musashi_88 Reviews

Stryker (2004)

Gonick strykes a chord

[10/10 · 21 July 2005]

The problem with a lot of recent Canadian cinema (at least anglophone Canadian cinema) is that the filmmakers are stuck in an idiotic post-modern frame of mind. If they aren't trying to create inferior copies of other Western films, they've got their heads hopelessly rooted in the notion of indie, small-market culture.

That and, I suppose, a general lack of talent is the problems.

"Stryker", from Noam Gonick, the director of the delirious "Hey Happy" comes like a breath of fresh air, a glistening golden exception to prove that depressing rule.

The film showcases a slice of life that most people would throw out with the tin dish -- the aboriginal subculture of Winnipeg's troubled North End.

No, Gonick is not himself aboriginal. But we are told that Nicholas Ray spent weeks cruising with L.A. street gangs in preparation for the brilliant "Rebel Without a Cause", and Gonick has certainly outdone that feat, apparently spending much of his time with the kind of gangs he showcases.

But unlike Ray's cosmic vision, Gonick's Winnipeg gangsters live virtually meaningless lives, and their tragic desperation is never far from sight.

But hold on, here comes the shocker. This Canadian indie "issue" film is actually great entertainment. That's right, a Canuck filmmaker with social qualms for once has the cinematic good sense, and a considerable amount of talent, to make his movie enjoyable.

"Stryker" is funny and demented and sometimes completely off-the-wall. It is personalised to an extent that makes it an amusement park ride of a film, but with smiling good spirit, without the destructive impulse to take the bizarre seriously that has made "prarie cinema" a curse word.

"Stryker" is a spaghetti Western gang war flick about a native kid without a past or a name or much of a vocabulary who moseys into a turf war between the true-to-life "Indian Posse" and the rather over-the-top "Asian Bomb Squad". The developments of the gang war and the mute hero's journey take on a kind of mythic resonance through Gonick's sheer narrative enthusiasm, with plenty of interesting characters popping up along the way.

And when the final frame rolls, a message has emerged, almost covertly, about the native people's predicament, a message that (as the opening credits hint) stretches back to colonial roots.

It is a thought-provoking "issue" film to be sure, but one with a great hip-hop score and gay Asian stripteases. The exuberance, excess, and undeniable originality of this picture make it a totally absorbing experience, with Ed Lachman's wonderful cinematography providing a lingering, gritty beauty to wrap it in.

"Stryker" is one of the best Canadian films of recent years.

Izo (2004)

A slice, a groan, a war-cry, and a folk ballad

[8/10 · 25 April 2005]

The latest chapter in Takeshi Miike's continuing essay on humanity and brutality, IZO is a two-hour experimental mind-trip.

If this film were in any way concerned with making sense, the storyline might resemble something like this: A man is brutally murdered in ancient Japan, but, bearing his vengeance, he returns to the Earth and wanders uncontrollably through time and space, becoming the embodiment of mankind's self-destructive nature. Throughout his wanderings, he encounters all kinds of strange and metaphoric characters, and he proceeds to kill them all with his samurai sword.

This film is an elaborate thesis on mankind, but the exact nature of the message is a matter of debate, as is whether or not Takeshi Miike himself even has a clue. There will no doubt be differing opinions as to what the characters represent, but you better make up your mind during the first hour of film. After that, most of the scenes that obviously point out a social message - like black-and-white footage of war - disappear, and what the resolution is depends on your interpretation of the characters.

For those of you not familiar with the works of Takeshi Miike, suffice it to say that he is determined to mine the human subconscious in search of new and exciting ways to make people throw up sushi and tempura on the carpeted floors of Tokyo multiplexes. Among Japan's pantheon of ultra-violent directors, he is notable for being always ready to address the issue of his own sadism. Ever film he makes is like an expansion of Hitchcock's shower scene, forcibly accusing us of being sadists at the same time as he delivers great images of cinematic violence. More than the social commentary, which is confusing and likely uncertain, the most interesting philosophical study in IZO is Miike's self-examination of his own lust for violence, as well as the main character's and the audience's. Is Izo so brutal because he is inhuman, or because he is too human?

You may not get anything from straining at this befuddled movie, but it is still enjoyable and provoking, if not gut-wrenching, experimental cinema. Any violent philosophical essay that features long shots of a folk singer playing guitar and screaming ballads is worth a look. IZO has elements of Kafka, Lewis Carrol, Terry Gilliam, and Seijun Suzuki, but it is undeniably Takeshi Miike.

You can call Miike sadistic. You can call him demented or depraved. Just don't forget to call him an artist.

The Interpreter (2005)

Another failure in the UN

[4/10 · 24 April 2005]

The heroes are white with haggard grimaces and darting eyes while the villains are black with stony visages in the new Sydney Pollack. Based on the kind of novels middle-aged people read during their children's soccer practices, this political "thriller" is full of stale morality and clichéd contrivances. The A-list actors, including Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener, are all in top form, but they can't prevent almost every scene from feeling very, very tired. Pollack's directing is as predictable as a Swatch, and the screenplay is competent but very cheesy, full of more cheap throwaways than a bag of Schick razors. This is the first movie to ever be filmed in the UN, and it's about as successful as that whole attempt to stop the invasion of Iraq.

Constantine (2005)

crap, in biblical proportions

[2/10 · 10 February 2005]

Constantine has one redeeming quality. Peter Stormare plays Satan, and he's characteristically great, creating what may be the best Lucifer since Pacino. You could also add Tilda Swinton as Gabriel and Djimon Hounsou as "Papa Midnight" as secondary and tertiary redeeming qualities, but that's up for debate.

Other than that, this movie is terrible. The screenplay is so flat and weakly written it was almost offensive to watch, and the directing is gimmicky garbage. Some of the special effects are nice and the production design has its moments, but the visuals are certainly nothing to rave about.

There is obvious cinematic potential for the comic book character Keanu Reeves plays, but his wooden style should never be combined with such a monstrously bad screenplay. He could have been a kind of demon-fighting Bogey - instead he's more like a bad Columbo impersonation. Rachel Weisz would make a nice entry in a wet T-shirt contest, and she seemed game to deliver a good performance too, but the absence of any sort of consistency in her character eliminated that possibility.

Personally, I am getting tired of music video directors who confuse "a random combination of nice-looking angles" with "cool" and writers who confuse a "a smattering of religion, faux-hip settings and genre-bending clichés" with "interesting." I think we're going to have to face the fact that, no matter how cool some geek thinks it is in his mind, a fusion of the occult and sci-fi will never make a half-decent movie. And the fact that religion has inspired so many awful supernatural flicks lately is as strong an argument as any to go atheist.

If there is a sequel, and it is called "The Adventures of Satan" starring Peter Stormare, I will see it. Otherwise, I will not give this lowly film a second thought.