérôme who discuss and analyze his obsession (?) as if they were psychiatrist and patient. To some, their tête-à-têtes will probably seem static and stilted but, to art film fans and francophiles in particular, they serve as a dandy illustration of that legendary Gallic sense for argumentation… and a mighty peculiar way to tickle the viewer. While you sit there, privy to all of that pensiveness, poetry and plotting, you really wonder where it will all lead you. Better yet, you’ll find yourself entangled in one of those small-scale mysteries that Rohmer relished so much and recounted on screen with intriguing and even mesmerizing results.

If you like your acting flamboyant and noisy, you will be disappointed with LE GENOU DE CLAIRE. Such a quiet film required restraint from its cast, which is exactly what it got from the trio above and also from Béatrice Romand, Gérard Falconetti, Laurence de Monaghan and Fabrice Luchini; however, since the story revolves around Jérôme, expect to see a lot of Jean-Claude Brialy who is brilliant as an earnest-looking but shifty fellow. Production values are satisfying and sober. As for Rohmer’s direction and writing, I see no reason to complain; when I think of many recent movies that have been hyped as great works but are really defective or worthless, I can only admire a creator capable of turning trivial-seeming events into appealing little stories so attuned to our human condition. Such is the miracle of cinema and I can testify to its power.

Has my review been fair enough? I do hope so and, since we’re friends, I won’t hold it against you if you choose not to see this film. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly recommend LE GENOU DE CLAIRE to anyone who loves logical comedies and polished entertainment. I’ll admit that Rohmer’s brand of filmmaking is an acquired taste but it’s a taste no one can acquire without starting somewhere. Here’s to Jean-Marie Maurice Schérer (1920-2010), a pioneer of the French ‘new wave’ and a director François Truffaut respectfully called ‘our master’.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Do the Right Thing

Genre: social drama
With: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis
Director: Spike Lee
Release: 1989
Studio: Sound One, Deluxe Digital Media, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Da Moulan Van Movie Company
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.2/10


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Story-line: one hot day in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New York City, Sal’s Famous Pizzeria becomes the focal point of neighbourhood tensions.
Pluses: strong acting, excellent character development, a foreboding mood and a realistic story.
Minuses: none whatsoever.
Comments: a mature and excellent work about race relations and a great effort by writer-director-actor Spike Lee. DO THE RIGHT THING can truly be called a ‘slice-of-life’ film.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Clockwork Orange (A)

Genre: psychological drama
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Release: 1971
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures, Kinney Company, Polaris Productions, Hawks Films Limited – Warner Bros. Pictures International
Song lyrics: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (1968)
Rating: R
MBiS score: 9.1/10


Sympathy For The Devil


Those young men sipping drinks at the Korova Milkbar are no ordinary patrons. They call themselves the Droogs – a raucous gang of hooligans led by one Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) – and they don’t intend to loaf about all evening. When good and ready, they’ll surely prowl the city’s dark corners looking for kicks and, by Jove, there will be kicks to be had! With Warren Clarke (Dim the Droog), James Marcus (Georgie the Droog), Michael Tarn (Pete the Droog), Patrick Magee (Mr. Alexander), Michael Bates (Barnes), John Clive (Stage Actor), Adrienne Corri (Mrs. Alexander), Carl Duering (Brodsky), Paul Farrell (Tramp) and Clive Francis (Joe). Production team: Bill Butler (editor), Russell Hagg and Peter Sheilds (art directors), John Barry (production designer), Ron Beck (wardrobe supervisor), Milena Canonero (costume designer) and Walter (Wendy) Carlos (music, interpreting compositions by Beethoven, Rossini, Elgar and others).

When the Beatles and the Rolling Stones reached superstardom in the mid-60s, a few years before A CLOCKWORK ORANGE was released, their songs and musical directions divided young fans and adults alike. If you loved pop rock transcendence and beautiful harmonies, the Beatles were your band and your folks didn’t complain much. If raw blues rock, sexual suggestiveness and a whiff of danger were your bag, you idolized the Stones but mom and pop cringed. One could argue that the same dichotomy holds true for movie masterpieces. Most are rooted in noble symbolism or portray man’s primary struggles on Earth but Stanley Kubrick’s classic about Alex and his ruffians stands out like a black sheep among the flock, a deleterious work conceived by rough-and-tumble souls. In spirit, it owes little to the Beatles but shares plenty with SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, the Stones’ scary hit from 1968.

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste

Early on, the level of violence in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE may shock you as the Droogs, who give little credence to social conventions, let their boots, fists and knives do the talking for them. If you consider these scenes repulsive or sadistic – as they obviously are – keep in mind that the mayhem lasts only fifteen minutes or so and is tempered with a peculiar brand of sick and witty humour. Hang on to your bowlers, mates!

But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

Once this intemperate introduction has passed, Kubrick’s film slows down to focus on Alex, his private life and delinquency problems. In this context, our devilish dandy appears less like a monster and more like a prototypical anti-hero. The lad shows intellectual curiosity, a love for classical music and mammoth mojo (!).

Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain

After another flurry of gratuitous violence, the movie changes gears with Alex becoming the hero – quite literally – of a contemporary fable alternately hilarious and creepy. From there, the film’s story-line mixes nightmarish terror, devastating humour, a hard satirical bent on politics and society (a recurrent theme in Kubrick’s oeuvre) and joyful irreverence towards religion and authority. Deep down, its Orwellian message about crime and punishment, political expediency, science and ethical issues will appear bracingly serious and its verdict, surprisingly moral. That’s as far as I’ll go for now but, if you’re anything like me, you will come to accept young Alex… and even root for the roguish bugger!

Just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is certainly not Satan’s handiwork but it remains diabolically clever – pun intended, of course. Taking their cue from an Anthony Burgess novel, Kubrick and his magnificent team fashioned not just a dirty allegory but a blowout for the senses. Jazzed-up dialogues (the Droogs speak their own crazy lingo), bizarre costumes, mind-blowing sets leaning on the ultra-modern and decked out in psychedelic colours (fuchsia and lime green!) and a souped-up musical score fusing synthesizers and old-world compositions collectively establish a surreal mood that prefigures some of EYES WIDE SHUT’s stranger moments. Between you and me, I have long thought that Stanley Kubrick was an Englishman and this film reinforces the illusion. Moreover, his in-your-face demonstrations of erotica and sexual mischief are remarkably adroit – most other filmmakers would look juvenile if they tried this kind of stuff but he manages to pull it off with unrepentant glee. Scenes that would be innocuous or drab in other movies look funny and even grotesque in Kubrick's offbeat vision of the world.

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, have some taste

Acting-wise, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is mainly Malcolm McDowell’s show and he delivers a masterful performance in an unglamorous role. His mellifluous voice and very British accent are immediately captivating while his playing runs the gamut of emotions, from evil playfulness to unforced civility. A competent cast affords him noteworthy support in a variety of roles, some good, some nasty indeed.

Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mmm yeah

I’ll sum up with an easy riddle – and feel free to interrupt me if you know the answer (!). What do you get when you mix Kubrick and Burgess, genius and madness, an electrifying story and a form of intellectual perversion rarely seen in modern culture? A very subversive movie and, better yet, an outrageous piece of cinema that shames many of today’s so-called ‘masterpieces’. Speak of the devil!


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Best Intentions (The)

Genre: relationship drama
With: Pernilla August, Samuel Fröler, Max von Sydow
Director: Bille August
Release: 1992
Studio: STV1 Drama, ZDF, Channel 4, RAIDUE, La Sept, DR, YLE 2, NRK, RUV
Rating: -
MBiS score: 8.4/10


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Story-line: when Henryk Bergman, a stern young Swede studying to become a pastor, visits his friend Ernst Akerblom and meets Ernst’s sister Anna, you can feel that love is in the air… but a love that will be faced with tremendous obstacles.
Pluses: a serious and moving story, striking characters, seamless direction and impressive acting.
Minuses: the film’s length (3 hours) may scare off some but, really, do try to see this splendid, thoughtful feature.
Comments: this movie about Ingmar Bergman’s star-crossed parents is a true representation of life’s plain and sombre struggles. Pure cinema in its most useful, artful form.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Lost In Translation

Genre: comedy drama
Director: Sofia Coppola
Release: 2003
Studio: American Zoetrope, Elemental Films, Focus Features
Rating: R
MBiS score: 7.3/10


A Kiss is Just a Kiss (thank you, Louis Armstrong)


Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a washed up American actor who appears in TV ads to fend off irrelevance, finds himself in Tokyo one day to shoot a commercial for Suntory whisky. Jet-lagged, distracted and groggy, he is visibly bored despite the attention he receives as a celebrity guest. Things will change, however, when he unexpectedly meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a young compatriot with problems of her own. With Giovanni Ribisi (John), Anna Faris (Kelly) and Catherine Lambert (the jazz singer).

Some movies are more difficult to fathom than others and LOST IN TRANSLATION is one such film. Neither loud nor busy, it deals in emotions and lets them evolve at a natural pace, truly reflecting life as you and I live it. For this reason, don’t expect big laughs or gut-wrenching action from this film but subtle comedy, light drama and a pleasantly disorienting mood. In her screenplay, Sofia Coppola chose to practise empathy and I don’t see how else she could have depicted her two travellers stranded in a foreign land, struggling to understand their surroundings and what is happening to them. When you go abroad, especially in a country with a culture vastly different from yours, the need to confide in someone you trust is a strong and natural reaction that both Bob and Charlotte will act upon with complete candour.

Technically speaking, LOST IN TRANSLATION remains true to its purpose. It genuinely cares for its characters and shows them for what they are, without fanfare nor pretense. Bill Murray was given a role perfectly suited to him and Scarlett Johansson played hers with justifiable restraint as a young woman searching for the key to her future. The age difference between Bob and Charlotte may – or may not – matter in the story. By comparison, other characters are relegated to bit parts while the real support comes from Japan’s capital, fabulous and iridescent, awesome but never hostile, a city brimming with movement and friendly people; the camera clearly adores Tokyo’s vistas and captures them with elegance. As for Ms. Coppola’s direction, it carries the narrative smoothly and competently.

However, all this beauty and sympathy comes at a cost and LOST IN TRANSLATION suffers from a lack of content that may leave you unfulfilled. I cannot help comparing it with BROKEN FLOWERS, another vehicle for Bill Murray’s deadpan best, which wasn’t a powerhouse either but managed to get the viewer a little more involved than this one. As sensitive a movie as Ms. Coppola’s can be, it remains slight and feels at times like a travelogue. The film’s denouement, also, can hardly be called a climax.

I know that many in moviedom have expressed admiration for LOST IN TRANSLATION but, in life as in matters of motion picture entertainment, it never hurts to be choosy. You may watch this film if you want to – it’s agreeable all right – but I wouldn’t call it essential viewing. As George Borrow once said, ‘Translation is at best an echo.’ Sorry.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

1900

Also known as: Novecento
Genre: social epic
With: Robert De Niro, Dominique Sanda, Gérard Depardieu
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Release: 1976
Studio: Artistes Associés, Produzioni Europee Associates, Artemis Film
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.4/10


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Story-line: while focusing on Alfredo and Olmo, two men born in 1900 on opposite sides of the social divide, this sprawling film depicts nearly 50 years on an Italian farm where owners and peasant workers struggle together, clash often and witness some of the 20th century’s most important events.
Pluses: a formidable cast including Burt Lancaster and Donald Sutherland (as a demented foreman), expert direction, a sweeping narrative.
Minuses: the movie’s two versions are decidedly long (4 and 5 hours) but, as incredible as it may seem, they remain interesting throughout. Some scenes may be difficult to stomach because of their shock value.
Comments: 1900 is a monumental work by one of the world’s most reputable directors and also a fine product of Italian cinema. A worthwhile watch for movie buffs!


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Feux rouges

English title: Red Lights
Genre: thriller
Director: Cédric Kahn
Release: 2004
Studio: France 3 Cinéma, Centre National du Cinéma, Banque Populaire Images 4, Cofimages, Alicéleo, Gimages, Gimages 6, Wellspring Media
Rating: -
MBiS score: 8.3/10


I’m Always Nervous When You Drive


On this last day before the summer holidays, pandemonium has spread throughout Paris but Antoine (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), an insurance man, savours the moment with contrasting serenity. This year, he has set himself up to enjoy his precious time off and, as he emails his wife Hélène (Carole Bouquet) before leaving the office, his mood is almost poetic. ‘I feel like a man in love going on his first date, he writes to his better half, and I’m happy we’ll join the children and visit your parents.’ Sounds like a great vacation… but don’t bet on it. Merely three hours later, as Antoine takes to the road with his belle Hélène, he seems aggravated, even impatient, and the couple’s carefree drive down south turns into a battle of wills. With Carline Paul, Jean-Pierre Gos and Vincent Deniard. Music by Arvo Pärt.

FEUX ROUGES wastes no time in making a mundane premise look odd and even unsettling. Its stunning opening theme by Claude Debussy and a few shots of futuristic high-rises put you on notice that something unusual – and indeed remarkable – is in the offing. Hélène didn’t see it coming but minor annoyances have irritated her hubby. The ensuing spat gets ugly as quarrels often do… but to see it become a chilling, small-scale thriller is a feat we can only attribute to Georges Simenon, the novelist behind the famous Maigret series, and director Cédric Kahn, who expertly adapted his story for the big screen.

There are few characters in FEUX ROUGES and, frankly, there was no need for more. Jean-Pierre Darroussin does a bang-up job as Antoine, a basically agreeable fellow who blows a fuse and allows himself to vent his pent-up emotions (for reasons I shan’t disclose). In this regard, the movie’s story-line makes excellent use of the humongous traffic jams that clog up the French capital every year at vacation time. Carole Bouquet, as usual, doesn’t content herself with playing a pretty face; her Hélène is a strong, intelligent woman who won’t stand for churlishness. Whether together or apart, these two actors deserve your undivided attention.

Polished dialogues, a competent supporting cast and a cunning screenplay will do the rest. Technicals don’t disappoint either, cinematography especially. My only concern about FEUX ROUGES − and a legitimate one since thrillers sometimes veer off atrociously after a solid start − was its staying power. For the record, let’s just say that Kahn’s film grips the pavement like trusty Michelins and that, no matter how finicky you are about plot lines, you will be fully satisfied with what you see. Some elements of the story may be left unexplained but you’ll find answers for every twist and turn.

I won’t say more and, honestly, I don’t need to. Don’t miss FEUX ROUGES, a superb little feature about the fickleness of human nature, life’s many surprises and a very unusual case of road rage. And if one day you find yourself in a car with a driver who’s hot under the collar, don’t argue.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Glass Menagerie (The)

Genre: family drama
With: Joanne Woodward, Karen Allen, John Malkovich
Director: Paul Newman
Release: 1987
Studio: Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, Aspetuck Productions Ltd – Cineplex Odeon Films, Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI)
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 8.4/10


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Story-line: in St. Louis, during the Depression, the tenuous relationship between an overbearing mother (Amanda), her restless son bent on adventure (Tom) and her hapless and slightly handicapped daughter (Laura) reaches a breaking point.
Pluses: splendid acting, a moving story by Tennessee Williams, respectful direction by Paul Newman.
Minuses: none whatsoever.
Comments: though fundamentally a stage play, THE GLASS MENAGERIE works admirably on the big screen and stands as a fine character study. Don’t miss this heartbreaking film, if only to meet Laura and learn of her real predicament: ‘Mother's afraid I'm going to be an old maid.’


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved

Reader (The)

Genre: psychological drama
Director: Stephen Daldry
Release: 2008
Studio: The Weinstein Company, Mirage Enterprises, Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH – Miramax Films, The Weinstein Company
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.3/10


The Sting of a First Love Too Powerful and Guilty


Berlin, 1958. As Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) was washing the sidewalk in front of her building, she noticed a sick lad hovering about and urged him to come up to her apartment for immediate care. While they were together, the boy, one Michael Berg (David Kross), could plainly see that Hanna was not as privileged as he was and their 20-year age difference was clearly understood but the encounter, as brief as it was, left an impression that would prove impossible to quell. With Ralph Fiennes (Michael Berg as an adult), Karoline Herfurth (Marthe), Hannah Herzsprung (Julia), Bruno Ganz (Professor Rohl) and Lena Olin. Music by Nico Muhly.

From what I have told you thus far, THE READER may seem like a standard ‘young man meets mature woman’ love story born of mushy feelings and headed for predictable ruin but, in truth, it encompasses much more. Michael and Hanna’s rocky relationship will conjoin past, present and future as well as conscience, class and culture in ways they would never have suspected when they first set eyes on each other. At the very least, you should know that their chance meeting will open up large-scale issues in addition to personal ones and, in this regard, Stephen Daldry’s film can be likened to CACHÉ, another feature about private matters inescapably linked to the big picture of life.

Since THE READER tells its story from a literary angle and begins with a flash forward to 1995, it needs time to unfold, establish its main characters and shake off an obvious, all-too-perfect premise. Nevertheless, it quietly draws you in from the outset – like the first pages of a book usually hint at greater things to come – until it reaches that pivotal moment when Michael and Hanna each face moral issues as painful as they are intractable. All of this is handled expertly by director Daldry and writer David Hare, working from a novel by Bernhard Schlink. Acting-wise, Kate Winslet serves up a restrained and reasoned performance as Hanna, a moody and impatient woman to whom life offers little consolation aside from a young lover, while David Kross plays a bright, slightly rebellious Michael. Notice how these two characters, though different in personality and background, will react similarly to the tragedy that befalls them. Ralph Fiennes, as the older, colder Michael, shows his usual talent but spends much less time on screen than movie posters and studio publicity may indicate. The other actors on board, especially Bruno Ganz and Lena Olin, are also above reproach. I see no reason to complain about production values, cinematography or editing; visuals, in particular, are crisp and aesthetic.

Since books are so important to Michael, there is one scene in THE READER that I found very revealing and I hope it will strike you as well. It’s the one where a teacher theorizes that ‘The notion of secrecy is central to western literature’. With due respect, I can’t say that I agree entirely with him but THE READER certainly proves his point with eloquence and surprising emotional force. May you profit from this lesson in life and culture as much as I did.


MBiS

© 2010 – All rights reserved