“Loving Vincent” has become the surprise animated indie hit of the season, reaching $20 million worldwide at the box office and grabbing a Golden Globe nomination. An Oscar nom could follow as a result of its innovative experiment in hand-animating 65,000 frames of oil paintings, mimicking Vincent van Gogh’s bold colors and expressive brush strokes.
Read More:‘Loving Vincent’: How an Unknown Distributor Beat Its Competitors to Find This Runaway Hit
But that’s only part of it. By framing it as a speculative murder mystery shot with live-action performances (headlined by Saoirse Ronan and Aidan Turner), directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman have created a uniquely immersive animated experience. Their team of 125 painters integrated the performances into the oil painting style of animation through a combination of computer compositing and rotoscoping, thereby achieving a remarkable seven-year, $5.5 million production. (And, yes, it qualifies for Oscar consideration under the rules of...
Read More:‘Loving Vincent’: How an Unknown Distributor Beat Its Competitors to Find This Runaway Hit
But that’s only part of it. By framing it as a speculative murder mystery shot with live-action performances (headlined by Saoirse Ronan and Aidan Turner), directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman have created a uniquely immersive animated experience. Their team of 125 painters integrated the performances into the oil painting style of animation through a combination of computer compositing and rotoscoping, thereby achieving a remarkable seven-year, $5.5 million production. (And, yes, it qualifies for Oscar consideration under the rules of...
- 12/13/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Something very creepy is lurking the woods of the Norwegian countryside in “Valley of Shadows,” the feature debut from director Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen set to premiere in Tiff’s Discovery section this month. The film unfolds from the perspective of six-year-old Asklak, who lives a lonely life with his single mother. Their quiet existence is complicated by the inexplicable death of sheep at the hands of an unseen presence that haunts the woods at night.
The first trailer for the film leaves the nature of that presence uncertain, although one theory about a werewolf seems to correlate with the evidence at hand.
Gulbrandsen, who also co-wrote the film with Clement Tuffreau, has said that he envisioned the story as “a nightmarish version of the fairy tale ‘Peter and the Wolf.’” In early press notes for the project, he describes the Scandinavian gothic project as “a reflection of a child’s mind and perspective.
The first trailer for the film leaves the nature of that presence uncertain, although one theory about a werewolf seems to correlate with the evidence at hand.
Gulbrandsen, who also co-wrote the film with Clement Tuffreau, has said that he envisioned the story as “a nightmarish version of the fairy tale ‘Peter and the Wolf.’” In early press notes for the project, he describes the Scandinavian gothic project as “a reflection of a child’s mind and perspective.
- 8/23/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
In Season 3 of the acclaimed “Fargo” FX anthology series, showrunner Noah Hawley continued to play by the Coen brothers’ rules, but got more ambitious and flexible with a present-day crime drama. It’s still about good and evil, only now in cordial Minnesota, with plenty of parables, strong women and weak men. Yet the result was more satisfying in its craftiness and empathy in trying to bring order out of chaos.
And for its efforts, “Fargo” grabbed another 10 craft nominations (cinematography, which it won last year, three for editing, hairstyling, makeup, music score, sound editing, which it also won last year, and mixing). The work seemed more confident and daring, as it focused on various character pairings. It was about mistaken identities, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and lots of suffering.
As the murders mounted, however, so did the confusion. Sleazy businessman Varga (nominated David Thewlis) prayed on feuding brothers,...
And for its efforts, “Fargo” grabbed another 10 craft nominations (cinematography, which it won last year, three for editing, hairstyling, makeup, music score, sound editing, which it also won last year, and mixing). The work seemed more confident and daring, as it focused on various character pairings. It was about mistaken identities, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and lots of suffering.
As the murders mounted, however, so did the confusion. Sleazy businessman Varga (nominated David Thewlis) prayed on feuding brothers,...
- 8/3/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
After two seasons worth of magic, “Fargo” Season 3 — or Year 3, to use the preferred nomenclature — was finally unable to outrun the specter of Peak TV hovering over its shoulder. Even with one of the greatest TV casts ever assembled, the story of feuding brothers and a nefarious conglomerate slowed the series’ hot streak and brought it back down from the realm of tightly constructed, riveting crime drama into the realm of ordinary.
Wednesday night’s season finale showed why the rest of the previous episodes lacked the distinctive spirit that’s helped make “Fargo” into its own creative entity. The previous two seasons have funneled their experiences through the police officer Solversons at the center: Alison Tolman’s Molly and Patrick Wilson’s Lou both anchored their respective seasons amidst a maelstrom of criminal (and in notable instances, supernatural) activity.
Read More: Noah Hawley on the ‘Fargo’ Finale and Why the Fate of Gloria Burgle Matters More Than You Think
But with a near-unprecedented cast including Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, David Thewlis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scoot McNairy, Mary McDonnell, Shea Wigham and Michael Stuhlbarg, “Fargo” had that unique but very real problem of juggling an ensemble of actors who were each carrying their own shows within their respective plot lines. Gloria Burgle’s pursuit, the existential quandary of loyalty from Sy, and the classic, biblical blood feud between the two Stussy brothers all seemed like they were vying for supremacy in a show that tried to have it every way.
With all that impressive output in front of the camera, the various adventures that these characters went on seemed too stylistically disparate to be part of a focused season of television. Take Episode 8, “Who Rules the Land of Denial?” as an example. It’s a striking hour of TV, but one that owed its visual and philosophical approach to some of the other biggest TV shows on air right now. Nikki’s kitten-filled encounter in the bowling alley dipped into “Twin Peaks” territory, complete with Ray Wise’s presence. The bloody escape from the prison bus into the woods was practically a dimly lit “Game of Thrones” set-piece, complete with a surprise garroting.
These scenes came in the wake of the overtly Don Hertzfeldt-ian animation sequence from Episode 3 and presaged a “Leftovers”-adjacent piano theme at the end of Episode 9 that would probably make Max Richter do a double take. “Fargo” has always worn its influences on it sleeve, often with an accompanying wink and nod. This season felt like the first time some of the most gorgeous images on TV were in service of a faithful recreation of what’s worked elsewhere, rather than a visionary reinterpretation.
A series that had previously managed to bring together a nuanced look at opposing forces of good and evil managed to play this season fairly straight. By Thewlis’ own admission, V.M. Varga is a character completely without any redeeming qualities. He’s an out-and-out villain from frame one, drab business attire and all. The closest that he comes to any kind of sympathy is his sniveling, tiptoeing towards the elevator after he’s found out he’s under attack in the season finale.
Varga’s two defining characteristics — his rotting teeth and propensity to vomit up his nervous binge eating — were far more literal manifestations of the evil rotting him from inside and out than the show ever burdened its predecessors with. Lorne Malvo and Mike Milligan, previous “Fargo” heavies, were more than just sophisticated bad guys. Their calm demeanor, without much affectation, hinted at the insidious nature of human corruptibility. By placing all its narrative weight on a character who showed so much outward, borderline-cartoonish villainy, Season 3 robbed its central conflict of comparable substance.
And as far as the victim of Varga’s plotting, Emmit Stussy never really moved beyond being a hapless victim, closer to the bumbling cycle of unfortunate circumstances of Jerry Lundegaard from the “Fargo” film than the poisonous, bitter edge that Martin Freeman added to Lester Nygaard. As a result, Ewan McGregor’s double casting never really had the opportunity to move beyond a half-baked treatise on the nature of free will.
One of the reasons “Fargo” succeeded in creating something all its own in preceding installments is that it guided its ambiguities towards a greater purpose. Season 3’s many allegories and literary allusions left little room for interpretation or subversion. Whether listening to Billy Bob Thornton explain the opening of “Peter and the Wolf,” Varga explain Lenin’s appreciation Beethoven, or a series of animated characters float through the Stussy-authored sci-fi universe, each of these came with a blatant, explicit connection to the characters we saw on the screen. In previous seasons, those conclusions would be left to the audience to draw.
The conversation between Gloria and Winnie in Season 3’s penultimate episode also helped to underline this idea. A mystery that our own Ben Travers pointed out fairly early on — Gloria’s invisibility to technology — was made more intriguing by the explanatory distance the show took from it. But in baring her soul to Winnie, there was Gloria expressing all of those concerns out loud in convenient, metaphorical detail. The old “Fargo” would have had her merely stare down the bathroom sink sensor before finally realizing that her circumstances had changed, taking out any references to it in the conversation that came before.
As one final parting confirmation, the show delivered its Season 3 version of a time jump; a transformation that seemed so radical in Season 1 but here seems like a tacked-on afterthought. That audience handholding became even more literal when, without leaving the audience to fill in the blanks, it put the aftermath of the Stussy fortune in direct on-screen text. You could argue that this is a playful, twisted diversion meant to make Emmit’s kitchen assassination all the more shocking. But instead it seemed like a final emphatic exclamation point on the season’s special brand of reinforced cynicism.
Read More: The Coen Brothers’ Rules: 4 Filmmaking Practices That Give ‘Fargo’ Its Cinematic Consistency
All told, this season of “Fargo” was far from without merit. As much as Sy was hamstrung for most of the season, Stuhlbarg still proved that he’s one of the greatest working actors and a worthy addition to the series’ roster of Coen Brothers alumni. The Ray Stussy apartment ambush sequence is one of the best-directed scenes of the year. And the finale’s Mexican standoff was delivered in such a simple and unadorned way that made its consequences all the more tragic.
But even in the artistry of showing the two bodies fall from far away, Nikki’s character farewell underlined how much this version of “Fargo” reveled in making each new development as definitive as possible. A bullet hole to the forehead leaves little room for doubt. “Fargo” is still one of TVs most visceral crime shows, but one thing it didn’t borrow from its fellow 2017 TV shows was to let the mystery be.
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Related stories'Fargo' Review: Season 3 Finale Ends the Debate and Tells Us If We've Been Wasting Our BreathNoah Hawley on the 'Fargo' Finale and Why the Fate of Gloria Burgle Matters More Than You ThinkHow Editors of 'The Crown,' 'American Gods,' and 'This Is Us' Achieved Emotional Power...
Wednesday night’s season finale showed why the rest of the previous episodes lacked the distinctive spirit that’s helped make “Fargo” into its own creative entity. The previous two seasons have funneled their experiences through the police officer Solversons at the center: Alison Tolman’s Molly and Patrick Wilson’s Lou both anchored their respective seasons amidst a maelstrom of criminal (and in notable instances, supernatural) activity.
Read More: Noah Hawley on the ‘Fargo’ Finale and Why the Fate of Gloria Burgle Matters More Than You Think
But with a near-unprecedented cast including Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, David Thewlis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scoot McNairy, Mary McDonnell, Shea Wigham and Michael Stuhlbarg, “Fargo” had that unique but very real problem of juggling an ensemble of actors who were each carrying their own shows within their respective plot lines. Gloria Burgle’s pursuit, the existential quandary of loyalty from Sy, and the classic, biblical blood feud between the two Stussy brothers all seemed like they were vying for supremacy in a show that tried to have it every way.
With all that impressive output in front of the camera, the various adventures that these characters went on seemed too stylistically disparate to be part of a focused season of television. Take Episode 8, “Who Rules the Land of Denial?” as an example. It’s a striking hour of TV, but one that owed its visual and philosophical approach to some of the other biggest TV shows on air right now. Nikki’s kitten-filled encounter in the bowling alley dipped into “Twin Peaks” territory, complete with Ray Wise’s presence. The bloody escape from the prison bus into the woods was practically a dimly lit “Game of Thrones” set-piece, complete with a surprise garroting.
These scenes came in the wake of the overtly Don Hertzfeldt-ian animation sequence from Episode 3 and presaged a “Leftovers”-adjacent piano theme at the end of Episode 9 that would probably make Max Richter do a double take. “Fargo” has always worn its influences on it sleeve, often with an accompanying wink and nod. This season felt like the first time some of the most gorgeous images on TV were in service of a faithful recreation of what’s worked elsewhere, rather than a visionary reinterpretation.
A series that had previously managed to bring together a nuanced look at opposing forces of good and evil managed to play this season fairly straight. By Thewlis’ own admission, V.M. Varga is a character completely without any redeeming qualities. He’s an out-and-out villain from frame one, drab business attire and all. The closest that he comes to any kind of sympathy is his sniveling, tiptoeing towards the elevator after he’s found out he’s under attack in the season finale.
Varga’s two defining characteristics — his rotting teeth and propensity to vomit up his nervous binge eating — were far more literal manifestations of the evil rotting him from inside and out than the show ever burdened its predecessors with. Lorne Malvo and Mike Milligan, previous “Fargo” heavies, were more than just sophisticated bad guys. Their calm demeanor, without much affectation, hinted at the insidious nature of human corruptibility. By placing all its narrative weight on a character who showed so much outward, borderline-cartoonish villainy, Season 3 robbed its central conflict of comparable substance.
And as far as the victim of Varga’s plotting, Emmit Stussy never really moved beyond being a hapless victim, closer to the bumbling cycle of unfortunate circumstances of Jerry Lundegaard from the “Fargo” film than the poisonous, bitter edge that Martin Freeman added to Lester Nygaard. As a result, Ewan McGregor’s double casting never really had the opportunity to move beyond a half-baked treatise on the nature of free will.
One of the reasons “Fargo” succeeded in creating something all its own in preceding installments is that it guided its ambiguities towards a greater purpose. Season 3’s many allegories and literary allusions left little room for interpretation or subversion. Whether listening to Billy Bob Thornton explain the opening of “Peter and the Wolf,” Varga explain Lenin’s appreciation Beethoven, or a series of animated characters float through the Stussy-authored sci-fi universe, each of these came with a blatant, explicit connection to the characters we saw on the screen. In previous seasons, those conclusions would be left to the audience to draw.
The conversation between Gloria and Winnie in Season 3’s penultimate episode also helped to underline this idea. A mystery that our own Ben Travers pointed out fairly early on — Gloria’s invisibility to technology — was made more intriguing by the explanatory distance the show took from it. But in baring her soul to Winnie, there was Gloria expressing all of those concerns out loud in convenient, metaphorical detail. The old “Fargo” would have had her merely stare down the bathroom sink sensor before finally realizing that her circumstances had changed, taking out any references to it in the conversation that came before.
As one final parting confirmation, the show delivered its Season 3 version of a time jump; a transformation that seemed so radical in Season 1 but here seems like a tacked-on afterthought. That audience handholding became even more literal when, without leaving the audience to fill in the blanks, it put the aftermath of the Stussy fortune in direct on-screen text. You could argue that this is a playful, twisted diversion meant to make Emmit’s kitchen assassination all the more shocking. But instead it seemed like a final emphatic exclamation point on the season’s special brand of reinforced cynicism.
Read More: The Coen Brothers’ Rules: 4 Filmmaking Practices That Give ‘Fargo’ Its Cinematic Consistency
All told, this season of “Fargo” was far from without merit. As much as Sy was hamstrung for most of the season, Stuhlbarg still proved that he’s one of the greatest working actors and a worthy addition to the series’ roster of Coen Brothers alumni. The Ray Stussy apartment ambush sequence is one of the best-directed scenes of the year. And the finale’s Mexican standoff was delivered in such a simple and unadorned way that made its consequences all the more tragic.
But even in the artistry of showing the two bodies fall from far away, Nikki’s character farewell underlined how much this version of “Fargo” reveled in making each new development as definitive as possible. A bullet hole to the forehead leaves little room for doubt. “Fargo” is still one of TVs most visceral crime shows, but one thing it didn’t borrow from its fellow 2017 TV shows was to let the mystery be.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related stories'Fargo' Review: Season 3 Finale Ends the Debate and Tells Us If We've Been Wasting Our BreathNoah Hawley on the 'Fargo' Finale and Why the Fate of Gloria Burgle Matters More Than You ThinkHow Editors of 'The Crown,' 'American Gods,' and 'This Is Us' Achieved Emotional Power...
- 6/22/2017
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
There was more than enough narrative complexity for editors to tackle in Emmy contenders “The Crown,” “American Gods,” “This Is Us,” “Fargo,” and “Five Came Back.” But through skill and finesse, they helped make these shows compelling and relevant by cutting through the multiple strands of history, mythology, melodrama, and black comedy.
“The Crown” focused on the public and private personas of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) in post-war England; “American Gods” explored how Old and New Gods fight for attention in modern society; “This Is Us” chose a non-linear structure to show the influence of the past on millennial siblings; “Fargo” dealt with twin brothers (Ewan McGregor) in a third season of absurd crime shenanigans; and “Five Came Back” revealed how the World War II propaganda campaign changed the lives of directors Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler.
“The Crown”
In “Hyde Park Corner,...
“The Crown” focused on the public and private personas of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) in post-war England; “American Gods” explored how Old and New Gods fight for attention in modern society; “This Is Us” chose a non-linear structure to show the influence of the past on millennial siblings; “Fargo” dealt with twin brothers (Ewan McGregor) in a third season of absurd crime shenanigans; and “Five Came Back” revealed how the World War II propaganda campaign changed the lives of directors Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler.
“The Crown”
In “Hyde Park Corner,...
- 6/16/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
[Editor’s Note: The review below contains spoilers for “Fargo” Season 3, Episode 9, “Aporia”]
Immediate Reaction
If this is as close as we get to resolving The Great Carrie Coon Technology Debate of 2017, we’ll take it. Not only did “Fargo” provide a happy ending to Gloria Burgle’s rage against the machines, but the symbolic message of humanity’s warmth trumping the cold nature of technology helped close out the penultimate episode of Season 3 on a graceful note. The world may not be what we thought, but there’s still good in it.
That being said, next week remains as big a question mark as ever — the dark may very well still overwhelm the light. Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) were in control this week, but how long can a broke duo stay in front of a rich crime boss? What will Gloria’s reinvigorated resolve get her mixed up in, and, abiding by the Peter and the Wolf analogy,...
Immediate Reaction
If this is as close as we get to resolving The Great Carrie Coon Technology Debate of 2017, we’ll take it. Not only did “Fargo” provide a happy ending to Gloria Burgle’s rage against the machines, but the symbolic message of humanity’s warmth trumping the cold nature of technology helped close out the penultimate episode of Season 3 on a graceful note. The world may not be what we thought, but there’s still good in it.
That being said, next week remains as big a question mark as ever — the dark may very well still overwhelm the light. Nikki Swango (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard) were in control this week, but how long can a broke duo stay in front of a rich crime boss? What will Gloria’s reinvigorated resolve get her mixed up in, and, abiding by the Peter and the Wolf analogy,...
- 6/15/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
[Editor’s Note: The review below contains spoilers for “Fargo” Season 3, Episode 8, “Who Rules the Land of Denial?”]
Immediate Reaction
“My name is Emmit Stussey. I want to confess.”
“Well, Mr. Stussey, it’s a little too late, but we’ll hear you out.”
No, you didn’t miss an after-credits sequence where Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) responded to the corrupt Stussey brother’s abrupt announcement. That’s just what we imagine she’d say, if she was being as honest as we’re about to be.
Last Week’S Review: ‘Fargo’: Carrie Coon Fights the Mashed Potato Theory, and Season 3 Gets Turned Upside Down
Even if Emmit can finally fess up and say an honest goodbye to Ray, “Fargo” remains in a bit of a pickle. Emmit’s list of moral crimes are as lengthy as his most atrocious legal foley is serious. He already stood by while his consigliere and friend was drugged into a coma; he helped frame an innocent woman for murdering his brother,...
Immediate Reaction
“My name is Emmit Stussey. I want to confess.”
“Well, Mr. Stussey, it’s a little too late, but we’ll hear you out.”
No, you didn’t miss an after-credits sequence where Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) responded to the corrupt Stussey brother’s abrupt announcement. That’s just what we imagine she’d say, if she was being as honest as we’re about to be.
Last Week’S Review: ‘Fargo’: Carrie Coon Fights the Mashed Potato Theory, and Season 3 Gets Turned Upside Down
Even if Emmit can finally fess up and say an honest goodbye to Ray, “Fargo” remains in a bit of a pickle. Emmit’s list of moral crimes are as lengthy as his most atrocious legal foley is serious. He already stood by while his consigliere and friend was drugged into a coma; he helped frame an innocent woman for murdering his brother,...
- 6/8/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
[Editor’s Note: The review below contains spoilers for “Fargo” Season 3, Episode 7, “The Law of Inevitability.”]
Immediate Reaction
Who the heck is that dude wearing a wolf head?
Pardon our lapse in Minnesotan manners, but the ending of a brief but slow-moving “Fargo” threw us for a bit of a loop. It looks like Yui (Goran Bogdan), Varga’s henchman, but the dark lighting of our computer monitors isn’t the only reason we’re not 100 percent certain. If we hadn’t seen the face of the man who dropped into Nikki Swango’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) overturned prisoner transport bus, we would’ve left things at this: The wolf is a symbol repeatedly used for Varga (David Thewlis) throughout Season 5. In Episode 4, Billy Bob Thornton narrated a “symphonic fairy tale” where Varga played the wolf. Episode 5 ended with an ominous shot of a wolf’s head, meant to encapsulate Varga’s looming power as much as it foreshadows what’s to come.
With that in mind,...
Immediate Reaction
Who the heck is that dude wearing a wolf head?
Pardon our lapse in Minnesotan manners, but the ending of a brief but slow-moving “Fargo” threw us for a bit of a loop. It looks like Yui (Goran Bogdan), Varga’s henchman, but the dark lighting of our computer monitors isn’t the only reason we’re not 100 percent certain. If we hadn’t seen the face of the man who dropped into Nikki Swango’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) overturned prisoner transport bus, we would’ve left things at this: The wolf is a symbol repeatedly used for Varga (David Thewlis) throughout Season 5. In Episode 4, Billy Bob Thornton narrated a “symphonic fairy tale” where Varga played the wolf. Episode 5 ended with an ominous shot of a wolf’s head, meant to encapsulate Varga’s looming power as much as it foreshadows what’s to come.
With that in mind,...
- 6/1/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Sam Glover May 25, 2017
Stuck for an alternative to the usual viewing for young kids? Then these streaming recommendations may be of use...
The wonderful world wide web (including this very site) has looked in detail at Netflix; the hits, the misses, the hidden gems, the ones to miss and so on. This said, Netflix Originals has another area where it operates. And this is where my three-year-old son comes in.
See related American Gods episode 4 review: Git Gone American Gods episode 3 review: Head Full Of Snow American Gods episode 2 review: The Secret Of Spoons
Thanks to Nick Jnr and Channel 5’s Milkshake, we’re generally okay in our house should children’s television (Aka award-winning parenting) be required. Netflix takes it to another level. There are the well-known shows (Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol etc.), the slightly lesser-known programmes (Pocoyo being my personal favourite) and then there are Netflix’s own productions.
Stuck for an alternative to the usual viewing for young kids? Then these streaming recommendations may be of use...
The wonderful world wide web (including this very site) has looked in detail at Netflix; the hits, the misses, the hidden gems, the ones to miss and so on. This said, Netflix Originals has another area where it operates. And this is where my three-year-old son comes in.
See related American Gods episode 4 review: Git Gone American Gods episode 3 review: Head Full Of Snow American Gods episode 2 review: The Secret Of Spoons
Thanks to Nick Jnr and Channel 5’s Milkshake, we’re generally okay in our house should children’s television (Aka award-winning parenting) be required. Netflix takes it to another level. There are the well-known shows (Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol etc.), the slightly lesser-known programmes (Pocoyo being my personal favourite) and then there are Netflix’s own productions.
- 5/18/2017
- Den of Geek
As we approach the halfway point of Fargo Season 3 (already?), it's might be useful to pause and consider what we've learned... if anything. The players are all positioned on the board, but the master plot remains opaque. Sure, there are three parallel stories, which will eventually dovetail, but the mystery isn't really who killed, stole, lied, or died; instead, the real question is: who's got control and what do they want to achieve?
This episode opens on the mundane (a hallmark of Fargo), just another typical morning with the central cast, set to the orchestral backdrop of Peter and the Wolf -- that classical old fable from everyone's youth, which recounts the bravery of a boy and the harsh lessons of nature. Interestingly, Peter and the Wolf is also a Russian tale about hunter and prey, which obviously mirrors the events in Fargo. Russians, it seems, have regained their standing...
This episode opens on the mundane (a hallmark of Fargo), just another typical morning with the central cast, set to the orchestral backdrop of Peter and the Wolf -- that classical old fable from everyone's youth, which recounts the bravery of a boy and the harsh lessons of nature. Interestingly, Peter and the Wolf is also a Russian tale about hunter and prey, which obviously mirrors the events in Fargo. Russians, it seems, have regained their standing...
- 5/11/2017
- by David Kozlowski
- LRMonline.com
[Editor’s Note: The review below contains spoilers for “Fargo” Season 3, Episode 4, “The Narrow Escape Problem.”]
Immediate Reaction
The powder keg is lit. Time to explode.
We’ve been waiting for Ex-Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to connect the dots between Step-Father Stussey’s murder and the Stussey brothers for the past four weeks, and now she’s caught up. It took a trip to L.A. and a lot of time pissing off her new boss, but Gloria is ready to make things right; to find justice for the deceased; to protect the innocent from the wicked.
So why are we so terrified?
Part of it can certainly be attributed to the ominous musical and verbal allusions created by this week’s surprise narrator, Billy Bob Thornton. We’ve outlined them below — as well as their connection to Sergei Prokofiev’s “symphonic fairy tale for children,” “Peter and the Wolf” — for anyone with a touchy memory, but imagining the ghost of Lorne Malvo (Thornton’s...
Immediate Reaction
The powder keg is lit. Time to explode.
We’ve been waiting for Ex-Chief Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) to connect the dots between Step-Father Stussey’s murder and the Stussey brothers for the past four weeks, and now she’s caught up. It took a trip to L.A. and a lot of time pissing off her new boss, but Gloria is ready to make things right; to find justice for the deceased; to protect the innocent from the wicked.
So why are we so terrified?
Part of it can certainly be attributed to the ominous musical and verbal allusions created by this week’s surprise narrator, Billy Bob Thornton. We’ve outlined them below — as well as their connection to Sergei Prokofiev’s “symphonic fairy tale for children,” “Peter and the Wolf” — for anyone with a touchy memory, but imagining the ghost of Lorne Malvo (Thornton’s...
- 5/11/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Need to catch up? Check out our previous Fargo recap here.
Things started to unravel in a hurry for both Stussy boys this week on Fargo, while Gloria got a new clue in Ennis’ murder — and a new friend!
Ray’s latest get-rich scheme is to impersonate his brother Emmit, shaving his mustache and putting on a curly wig to go down to Emmit’s bank and open that safe-deposit box. “Emmit” tells the bank manager he lost his key, and when he threatens to take his money elsewhere, the manager scrambles to get the box opened with a drill.
Things started to unravel in a hurry for both Stussy boys this week on Fargo, while Gloria got a new clue in Ennis’ murder — and a new friend!
Ray’s latest get-rich scheme is to impersonate his brother Emmit, shaving his mustache and putting on a curly wig to go down to Emmit’s bank and open that safe-deposit box. “Emmit” tells the bank manager he lost his key, and when he threatens to take his money elsewhere, the manager scrambles to get the box opened with a drill.
- 5/11/2017
- TVLine.com
Every so often, Fargo drops a reference to a character, location or plot-point from the Coen brothers-based source material – a satchel full of Carl Showalter's loot here, a namedropping of Stan Grossman there. But more than anything, what the TV show's taken from the film are its ideas. Each season has followed the interconnected lives of three main types: a sweet-natured, capable cop; a weaselly businessman who deals with the wrong people; and a darkly powerful nemesis with a well-articulated philosophy of amorality. This is life in and around icy Minnesota,...
- 5/11/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Hey creeps, as ya know I gave my two cents on the action adventure romp (with strong horror biz roots) Camino a few columns back (click here if the use of a search function is too much for ya). Anyway, I’m bringin’ this whole thing up because none other than that films die-rector Josh C. Waller just strolled into the Crypt o’ Xiii!
Famous Monsters. Welcome to my humble hovel Josh! How did Camino come about, and were there any ass-paining elements to the shoot?
Josh C Waller. The original idea came about while shooting The Boy in Colombia, but the project itself came together as a result of Daniel [Noah] and I having a last-minute gap in our production schedule and needing to fill that gap. The challenges that faced us aren’t necessarily ones unique to our film. They were the same types of obstacles that all independent filmmakers face.
Famous Monsters. Welcome to my humble hovel Josh! How did Camino come about, and were there any ass-paining elements to the shoot?
Josh C Waller. The original idea came about while shooting The Boy in Colombia, but the project itself came together as a result of Daniel [Noah] and I having a last-minute gap in our production schedule and needing to fill that gap. The challenges that faced us aren’t necessarily ones unique to our film. They were the same types of obstacles that all independent filmmakers face.
- 3/11/2016
- by DanielXIII
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
It's Christmas!! To celebrate, we've been counting down the days by posting five fun facts about our favorite festive flicks.And the season just wouldn't be complete without an all-day marathon of "A Christmas Story."1. While the movie takes place in Indiana, the real house from the film is located in Cleveland, Ohio -- 3159 W. 11th Street, to be exact. Check it out on Google Maps -- if you zoom in, you can even see the leg lamp in the window!2. When Flick (Scott Schwartz) is triple-dog-dared to lick the icy flagpole, a vacuum sucked his tongue in place to make it look like he was frozen to the pole.3. Ralphie's (Peter Billingsley) mumbling and grumbling while fighting with Scut Farkus (Zack Ward) might sound like ad libbed nonsense, but the rant was scripted word for word. 4. The song that plays when we're first introduced to Farkus is "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev.
- 12/25/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
For a third consecutive year, the 10 Oscar-nominated shorts hit the theatrical circuit thanks to Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International.
They're nearly all films whose craftsmanship and detail fill the big screen, and to varying degrees their stories compel. The shorts arrive in about 50 cities today, with the Rain Network providing digital distribution.
Among the five live-action nominees, three deal in some aspect with the everyday world of work. Italy's The Substitute, by Andrea Jublin, is a spirited 17-minute collision between a typically self-absorbed group of teens and the strangely confrontational man who's subbing as their teacher -- and who has a hidden agenda that's as much about his own needs as theirs. For all its energy, the film is more concerned with an idea than characters and leaves the least impression of the bunch.
But the office drones in the Belgian film Tanghi argentini are vividly drawn. Before his date with a woman he met online, nebbishy Andre (Dirk van Dijck) enlists the help of an aloof colleague (Koen van Impe) for tango lessons. Elegantly lensed and crisply edited, the 14-minute tale unfolds with wit as the unlikely duo perfect terpsichorean flourishes amid the filing cabinets. The film by Guido Thys provides a nice twist.
For the hapless protagonists of The Mozart of Pickpockets, the workday involves city streets and acts of petty crime. French writer-director Philippe Pollet-Villard co-stars with Richard Morgieve, and their terrific sad-sack chemistry as these clownish thieves gives the half-hour its punch. Their luck changes after a homeless deaf boy latches on to them, but it's a less-than-convincing narrative element.
The two most affecting live-action entries are the spare Western The Tonto Woman (U.K.) and the heartrending hospital-set drama At Night (Denmark). The former, based on a story by Elmore Leonard, centers on a high-plains Hester Prynne (Charlotte Asprey), a woman physically marked by her Mojave captors and ostracized by her community after her release. She finds unexpected human connection in the form of a Mexican drifter (Francesco Quinn). The half-hour film by Daniel Barber uses archetypal widescreen desert vistas to strong effect.
In a far different setting, three young women have formed a community within the coolly lit rooms of a cancer ward in At Night. The 43-minute film by Christian E. Christiansen is direct and intimate but never maudlin. Restrained performances by Julie Olgaard, Laura Christensen and Neel Ronholt -- and Henrik Prip as one girl's father -- have a devastating emotional power.
The animated contenders deliver an array of imaginative narrative filmmaking. I Met the Walrus (Canada) is the exception in the sense that it's a documentary snippet. Josh Raskin uses audiotape of John Lennon, recorded in 1969 when 14-year-old Jerry Levitan sneaked into the Beatle's Toronto hotel room and coaxed an interview out of him. In its brief five minutes, the film free-associates line drawings and other playful 2-D visuals to Lennon's down-to-earth intelligence and subversive humor.
Offering its own brand of playful subversion is France's Even Pigeons Go to Heaven, by Samuel Tourneux. A wily priest-cum-huckster, brandishing a list of his would-be customer's sins, urges an old man to buy a contraption built of "celestial titanium" that's guaranteed to transport him to heaven.
A mood of dark mystery pervades another Canadian entry, Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski's Madame Tutli-Putli. The silent claymation fantasy unfolds on a night train, where a woman in cloche and pearls, surrounded by her precariously stacked belongings, faces her fears. The imagery is rich with texture and atmosphere.
Four-time Oscar nominee Alexander Petrov (who won for The Old Man and the Sea) takes a classical approach in My Love, a fever dream set in 19th century Russia, where a pampered 16-year-old boy is attracted to his glamorous neighbor and his family's good-natured servant. At 25 minutes, the piece feels a bit long, and its melodrama is not always absorbing, but with their watercolor shimmer and nightmare depths, the impressionistic visuals are fluent.
Most successful is Peter & the Wolf (U.K.-Poland), by Suzie Templeton, which fills its affecting half-hour with a delightfully rendered array of human and animal characters. Precisely choreographed and edited to Prokofiev's music, the piece is a ballet both comical and poignant and a triumph of CG personality.
They're nearly all films whose craftsmanship and detail fill the big screen, and to varying degrees their stories compel. The shorts arrive in about 50 cities today, with the Rain Network providing digital distribution.
Among the five live-action nominees, three deal in some aspect with the everyday world of work. Italy's The Substitute, by Andrea Jublin, is a spirited 17-minute collision between a typically self-absorbed group of teens and the strangely confrontational man who's subbing as their teacher -- and who has a hidden agenda that's as much about his own needs as theirs. For all its energy, the film is more concerned with an idea than characters and leaves the least impression of the bunch.
But the office drones in the Belgian film Tanghi argentini are vividly drawn. Before his date with a woman he met online, nebbishy Andre (Dirk van Dijck) enlists the help of an aloof colleague (Koen van Impe) for tango lessons. Elegantly lensed and crisply edited, the 14-minute tale unfolds with wit as the unlikely duo perfect terpsichorean flourishes amid the filing cabinets. The film by Guido Thys provides a nice twist.
For the hapless protagonists of The Mozart of Pickpockets, the workday involves city streets and acts of petty crime. French writer-director Philippe Pollet-Villard co-stars with Richard Morgieve, and their terrific sad-sack chemistry as these clownish thieves gives the half-hour its punch. Their luck changes after a homeless deaf boy latches on to them, but it's a less-than-convincing narrative element.
The two most affecting live-action entries are the spare Western The Tonto Woman (U.K.) and the heartrending hospital-set drama At Night (Denmark). The former, based on a story by Elmore Leonard, centers on a high-plains Hester Prynne (Charlotte Asprey), a woman physically marked by her Mojave captors and ostracized by her community after her release. She finds unexpected human connection in the form of a Mexican drifter (Francesco Quinn). The half-hour film by Daniel Barber uses archetypal widescreen desert vistas to strong effect.
In a far different setting, three young women have formed a community within the coolly lit rooms of a cancer ward in At Night. The 43-minute film by Christian E. Christiansen is direct and intimate but never maudlin. Restrained performances by Julie Olgaard, Laura Christensen and Neel Ronholt -- and Henrik Prip as one girl's father -- have a devastating emotional power.
The animated contenders deliver an array of imaginative narrative filmmaking. I Met the Walrus (Canada) is the exception in the sense that it's a documentary snippet. Josh Raskin uses audiotape of John Lennon, recorded in 1969 when 14-year-old Jerry Levitan sneaked into the Beatle's Toronto hotel room and coaxed an interview out of him. In its brief five minutes, the film free-associates line drawings and other playful 2-D visuals to Lennon's down-to-earth intelligence and subversive humor.
Offering its own brand of playful subversion is France's Even Pigeons Go to Heaven, by Samuel Tourneux. A wily priest-cum-huckster, brandishing a list of his would-be customer's sins, urges an old man to buy a contraption built of "celestial titanium" that's guaranteed to transport him to heaven.
A mood of dark mystery pervades another Canadian entry, Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski's Madame Tutli-Putli. The silent claymation fantasy unfolds on a night train, where a woman in cloche and pearls, surrounded by her precariously stacked belongings, faces her fears. The imagery is rich with texture and atmosphere.
Four-time Oscar nominee Alexander Petrov (who won for The Old Man and the Sea) takes a classical approach in My Love, a fever dream set in 19th century Russia, where a pampered 16-year-old boy is attracted to his glamorous neighbor and his family's good-natured servant. At 25 minutes, the piece feels a bit long, and its melodrama is not always absorbing, but with their watercolor shimmer and nightmare depths, the impressionistic visuals are fluent.
Most successful is Peter & the Wolf (U.K.-Poland), by Suzie Templeton, which fills its affecting half-hour with a delightfully rendered array of human and animal characters. Precisely choreographed and edited to Prokofiev's music, the piece is a ballet both comical and poignant and a triumph of CG personality.
- 2/15/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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