Change Your Image
ceche
Reviews
Lezione 21 (2008)
Pretentious
I'm not exactly a spoiler lover, however I feel there is a scene in this film I must describe to get to my point. If it's any consolation at all, the scene takes place very early on in the film, so I'm sure that will soften the blow. The scenario is a nocturnal view of a frozen plain: a small bunch of strange figures enter the frame, clad in long black mantles, as if they were coming straight out of Venice's world famous carnival, and, following the tempo of the background music, twirl harmoniously whilst carrying a coffin, at the centre of which a few candles are burning, creating the only source of light in the scene. The image is so chillingly haunting that it leaves you dumbstruck and appears to be setting the pace for a film dominated by the impetuous and mighty score borrowed from Beethoven's impressive repertoire, imposing itself as a painter of its own portrait through the big screen. Unfortunately, the audience is in for a disappointment: the film soon turns into practice material, a purely academic exercise set into motion by one who strives to reach intellectual perfection, pure theory concerning the chief systems of existence, and instead makes a false move, trapped by self-absorption and rhetoric. The characters are unpleasant, excessively loquacious and, what's most incomprehensible, given the seemingly glossy finesse spread throughout the whole film, really foul-mouthed, as if the audience thought they were going to see "Hustle and Flow". It's truly a shame that John Hurt had to be involved in all of this, because even his genuinely melancholic portrayal of eccentric professor Mondrian Kilroy is toned down by the pithy lines he has to deliver. All taken into account, Baricco's philosophical tour de force consists of nothing more than a far too carefully put together series of trivial symbolisms, deprived of a visceral bond with Beethoven's compositions, which in fact would have justified their basic nature. The music itself, cut and patched up at the director's will in the hope making the scenes more catchy, is never given the opportunity of becoming a stand-alone character in the story and remains an anonymous and disposable accessory. To tell the truth, it is in the extremely rare occasions in which Baricco puts aside his ego and allows a glimpse of music to shine by itself in a scene that what is dragged through an hour and three quarters without ever emerging finally takes place: pure and unconditional beauty. The choice is all yours...
In Bruges (2008)
A subtle film for intellectual openness.
Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Farrell) are hit men. Their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), instructs them to travel to Bruges and await further instructions while hiding out in the medieval town, since Ray has made a terrible, life-changing mistake on the job. "In Bruges" is listed virtually everywhere as "comedy", but a slightly-more-than-superficial viewer might have something to say about that. In fact, the film is actually a complex fresco of slapstick comedy, intense mob drama, Gothic phantasmagoria and, to top it all off, grotesque extravaganza. What makes this film so unique and superb is an (apparently) unlikely combination of genres in one unfathomable, original, hilarious and outrageous script, wrongfully devoid of an Oscar. Most of the time you forget that Ken and Ray are Irish mobsters rather accidental tourists and Farrell plus Gleeson plus Fiennes equals comedic virtuosity. Colin Farrell graces us with the best performance of his entire career, full of immeasurable depth and versatility, while Brendan Gleeson watches over him with paternal warmth and veteran excellence. Ralph Fiennes rounds out the main cast as a foul-mouthed, shamefully funny and overly memorable mob-boss, thus proving his exquisite range as an actor. There is one member of the cast who is not mentioned as such, but nevertheless acquires fundamental importance: that is, of course, the town of Bruges, exuding its ancient history from every inch of the screen and wrapped in Eigil Bryld's marvellous cinematography, which gives it an aura of mysticism and mystery seldom achieved in films. Carter Burwell's full-bodied and profound score underlines the dramatic aspects of the story, which crawl almost unnoticed during the first part of the film only to explode with violent and bloody vigour in the second one and culminate into a suspenseful finale. Overall, this subtle operation is not a dish for the weak-hearted or the intellectually obtuse, as it conjures up an emotional journey which requires full involvement, suspension of disbelief and, most importantly, intellectual openness, a trait rarely found in contemporary audiences.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
The beauty of excess
Young Jamal, born and raised in the slums of Mumbai, is one question away from winning the top prize at "Who wants to be a millionaire?", but how did he get that far? The first time I saw a Danny Boyle film, "Trainspotting" to be precise, I felt awful, as if the crude depiction of Scottish poverty had opened a dark abyss in my soul. I tried again with "A life less ordinary", which the critics hated and I absolutely loved, mainly because of the eye-opening "irony gone wild" experience it was for me in regard to the famous saying "men are from Mars, women are from Venus". Excess, a typically Boylian trait, is also the essential premise of "Slumdog Millionaire", although it takes on a very different meaning, as opposed to Boyle's earlier work. In the slums of Mumbai excess is nothing if not crude reality itself : the filth, the hollowing despair and the merciless violence which reign over the people who are trapped in that life all add up to this disturbingly realistic portrait which Anthony Dod Mantle's brilliant photography empathizes with. However, you might feel, at this point, that I'm describing a very well-made documentary and let me tell you immediately that is not so. A story like this one needed to fly by letting imagination run wild with its creative force and only a director prone to excess by definition and, at the same time, morbidly attracted to the darkest depths of civilization could pull off the task at hand. Luckily, Danny Boyle was the perfect man for the job and the final result is, in my opinion, a masterpiece in the contemporary panorama of the art of cinema. A special mention goes out to Chris Dickens's nail-biting editing and to A.R. Nahman's score, literally capable of controlling the blood flow of any human being subject to its rhythm. On the other hand, Simon Beaufoy's script gets rid of any form of rhetoric, seeps through that particular kind of humour which allows the audience to laugh in the very midst of tragedy, winks at Bollywood near the end, speaks through the eyes of a child in the first part and constructs a sturdy family drama with an epic feel to it in the middle. The actors, virtually unknown on our side of the world, are excellent and the crown jewel is the young Dev Patel, who plays the main character Jamal, whose intensity manages to get across what an interminable number of pages of monologuing could not. While the end titles rolled I was flustered and overjoyed, red with excitement and dancing to the music against my rational self and my suggestion to all of you, before I bring about my final thoughts on this film, is to go and watch this in a cinema (or movie theatre, whatever they call it these days) in order to get the full experience of this mind-blowing tale. Another major player in the current award season is "The curious case of Benjamin Button" and if you catch both films I encourage you to reflect upon the concept of "epic", they stand for two diametrically opposite ideas of what such a concept should mean. I do not presume to lend you golden drops from the tree of wisdom, but I would still like to base my final comment on this aspect. It seems clear to me that this film has an epic feel to it, since it's ultimately a long and star-crossed love story, transcending the immense suffering of he who treads the path to get "from slums to success", in the words of histrionic and ambiguous TV show host Prem Kumar and ascending to the role of constant guiding light in every heroic gesture, unconventionally speaking, made by Jamal.
Love Actually (2003)
Outstanding Christmas comedy.
I confess I've always admired Richard Curtis's typically British sense of humour and shoulder to shoulder story lines ("Four weddings and a funeral" and "Notting Hill", amongst others) . This film is the ultimate finish line in that direction: firstly, because there is not one trace of soppy dialogue; secondly, because the restraints of political correctness are finally let go of, while the film retains a certain air of mischievous courtesy (the US president's visit to London is quite memorable); finally, because Curtis has always been a mastermind in bringing to the screen collective views on rather diverse themes, by allowing each character to have its own voice and portraying each one with the right dose of wit and affection, and, from this point of view, the film holds in perfect balance nine different story lines (ten including the one which was left on the cutting room floor). Some stories are funny, others sad, others happily resolved and all are, in one way or the other, related, heart-warming and memorable. The cast is solid and it includes some rather high profile actors, amongst others Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney, Billy Bob Thornton and Rowan Aktinson (watch out for his cameo appearance, it's hilarious). Then of course there is also Hugh Grant, at this point one of Curtis's faithfuls, playing Britain's PM in a more disillusioned and less vacant fashion: his improvised dance inside official quarters, with the beat of Sister Sledge in the background, is outstanding.
Twilight (2008)
Lavish adaptation
Sorry boys, but this is not just another "chick flick"! Director Catherine Hardwicke floors the accelerator to get to what is probably the most interesting aspect of Stephanie Meyer's novel and also the main focus of Melissa Rosenberg's script: the riveting and unbearable sexual tension between the star-crossed lovers, both desperately yearning for each other but, at the same time, forced not to embrace with the kind of intensity which is customary for lovers all around the world. A lot of reviews have underlined the theme of chastity, while taking into consideration the fact that the literary source is not immune from the author's Mormon beliefs: personally, I found the dynamic between the two main characters very refreshing, even more so because the script cuts right to the chase, managing to avoid a rather substantial portion of the mushy banter devised by Meyer. The awkwardness surrounding Edward and Bella makes their relationship thrilling and fascinating, while allowing a drop of sweet, uncompromising romance to slip through. Fear is a strong motivational force for both lovers, who struggle in order to achieve different ends, but the pursuit of eternal love is an equal contender which shatters their feeble resolve. Once we've established that, are we to regard Edward and Bella as heroic figures? Personally, I don't think there's anything "typical" about their love story, a fact which brings me to my next crucial point: even though there is an epic resonance to the story, the main tone of the film is profoundly introspective, in line with the director's idea of what makes a good story. Therefore, I wouldn't qualify the two main characters as heroes, but rather as people who are compelled to make heroic choices to catch a glimpse of a wonderful and apparently unreachable dream. Rosenberg's subtle and pondering analysis manages to hit the right cord and feel honest, also thanks to Hardwicke's non-intrusive focus on the characters' feelings, without sacrificing too much of the other characters by giving each one of them a well-defined first introduction. I must say I'm not too keen on the choice of Nikki Reed as Rosalie, but it's an impression that comes from having read the book before seeing the film, so I won't bring any arguments to the table just yet. Elliot Davis's empathic cinematography adds a lot to the feel of the story, as does Carter Burwell's low-key score, a fusion of classical and rock, even though the latter seems at times misplaced. It has been announced that the "Twilight" team will continue working together (production is due to start next March) on the second chapter of Meyer's saga, "New Moon": hopefully its trickier structure won't influence the final result. My hopes are certainly up.
Quantum of Solace (2008)
What a mess!
Those of you who rank action above everything else will probably love this film, while those of you who were hoping for a good storyline, "Casinò Royale" style, will be bitterly disappointed. "Quantum" is nothing but a speedy succession of loud and fast paced action sequences, with no substantial elements in the story to uphold them. The worst part of it is that the action itself is not particularly memorable and at times incoherent, except for the beautifully shot Austrian Opera sequence and, perhaps, the "fall-out-of-the-plane" scene, a fact which certainly doesn't help the viewers forget the lack of structure and, on the whole, the sense of pointlessness the film conveys (not to mention the incessant "Quantum" video game ads in the cinema, but that's a matter of bad product placement). We are surely not witnessing the "back to the beginning" direction towards which "Casinò Royale" was headed and, unfortunately, the film cannot be compared with the humorously nonsensical Roger Moore era either, since it's missing the lightness of spirit necessary to overlook a weak premise and an even weaker development story-wise. That being said, I'm going to break a lance in favour of this film, at least in two respects: compared to the previous film, which had none, there's a bit of dark humour involved and Craig seems more comfortable in Bond's shoes. The Bond girl, Camille (Olga Kurylenko), is a mix between Carole Bouquet's Melina Havelock in "For your eyes only" and Carey Lowell's Pam Bouvier in "Licence to kill"... minus the former's magnetic charm and the latter's endearing sassiness. On the other hand the villain, Mr. Greene (Mathieu Amalric), is chillingly unsettling: his calm tone and quick eye, his heartless rationality and seemingly normal appearance provide, overall, a subtle and modern depiction of a psychopathic businessman, even though the character is not sufficiently developed in the script. A special mention goes to Giancarlo Giannini's Mathis, the only genuinely human character in a world populated by monsters. On a final note, I was rather disturbed by a scene near the end of the film which I think women in the audience will feel sensitive to: I recall a scene like that only being referred to explicitly in one of the Dalton films, possibly the closest in style and themes to this new Bond era.
The Edge of Love (2008)
Good but not great
When you think of a "menage à trois", this film is certainly not the first to come in mind: the story itself, revolving around the close friendship between Caitlin MacNamara (Sienna Miller) and Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley), respectively wife and former (?) lover of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys), however true, is irrelevant when taking into consideration the strong points of this film. The film acquires pace and intensity only halfway through, when Vera's husband, William Killick (Cillian Murphy), returns after having fought in World War II and has to come to terms with the horrible trauma he suffered while feeling that no one around him is capable of understanding such pain. Consequently, Vera is devastated by the radical change her husband has undergone and becomes obsessed with his recovery, whilst burying her frustration by being a model mother; on the other hand, Caitlin's dissatisfaction resolves in more and more frequent extra-marital affairs and Dylan dives deeper into his art, forgetting about everything else. By a cruel joke of fate, the only genuinely normal relationship seems to be the one between the two women, falling together in the abyss of incommunicability which separates them from their respective husbands. The actors are all at their best, perfectly conveying the sense of irreparable defeat which drives the characters to such extreme behaviours, and it's not merely coincidental that the predominant colors of the various settings are grey, brown and a dull green, as if to point out the road to perdition the characters are treading along. The finale, which of course I won't reveal, brings forward a question: Can we allow the very same love that made us atone for its sins to lift us back up on our feet? What is the nature of this love? I don't presume to reply, nor shall I dwell on the significance of the word "edge", which can assume a variety of shades, all present, depending upon the undertone one chooses to attribute to it.
Shark (2006)
So far so good.....
It's really quite early to tell (series 1, episode 5), but so far this show is excellent. James Woods simply rules the show with his overly sarcastic and yet compassionate character, he should be considered for an Emmy. However, his co-stars are also very good, each one of the young lawyers working alongside Stark represents an aspect of the Shark himself and the actors are very good at conveying that. I strongly recommend this show to "Cold Case" fans, as there are some similar elements: flashbacks showing the play out of the crime, gripping turns of events and especially a lot of charisma from the main character & co. The script is very effective in guiding the viewers through the legal (or not) ramifications of each case, managing to keep them stuck to their seats without the aid of distracting tricks. Everything revolves around Stark's natural habitat, the courtroom, however the underlining story lines are not suffocated by it, nor do they distract the viewers from the main focus. Finally, last but not least, the humour is fantastic, the jokes are always original and witty, not to mention delivered in a perfectly clever way, through the truly masterful performance of James Woods. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I thought this was worth the effort, I hope you will as well.
Kinky Boots (2005)
Brilliant!!!
Don't let this film pass you by, it's British humour at its best: funny, moving and wonderfully played out. You'll especially enjoy it if you loved The Full Monty and similar Brit films that address big themes like acceptance and poverty with a smile, even if bitter at times. Chiwetel Ejiofor is wonderful because he doesn't insist on the fact that he plays a drag queen to master his performance, as many others would have done, and at the same time he doesn't ask for the audience's pity, which was another risk given the story. Joel Edgerton is also wonderful, his shy, indecisive character is the perfect counterpart to the previous character. However, he plays it so well that he is never overshadowed, he is understated but always noticed.
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
A little piece of genius
This film is simply wonderful. The intimacy of the story is not burdened in a clumsy way with big themes, they are understated but never absent: an entire society is concentrated in the life of a few characters, but somehow we realise it only after the end of the movie, because we are captivated by this wonderful friendship, which is not unilateral, it involves three people who love each other in very different ways. Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman are simply impeccable and Dan Aykroyd may have achieved the best performance of his career with this film. If you wish to know what acting really means, watch this film.