Month: December 2017

The Last Jedi: is it about time the Empire strikes OUT?

Posted on by victorfraga

Thousands of reviews, opinion pieces, YouTube videos, blog posts and tweets were published within hours of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi hitting cinema screens across the globe a couple of weeks ago. The critical response was overwhelmingly positive. DMovies‘ writer Jeremy Clarke (who’s not a big Star Wars fan) absolutely loved it, and gave it five dirty splats. Without spoiling too much, film critics jumped over themselves in a lavish display of righteousness as they universally proclaimed that, at last, a Star Wars film could be considered serious art.

Many noted the visual spectacle was something to behold, the twists in the plot were remarkable and genuinely surprising, the performances from the original cast and the newer recruits were impressive, and the overall arc meant that the original Star Wars fan who was now pushing past 50 years old could happily sit and immerse themselves in nostalgia whilst a 13-year-old whose only familiarity was the Star Wars: Rebels cartoon series would be swept along to embrace a whole new trilogy without much knowledge of the previous films. A perfect bridging between old expectations and new perspectives.

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People have the power

Except the audience response didn’t quite gel with the critical. Including DMovies readers, who seemed to disapprove of the movie, despite Jeremy’s enthusiasm. Some fans walked out of screenings fuming at what they perceived as mindless tosh and announced via social media that they were done with Star Wars, and that any ounce of hope for Disney’s vision of the franchise was lost to the clusterfuck of swerves and misses that The Last Jedi presented. An online petition gained momentum to urge Disney to eject the film from the official canon. My own experience of The Last Jedi was less dramatic. It was actually extremely positive, if somewhat bewildering. I came out my own screening utterly convinced the film was brilliant, but also I acquired a throbbing headache as my neurons fired in an attempt to construct new pathways that could cope with this much change, this many twists, this much elation, this much disappointment. I was dizzy with chemical contradictions and imbalances.

The bones of contention were many, but two stand out among the din. The representation of a grumpy Luke Skywalker hiding out and sulking on the remote planet of Ahch-To caused many concerns even from Mark Hamill, the actor who has lived and breathed Skywalker for 40 years. Skywalker seems to have broken off from the galaxy due to a mishap in the training of Ben Solo who succumbs to the Dark Side and becomes the evil teenage emo-dream Kylo Ren. But, in fact representation of elder Jedi in the original trilogy matches Skywalker’s depiction.

When the young Luke first met Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Tatooine dustbowl in A New Hope, wasn’t he an odd bearded hermit living off the land? When Luke jets off to Dagobah to find the “great warrior” Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980) he meets an old frazzled eccentric exile who also refuses to train him in the ways of the Jedi. Hamil’s arguments to Rian Johnson were that “Luke would never have given up”, but both Obi-Wan and Yoda had thrown in the towel decades before for a life of meditation and solitude whilst Darth Vader (a product of Kenobi’s failure) tore up the galaxy. We’ve placed an awful lot of faith in Skywalker if we think he can’t have a brood once in a while and his shortcomings as a whiney teenager in George Lucas’s 1977 A New Hope (pictured just below; remember the strop he pulled when Uncle Ben told him he had to stay for one more season) offer a trajectory to a lonesome hermit quite well.

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A thick-skinned antagonist

The other point that many people saw problems with was The First Order’s Supreme Leader Snoke, a reptilian villain of immense force power who since his introduction as a monolithic hologram in The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams, 2015) had been the subject of countless identity theories (was he Darth Plagueis? Mace Windu? a reincarnated Emperor Palpatine?). Anticipation for his big reveal was intensive, yet he was offed by his apprentice Kylo Ren during a brief scene. The end of Snoke (pictured below) seems to have genuinely shocked fans who want their Star Wars baddie to have depth, purpose and wisdom. The prequel trilogy was as much Emperor Palpatine’s back story as Darth Vader’s. Expectation to fill in the gaps in Star Wars is…well… expected. Yet The Last Jedi seemed to be at once a denouncement that your Snoke theory was useless and that any theory you ever had about Star Wars was highly problematic. The rule book was being rewritten and torn up at the same time.

Yet Snoke’s introduction and his death might not be as odd as you’d think. After all Star Wars is now a Disney property and one needs only to look towards Disney’s other franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to see that powerful antagonists are two a penny. For example, 2016’s Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson) introduced the ancient demon Dormammu, a seemingly immortal being that nonetheless was defeated within the timeframe of the film by a man who had only recently discovered his powers. In 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (James Gunn), the antagonist Ego, a god-like Celestial who has traversed the universe for eons sowing his ‘seed’, succumbs to the rag-tag Guardians in fairly short order. Sadly for the theorists, Snoke is nothing more than a simple narrative device for moving the action along and give our heroes something to overcome. He might get his back story in books, but his day in the sun is truly over.

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A new beginning?

As I’ve now lived with The Last Jedi for a couple of weeks and read many other opinion pieces, I’ve allowed the film to sink in and concluded that The Last Jedi acts as the final page of George Lucas’ creation and a first page to an unwritten and collaborative vision of future Star Wars films. In fact, we shouldn’t have been surprised to discover this was the film’s intention. These seeds have been planted since Disney’s takeover of the franchise. In the lull period between Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas,m 2005) and A New Hope, the idea that Jedi were roaming the galaxy and helping the rag-tag Rebellion seemed nonsensical.

The cartoon series Star Wars: Rebels introduced Kanan and Ezra, two Jedi who continue their teachings whilst adapting to the idea of resistance to the Empire. Rebels also introduced new perspectives of The Force with the character of the Bendu, a large ancient creature who occupied the centre ground between the light and dark side of The Force. This wider perspective has bled into the latest Star Wars films, with The Force Awakens introducing The Church of the Force, a kind of fraternity of Force worshippers, Maz Katana an ancient being whom confesses that she “is no Jedi, but I know The Force”, and Snoke’s Force abilities are also up for debate with him being not a Sith Lord or a Jedi Knight, but something else (now he’s dead we may never know). The best and boldest interpretation of The Force was seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016; in the image below) with the character of Chirrut, a Guardian of the Whills (Jedi textbooks) on the planet Jedha and a zealot for The Force. Though Chirrut had no Force capabilities his belief and devotion to it meant that he was a formidable and spiritually attuned warrior.

So The Last Jedi’s mission is to embrace a wider perspective for future films and not as Chancellor Palapatine remarks in Revenge of the Sith “the dogmatic view of the Jedi”. These films will be inclusive to all from an audience perspective and a character perspective also. Luke’s admission in the film that “it’s time for the Jedi to end” echoes Kylo Ren’s statement that in order to move on and progress we should “let old things die”, the Rebellion, the Empire the Sith, the Jedi. An all new perspective must rise to replace the old texts. This needs to happen within the narrative of future Star Wars movies, but it also needs to happen for those that will watch these movies.

The reliance on the original audiences has to end. The demographics of these viewers (45-55 years of age) are no longer the active cinema goer. Fifteen to 25 appears to be the largest demographic, the youngest of which might still have been toddling around in diapers when Revenge of the Sith was last in theatres. When in The Force Awakens, Rey, upon hearing the name Luke Skywalker, remarks that “I thought he was a myth”, she’s talking both within the film and to those watching who have heard this name uttered by parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and within popular culture, but the significance of Skywalker (even Anakin) to this generation is moot.

The embrace of a newer audience, one well attuned to cinematic spectacle is how the subsequent movies will play out. This might sound like Star Wars movies will become formulaic blockbusters. However, there is immense freedom to be had. No longer will we the audiences be constrained by the Skywalker linage, the royal blood of The Force and the baggage that carries with it. Now the galaxy far, far away is anybody’s for the taking and that means the audience can place themselves right there in the middle of it. Seeing heroes that come up from nothing on screen (even those that occupy a fictional, magical universe) will be mesmerising and hopefully inspiring to young audiences. New Star Wars heroes and villains will emerge and fade within the next few years, but one thing is for sure the hero’s journey will be the prominent theme of these films.

The top 10 dirtiest films of 2017

Posted on by victorfraga

Another year has gone by, and DMovies is now nearly two years old. We were launched in February 2016, which makes 2017 our first year fully operational (from January to December). In the past 12 months, we have published more than 200 reviews, 40 articles and held eight screenings of our favourite dirty movies across London. Plus, we have attended the three major film festivals in Europe: Cannes, Berlin and Venice, plus Sundance and Tribeca across the pond. To boot, we have partnered with ArteKino and with The Film Agency/ Under the Milky Way in order to promote the best films on VoD in the UK, Europe and beyond.

This means that we have been extremely busy unearthing the dirtiest gems of cinema being made in all corners of the planet. It was extremely difficult to selected the dirtiest films from such an extensive pool, so we asked our top six contributors to cherry-pick their dirty favourites of the year. Each contributor picked one. That’s six films. The other four films were selected by our readers – they are the most read reviews between January and now.

These 10 films are from countries as diverse as Syria, Brazil, France, Israel, Italy and Germany/Australia. Sadly no British film made it to the list this year. These movies with deal complex and profound topics such as war (Foxtrot and Insyriated are very anti-war), sexuality (the twisted The Double Lover and the LGBT romance Call me by Your Name), misogyny (Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story), but also more lighthearted, puerile issues (The Florida Project and My Life as a Courgette). What all of these films have in common is that they will hit you like a ton of bricks, and cause you to reflect about your own life!

Check out the full list below, which is sorted in no specific order. Just don’t forget to click on the film titles in order to accede to our exclusive dirty review!

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1. Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz):

Get ready for a feast for the eyes. A visual orgasm conceived by DOP Giora Bejach. The creativity shows in every single frame, with a variety of angles, lighting and textures. Foxtrot is both a beautiful film and a piece of art, plus an incendiary anti-war statement. The visual ballet divided in three acts: Michael Feldman (Lior Ashkenazi) is informed that his son Jonathan (Yonatan Sharay), a conscript in the Israeli Army, has died; Jonathan’s days of military service in the Israeli Defense Forces, and; a long conversation between Michael and Jonathan’s mother, Dafna (Sarah Adler). Each act has a distinctive touch, and all three are strangely pleasant to watch.

Foxtrot was selected by Tiago Di Mauro.

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2. Insyriated (Philippe van Leeuw):

For 85 minutes you will have to wear the shoes of Oum Yazan (in a rivetting performance delivered by the Palestinian actress and film director Hiam Abbass), as she does everything within reach in order to protect her family inside her flat in Damascus, as the Syrian War is just beginning to loom. You will be locked with Oum and seven other people in the relative safety of her middle-class dwelling, while a cannonade of bombs and machine gun fire explodes outside.

Urgent in its simplicity, the effective Insyriated will haunt you for some time. It’s a painful reminder that tragedy can strike at anytime, and that there is no such thing as a safe home. It’s also a call for action: every country should open their doors to Oum, Halima and their families.

Insyriated was selected by Victor Fraga.

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3. Bingo: The King of the Mornings (Daniel Rezende):

We regret to inform you that Pennywise has been uncrowned and also stripped of his title as the dirtiest clown ever. The accolade has been rightly claimed by Brazilian Bingo. The difference is that instead of scaring and killing children, his South American counterpart subverts childhood in a very unusual way. He infuses it with swagger, malice, sensuality and a dash of naughty humour. And he’s also a little Camp. Most Americans and Europeans would cringe at the teachings of this very unusual prankster.

The character is in based on the real story of Arlindo Barreto, the first Bozo (The American clown character, which never featured on British media) on Brazilian television, back in the 1980s – his name was changed to Bingo on the movie in order to avoid legal trademark issues, and also for the sake of more artistic freedom.

Bingo: The King of the Mornings was released just last week, and it’s in cinemas now. Its immediate popularity with our readers catapulted it to our top 10.

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4. The Double Lover (François Ozon):

Simply orgasmic. Ozon’s latest film is an incredibly arresting, sexy and funny study of love, sexuality and emotional breakdown. Chloé (Marine Vatch) begins an affair with her psychologist Paul (Jérémier Renier), after she has recovered from anxiety and some apparently psychosomatic stomach pains. Paul is strong and confident, while Chloé is frail and insecure. Her looks and vulnerability, plus some of the sex scenes, reminded me a lot of Mia Farrow of Polanski 1968 classic Rosemary’s Baby – minus the blond hair. Like Rosemary, she begins to suspect that her husband is concealing something from her and – despite her insecurities – she begins to investigate his life. She soon discovers that he changed his surname, but that’s just the beginning.

The Double Lover, which is also pictured at the top of this article, was selected by our readers. It was by far the most read review of the year, suggesting that our dirty readers love a little twisted randy action! It’s yet to hot UK cinemas, so stay tuned!

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5. Call me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino):

This modern take on Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971) is an emotional, rapturous and sensual queer love story taking place in northern Italy, and it will immediately steak your heart.

In the summer of 1983 in northern Italy, Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a 17-year-old boy, is about to receive a guest in his aristocratic house. He is lending his bed to Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old American scholar who has some work to do with Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg), a professor specialising in Greco-Roman culture. Elio and Oliver will share the same toilet as well as a desire for each other.

Call me by Your Name was selected by Maysa Monção.

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6. Good Time (Ben and Josh Safdie):

The streets will feel boring and dim after you’ve watched Good Time. Working with Robert Pattinson in a role written specifically for him after seeing the brothers’ previous film Heaven Knows What (2014) – a bleak examination of a young woman’s addiction to heroin – the narrative follows Connie Nikas’ (Pattinson) quest to get his mental disabled brother, Nick, out of jail before anything life-threatening happens to him. Even before the retro Good Time title appears on screen, accompanied by a heavenly synth based score, you gain an intimate understanding of both brothers and their relationship.

As the manipulative Connie, Pattinson manages to create a human who produces both disgusts and sympathy; he is a natural-born saviour who has rejected the only paternal figure in his life. His ability to be whoever whenever is undoubtedly a gift. Acting up to police officers in lies that flow effortlessly from his mouth, Pattinson is effectively acting within acting. To Corey (Jennifer Jason Leigh) he is her affectionate toy boy. Yet, Connie only sees her as a spare credit card for Nick’s bail money and a free ride around town.

Good Time was selected by Alasdair Bayman.

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7. The Florida Project (Sean Baker):

The Florida Project is “a loving look at the innocence of childhood”, as announced in the film trailer. Everything the camera captures is from the point of view of three children. Sean Baker is best known for his dirty Christmas film Tangerine (2015).

Baker represents the lives of marginalised Americans. The director uses photography in order to tell a story. Mooney and Jacey want to get to the pot of gold at end of the rainbow. The colourful rainbow is a symbol of the journey the kids are about to start. They desire to get out of the margins of society. The photography is not only beautiful, but it is a meaningful part of the story.

The Florida Project was picked by Richard Greenhill.

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8. My Life as a Courgette (Claude Barras):

Unlike so many mainstream children’s films which are designed to capture young minds by throwing relentless, rapid fire sounds and images at them, this one concentrates on the plight of its characters and how they deal with deep-seated social issues confronting them. A wry observational humour underscores the whole thing, as when Simon explains to the others that the final point of “doing it” is that “the man’s willy explodes”.

This is a striking script adaptation of a book realised with a real love for the craft of the stop frame animation process. Yet it’s much more than that, too: tackling difficult social issues head on whilst delivering convincing child (and adult) characters with lots of rough edges in a simple story which holds the viewer’s attention throughout.

My Life as a Courgette was selected by Jeremy Clarke.

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9. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Alexandra Dean):

She was just 16 and she was a natural born star. She was the first woman who simulated an orgasm in cinema. Hedy Lamarr could have stopped her career soon after she appeared in the film Ecstasy (Machaty, 1933), but she didn’t. The feature contains nudity. What a bold woman! Beautiful and twisted face,. But she wanted more than a quick and fake pleasure. She wanted to be recognised as a clever woman. So she devised a secret communication system to help the Allies to beat the Nazis. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is a historical doc that inspires us not to be defined by the labels that other people stick on us without asking.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story was selected by our readers. It’s one of the most read pieces of the year, despite seeing no theatrical distribution in the UK, and just a couple of ad hoc screenings. Time to fix that and place Hedy where she truly belongs, in front of huge audiences, recognised for both her looks and her skills.

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10. Berlin Syndrome (Cate Shortland):

This German/Australian production is the suspense film of the year. It will have you on the edge of your seat. And it was directed by a woman, in what has been an excellent year for female directors in horror.

Clare (Teresa Palmer) is an Australian photojournalist visiting Berlin and trying to capture some of the city’s essence with her camera. As both a female and a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language, the actress conveys a sense of extreme vulnerability without coming across as clueless and stupid. There’s lingering fear in her eyes, even in the most trivial actions such as having a glass of wine or crossing the street. She soon falls for the handsome and charming local lecturer Andi, who eventually locks her up and turns her into some sort of sex slave.

The dirtiest aspect of Berlin Syndrome is that, unlike in the syndrome named after the Swedish capital, the victim here does not gradually begin to identify with her kidnapper. The frail and vulnerable foreigner here defies all expectations and instead morphs into a headstrong escapee. It’s remarkable that female directors are embracing the male-dominated field of suspense and horror, and to dirtylicious results.

Berlin Syndrome was selected by our readers.

The top 10 dirtiest Christmas movies

Posted on by victorfraga

In a perfect world, Christmas is filled with some of the most jovial depictions of family, friends and community. But this is 2017, with grotesque creatures such as Donald Trump and BoJo calling the shots and presiding over our future! In this light, it is out with the Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life (1947) and in with some of the dirtiest Christmas related films to have ever graced celluloid.

Though not a direct overview of the dirtiest Christmas films to have graced 2017, such a soiled list instead looks at the films that play against conventions of the festive period, character stereotypes and outright devour Santa’s nice list, revering to the naughty one instead.

Christmas does not have to included mince pies, snow or presents. In Tangerine (also pictured above), a message of forgiveness and acceptance comes in the shape of a wig traded between two quarreling transsexual prostitutes in West Hollywood. Rejecting the casts of Christmas, Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut decomposes the meaning of family. Each time Tom Cruise’s Dr. William Harford returns home, his wife and child are asleep with the Christmas lights creating some atmospheric red lighting to deepen his lustful thoughts. Similarly, the streets of New York city are a vacuous space in which humanities basest desires come to the forefront.

In Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert (pictured at the top), Verhoeven chooses to lace the Christmas meal with sexual tensions, family feuds and dark comedy. Lastly, the likes of Gremlins and Krampus literally have their cake and eat it when approaching the notion of a calm and quiet Christmas. Instilling the holiday season with sheer horror and creatures that snarl and devour, Dante and Michael Dougherty create a stark juxtaposition to the traditional values of the season. Replacing the red wrapping paper is the red of blood.

Sit back, relax and enjoy these rebellious films to Christmas traditions and representations! Have yourself a dirty little Christmas!

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1. Tangerine (Sean Baker, 2015):

Before The Florida Project (released earlier this year), Sean Baker crafted a truly sumptuous Christmas film about two transgender prostitutes who search the mean streets of West Hollywood on Christmas Eve for Sin-Dee’s (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) pimp and boyfriend Chester (James Ransone). Suffused with foul language and the skirmishes of ethnic and sexual minorities, through it all a level of forgiveness and acceptance is discovered. The contrasts of a Christmas setting with the scantily glad characters is extended in the hip-hop dubstep score, serving to go against the grain of festive songs, and induce one into the world of Sin-Dee and Mya. Filmed on an iPhone with Filmic Pro app, it captures the rawness of human emotion in a fashion now characteristic of Baker’s filmic style. Instead of a Christmas tradition of Miracle on 34th Street, Tangerine should be your new annual festive watch!

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2. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999):

Kubrick’s last film famously involved the longest shooting period of any film EVER! Still, behind the arduous filming, Christmas is depicted as a time of paranoia, overwhelming urges to commit adultery and masochistic sex grounds in New York. Featuring one of Tom Cruise’s best performances and an erotic underbelly supported by Nicole Kidman that recalls Bunuel’s masterful Belle de Jour (1967), it’s certainly going to get toasty near the fire watching this stone cold dirty Christmas classic.

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3. Elle (Paul Verhoeven, 2017):

Paul Verhoeven’s Elle is a tale that reverts patriarchal notions of society, religion, and one would suggest Christmas, to Michèle Leblanc’s eventual revenge on her rapist. Casting a long shadow over those around her in a room, the gravitas to which Isabelle Huppert brings to the character infuses her with an emotional tapestry. The Dutch director is no strange to provocative filmmaking and this Christmas time why not enjoy the magnificent Isabelle Huppert as an early gift to yourself? Using the subject matter of family and the bourgeoisies in France, the Dutch director and iconic French actor combine to offer a deeply sardonic take on a Christmas meal that goes awfully wrong. The religious elements of the Christian tradition are similarly called into question over its narrative. Costumed by Nathalie Raoul, Huppert is at her finest Parisian chic. Who said it wasn’t the most wonderful time of year?!

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4. Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984):

No dirty alternative Christmas film list would be complete without these pesky little creatures and their complete and utter destruction of a small American town (Kingston Falls). Accompanied by the literal destruction of a modern Christmas, Gremlins is as rebellious to the notion of consumerism as the little critters are to any human being. Joe Dante brings Dante’s Inferno to the festive season. A dirty classic in every sense of the word.

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5. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960):

Featuring a drunk Christmas office party and the ramifications that feature when one drinks too much around someone who you hold a crush towards, Billy Wilder, Jack Lemon, Fred MacMurray and Shirley MacLaine star in this misery infused classic about how unfestive Christmas and life truly can be. With some of the finest dialogue in film, Wilder crafts a stunning piece of dark comedy.

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6. Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (Nagisa Oshima, 1983):

After the legendary singer David Bowie sadly passed away this year, why not let his presence be known in your life again, not through his music, but through his performance in Nagisa Oshima. This is the perfect opportunity to relive the man himself, just like a ghost from Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Representing the conflict between East and West, Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, as Criterion writes ‘its a multilayered, brutal, at times erotic tale of culture clash, and one of Oshima’s greatest successes’.

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7. Krampus (Michael Dougherty, 2015):

The pick of the modern phenomenon that is an annual horror related Christmas film, 2015’s Krampus plays with the idea of wicked malevolent forces arriving to commandeer Santa’s favourite season. The Christmas spirit is replaced with death, fire and evil demons coming to ruin your presents and much cherished family.

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8. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985):

Terry Gilliam and a dirty Christmas film you said, yes, you are correct! Occurring in a time and place alternative to ours, with an examination of bureaucratic regimes, Christmas shopping is represented by Gilliam as it really is: HELL!!!

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9. Jack Frost (Troy Miller, 1998):

A Snowman and Michael Keaton should, in theory, make for perfectly harmless viewing on a cold winters evening. Well, think again as in Jack Frost, Keaton plays Charlie Frost’s (Joseph Cross) deceased father who comes back from the dead and becomes a living snowman who attempts to make amends for his failures as a father. Besides this strange plot, the character design of the snowman is a far cry from the cute Snowman from The Snowman cartoon of 1982. Less walking in the air and more walking with a palpable sense of horror!

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10. The Snowman (Tomas Alfredson, 2017):

Every year there are always films which are considered absolute stinkers and none more than so wannabe Tomas Alfredson’s Nordic noir. Set in the depth of winter with a serial killer on the lose who cuts off the heads of women and then places them on snowmen, and who appears to have the artist brain of a four-year-old, this thriller deserves to be featured on this list simply due to its awful promotional campaign. Leaving your Christmas spirits very lukewarm, its dirtiness derives from the hilarity that ensures at its bad premise and strange acting.

This is rural Britain: lonely and loveless

Posted on by victorfraga

The year of 2017 in British independent cinema saw a shift in perspectives on contemporary life distant from street lights and 24-hour takeaways. Their depictions of country life, God’s Own Country (Francis Lee) and The Levelling (Hope Dickson Leach; pictured above) simply do not just use their stunning vistas as a reflection of a character’s isolation, they interact with a filmic representation of rural life and class that has been prevalent in European cinema for years, specifically in the films of French duo Dardenne brothers and more recently, illustrated poignantly by JR and Agnès Varda’ in Faces Places (also from this year).

Forget Leigh and Loach; this was the year of Lee and Leach. Away from the defining voices of arthouse British film as Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, who have not released any films in 2017, first time feature length directors Hope Dickson Leach and Francis Lee construct tactile debuts that speak to a repressed and reserved sense of Britishness that currently results in suicide being the leading cause of deaths in men aged 20-49. Similarly, their underlying socio-political connotations, their films speak to contemporary Britain in Eastern European migration impact on the Brexit vote and a wide demographic of untraceable Conservative voters who helped keep the Tory’s in power during the 2015 and 2017 General Elections. Their emotionally unstable and insecure male characters speak to a present day society engulfed with a fake sense of nationality. By looking to European filmic influences, Leach and Lee speak to a class and themes deserving of their time in the cinematic spotlight.

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Long and winding country road

After gaining the ‘Star of Tomorrow’ Award by Screen International ten years ago for The Dawn Chorus, Hope Dickson Leach’s arduous task of getting a full feature film made speaks to an industry so consumed with an unwelcomed over assertive masculinity resulting in a gender imbalance worse in 2017 than in 1913, as The Guardian reported in September. Taking a focused look at The Levelling, its lead character is a young independent veterinary student who is faced to return home after she receives a tragic call informing of a family suicide.

The devastation caused by her brother’s death is embodied in a destructive flood, which has damaged the farmland and livestock. Such floods leave their physical devastation in the surrounding landscape, still Leach utilises a stark juxtaposition of animals filmed struggling for dear life behind a void of blackness and water to draw further attention to their damage. Adopting some cinematic panache clearly references Jonathan Glazer’s masterful Under the Skin (2013; pictured above) and Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice (1986; pictured below) , yet underlying this, is an innovative representation on an environmental crisis that left the local farming community in a state of sheer dismay.

Such a minimalistic and surrealist approach is rarely seen in contemporary British film, only serving to highlight Leach’s very creative filmic approach. Through this void of nothingness, the rural community are truly isolated from the rest of society; foreground outside the context of The Levelling in a report documenting the Environment Agency’s neglecting of Somerset rivers. The neglect held at Parliament transpires is filtered in an expression European influences. Reading the void in a psychological light, its blackness emphasises Elle’s brother’s fragility of mind, resulting in his decision to take his own life. The antithesis of the idyllic countryside, soon to be seen in Downtown Abbey’s jump to the big screen, The Levelling’s setting and focus on a lower- middle class awash with a daily struggle evidently displays a Britishness which isn’t not so jolly, secure or pastoral after all.

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British boys don’t cry

The fragility of British masculinity and adoption of European styles comparably permeates God’s Own Country (in the two pictures below). Inviting an aesthetic compassion to Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights (2001), the cinematography captures the Yorkshire moors in an pure fashion; it evokes every human sense we hold through sight and sound. Chiefly in repressing his sexuality, Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) forces himself into stealthy sexual acts and drinking his woes away.

Forced to take up his father’s position on the farm after a stroke, life is a constant slow movement in a sea of grey for Johnny. Employed as an additional pair of hands, Romanian worker Gheorghe Ionescu (Alec Secareanu) lives an unstable life of physical labour upon different farms across the county. Forced to work together, in order to preserve the farm, Johnny comes to adore Gheorghe in time through his loving care and attention. Escalated by an understatedly aggressive performance by O’Connor, God’s Own Country’s protagonist typifies the much too prominent reserved sense of British masculinity. In every movement, he appears to be exerting every sinew in his body. Failing to express his emotions freely has been detrimental to his life as whole, granted until Ionescu has entered it. Firstly, against his presence at the farm, clear racist and far-right ideologies are held towards Gheorghe. Johnny’s colloquial racial slurs are accentuated by the geopolitical context of contemporary Britain.

Not an outright Brexiteer, it’s not misinformed to suggest that the lead character could have easily been swayed by Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and et al’s promise of an extra £350 million a week to reinvested into the NHS, something which Farage himself has stated as a regretful pledge. Pre- and post- Brexit hence consume the undertones. Lee’s ultimate message of transforming hate to love is a message that should be embraced by all. Roger Ebert’s Glenn Kenny cites God’s Own Country a “a tricky movie, but not in a way that’s dishonest. Its first feet are in the school of miserablist realism” – thus linking to the verisimilitude of Bruno Dumont and his French contemporaries. Though a simple link in their approach to filmmaking, it cannot be ignored that God’s Own Country’s authenticity of working life, accompanied by a sound design which leaves one feeling cold, is pivotal to illustrating a class familiarly seen abroad and not in UK features.

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British and beautiful

The distinctions between fiction and reality are blurred in the deep focus God’s Own Country and The Levelling pay towards presenting a rural community who speak more to what Britain and Britishness is in 2017 than any UK produced film this year. Yes, they do use European styles and cinematic language, but what is created by Lee and Leach are entirely British and beautiful pieces of film. A sense of duality lingers over any final comment; beautiful creations have been made through illumining a class who hold some of the most prevalent problems in modern society.

Sean Martin’s essay ‘Seven Elements of a Tarkovsky Film’, states that “Tarkovsky is essentially proposing giving the audience time to inhabit the world that the take is showing us, not to watch it, but look at it, to explore it. A film, therefore, is not an escape from life, but a deepening of it”. And this is is precisely what Lee and Leach achieved in their two films, with such a poignant representation of British rural communities.

After God’s Own Country’s success at the BIFA Awards a week ago, taking home best sound (Anna Bertmark), Best Actor (Josh O’Connor), Debut Screenwriter (Francis Lee) and Best Film for 2017, it is welcomed acclaim for a film which deals which our socio-political time and British rural communities in such a nuanced and understated fashion, evidently resonating with BIFA voters.

Thank You for Calling (Je Compte sur Vous)

Posted on by victorfraga

What’s more fun than watching the good guys win? Watching the bad guys get away with it, of course. French thriller adapts the ‘true story’ of a Chikli Gilbert, an infamous hustler known for his 2005 ‘fake president’ scam upon residences of France. Playing the lead role, Vincent Elbaz basks in the glory of playing such a fun and rebellious character. Thank You for Calling, though set 12 years ago, holds fears of a France stricken by a climate of riots, which propels Pascal Elbe’s film forward.

Gilbert Perez (Elbaz) was born a schemer. Introduced as a little kid who averts the attentions of bayliffs visiting his house, playing them off by saying his mother is ill and acting on his innocence, Perez was destined to hustle. Skipping forward to his adult life, he comes across untraceable phones that can call anywhere in the world. Using the contemporary setting of 2005 feels somewhat strange when seeing the numerous amounts of Nokia brick phones. Still the period is represented authentically. Choosing to use the technology for bad, he scams Céline Lerbier (Anne Charrier) who works at a small bank, claiming to be part of the government. In Lerbier’s emotional stress during the scam, Elbe’s choses to select TV News footage of a riot, thus linking to a contemporary fears of terror attacks.

With Perez’ first scam under the use of technology, it highlights in a world set in a pre-Snowdon environment, that government surveillance was part of the cultural zeitgeist in France and the world. Using the phones to his advantage and stealing from the rich recalls such hustlers at Wolf of Wall Street’s Jordon Belfort, who are sumptuous to watch getting one over on the law. Nonetheless, unlike Scorsese’s flick, Thanks for Calling operates in a level below this filmmaking, adequately going from A to B. Captured in the montage sequence that cements Perez and his brother as evidently millionaires, the cinematic technique is simply fun to watch, nothing more or less. Naturally a film without Di Caprio or Scorsese operates in a different league.

Choosing to invest some screen time in the relationship Perez holds with his son, it’s clear from the performance of Leo Elbe and Elbaz that they both connect on the level of enjoying life and its riches. Filmed in and around Tel Aviv, the gorgeous beaches and houses that Perez finds himself in are an extension of his criminality and simply a game to him. Without any lack of remorse towards his fraud victims, he is well and truly a big kid operating in an adult world.

Though holding no sincerity to the actual people caught up in this series of scandals in 2005, Thanks for Calling, as underlined in the lead performance, is concentrated on its own joys and fun. Regardless, that ride is a serviceable one. Thank You for Calling is available to view now on all major VoD platforms as part of the Walk This Way collection.

Mountains May Depart

Posted on by victorfraga

It’s the late 1990s and a young woman is being courted by her boss and a local family friend. That’s where the comparisons with Richard Curtis (Bridget Jones Diary, Sharon Maguire, 2001) stop. Romance may well be at the centre of Jia Zhangke’s latest film. However, any comedic elements are of the bitterly ironic kind, as the director of 2013’s A Touch of Sin offers us a mostly convincing critique of three generations of Chinese globalism in his hometown Fenyang. The narrative set-up, thematic detail and Shanxi setting may sound familiar enough within Jia’s oeuvre. This time around, the director has opted to examine a more recent period and to focus on the pressures that globalism places on family ties.

The first third of Mountains May Depart is set in 1999, shortly after China’s mass-privatisation initiative and on the cusp of the country’s rapid economic explosion. We are introduced to Tao (Zhao Tao), a 25-year-old woman who works in a Fenyang petrol station and has a budding relationship with local coalbminer Liangzi (Liang Jingdong). We also meet Tao’s boss and fellow suitor Jingsheng (Zhang Yi), an entrepreneur who has capitalised on recent economic reforms and is building up a sizeable business portfolio. Although Tao and Liangzi have the clearest chemistry, some aggressively ostentatious manoeuvring from Jingsheng places him in prime position to become the groom. Liangzi leaves town, Jingsheng gets his marriage and Tao gives birth to a son, Daole.

By the time we meet Liangzi again in 2014, he’s moved east and found employment and a family in Handan. Unfortunately, his work in the mines has also taken its toll on his health. Liangzi moves back to Fenyang with his wife and child, ostensibly with the aim of finding solemn peace in his hometown. Liangzi’s return provides an opportunity to catch-up with Tao, now a divorcee whose estranged son lives in Shanghai with his father. A family tragedy necessitates a brief visit from youngster Daole (Rong Zishan), who is attending an international school and seems to inhabit the in-between space of a third culture.

We leave young Daole with the knowledge that Jingsheng is planning on moving to Australia. When we revisit him in 2025, he’s a college student in Melbourne and has taken on the anglicised nickname Dollar (Dong Zijian). The final third of the film is scripted almost entirely in English, as Dollar struggles to find purpose in his moneyed overseas existence. This manifests itself in Dollar’s cross-generational conflict with his father, as well as the ebb and flow of his alienated Chinese heritage and his pursuit of a relationship with an older Cantonese college teacher. In spite of its thematic importance, this is the weakest section of the film and is largely unaided by an awkwardly inauthentic script.

The breadth of Mountains May Depart is truly remarkable. Under the guidance of a less skillful director, the wide-reaching plot could become disconnected, yet Jia manages to tie three decades together with the tight, threatening thread of globalism. The film is populated by the imagery of an ongoing battle between tradition and modernity. This is best characterised by Liangzi and Jingsheng’s concurrent pursuit of Tao. Liangzi is a pious coal miner who feels most comfortable in simple rural clothing, whereas Jingsheng is a nouveau riche businessman who drives a German Volkswagen and wears tailored suits. Tao, a woman in the middle of these two disparate men, perhaps represents the Chinese motherland itself.

The minimal soundtrack of the film equally plays a part in conveying its deep-rooted symbolism. The repetition of Pet Shop Boys’ 1993 Go West situates the main characters in a transitional economy that aspires to beat to a Western rhythm. Yet with the privilege of hindsight, it is also a constant reminder of the unfulfilled promise of the synth-pop cover. Likewise, Taiwanese-Canadian Sally Yeh’s Cantopop ballad Take Care repeatedly suggests that the optimistic dream of globalism is possible. Exactly how is somewhat forgotten, as the protagonists continuously forget the identity of the singer.

Jingsheng’s global financial aspirations can be seen to reflect those of contemporary China. However, they come at the cost of an absolute immorality that sees him mercilessly dispose of a friend, strategically divorce a wife and reduce his son to the status of currency, with the nickname Dollar. While Liangzi’s tradition may represent a more morally pure way of life, it also seems to lead to an early death that can’t be prevented in such austere conditions. Tao’s China ultimately represents an unsolved paradox. If the pitfalls of tradition can only be solved by embracing the curing lure of capital, how can happiness be achieved?

Jia doesn’t provide the answer to this question and with a final act that falls somewhat short, so does the audience’s satisfaction. Nonetheless, Mountains May Depart is an excellent lesson in compelling melodrama and shines a pertinent light on the everyday experiences of China’s left-behind has-beens and morally corrupt have-it-alls.

Mountains May Depart is out in cinemas across the UK on Friday, December 15th. On Arrow Player on Friday, April 9th (2021).

Win a flight, hotel and pass to the Berlinale!!!

Posted on by victorfraga

Have you ever dreamt of attending the largest film festival in the world and witnessing all the dirty action on the red carpet and inside the cinema with your very own eyes? Well, your dream could be about to come true, as ArteKino is giving away a flight, accommodation and accreditation for the next Berlinale, which is taking place between February 15th and 25th, 2018.

All you have to do is register with ArteKino and watch their films online before December 17th, entirely free. The difficult part is that you will have to select from 10 dirtylicious and precious gems of European cinema, and you won’t know where to start. And then you have to vote. Such hard work! The amazing selection includes a Bulgarian story of lovelessness, corruption and addiction, with a twist, a Portuguese tale of sorrow and nostalgia, the life of controversial Polish surrealist painter Zdzisław Beksiński, before he rose to fame, and also a very dysfunctional macho game in Greece, plus much much more.

Click here for the full terms and conditions, including which films you can see, where and who’s eligible for the promotion.

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A little about the Berlinale

The German capital is an exciting, cosmopolitan cultural hub that never ceases to attract artists from around the world. A diverse cultural scene, a critical public and an audience of film-lovers characterise the city. In the middle of it all, the Berlinale: a great cultural event and one of the most important dates for the international film industry. More than 334,000 sold tickets, more than 21,000 professional visitors from 127 countries, including more than 3,700 journalists: art, glamour, parties and business are all inseparably linked at the Berlinale.

The public programme of the Berlin International Film Festival shows about 400 films per year, mostly international or European premieres. Films of every genre, length and format find their place in the various sections. Click here for more information on the Festival’s website.

DMovies will be at the Berlinale digging up the dirt under the red carpet. Two of our journalists, Victor Fraga and Tiago Di Mauro will attend the event. So if you are not fortunate enough to win this amazing promo, panic not. Our coverage will bring the dirtiest event highlights to you on this website.

The man who made a sullen Brazil laugh

Posted on by victorfraga

The largest country of South America is living a very dramatic and tragic moment. The country saw a coup d’état last year, and the illegitimate government – which enjoys approval ratings close to 0%) has since implemented a series of extremely unpopular and Draconian ultra neo-liberal measures, including freezing public spend in education and healthcare for 20 years, raising retirement age to 50 years of employment and cutting workers’ rights to level in many ways analogous with slavery. The country is now deeply polarised, confused and the prospects are far from rosy. There are very few reasons to smile.

Bingo: The King of the Mornings is one of these recons. This outstanding movie is here to make people smile and indeed laugh. This is one of these films that supersedes political differences, and speaks to audiences everywhere in the ideological spectrum. It’s also a film that emphasises the importance of artistic freedom at at time when reactionary pundits in Brazilian are demanding censorship in museums, theatres and so on (which this BBC article explains in a little more detail). Its importance cannot be overstated.

Rezende, who’s an experienced film editor with the likes of City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002), The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles, 2004) and the new Robocop (Jose Padilha, 2014) already under his belt, has come up with an impeccable directorial debut. Bingo: The King of the Mornings is a partly fictionalised account of Arlindo Barreto’s life, Brazil’s first Bozo (the American TV clown). It’s a story full of nostalgia, swagger, sensuality and also the more profound topics of fall from grace and failed fatherhood.

Our editor Victor Fraga caught with the 42-year-old Brazilian filmmaker as he visited London in order to promote his film. So we talked to him about what made his film so successful in Brazil, how he feels about his film getting a theatrical release in the UK, Brazilian sensuality, stereotypes, artistic freedom and much more. Check out his dirty answers:

Victor Fraga – Very few Brazilian films saw a theatrical release in the UK in the past few years, except for Aquarius (2016) and Neighbouring Sounds (2011), both by Kleber Mendonca Filho. That’s less than a film a year. How do you feel about joining such a selective group?

Daniel Rezende – Of course I’m really, really happy and proud. We worked very hard to make a movie that represents us on the screen and also a film that’s not the kind of Brazilian film most people expect to see. This is not a socio-political drama, showing the economic problems of our country. And we have a lot of such problems. International audiences will probably be surprised to see our pop culture, and how we use our swagger in order to solve problems and deal with everything.

VF – As you pointed out, a lot of Brazilian films showing out here dealt social problems, such as poverty and violence. They include Central Station (Walter Salles, 1997), City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002; pictured below) and Elite Squad (Jose Padilha, 2007). Yet Bingo and last year’s Aquarius seem to be moving in a different direction. Is Brazil changing? Or is the way Brazil is perceived abroad changing?

DR – First of all, putting my film in the same group as Aquarius makes me very happy and proud. We are definitely changing. But also our cinema had a break for nearly 20 years. Almost no films at all were made in the 1980s and 1990s. Then came Central Station in 1997. City of God was a landmark. And I think audiences now are demanding more diverse movies.

After our cinema returned to life in the late 1990s, we had the same artists as before. Then a lot of advertisers started making films, including Fernando Meirelles and Walter Salles. A lot of directors and DOPs were making adverts because they had to survive in these 20 years. Now we are seeing an entirely new generation, who are changing the game again. So we have Fernando Coimbra who made this amazing movie called Wolf at the Door (2015). These people are thinking of cinema in a different way, moving away from socio-political dramas.

VF – Let’s talk about the Brazilian swagger. Your film highlights cultural differences in Brazil and the US. This exuberant sensuality is often frowned upon in other places. Do you think that this in an asset or a handicap, suggesting an image of sexual availability and promiscuity?

DR – I think that’s both. That’s in our culture, and our way of doing things. It’s indeed very controversial. Even though we have Carnival, we are a very conservative, Christian country, specially nowadays. Well, the entire world is turning more conservative, moving backwards. One step forward, two steps back. I don’t think this sensuality is linked to promiscuity. But I also think that we crossed a couple of lines that shouldn’t have crossed in the 1980s, and we have now moved forward. I don’t think a woman showing her boobs to kids is a good thing [in reference to the TV presenter Xuxa, pictured below, who’s called “Lulu” in Bingo).

My movie does not make any judgments of the subversions of the 1980s, when everything was exaggerated. What my film does is: “look, that’s how we were back then”. I personally have a lot of criticism about the politically incorrect back then but also nowadays.

VF – Brazil is seeing a huge reactionary backlash, and art is being subjected to censorship. The performance of La Bete in a museum being described as “paedophilia”. Your film also deals with a child seeing two adults having sex. Do you think that the 1980s were more liberal then now, and that censorship could become more strict in the future?

DR – The world is going down a very conservative path. Unfortunately, things are getting worse, particularly in Brazil. People are twisting ideas into their political agenda. In my film, Augusto takes his kid to a soft porn (pornochanchada) set, that was very common back then. We opened the film with this scene because we wanted to emphasise the paradox between doing porn and having to protect your son. He’s irreverent and subversive, but he’s also a father.

VF – Did you encounter any censorship? Or any negative reactions?

DR – Not at all. Not even when I was making the movie. People were actually happy that we were making a film to talk about an era which was less Big Brother. There was no one controlling you back then: “you can say this, but can’t say that”. We could only do that because we made no judgments of the character.

VF – Bingo humiliates a child live on TV. Did this actually happen in real life?

DR – No, not that bit. But a clown is subversive, you know? We took Vladimir Brichta [who plays Augusto/Bingo] to perform in a real circus, without anyone knowing, and he had to make people laugh. The entire crew was in the audience. A clown then chose me to go to the ring, and he somehow humiliated me. And not in a bad way. That’s what clowns do. When you put on the smallest mask in the world, the red nose, you are allowed to do anything you want, and nobody can criticise you. I would not use the word “humiliate”.

VF – You have changed a lot of names in the film Lulu, Rede Mundial and so on. And of course, the very title character. Were there trademark issues in all of the the cases or was it for the sake of jest?

DR – We wanted to have creative freedom in our film, so we changed most of the names. Including Arlindo Barreto, who became Augusto. Except for Gretchen [The Brazilian Bum Queen, pictured above]. And that’s because we wanted to have at least one real thing to which people could relate. We went after her, we asked her and she loved the idea! She allowed us to use her name!

VF – Did the real Gretchen also have sex with the fully-clad clown in a toilet cubicle?

DR – No, that didn’t happen. But Arlindo and Gretchen did have a relationship for a while, and we were allowed to make a couple of changes.

VF – Please tell us about your future projects. You are now working on a another film with a topic related to childhood, Monica’s Gang. How did that happen?

DR – I am dealing with my very own childhood much more than anything else! I grew up reading these cartoons (Monica’s Gang), and it’s part of who I am, and of our culture. I want to deal with Brazilian culture, and understand why we are the way we are. Monica’s Gang will be about friendship and sticking together. I want to continue to deal with humanity in my films.

The Prince of Nothingwood

Posted on by victorfraga

Neither Bollywood nor Hollywood, this is Nothingwood – because there’s nothing in Afghanistan! That’s how the emblematic Afghan actor, director and producer Salim Shaheen describes the film industry in his impoverished and war-ridden nation. Did I say emblematic? Well, probably not for you but indeed for Afghanis, where he’s perhaps the most famous and instantly recognised face of entertainment, also known as the “Sultan of Cinema”. Shaheen is not to be confused with (Youssef) Chahine – the late Egyptian filmmaker almost equally prolific and synonymous with his home nation.

French documentarist Sonia Kronlund follows Shaheen into the town of Bamyan, northwest of Kabul, where he is making 109-th feature film. This is a trip filled with joy and laughter. Shaheen is gregarious, expansive and charismatic. He’s constantly joking about his own limitations and predicament, and is always willing to crak a joke with the far more stern European filmmaker. He also likes to sing, to dance and to coach his actors on how to deliver an energetic performance. The soundtrack including Bollywood songs from Guide, Jhuk Gaya Aasman and Kati Patang also helps to lift the mood.

Despite having seen a lot of Iranian films in his childhood, Shaheen’s films feel a lot more like Bollywood in their language. They are easily digestible action movies and dramas with operatic acting and plenty of music. The visual effects are extremely basic, consisting mostly of fake blood and limbs. The mise-en-scene is quite simple, too, with a lot of location filming. This may come across as puerile and precarious to Western eyes, but we have to look at Shaheen’s work within context.

Singing, dancing and prancing around can come across as silly in European cinema, but not in Afghanistan. Shaheen explains that he was punished as a child precisely for singing and dancing. Afghanistan is a deeply conservative society, recently under the rule of the Taliban, and innocent gestures conveying glee and humour can be deeply subversive. Shaheen also clarifies that cinema was forbidden under the Taliban, but this did not stop soldiers from watching his films on their mobile phones, a black DVD market existed inside the regime. It’s simply impossible to silence art, however oppressive the rulers may be.

Some of the most hilarious moments of the film are performed by Qurban Ali, one of Shaheen’s regular actors. He wears a burka, cross-dresses and Camps it up bit time. With a capital C even. He’s not embarrassed to be effeminate, either; in fact, he’s even described as such. I can’t imagine this going down very well with the Taliban, but surprisingly he’s widely celebrated in Afghanistan and a regular on television, too.

Sonia takes the opportunity to exhibit the extreme volatility and precariousness of country, where walking on the streets can be extremely dangerous (particularly for a woman), yet this remains a secondary topic. The photography of the snowy and mountainous region of Afghanistan also deserves a mention. The white hills, golden sands, emerald-green lakes and baby-blue eyes make a superb combination, a delight for any cinematographist. Had it not been for the security issues, I am convinced that a lot of fantasy mainstream movies would be made there.

All in all, The Prince of Nothingwood is a charming and engrossing movie. The female foreign gaze is sensitive enough to celebrate the primordial and puerile qualities of local cinema without patronising it. Despite appearing in the movie and even speaking a little bit of Dari (the local Farsi dialect), Sonia keeps her distance most of the time. She even refuses to give her opinion about the actions of the Taliban when asked by Shaheen. She tells him: “you are the subject of this movie”.

The Prince of Nothingwood is out in cinemas across the UK on Friday, December 15th.

Scarred Hearts (Inimi Cicatrizate)

Posted on by victorfraga

Following the autobiographical writings of Max Blecher in his continual struggle with bone tuberculosis and constantly plagued by being bedridden, Scarred Hearts is Romanian director Radu Jude’s latest feature, dealing with a plethora of heavy and macabre themes in 1937’s Romania. Accompanied by a distinct visual style and gorgeous academy ratio, it’s a bold piece of European cinema that’s not afraid to patiently let a scene hold and play out, whilst slowly captivating you with its profound writings and opaque poetry.

After visiting a hospital with his father, 20-year-old Emanuel (Lucian Teodor Rus) is instantly submitted to long needles, a full back cast and regular operations to keep his tuberculosis at bay, while it slowly eats away at his back. Lacking any sort of establishing shot or location building, Emanuel – and audiences likewise – are instantly confined to the walls of hospital, accompanied by the vistas of the Black Sea. This period setting imbues the film with a sense of transition between two pivotal moments of modern human history, the two great wars. Just as Fascism and Hitler ate away at an ideologically weakened Europe, so does the tuberculosis to Emanuel’s back. In drawing away from setting its narrative during any conflict, Scarred Hearts channels Brady Corbet’s stunning debut Childhood of a Leader (2015) in choosing to explore a pre WW2 Europe – a film which deserves to be seen by more.

Bestowed with a youthful and fragile body, Teodor Rus’ physicality adds a layer of melancholy to the depiction of a youth being stricken down by an incurable illness, even if the doctors testify otherwise. Debuting for the first time, it’s a performance which is so tricky to capture. In the cinematography Marius Panduru, his bed bound action is caught from a side on perspective and rarely in any close shots, broadening the space which Emanuel and his bed hold in the frame. Rus’ performance is all the more impressive in his character’s constant state of institutionalised paralysis.

Adopting the period setting in the minutest detail, Christian Niclescu’s production design gives the hospital a strong conservative design. Filled with chequered tiles and baby-blue walls, as Emanuel’s health declines, so does the joy which fills these walls, from intellectual debates to sexual relation, resulting in a relationship, with himself and another part time patient Solange (Ivana Mladenovic). These former deeply intimate acts are captured in the words of M. Blecher which intercut the visuals. To some, this may be a hindrance on the narrative. Still, the voids of darkness which fill the white words in the centre of the screen elicit the emotions of Emanuel in a mature and delicate manner and hold the calming nature of poetry in Jim Jarmusch’s tantalising Paterson (2016).

Filled to the brim with themes such as what stimulates the intellectual, the mortality of man and the futility of illness, Scarred Hearts is a heavy, decadent sitting that brings despondency to the brain even after its final scene has played.

Scarred Hearts is available to view for free until Sunday, December 17th, as courtesy of the ArteKino Festival – just click here in order to accede directly to their website.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Posted on by Jeremy Clarke

Where The Force Awakens (J.J.Abrams, 2015) felt like a lazy reworking of Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977), The Last Jedi feels like a clever reverse engineering of The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980). It starts off with rebels fleeing a planet base under attack from the First Order under the command of General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) and ends with another rebel base being attacked on the surface of another planet, this one covered in white, and being besieged by the ultimate land-based weapon.

In between, Rey (Daisy Ridley) trains on yet another planet with Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) and must confront not only her nemesis Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who has gone over to the dark side of The Force under tutelage from Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) but also her own darker self. Meanwhile, renegade pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) falls out with the top brass of Leia (the late Carrie Fisher) and Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) to initiate a bold plan to save the rebel fleet from impending disaster. Thus, Finn (John Boyega) and maintenance worker sidekick Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) embark on a daring mission and find thief/codebreaker DJ (Benicio Del Toro) who gains them unseen entrance to an enemy base to disable some technology and facilitate the rebel fleet’s escape and survival.

These are all, more or less, loose reworkings of the constituent elements of The Empire Strikes Back but to his immense credit writer-director Johnson (Looper, 2012) takes that film apart apart and reassembles its parts in a fresh, original and constantly inventive way for The Last Jedi. His crew includes longtime Tim Burton collaborator and visionary production designer Rick Heinrichs – which helps considerably and probably accounts for much of the visual panache. To take the most obvious example: the pressure of skates fitted under aircraft to help them traverse the finale’s salt flats landscape leaves red trails on white to produce an extraordinary visual spectacle.

Spectacle is one of the many things the Star Wars franchise is about. You’re taken to new places (planets, locations, spaceship interiors) you haven’t seen before, there are unfamiliar creatures and cultures. Thanks to some deft writing here the new film explores of some of the darker areas and mysteries of the cod-religious philosophy underlying the series. Without ever descending to the level of risible, The Last Jedi is prepared to laugh at itself: witness the potentially irritating bird-like characters on Luke Skywalker’s island home, one of whom ends up as Chewbacca’s lunch or the ongoing tension between Rey, inflicting damage on buildings while training, and the same island’s walking, fish-like, caretaker creatures. But such levity is wisely never allowed to be more than a minor sideshow to the main narrative through lines.

The visual effects on display effortlessly push the boundaries of what we’ve seen in the movies (watching on a huge digital IMAX screen is recommended) and deserve to receive the Oscar in that category. The big space battle set pieces impress even by Star Wars series standards, which is pushing the bar pretty high. However all effects at the service of Johnson’s vision and he’s much more interested in maintaining the integrity of the franchise’s characters, old and new, and extending and developing the mythology underpinning the series than in effects for effects sake. As in Looper, he demonstrates that he knows how to tell a rattling good yarn.

The are so many impressive ingredients in The Last Jedi that it’s impossible to cover them all in a review for DMovies. I will just note that the movies have come a long way in the 40 years the franchise has been running. In Star Wars, the film’s only significant female presence Carrie Fisher was essentially a damsel in distress, albeit one wielding a blaster. Nowadays, she’s the commander of the fleet and no-one bats an eye at a film where an out of control flyboy ace is a thorn in the side of cool headed, female admirals, where an engineer is as likely to be a woman as a man and where the Jedi heroine is given pole position in the plot where she may or may not succumb to the dark side of The Force. There’s no denying The Last Jedi is an audience pleaser [how could it not be? – well, see reactions to Return Of The Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983) and the trilogy that followed it] but it’s also, happily, a remarkable achievement on many, many levels.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is out in the UK on Thursday, December 14th. Watch the film trailer below: