« December 2007 | Main | February 2008 »
Dan in real life is, frankly, something I don't want to experience. That's after having to fact 'Dan on the cinema screen' for nearly two hours. Dan is stuck in a story arc so predictable, it's like watching a missile approach on a radar screen. Except when it hits, instead of an explosion, there's just the bad smell of something that been around too long and gone off. Dan, in short, needs to keep out of real life, especially mine.
Once. Finally got to see it tonight. Loved it. See it. At least once.
The Iraqi film industry is, I guess, pretty much non-existent these days, so anything appearing from the region deserves to be noticed.... and applauded for even managing to be made. Which is what took me to the ICA in London - the inner sanctum of arthouse cinema - to see Bahman Ghobadi's latest film 'Half Moon'.
It helped that I thought 'Turtles Can Fly' was pretty much the best film of 2005. I won two copies - no mean feat given how obscure the film is - and I recommend it at every opportunity. (be warned, a film that starts with the suicide of a twelve year old girl is not for the faint-hearted).
So there's a kind of expectation on 'Half Moon', his next film, which is at least a comedy. Phew.
It doesn't help that the ICA have THE most uncomfortable seats in cinema history. I'm assuming it's all part of an arthouse approach to cinema that includes some kind of self-flagellation as part and parcel of the experience. A bed of nails would have been more pleasant.
Anyway, the film. The synopsis goes like this:
"Bahman Ghobadi's third feature, Half Moon, follows the musical journey of Mamo, a Kurdish musician who has been given permission to perform a concert in Iraqi Kurdistan. He is convinced that the essence of the upcoming festival is the voice of a woman, Hesho - but as women are forbidden to sing in front of women in public, she must be carefully concealed on the bus. A majestic landscape and a sense of premonition pervade a journey informed by experiences of oppression, adventure and the transcendent power of music, and set against the backdrop of Saddam Hussein's fall from power. "
What that actually means is that this is a very strange film. It took me back to the experience of seeing 'The Death of Mr. Lazarescu' a year back... you don't come out thinking it was the greatest cinematic experience of your life, you're not even sure you enjoyed it, and yet you're glad you saw it. Make sense of that if you can.
What is clear is that it's got plenty of humour and charm, plus a kind of mysterious air pervading the whole thing. At one point Mamo visits a village populated entirely by banned Iraqi female singers who welcome him in with a hypnotic drum beat... wow, it's worth it just for that.
I can't pretend this is mainstream, but it's an intriguing experience. catch it on BBC4 (I assume) and see if you think I'm right.
"May you be in heaven half an hour before…the devil knows you're dead."
Sidney Lumet's new film is so good that directors half his age must be resigning themselves to being also-rans for the rest of their lives. Not that being half his age makes you some kind of spring chicken. At 83, making his 43rd film (12 Angry Men, The Hill, Network, Dog Day Afternoon... the list goes on and on) Lumet should be kicking back watching reruns of the Antiques Roadshow. Instead he's making this kind of film.... and this is definitely this kind of film: deliciously complex, with twists to boot.
I had the extra pleasure of walking into this knowing pretty much nothing about it. It was either this or 'Balls of Fury' and it felt too early in the new year to go spoiling the run of good movies so far. That meant I could relish the story without knowing anything about where it might go.... which is something you should aim to do too.
So what's to like: well, can Phillip Seymour Hoffman make a bad movie for a start. That's what Kermode was wondering on Friday and, apart from 'Twister' it seems the answer is no. He's one of three men who this film is really about: the other two being Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney. All clearly were taking performance enhancing pills, because they're gripping from start to finish. The film is a character study of all three of them.
Then there's the plot itself, which I'm not going to reveal here. Suffice to say this is a film about slow destruction, about how one decision can change the course of a life... and, as sub-plots, about the trials of fatherhood and the desperation that deception eventually brings.
So, respect Mr Lumet. I'm half you're age and I have the creative energy you clearly still have when I'm in my eighties, I'll be a happy man. Roll on the 44th film.
After feeling like I was dangerously over the boundaries of liking a mainstream Hollywood movie in the form of 'I am Legend', it was back to first principles today with two gloriously art house films that won't be showing in any multiplex anywhere soon.
First up was 'Paranoid Park', directed by Gus Van Sant. Having been so moved by many of his earlier films, I was eager to see what he's come up with. The answer is a peculiar tale of a teenager who becomes entangled in a murder. For something that sounds like a thriller, it's actually more concerned with the minutae of teenage life rather than dramatic plot twists but somehow that is just as compelling. The weird cinematography and soundtrack didn't always work for me, but the central performance by Gabe Nevins is great. Classic arthouse fare.
Actually that was nothing compared to 'Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days' (Cristian Mungiu), a Romanian film following a young girl seeking an illegal abortion in 1980's Romania. With the proviso that it's not for the faint-hearted, and is about as far from comedy as you can get, it's actually brilliant. The story begins in the girl's student dorm, and follows events over the evening as she meets the man she has paid to carry out the abortion in a seedy hotel. As an essay on the desperation of poverty, and our seemingly endless capacity for the abuse of others for our own gain, it's about as powerful and moving as it gets. There's almost no sound track but such is the strength of the story and cinematography, it still works. I loved it, if you can say that about so grim a subject.
What a great story. A really great story. Following the lives of two boys from the streets of Kabul in 1978 through to modern day California, I have to say this is a wonderful film with a real emotional impact. A lesson in fatherhood too. Film of the week and almost certainly film of the month.
It's two days into 2008 and that means it's time to dispense with the old preconceptions and welcome the new. And no sooner have I said that, than I find myself coming out of a mega-buck Hollywood blockbuster having thoroughly enjoyed myself. Yes, 'I am Legend' is, as far as I'm concerned, the best of the year so far.
OK, so it's also the first film of the year, but nevertheless, it is very very good. Even though the end was sweetened and technology has replaced garlic from the original story as the way to protect yourself, this is still a very accomplished film and has, in one leap and bound past 'The Pursuit of Happyness' reformed my opinion of Wil Smith.
There are plenty of sites with a synopsis of the film, so I won't bother here, suffice to say, the opening twenty minutes around an overgrown and deserted New York are spectacular. And even though the CGI is heavily used, and there are a few plot holes, the story cracks on with great effect. Some people have said the creatures aren't scary enough, but they worked for me. I jumped out of my seat more than few times. And as happy as the ending (sort of) is, it's nice to see there's still a reasonable bite left in it.
So, number 1 film of the year,... out of 1, but still a cracker.
PS. 'Balls of Fury' showings sold out (!!!) last night when I was at the cinema. Have you no shame people?
Recent Comments