movie

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE Presents – FRENCH CRIME CLASSICS

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elevator in the gallows.jpgThis new Cinematheque series showcases post war French Crime classics, may of which are seldom seen. One of the best films in this series is the newly restored PANIQUE, a 1945 black and white film (remade by Patrice Leconte as MONSIEUR HIRE in 1989) which I got to see for the first time, and must say is the BEST film I have seen this year.

PANIQUE was selected for both the Cannes and New York Film Festivals and was received with critical accolades when it opened at New York’s Film Forum. The film is capsule reviewed below. A MUST-SEE! (Panique screens on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m.)

French Crime Classics running from July 6 to September 3 is curated by James Quandt, Senior Programmer, TIFF Cinematheque. There is a total of 25 classic crime films, several in new or restored prints.

CAPSULE REVIEWS OF SELECTED FILMS:

ASCENSEUR POR L’ECHAFAUD (ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS)
(France 1957) ****
Directed by Louis Malle

One of Jeanne Moreau’s early films that director Louis Malle help put on the filmmaking map. Moreau does a lot of sulking and wandering around the city like a crazed lady when her lover (Marurice Ronet) fails to turn up for the rendezvous after being locked and trapped in an elevator after office hours as a result of a murder they both conspired on. The victim is the husband and the target the prize money that the two lovers hope to live happily ever after with. But as stories like these are, nothing goes as planned. A young couple steal the car and murder two German tourists with Ronet being the prime suspect. Director Malle fills his suspense thriller with lots of details that aid the story’s authenticity, especially in the segments in which Ronet is trapped in the lift. The black and white cinematography (by Henri Decae) is superb and aided by an excellent jazz trumpet score by Miles Davis. A beautifully stunning and entertaining suspense thriller!

LES DIABOLIQUES (France 1955) ***** Top 10
Directed b H.G Clouzot

Undoubtedly the best suspense murder thriller of all time! Based on the novel by Pierre Boileau, the film is the typical Hitchcock movie. It was rumoured that Clouzot bought the rights of the novel just before Hitchcock could, thus infuriating the Master of Suspense. But Hitchcock could not have made a better film. Shot in black and white with the word sinister printed on every scene, DIABOLIQUE tells the story of a mistress and wife of a boarding school owner conspiring together to commit the perfect murder. As one school colleague put it – it is really strange to see the wife comforting her husband’s mistress.

Simone Signoret plays the strong mistress while Vera Clouzot plays the weak hearted wife, both abused physically and mentally by the man they plan to murder. Of course in stories like these, things never go as planned. The body goes missing and the plot twists more than once at the end. Clouzot ‘s film contains some wickedly brilliant moments. The one in which the wife begins to warn her husband of the poisoned wine he is about to down only to get slapped by him is a classic. She then quietens to pour him more of the poisoned wine.

Another has her burn the evidence with a match, the light brightening up her face to reveal her reaction. As the two women leave in the car to drive back to the school with corpse in the boot, the neighbour says casually that the cops are around the major intersections theses days. One sentence of dialogue such as this one is sufficient to drum up the audience anticipation for the entire car trip. The atmosphere of the 50’s countryside France, the boarding school and emotional trappings of the two women are all wonderfully created. DIALBOLIQUE was remade with Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani in the 90’s, but some films like this one (and all Hitchcock films) should never be remade.

JUDEX (France/Italy 1963) ****
Directed by Georges Franju

JUDEX (original creator Louis Feuillade) is a French mysterious hero who punishes evil men like a judge passes sentences. The plot revolves the evil banker Favraux, receiving a threatening note from Judex (Channing Pollocak) demanding that he pay back people he has swindled. He is later drugged by Judex and locked away. But Favraux is not the only villain in the piece. Meanwhile, the former governess, Diana (Francine Berge) , kidnaps Favraux’s daughter Jacqueline (Edith Scob) to try to get the banker’s money. At the same time, private detective Cocantin (Jacques Jouanneau) bumbles his way (like an Inspector Clouseau) trying to figure out what is going on. The film is rich in period atmosphere especially in the costume ball segment where JUDEX makes a surprise appearance wearing a costume with the head of a hawk. The film wonderfully transports the audience into the style of early French cinema.

PANIQUE (PANIC) (France 1946 ) ***** Top 10
Directed by Julien Duvivier

The first film (before Patrice Leconte’s MONSIEUR HIRE with Michel Blanc) based on the novel Les Fiançailles de M. Hire by Georges Simenon, PANIQUE has all the elements of a film classic. The plot is a beauty and the beast like story with all the villagers at the end of the film lynching who they think is the murderer of a an innocent girl. After an elderly woman is murdered, the murderer realizes that Monsieur Hire (Michel Simon), a solitary Jewish neighbor on the courtyard where the main characters live, knows who is responsible. The murderer and his girlfriend, Alice (Viviane Romance) manipulate local opinion against Hire, who is ostracized by the community. It does not help that M. Hire falls in lvd with Alice. He tells Alice his every move, making him more vulnerable to the murderer. They then plant evidence in Hire’s apartment to confirm popular suspicions. Director Duvivier builds up on the suspicion and mistrust by the villagers on the stranger, criticizing the small French town mentality. The butcher questions the the preference of his pork chops to be bloody hen M. Hire buys the, and another is suspicious of the gifts M. Hire offers to a little girl. The town is interested in cheap gossip, tacky entertainment like lady wrestling and taking matters into their own hands. Beautifully shot in black and white with M. Hire wonderfully performed by Michel Simon, PANIQUE is a thrilling tragedy from start to finish.

TIREZ SUR LE PIANIST (SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER) (France 1960 ) ****
Directed by Francois Truffaut

One of Truffaut’ more obscure but no less impressive feature, SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER follows the adventures of a bar’s pianist, Charlie played by French singer Charles Aznavour after his bother runs to him for hiding. The film is part thriller part romance but it is these little details of the film that creates the charm and magic of this sensitive film. One scene has Charlie contemplating whether to ask Lena (Marie Dubois) to have a drink or to be more subtile by asking her if she was thirsty. When he immediately turns to her to utter by mistake, “Let’s go for a drink,” she has already walked off. The execution of musical numbers like the rendering of “Framboise” also does the trick. Aznavour is no great actor, by Truffaut milks the charm that has made this singer so famous. Again, the are lots of shots of women’s sexy long legs here as in Truffaut’s other films especially L’HOMME QUI AIMES LES FEMMES. I saw the film only once 20 years ago and was not really impressed then, but am now.

 

 

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Film Review: PAST LIFE (Israel/Poland 2016)***

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past life.jpgPast Life tracks the daring late 1970s odyssey of two sisters – an introverted classical musician and a rambunctious scandal sheet journalist – as they unravel a shocking wartime mystery that has cast a dark shadow on their entire lives.

Director: Avi Nesher
Writer: Avi Nesher
Stars: Nelly Tagar, Joy Rieger, Doron Tavory

Review by Gilbert Seah

 Director Avi Nesher (THE MATCHMAKER, TURN LEFT AT THE END OF THE WORLD) sets the stage in the film’s first scene when Sephi (Joy Rieger) performs (she is a tenor in a choir) in Berlin. An elderly woman ( Katarzyna Gniewkowska) reproaches her after, in public, accusing her of being a murderer’s daughter.

Back home, she relates the incident to her feisty sister, Nana (Nelly Tatar), a writer for her husband’s journal and she insists of finding the truth of what happened in the war with their father, Dr. Baruch Milch (Doron Tavory).

The film is a period piece, beautifully mounted with vintage cars and sets and set in the year 1977. It is a spellbinding tale that tracks the trans-European odyssey of two sisters as they try to unravel a wartime mystery that has cast a shadow on their lives. Sephi is an aspiring composer, determined to succeed in the male-dominated classical music world. Her older sister Nana is a scandal-sheet journalist and aspiring playwright. The daughters of Holocaust survivors, the two are bent on uncovering the truth behind a dark family secret.

The entire film hinges on what the secret is. To keep the film interesting from start to end, Nesher inserts a rift between the siblings.

Sephi is content not to unravel the skeleton in the closet while Nana is the opposite. Nesher paints a more interesting character in Nana as she is one hot female, always searching, always wanting the truth which damages her relationship with her husband who owns the journal she writes for. To make matters worse, Nana believes that he flirts with Sephi. This makes the story more down to earth though the tension feels forced at times. Nesher also inserts a segment that involves the timely discovery of the father’s document in the archives just before the starting of a concert. This tactic is obvious to heighten tension though it compromises the authenticity of the story.

Nesher’s film is also clearly devoid of humour. The light touches in dialogue come mainly from Nana’s lines, especially the ones in the hospital or seeing the doctor. But rather than being funny, they come across as cynicism.

Neshe’s strength are in the dramatic parts. The film’s best segment is unexpectedly the meeting in the park at night of the girl’s mother (Evgenia Dodina) and the elderly woman at the concert at the film’s beginning. The mother’s begging of her forgiveness for her and her husband is both moving and riveting.

The film was inspired by Dr. Baruch Milch’s book Can Heaven Be Void?, which is based on a diary he kept during WWII, and the extremely difficult decisions he had to face during the times. Nana in real life edited the father’s book while the sister Sephi composed the orchestral piece to exorcise their demons.

Nesher is himself a Holocaust survivor, so making this film must be a story he wanted to tell from his heart. PAST LIFE eventually turns out to be a powerful film about the importance of forgiveness.

Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2nJsh8BHMQ0

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Film Review: THE JOURNEY (UK 2016) ***

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THE JOURNEY.jpgA fictional account of the extraordinary story of two implacable enemies in Northern Ireland.

Director: Nick Hamm
Writer: Colin Bateman
Stars: Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, John Hurt

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
Who would think that former enemies Rev. Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness nicknamed ‘The Chuckling Brothers’ would remain friends for life after their meeting that finally resulted in the long awaited peace in Northern Ireland. No more bombings! No more bullets! Director Hamm underlines the violence as the film starts.

Nick Hamm’s THE JOURNEY is a dramatization about how these two two political opposites came together to change the course of history – an event that resulted in the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin (the political party of the Irish Republican Army) signing a 2006 agreement, bringing peace to Northern Ireland after nearly 40 years of violence.

Hamm’s journey is basically a two-handler, performed by two actors, one known for his humour the Irish Colm Meaney (THE SNAPPER) and the other for his dead seriousness, Timothy Spall (the Mike Leigh films). Most of the scenes involve banter between both of them. The film imagines a trip in a minivan where the two sort out their differences, come to an agreement and finally bring peace to the different groups. It is a real event though that minivan trip was imagined, as written in the script by Colin Bateman. The real trip took pace in an airplane. But the facts remain true. The reason the film changed the venue is not given but the change offers a visual treat, with lush greenery and rocky shores seen through rain-splattered windows. The drive was to the airport in Glasgow, Scotland.

Spall and Meaney are a pleasure to watch. Other British actors in the film include the late John Hurt (THE ELEPHANT MAN) as M15 boss Harry Patterson and Toby Stephens as Prime Minister Toby Stephens. Freddie Highmore has a small but mischievous role as the chauffeur, a British agent in disguise.

Director Hamm takes his time to set up the stage for the action when the two are finally the car and talking. The chauffeur, through his head set, is prompted to instigate the conversation. It is comical to see two grown men behaving just like children, fighting and wanting their own way. The conversation starts when McGuinness’s mobile is unable to get a signal but Paisley refuses to lend his. Bateman’s script, which imagines the actual conversation involves lots of funnily one-liners and rebuttals. The script is also believable in the way the ice is broken and the two eventually get talking. At the same time, hatred, humour and hard-nosed stubbornness are on full display.

They is a little film that documents a real life-changing event through imagined conversation. It is an entertaining exercise that also reflects strength overcoming the weaknesses of the human character in the strife for the good of mankind. But at the time of writing this review, problems are beginning to resurface again as observed in the recent news.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc3jqf4cdfc

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Film Review: 13 MINUTES (Germany 2015) ****

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13 minutes.jpgIn November 1939, Georg Elser’s attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails, and he is arrested. During his confinement, he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action.

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Writers: Léonie-Claire Breinersdorfer (screenplay), Fred Breinersdorfer (screenplay)
Stars: Christian Friedel, Katharina Schüttler, Burghart Klaußner

Review by Gilbert Seah

A reenacted and partially imagined account of a true event, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 13 MINUTES tells of the attempted assassination of Adolph Hitler in 1939 by the planting of a bomb inside a column of a Munich bierkeller by German Georg Elser (Christian Friedel). The bomb detonates but misses killing Adolf Hitler, the German leader, by just 13 minutes.

Director Hirschniegel broke into the world film scene with DAS EXPERIMENT and made more headlines with his Oscar nominated Best Foreign Film DOWNFALL. 13 MINUTES lost to LABYRINTH OF LIES that year for Germany’s nominated entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar though 13 MINUTES is clearly the better film.
Watching the film, one would eventually wonder how Elser’s story came into fruition. It is clear from the film that Elser was arrested and told part of his story. Also, the explosion of the Munich bierkeller did occur and Elser confessed to the Nazis.

The film begins with Elser’s planting of the bomb and his arrest following. With maps of the building on him (why the hell would he not dispose of them after is the big question), the German Security Services link him to the assassination attempt. They believe Elser must have been working with a group of conspirators and torture him for information. They also round up members of his family from his home village, including Else Härlen (Katharina Schüttler), a married woman Elser has been seeing.

When Else Härlen is brought before Elser, he fears for her life and tells the police chief Arthur Nebe (Burghart Klaußner) and Gestapo head Heinrich Müller (Johann von Bülow) that he acted alone, procuring detonators from a steel factory and stealing dynamite from a nearby quarry. All these events including how he came to despise the Nazis are shown in the film through flashbacks when Elser is interrogated in prison. He outlines the two clockwork mechanisms he built to time the explosion and hopefully kill Hitler as he made a speech.

Still believing Elser could not have attempted the assassination alone he once more tortured using drugs (Pervitin) but with the same result as before – he confirms acted alone. The audience is also led to believe this fact, unlikely as it seems that one person from a village could be so tech savvy.

Elser is beautifully played by Christian Friedel, displaying a countryside charm and one that would change character from innocent bystander to convicted assassin.

This is not the first film made on an attempted assassination of Adolph Hitler. The Tom Cruise vehicle VALKYRIE immediately comes to mind, though that was supposedly masterminded by other German generals in 1944. But Hirschbiegel’s 13 MINUTES hits closer to home with a protagonist the audience can feel for.

Sadly, the audience learns at the end of the film that Elser was kept in concentration camps for five years and was shot only a few days before American forces liberated Dachau concentration camp (a few weeks before the war ended). Looks like time was never on the side of poor Elser.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SsIsCWXtV4
 

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Film Review: SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (USA 2017) ***

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spiderman homecomingFollowing the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Peter Parker attempts to balance his life in high school with his career as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man.

Director: Jon Watts
Writers: Jonathan Goldstein (screenplay), John Francis Daley (screenplay)
Stars: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow

Review by Gilbert Seah

The second re-boot of SPIDER-MAN arrives with all the hype and with it fear that the new look would result in a film as disastrous as the D.C. extended universe films MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN V. SUPERMAN or SUICIDE SQUAD. Thankfully, the new Marvel Cinematic Universe SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING is not so bad and promises a much better sequel in the making.

The film opens with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) arriving with all his super spider powers intact. Instead of learning to control his new found powers, Parker has to learn how to be Spider-Man. He has arrived several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and subject to the help of his mentor Tony Stark aka IRONMAN (Robert Downey Jr.), learns to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City with fighting crime.
The villain of the piece is introduced at the start of the film as an enterprising business man, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton). Forced out of his business by the big boys, Toomes ends up taking revenge on the city by turning himself into the Vulture that eventually battles Spidey. Keaton is exceptionally cynical in his role, the only problem arising is that Toomes is so victimized that one cannot help but root for this poor victim. At one point in the film, Toomes is so convincing in naming Stark Enterprises as the villain that one cannot help but almost believe him. The Vulture’s costume looks too much like Keaton’s Birdman’s outfit, as if reminding the audience of his Best Actor Oscar nominated role.

The climatic battle between the Vulture and Spidey looks too one sided, on the side of the Vulture who seems imminent to win the battle but of course wouldn’t. When Toomes finally ends up beaten, it seems quite unbelievable.

Despite being an action film, the film’s best moments are the interrogation scenes – one where Toomes questions Parker in the car and reveals that he is aware of Parker’s secret identity. The other is Spider-Man questioning one of the crooks regarding Toomes’ activities. Both segments expertly balance humour and surprise while displaying good dialogue expected from the team of the film’s 6 writers.

HOMECOMING is the lightest and goofiest of all the SPIDER-MAN films. But one will eventually get annoyed at Spider-Man’s inability to fight his opponents properly before gaining control of his suit. Instead of learning to use his super powers, Spidey has to learn to use Stark Enterprises’ new Spider-Man suit. In one action set-up, Spider-Man is constantly bungling and falling around learning how to use his suit in extended power mode.

The film features an eclectic cast that carries it out a bit too far. Spidey’s love interest Liz is played by African American, Laura Harrier. His school principal is played by Korean Kenneth Choi and his best friend, Ned by Filipino Jacob Batalon. Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson: Peter’s rival and classmate is latino. The script invests a bit too much time in Ned’s character, his repeated remarks on Spider-Man often ending up more annoying than funny. He is at least given something to do (computer hacking) in the story. The film feels like a teen movie with the humour and high school setting. But one can notice that all the high school kids are performed by actors over 21, Holland included (at 22 playing a 15-year old). The film is not without teen dick jokes (Flash’s song as a d.j.) and the ending song with the lyrics sounding like the ‘f’ word.

It is surprising that director Watts has ended up making more an action comedy than an action hero movie. Watts made two serious films, the thriller COP CAR and the horror chiller CLOWN prior to this. But better funny than too serious. Look what happened to the James Bond and the Planet of the Apes films?

With all the goofiness and Spidey’s learning curve out of the way in this re-boot, the sequel should promise a more mature Spider-Man and hopefully a more mature action film as well – with a better balance between action and humour.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0D3AOldjMU

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Film Review: MANIFESTO (Australia/Germany 2016) ***

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manifesto.jpgCate Blanchett performs manifestos as a series of striking monologues.

Director: Julian Rosefeldt
Writer: Julian Rosefeldt
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Erika Bauer, Ruby Bustamante

Review by Gilbert Seah
 

 It is best to know the definition of the term MANIFESTO before seeing this movie. According to Wikipedia, a manifesto is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a new idea with prescriptive notions for carrying out changes the author believes should be made. It often is political or artistic in nature, but may present an individual’s life stance.

Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds.
The film integrates various types of artist manifestos from different time periods with contemporary scenarios. Manifestos are depicted by 13 different characters, among them a school teacher, factory worker, choreographer, punk, newsreader, scientist, puppeteer, widow, and a homeless man. All the characters are performed by 2-time Oscar Winner Cate Blanchett, as was envisioned to be performed by a female performer by German writer/director Julian Rosefeldt.

Visual artist Julian Rosefeldt crafts 13 distinct, vignettes that incorporate timeless manifestos from 20th century art movements weaving together history’s most impassioned artistic statements in this stunning and contemporary call to action.

From the press notes: “Art history is a derivation of history and we learn from history,” says Rosefeldt. “And in a time where neo-nationalist, racist and populist tendencies in politics and media threaten again democracies all over the world and challenge us to defend our allegedly achieved values of tolerance and respect, Manifesto becomes a clarion call for action.

There are a few scenes that though watchable, are difficult to make sense of. One best example is the one occurring right in the middle of the film where Blanchett plays a Russian diva choreographer. The segment begins with the tracking camera revealing several unconnected images including one with a man in a bear costume sitting on a bench with the head off. The camera then moves backstage and finally rests on the choreographer and assistant as she blurts out manifesto prose (while smoking a cigarette on a long cigarette holder, often flicking her ashes on her assistant’s clip board). The troupe she is choreographing perform magnificently, but she keeps screaming, in her Russian accent, words that often mean nothing in context.

Watching MANIFESTO is an art experience unless you enjoy sitting for days watching Cate Blanchett. Is this an intellectual experience? Maybe, if you have the patience to decipher what is happening on screen. But the film has been very well put together in all departments from sound to set design to writing and execution.

One has to pay careful attention and follow the logic and flow of the dialogue. Often too, after concentrating for a few minutes, listening to the poetry of words, the dialogue mean nothing – like the quips on dreams, children and worry. This is that rare film that one has to work to earn the pleasure, but it will be one definitely unforgotten.

Though made in 2015, the film originally premiered as a 13-channel film installation at the Australian Centre of the Moving Image. The 90-minute feature version premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk1HosLWM0o

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TIFF Cinematheque Presents – Les films de Jean-Pierre Melville

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TIFF Cinematheque’s SUMMER IN FRANCE takes a different look this year with a Jen-Pierre Melville tribute.

 

Jean-Pierre Grumbach was born in 1917 in Paris, France, the son of Berthe and Jules Grumbach.  He took the name of Melville after the war, after his favourite American author Herman Melville.   His family were Alsatian Jews.  After the fall of France in 1940 during World War II, Grumbach entered the French Resistance to oppose the German Nazis who occupied the country. 

 

After the war, Melville entered film directing, opening his own studio and initially making minimalist films.  His films are known for featuring thee great name French stars -Alain Delon, Lino Ventura and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

 

His films have a characteristic look and bear common themes.  His themes are often gangster capers where double-crosses and prison (escaped convicts or gangsters coming out after serving their sentences) are tied into the story. Melville’s films are rich in film noir atmosphere and more than often a delight to watch.

 

For more information of the series, venue and ticket pricing, check the Cinematheque website at:

http://www.tiff.net/#series=army-of-shadows-the-films-of-jean-pierre-melville

 

CAPSULE REVIEWS of Selected Films:

 

L’ARMEE DES OMBRES (ARMY OF SHADOWS) (France 1969) **** 

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville 

 

Based on real experiences in the French Resistance, Joseph Kessel’s fiction novel is given worthy treatment in Melville’s 150 minutes film adaptation.  The centre of the piece is civil engineer Resistance Fighter Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) who at the beginning of the film is captured by the Vichy police and put in a prison camp.  A violent escape and other adventures allow the audience to be treated to the detailed exploits of the Resistance fighters.  Though not short of action and suspense (the best bit with the audience waiting almost two minutes waiting for Gerbier to execute his second escape), Melville effectively creates the mood of the desperation of the fighters and the atmosphere of the dangers of the times.  Simone Signoret steals the show as Mathilde, one of the chief organizers of the Resistance.  The film is well paced and flows smoothly from start to finish with the Arc de Triomphe in the initial and final shots.  ARMY OF SHADOWS is as meticulously plotted as one of Melville’s heist movies. 

 

LE DEUXINEME SOUFFLE (THE SECOND WIND) (SECOND BREATH) (France 1966) **** Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

Melville shows in this crime caper about and scaled criminal Gustave Minda (Lino Ventura) that there is honour among thieves.  Gu (short for Gustave) is well respected in the criminal world for his expertise and loyalty.  He is given a job to do which he needs the money in order to escape to Italy via Marseilles where he can live the rest of his life.  But Inspector Blot (Paul Meurisse) is a cunning sleuth who eventually  puts all the clues together to fps out Gu.  As is most of Melville films, the elements of betrayal, prison, cop vs. crook, heist execution are all present.  his is one of the longer melville films running close to 2 hours and 20 minutes but with really a dull moment.  Both Meurisse and Ventura are excellent in their respective roles of cop and criminal.  It is hard to take sides of either.  This was Melville’s most successful film commercially.

 

DEUX HOMMES DANS MANHATTAN (TWO MEN IN MANHATTAN) (France 1969) ****

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

There are three reasons to watch Melville’s TWO MEN IN MANHATTAN.  The first is that it is a rare screening of the film, which is largely unavailable in other forms.  Second, this is the only film that is both directed and star Melville.  Melville plays Maurice, a French journalist in NYC, one of the two men in Manhattan.  He and Pierre Grasset play two French journalists in New York City searching for a missing United Nations diplomat.  In the process, they uncover some nasty bits on the diplomat, but decide to do the right thing.  The third reason to se the film is to experience the rich film noir atmosphere of this piece. Ironically, it’s is not a general crime caper, but there the typical crime element such as is – hunt for a missing person, dead bodes and coloured characters like the women in the life of the diplomat – an actress, a prostitute, a stripper and a jazz singer.

 

UN FLIC (France 1972) ****

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

Deliciously wicked Melville.  The film begins with a quotation by Eugène-François Vidocq which is repeated by Alain Delon’s character in the film:  “The only feelings mankind has ever inspired in policemen are those of indifference and derision…”   Then Melville attempts and succeeds in proving the saying with his crime tale centring on flic, Edouard Coleman, played by Alain Delon in his first cop role for Melville after playing criminals in LE SAMOURAI and LE CERCLE ROUGE.  Alain Delon’s is just as violent and cool if not more than Clint Eastwood’s DIRTY HARRY.  This can be observed in the hilarious scene where he gets a classic trio of pickpockets to speak up.  There are lots to enjoy in this crime caper, the best of which is a suspenseful bank robbery at the Banque National de Paris in the suburbs of Paris in which one of the robbers is wounded by a bullet.  Melville includes nice bits like a Santa Claus informer, a common love interest (Catherine Deneuve) between flic and crook and American actor Richard Crenna speaking perfect French.  As expected, Melville’s film is rich in film noir atmosphere complete with wicked details like the crooked laid out lit windows of police station building.  More story and easier to follow than the usual Melville film and even more entertaining as a result!  p.s.  Is there a sexier couple than Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve?

 

 

Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Pierre Melville
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Film Review: THE BIG SICK (USA 2017) ***

festreviews 2017 movies, movie, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

the big sickA couple deals with their cultural differences as their relationship grows.

Director: Michael Showalter
Writers: Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani
Stars: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
When Kumail sees the girl he is dating, Emily in a coma in the hospital, he tells himself that if she ever gets out of this, he would marry her. It would be difficult for one not to feel for this romantic affair, especially when the incident is true. This is what differentiates THE BIG SICK from most romantic comedies. THE BIG SICK is based on the real-life courtship between Kumail Nanjiani and his now-wife, Emily V. Gordon. Nanjiani plays himself using the same first name in the film while Emily is played by Zoe Kazan. Hi real wife co-wrote the screenplay with her husband for the film.
The film project began when producer Judd Apatow (KNOCKED UP) met Nanjiani after he did his stand-up comic routine. So, there are a lot of stand-up routines in the film. In fact, a lot of the dialogue spoken during the film would be typical of what comes out of the mouths of a stand-up comic. This is here a good thing, as the film is pleasantly funny from start to end – dialogue-wise.

Despite the film based on true events and a real life Kumail, the romantic comedy falls into the same trap that most fall into. THE BIG STICK is a predictable Harlequin romance paperback type story complete with awkward first meeting, the necessary obstacles, in this case Emily finding out about Kumail’s other dates from the photographs in his box, not to mention her coma and his objecting parents. These obstacles are conveniently overcome for the couple to live happily ever after.

The film’s story is simple enough. While Kumail is performing stand-up comedy on stage, he is heckled (though she insists is a good heckle) by Emily, there as a spectator. An affair slowly develops. Meanwhile Kumail’s mother keeps setting him up for a Muslim bride. Kumail keeps this from Emily, though she finds out. Emily goes into a coma due to a rare decease and Kumail meets her parents forming a bond with them. It does not take a genius to figure out what happens in the end.

The film’s funniest parts come from Kumail’s Muslim parents. The mother is constantly trying to matchmake her son to marry a Muslim girl. The father is more tolerant but no less funny. Emil’s parents are funny too but they bring a more serious side to the film. The unexpected bonding between Emily’s parents and Kumail add a nice unexpected twist to the story.

The film’s humour is also heightened by having several other standup comics deliver their stand-up acts during throughout the film.

The film ends with shots of the real couple Kumail and the real Emily during the closing credits. THE BIG SICK is one of the better romantic comedies, credit to producer Apatow who seems to have the knack of discovering new comedy talent.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcD0Daqc3Yw
 

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FILM PREVIEW OF COCO (Opening November 2017)

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Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

cocoCoco follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who sets off a chain of events relating to a century-old mystery, leading to an extraordinary family reunion.

Directors: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
Writers: Adrian Molina, Lee Unkrich (based on an original idea by)
Stars: Alanna Ubach, Benjamin Bratt, Gael García Bernal

Review by Gilbert Seah

This morning (Friday 23rd June, 2017) at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, film critics were treated to a delicious breakfast and presentation preview of Disney Pixar’s latest animated feature COCO to open coming November.

Coco is a 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film based on an original idea by Lee Unkrich. The film is directed by Unkrich, and co-directed and written by Adrian Molina.

The plot involves a 12-year old Miguel (voiced by newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) whose family has banned music as his great, great grandfather had left his family to become a great musician. Despite his family’s generation-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the Land of the Dead. The Festival of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico for the time when the dead crosses the border to be with the living. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) and together they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.

The presentation was supposed to be presented by the film’s two directors and Academy Award-winning producer Darla K. Anderson. But Lee Unkrich had to stay behind to finish the film, so co-director Molina and Anderson were left, but they did deliver an awesome presentation.

The presentation began by showing the first 10 minutes of COCO’s opening, where the history of his family and the ban of music originated. The last part of the piece is still not coloured and shown in storyboard form. But one cannot mistake the magic of Disney, present throughout the 10 minutes. The finished product will undoubtedly be something unforgettable.

Other clips include Coco at the singing competition and another with Coco and his pal, Hector in the Land of the Dead. The common thread in all of these is the magnificent colour palette that makes COCO standout among other Pixar features.

Besides clips from the film, there is a clip that showed Disney staff surprising Anthony Gonzalez that he got the part for voicing Miguel. This clip shows the family atmosphere of Disney that makes the Studio great.

Co-director Molina’s mother is Mexican, so he bring a lot of his own heritage into the film. A troupe of COCO’s filmmakers also travelled and stayed in Mexico for a time, according to what was said during he presentation.

The presentation concluded with a Question and Answer section with the critics – nothing to write home about, since us critics are not the most imaginative people alive, questions or what not.

COCO opens in November and is certainly going to be an event to watch out for. Do click on the link below to watch the trailer for COCO.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlnPHQ3TLX8

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Film Review: BABY DRIVER (USA 2017) *** 1/2

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baby driver.jpgAfter being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.

Director: Edgar Wright
Writer: Edgar Wright
Stars: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James

Review by Gilbert Seah
 
The most ambitious and most expensive of the Edgar Wright movies (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ) , BABY DRIVER sees the Brit director working in a big budget Hollywood movie for the first time. The film is a car chase comedy crime caper with romance tied in for good measure.

The title derives from the name of the getaway car driver – Baby. A young and talented getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgort) relies on the personal beat of his preferred soundtrack, to be the best in the world of crime, as music heightens his focus and reflexes to extreme levels. A car accident as a child killed both his parents, and left him with permanent tinnitus, which he blocks out using music. He is preferred as a getaway driver by Doc (Kevin Spacey), a mastermind organizer of bank robberies and other high-earning heists.

Baby’s love interest is Debora (Lily James). Baby’s foster father is black and wheel chair ridden. These two people in Baby’s life are targets when Baby refuses in any way to comply with Doc or his crime partners. His main crime partners are Buddy (Jon Hamm), his girlfriend, Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) and Bats (Jamie Foxx). Baby has no problem performing the heists unless a killing is involved.

The car chases have to be good in a film about a getaway car driver. The audience is shown a sample of these in the opening scene. There are a total of three main car chases and these are expertly edited by Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss. One of the most important components of a car chase on screen is its continuity. This is what made Peter Yates’ BULLITT (with Steve McQueen) and William Friedkin’s THE FRENCH CONNECTION two films best remembered for their car chases. Thankfully, Wright’s film falls into this category, him relying less on computer graphics than the real thing.

Ansel Elgort, young and looking fresh for this movie is good as the dancing driver. Kevin Spacey delivers a straight-face performance reminiscent of his Oscar winning performance in AMERICAN BEAUTY. Of the cast. Joe Hamm is also memorable, being cast against type as a hardened criminal ready to kill for revenge.

As Baby relies on listening to is preferred songs on his iPod, the film also requires a good soundtrack of equivalent songs that should drive the audience. Surprisingly, Wright only offers the audience samples. The audiences is for example, told of Baby’s song by Queen when driving for the final heist, but they never get to listen to the full song. Similarly for the segments when Baby is dancing to music, the music is silent and baby is shown with his dance moves to no music. It can be argued as a case of less leading the audience to wanting more.

I am not a true Edgar Wright fan. Though I have enjoyed his films, I think SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, are over-rated and I did not like THE WORLD’S END that had sloppy writing with inaccuracy in details. This makes BABY DRIVER Wright’s best movie.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2z857RSfhk

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