2017 movies

Film Review: The Comedian. Starring Robert DeNiro

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the_comedian.jpgDirector: Taylor Hackford
Writers: Art Linson (screenplay), Jeffrey Ross (screenplay)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito

Review by Gilbert Seah

THE COMEDIAN is, as the title implies about the story of insult comedian Jackie (Robert De Niro) who once found fame as Eddie in the TV sitcom Eddie’s Home. Jackie is now surviving on low-paying gigs in New York City but his audience wants to remember the Eddie routines that Jackie hates to be remembered for.

The trouble starts when Jackie assaults a heckler at one of his performances resulting in him being sentenced to community service at a homeless food shelter. But Jackie meets a fellow community service server, Harmony (Leslie Mann) who he has a relationship with.

Director Taylor Hackord (AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, RAY, THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE) treats his star and the material with respect. It shows. THE COMEDIAN turns out to be a likeable, respectable film despite some very lewd humour.

As in movies about stand-up comedians that pays homage to stand-up comedians go, the film contains worthy cameos provided by the likes of Charles Grodin, Jimmie Walker and Oscar Winner Cloris Leachman. Danny DeVito and harvey Kietel also deliver memorable performances. The comic routines on film are also well written and funny – garnishing laugh-out loud laughs. The best of these is the banter carrying on between the Jewish lesbian comic on hand and De Niro.

De Niro, no stranger to comedy being in comedies like MEET THE PARENTS and THE FAMILY, proves in this film that he can also do stand-up and insult stand-up at that. He is winning in his performance and though unlikely to win him another Academy Award, it is a performance that invokes both sympathy and laughter. De Niro looks good (with his hair probably dyed) and fit, and believable as the late 60 year old that can still become a father.

Where the film (both script and direction) succeeds is the difficult yet successful blending of vulgarity and sincerity. This is witnessed for example, in the one wedding scene when Jackie’s performance both delights his niece and infuriates her mother, Flo (Patti LuPone).

The film is a drama comedy with more laughs than anything else. As one late critic said, a funny film will allow a multitude of faults to be overlooked. The script is smart enough not to include any messages or uncomfortable sex scenes, to include the effects of modern technology (like viral youTube videos) and hilarious stand-up routines in the film.
The best film about a comedian remains Martin Scorsese’s satirical THE KING OF COMEDY that happens also to star a younger Robert De Niro as a stalker of a famous comedian played by Jerry Lewis. THE COMEDIAN is a light drama, played for laughs rather than insight or satire. The film succeeds in its lesser aimed goal.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlj3RRF9h8

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Full Review: TONI ERDMANN (Germany/Austria/Romania 2016) Best Film of the Year

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toni_erdmann.jpgDirector: Maren Ade
Writer: Maren Ade (screenplay)
Stars: Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn

Review by Gilbert Seah

Chosen as the BEST FILM of 2016 by Sight and Sound’s international critics poll, this much talked about Cannes hit is everything an excellent film can be. It is an entertaining hilarious comedy with the darker theme of life. TONI ERDMANN delivers a message on life, as subtly revealed through this-matched relationship between a practical jokester father and his over-serious corporate daughter who has forgotten how to laugh.

Germans are renowned for their obsession with organization, punctuality (they are known to alway arrive at scheduled meetings early) and rules. People have also mentioned that the lack of humour in Germans is partly due to the structure of their language. I would like to think then that writer/director Maren Ade (this is her third feature, after FOREST FOR THE TREES and EVERYONE ELSE) understands this and has a made a film based on these beliefs as her biggest joke on the German people.

Winfried (Peter Simonischek) is a retired piano teacher, a divorcee who delights in persistent pranks and impersonations that alienate (and occasionally alarm) everyone in his German suburb. He has not been much for staying in touch with his daughter, Ines (Sandra Hüller), a high-ranking management consultant in Bucharest who is as controlled and rigid as her father is impish. Ines also possesses finely tuned radar for the nuances of social interaction — a trait that serves her well in the corporate world but only intensifies her discomfort when Winfried pays a surprise visit. Whenever Ines is meeting her clients or friends, father always shows up unexpectedly with his ruffled hair and fake teeth, often pretending to be a character called TONY ERDMANN.

The film’s prized sequence has father and Ines showing up together unexpectedly at a family party. Father suddenly announces that they will perform a song. He plays the piano while she breaks out delivering Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All”, sung not perfectly but from the heart. This is an intimate scene between father and daughter, the song sung by actress Huller herself. The words are true to what the film is all about, which makes this perhaps the best scene in a film this year. This segment got that rare standing ovation mid-way during its screening at Cannes. It is followed by another key one, in which Ines’s guests show up to an unannounced ‘naked conference’ supposedly for work team building.
Ade’s film looks so effortless that its success and effect is alarming – but in a good way. The occasional jittery framing reminds the audience that Ade is using hand held camera and mostly that an excellent film can be created without the use of special equipment, special camera or special effects.

Ade must be congratulated for her finely devised comedic set-ups, just as surprising as the unexpected times the father shows up on her daughter. She displays a prefect gift for timing and a keen eye on the surroundings.
TONI ERDMANN s a comedy on life that everyone can relate to. This is the main reason the film is so endearing. It is hilarious with so many laugh-out loud moments and also an observant piece on what corporate society has become. I have watched the film a second time – a true test of a good film if it can stand a second viewing, and I must say the second viewing was more rewarding than the first. It is so good to laugh about life and relationships. The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) which I am a member of, has awarded the film the Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actress and best Director Awards.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imRcz9atLfo

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Film Review: WHERE THE UNIVERSE SINGS – THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY OF LAWREN HARRIS

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 This is the story of Canadian painter and artist, Lawren Stewart Harris, CC (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970). After a brief introduction to the paintings, Harris background is outlined. One of his most famous works, “Mountain Forms” recently sold for over $11.2 million. Harris was born in Brantford, Ontario, and is best known as a member of the Group of Seven who pioneered a distinctly Canadian painting style in the early twentieth century. A. Y. Jackson has been quoted as saying that Harris provided the stimulus for the Group of Seven.

The voiceover is often in the first person (voiced by Canadian actor Colm Feore) of Harris as he describes his views and his paintings. Shot in chronological order, which helps the audience understand the shift in his work, the audience sees Harris’s works become more abstract and simplified, especially his stark landscapes of the Canadian north and Arctic. His initial paintings showed the city, the poor parts of Toronto where he moved and lived for a while. Harris is also a humble man, not signing nor dating his work, so that his paintings can be judged for what they are – without prejudice.

While the painting are on display, directors Raymont and Lang constantly remind the audience (sometimes too often) of the Harris’ purpose he envisioned for his paintings. Harris wants his admirers to embark on a spiritual journey to settle on a different plain of consciousness that hopefully is inspired by the paintings.

The film also includes interviews by experts the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Andrew Hunter,
the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Ian Thom, curator and former Globe art critic Sarah Milroy, biographer Peter Larisey, author Dennis Reid, curator Roald Nasgaard, collector Ash Prakash, author Lisa Christensen of Heffel’s and Harris’s grandchildren Stew Sheppard and Toni Chowne. Actor/comedian Steve Martin (in serious mode) also has a surprise appearance here having his say.

It is odd that two thirds through the film. Raymont decides to insert the segment on Harris’s life. He goes on to tell of his unsatisfactory marriage to Trixie as well as his romance with another painter, Beth supposedly his soulmate. Raymont uses the segment to explain Harris’ transition to abstract art.

An additional bonus of the documentary is the archive film footage shot by Harris himself. As he travelled through the Arctic and across Canada, his shots on film are magnificent. Even Toronto with its streetcars and old automobiles look stunning. It is odd that his painting hardly contained people. But people are plentiful in his footage.

The film also features over 130 paintings, dozens of previously un-seen photos and 8mm family films, plus works by those who influenced him, including Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gaugin, Kandinsky, Emily Carr and Georgia OKeeffe.

Director Raymont (Emmy winner Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire) does his subject justice. He is fortunately to be able to show Harris archive films which really helps the audience understand the artist.

Like Harris’s paintings, Raymont’s documentary is occasionally therapeutic and inspiring.

Please note that this is the 1 hour 30 minute version, not the 60 minute version previously shown on TV.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/192636801

where_the_universe_sings.jpg

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Film Review: GOLD (USA 2016) ***

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gold.jpgDirector: Stephen Gaghan
Writers: Patrick Massett, John Zinman
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramírez, Bryce Dallas Howard

Review by Gilbert Seah

GOLD has been advertised as an American crime adventure film. But the film is not that much an adventure film, feeling more like a biopic of Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey), an unlucky businessman who discovers and finds gold, but loses it all including his long-suffering girlfriend, Kay (Bryce Dallas Howard). GOLD is in reality, based on the Bre-X scandal. It is indicated at the start of the film that the film is inspired by true events. So, the Wells character is likely made up.

It appears that the entire story of GOLD can be determined from the trailer. But it is not so. Though the story has a twist, director Gaghan, who directs based on a script by himself, Patrick Massett and John Zinman cannot decide what kind of film (satirical or sincere) it wants to be. It is also part romance, crime, a bit of adventure but feels like a biopic of a totally obnoxious (though fictitious) person that the audience is supposed to root for.

The film turns towards sincerity in the segment where Kay angrily warns Kenny of the business wolves. The satire is mainly found in Kenny’s character – for example in the scene with him hugging geologist Michael in his underwear like two gay lovers.

Oscar winner, Matthew McConaughey (DALLAS BUYERS CLUB) looks absolutely horrendous in the movie – intentionally and he flaunts it. He has put on so many pounds that his gut shows. Besides smoking half the time, Kenny spawns a receding hairline, looking half bald with bad skin. It makes matters worse that the guy the audience is supposed to root for is not only obnoxious but ugly.

The film is set in Indonesia where the gold prospecting is being done. Locations in Thailand are used to substitute for Indonesia, for obvious reasons that Thailand is more stable for filming. As far as westerners go, most cannot tell the difference. The film makes sure that the locals in the film including the character of the geologist Michael Acosta (Édgar Ramírez) speak Malay and not Thai.

Of the performances, veteran Stacy Keach as big-shot, Clive Coleman stands out. Others supporting actors like Howard, Ramirez, Bruce Greenwood deliver standard uninspired performances. McConaughey is McConaughey, who can deliver an extremely annoying over-acted performance, as observable in the film’s first 10 minutes. But hand it to him, at least his over-acting keeps the film from being boring.

The film begins with Kay and Kenny talking about gold prospects. The script quickly jumps 7 years into the story with Kenny growing bald and fat. The script also calls for the story to bounce to and from from the States to Indonesia. Director Gaghan also, for no reason, resolves to split screen for a few minutes of the movie and then never goes back to it.

The most interesting segments of GOLD are not the location shots in Thailand. They are the ones involving the business wheeling-dealing – often with Kenny being taken for a rough ride. The best of these is the business conference in which a strategic partner is sought with an impossible conversation.

Does GOLD succeed in telling an entertaining story? The answer is up to the audience to decide but as in the words of Kelly when he first discovers gold: “the ride has begun!”

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdLXPv5NsA4

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Film Review: AKRON (USA 2016) ***

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akron.jpgDirectors: Sasha King, Brian O’Donnell
Writers: Brian O’Donnell, Brian O’Donnell
Stars: Matthew Frias, Joseph Melendez, Edmund Donovan

Review by Gilbert Seah

After the gay lifestyle gained acceptance around the world, gay films appear to have exhausted all possible subjects. Issues such as coming out, sex change, gay marriage, teen love, transgender identity, gay bashing, prejudice, gay rights have all been covered in one gay film after another. Filmmakers with gay themed films have to resort to used subjects with a new twist or a new look to succeed. AKRON, a teen mid-western gay love story does just that.

“You don’t choose who you fall in love with?” Benny challenges his father during a confrontation in one of the film’s key scenes. It is a valid question and one that does not have a single answer. The film poses one big magic question: “Can love conquer all?” And the film, as in many love stories, has an obstacle to the romance. In this case it is a very huge obstacle.

This obstacle is observed in the film’s first scene, which appears at first to have no connection to the rest of the movie. When the connection is made, it generates a powerhouse effect.

A young boy, Christopher is at the supermarket with his mother. In the parking lot, the mother accidentally runs over and kills a boy. It turns out that the boy’s younger brother is Benny, who meets and falls in love with Christopher later on, the coincidence first unknown to both. When the truth emerges, the romance is challenged, first by Christopher and Benny individually, and then by Benny’s well-meaning parents. Sometimes, a secret might best be kept, but this is the movies.
The film is undoubtedly a tear-jerker. There are no scenes that are milked for sentiment, but the effect of the story is a powerful one.

The film clearly reminds one of first love, teen love and innocent love at that – whether gay or straight. The film could very well be a straight love story between a boy and girl, with not much difference in effect.

AKRON works as a film (ignore the 4.2 rating on imdb) for various reasons. For one, it is a sincere story of first love. One can always remember the first time one has fallen in love and thus, one can relate to the characters. The chemistry of the two leads are almost perfect. The two teens playing the leads are also excellent, particularly Matthew Frias, who looks like a younger version of Andrew Garfield.
The two actors portraying the teens are almost too perfect in terms of muscled bodies. The love makng is very erotic aided by the fact that they have almost perfect chiseled bodies and handsome faces. As the film is a teen romance, it is appropriate that no hardcore sex scene is presented – only ones with kissing and foreplay, thought these are erotic enough.

Though this well-made, sincere film should get a theatrical release, it goes straight to video. AKRON will be released February 7, 2016 on DVD and VOD via Wolfe Video. But AKRON is well worth a viewing. Warning, make sure you have lots of Kleenex. But it is good to have a good cry once in a while. At last these will be happy tears.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9p831bjy74

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Film Review: I AM DYSLEXIC (Norway) Animation/Music Video

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

I AM DYSLEXIC, 6min. UK, Animation/Music Video

The animated short film I AM DYSLEXIC expresses what it feels like to have a learning difference in our current school system. Those with learning differences should be proud of who they are and should never be made to feel alone.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

A masterful piece of short cinema is a rare gem. To be truly spectacular a short must do three things exceptionally well: It must tell a compelling and engaging story, it must establish, build and deliver an emotional goal (Comedic or Dramatic) and it must be visually breathtaking. Enter I AM DYSLEXIC, directed by Mads Johan Ogaard and Katie Wyman. Majestic in its visual metaphors and brave in it’s delivery, I AM DYSLEXIC is a powerful cinematic short that provides all three of these elements. The story is remarkably simple- following the metaphorical journey of two school age children desperately trying to learn literacy through the conventional education model. Instead of following their actual progress, we see them climbing an unfathomable high mountain of books, scattered pages, text and block letters. A vibrant and powerful metaphor, strengthen in part by its simplicity. To anyone who has ever struggled with conventional education, the metaphor is disarmingly accurate. Perhaps this is what elevates the film- the abstract approach to explaining what learning can be like, for those of us who learn differently.

 

Our heroes’ deal with road block after road block, and stumble constantly. There is no easy path, and no well marked trail for their journey. And although there is no dialogue at all, there is a dramatic original musical score “I’m Not Stupid” which aids in epic atmospheric elements to this piece.

 

I AM DYSLEXIC is an emotional powerhouse of a film. Stunningly effective in its representation and utterly unique and transformative in its symbology, this is a film everyone should see. It reminds all the viewers that  unconventional learning is not a crime, and that, pun intended, there are many paths up the same mountain. Despite the difficulty, they all will lead to the top. This reviewer, (a dyslexic, as it happens) gives this film a 10.

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Film Review: THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ (Canada 1974) ****

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duddy_kravitz.jpgDirector: Ted Kotcheff

Writers: Mordecai Richler (screenplay), Mordecai Richler (novel)

Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Micheline Lanctôt, Jack Warden

Review by Gilbert Seah

 It has been a long spell (thanks to its recent restoration) since the Canadian classic THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ got a release again on the big screen. The film is the autobiography of the author, Mordecai Richler based on his best selling novel of the same name.

The film is the story of Duddy (pronounced doo-dee) Kravitz (Richard Dreyfuss), a brash, restless young Jewish man growing up poor in Montreal, Canada. His taxi driver father Max (Jack Warden) and his rich uncle Benjy (Joseph Wiseman) are very proud of Duddy’s older brother Lenny, whom Benjy is putting through medical school. Only his grandfather (Zvee shows the motherless Duddy any attention. But Duddy rises the ranks.

There is a scene in which an old Jewish bearded man says that a man without land is a nobody. (This scene is seen in both this film and the Woody Allen comedy LOVE AND DEATH). In this film, it is Duddy’s grandfather who tells his grandson the maxim.

Duddy starts a serious relationship with a hotel employee, French-Canadian Yvette (Micheline Lanctôt). One day, she takes him on a picnic beside a lake. Duddy is stunned by the beauty of the setting, and his ambition crystallizes: taking to heart his grandfather Zeyta’s maxim “a man without land is nobody” to heart. The film traces Duddy’s accomplishment, but not without dire consequences. It is a film of both coming-of-age and growing up – and a very effective one at that.

This is director Ted Kotcheff’s best film. His attention to detail, which is evident throughout the film is what makes the movie tick. The best example can be seen in the opening sequence where Duddy in military garb marches in a band while goofing around. The military tune “O When the Saints” bookmarks the ilm, while the lyrics also have some meaning in the story.

It is reported that Richard Dreyfuss hated his performance so much in this film that after seeing the film’s final cut, he decided to take the role in JAWS, that he initially turned down. But in my opinion, Dreyfuss delivers an almost flawless performance as Duddy in the film . He captures the juvenility and ambition of the growing Jewish boy. Dreyfuss has proven himself as an actor in the the later AMERICAN GRAFFITI and also in THE GOODBYE GIRL winning an Oscar for Best Actor in the process.

I have a few complaints of the film despite it being a classic. Being a film set in Montreal, I would prefer it being shot in France or at least have more French spoken in the film. The other is the list of Americans playing Canadians and an Englishman playing the American Hollywood director.

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz screens as part of Canada on Screen on Sunday, February 5 at 6:30 p.m. Beginning in January and running throughout the year, this free programme will present moving-image installations, special events and guests, an extensive online catalogue, and screenings across the country, all based on a list of 150 essential moving-image works from Canada’s history, and compiled through a national poll of industry professionals. Canada on Screen is a co-production between TIFF and three core project partners — Library and Archives Canada, the Cinémathèque québécoise, and The Cinematheque in Vancouver — for Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017. The Government of Canada and RBC are Presenting Partners of Canada on Screen.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYkgUm-ImHw

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Film Review: SPLIT (USA 2017) ***1/2

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split_poster.jpgDirector: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson

Review by Gilbert Seah

 The first thing on the mind of anyone venturing to see a new M. Night Shyamalan film is whether the film is going to be a bomb like AFTER EARTH and THE LAST AIRBENDER or a hit like his early films THE SIXTH SENSE, SIGNS and UNBREAKABLE. His last film THE VISIT pleased the majority of filmgoers and SPILT should do the same.

The film begins with the abduction in a car in broad daylight of three teenage friends Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and difficult outsider Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). The three girls get seated in the car while the father of one of them puts their gear in the trunk. “Can I help you?” the father says to a stranger whose face is off-camera.

From the car mirror, Casey senses something is wrong when she sees their bags on the road. She turns to get a glimpse of the man who has just moved into the driver’s seat and it is not her friend’s father. This is top notch camera work worthy of Hitchcock and proves a hard act to follow. True enough, none of the rest of the film can match the first 10 minutes of pure suspense.

Their captor Kevin (James McAvoy) locks the trio in a windowless room, then proceeds to frighten and baffle them. One minute he’s wearing eyeglasses and obsessive about cleanliness, the next he is presenting as female (PSYCHO style), and later he acts like a nine-year-old boy. It is revealed that Kevin exhibits 23 alternate personalities, and in order to escape, his captives must convince one of the personalities within him to set them free, before the arrival of the 24th and final personality, the “beast”.

James McAvoy delivers a really creepy performance worthy of Heath Ledger’s Joker. Teen actress Taylor-Joy need not have to do much. The film is scary enough and all she has to do is register fear in hr face. Shyamalan often has the camera in close-up.

To add more to the simple plot of abduction, the story of Casey’s life is told in flashbacks. Her father has passed on from a heart attack and she is looked after by a creepy uncle who may be a pedophile. Kevin is a patient under study by Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley) who hopes to rehabilitate him.

As in all Shyamalan’s films, there is a surprise twist – the best of which were in his first two films. There is a big surprise at the end of this one too, but only consequential to the goings-on. Still, Shyamalan fans should not be disappointed.

Shyamalan’s films all make money even his two big critical flops. SPLIT only cost a paltry $10 million to make, primarily for its use of inexpensive stars and absent unneeded special effects. SPLIT is expected to gross $20-25 million this weekend alone which means that there should be another Shyamalan thriller/horror the next year. No one should be complaining.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI

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Film Review: THE PASSIONATE THIEF (RISATE DI GIOIA) (Italy 1960) **** [The Films of Magnani]

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the_passionate_thief_poster.jpgDirector: Mario Monicelli

Stars: Anna Magnani, Totò, Ben Gazzara

Review by Gilbert Seah

This rarely seen Italian comedy gets a release after its recent 4K restoration.

THE PASSIONATE THIEF (RISATE DI GIOIA) marks the collaboration between dramatic actress Anna Magnani and famed comedian Toto. It is a perfect match as director Monicelli’s film is a perfect blend between drama and comedy. RISATE DI GIOIA literally translates to ‘laughter of Joy’, Joy also being the name of Magnani’s character.

The film follows two friends, Umberto and Gioia (Toto and Magnani) who live by their wits working as comedians and cabaret at Cinecittà (the famous cinema production studios centre in Rome), before being invited to friends’ parties or masked balls during New Year’s Eve in Rome. The two, however, even though they make people laugh all the time in public, live an inner conflict, namely that the two have always to be aware to give a smile to someone, but they can never be rich and happy because they are street artists and with a precarious wage. The meeting with another thief, the well-dressed Lello (Ben Gazzara who appears to speak perfect Italian) throws their relationship into peril. Lello is low-life, classy con-man, while Umberto tries to save Gioia from the wolf’s clutches.

Monicelli captures the plight of the poor. The segment where the trio enter a rich German party complete with ornaments emphasize the indifference of the rich. ‘The rich loves expensive ornaments that are useless,” says Gioia humorously.

Magnani is pure joy to watch – the perfect Italian drama queen. Wearing a gaudy evening dress complete with shiny spikes, her dress only underlines her loudness. The best scene has her screaming aloud when by accident, fireworks are thrown next to her during the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The film is more drama than comedy. The audience can clearly sympathize with both the characters of Umberto and Gioia as they both grab at straws to escape the drowning from poverty. Gioia is hoping for love in the much younger Lello while Umberto finally goes clean in order to save Gioia from Lello.

The ending of the film is both sad and humorous. The audience sees the two after a major setback in their lives trying still to be happy and to enjoy the good life. They dance and laugh while hailing a taxi with comical results.

THE PASSIONATE THEIF looks like a simple film on the surface, but is deep in mood, atmosphere, feeling and life under deeper scrutiny.

The Passionate Thief screens on Sunday, January 29 at 2:45 p.m. as part of TIFF Cinematheque’s Volcano: The Films of Anna Magnani, running from January 27 to March 11. Curated by James Quandt, Senior Programmer, this deluxe series celebrates the ferocious Magnani, who was known as “La Magnani” or “La Lupa” (“The She-Wolf”) for her volatility and voraciousness. Equally at home in farce and tragedy, melodrama and comedy, she starred in films by some of the greatest auteurs of all time and won her country’s adoration for embodying characters that regular people could identify with, including fruit vendors, prostitutes, molls, convicts, stage mothers, film extras and (most frequently) long-suffering proletarian wives.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFwFYySSWS8

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Film Review: MALIGLUTIT (Canada 2016) ***

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maliglutitDirectors: Zacharias Kunuk, Natar Ungalaaq
Writers: Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk
Stars: Benjamin Kunuk, Karen Ivalu, Jonah Qunaq

Review by Gilbert Seah

 If the English title of this movie sounds familiar, it is because the film is taken from the plot of John Ford’s classic John Wayne western THE SEARCHERS. The Inuk title translates literally to ‘followers’. The simple plot involves an Inuk man searching for his kidnapped wife and daughter.

The film begins with a quarrel as an Inuk man is upset that a man has been fooling around with his wife. The words ‘f***ing asshole’ and ‘***ker’ (in Inuk) are exchanged frequently. It is the omen of what is to occur. The Inuk man has his wife and daughter are later kidnapped by marauders. He and his son set out to find those responsible and rescue the wife and daughter. The revenge plot gives the film, at times the feel of an action flick like TAKEN.

The film is a bit confusing at the start. All the characters are heavily clothed and it is at first hard to tell who is who and which one is the villain. It does not help that the Inuk man and son as well as the maunders take out an expedition at the same time, so that one has to recall the faces to figure out what is going on, in terms of plot.

What is most fascinating about the film is the Inuk culture depicted. The daily routines like making tea, eating and sewing are on display. If one has never seen what he inside of an igloo looks like, the film offers plenty of opportunity to see both the insides and exterior, as well as the brief construction of one. The chopping of frozen food that makes the daily diet, as well as eating of the food frozen.

The cinematography of the real ‘great white North’ is nothing short of stunning. Like David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia where a lone figure stands in the vast spaces of sand, lone figures are seen in the mountains of snow and ice with no other signs of civilization. One wonders how the filmmakers managed to get all the filming equipment way up to the Arctic.

The film is necessarily violent from the kidnapping to the revenge scenes. The latter is satisfying, seeing how director Kunk has primed his audience for anger and a thirst for revenge. The tracking of the kidnappers, Inuk-style is like nothing anyone has seen before. Suspense is also heightened as the Inuk man has only one bullet left at the end, so that he has to kill two men with one bullet.

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk broke into the film scene 15 years ago when his film, the excellent ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER won the prestigious Caméra d’or for Best First Feature at Cannes. SEARCHERS can nowhere can be compared to ATANARUAT, but the film is still definitely worth a look. The film has also been selected as Canada’s top 10 films of 2016.

Trailer: http://www.isuma.tv/Maliglutit/Teaser

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