Bea says: I had thought this was going to be a feel-good film, perfect for seeing with friends on a cold, dull day between Christmas and New Year.
We are temporarily back in London at the moment, and so headed up to the great value Prince Charles Cinema, just off Leicester Square, where tickets are half the price of the big name cinemas in Leicester Square itself (although much more expensive than they used to be, during my first days in London in the mid-90s!).
This was exquisite to watch - such beautiful animation, the likes of which are rarely seen now as studios use more and more CGI/3D effects. Paris, London, the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Edinburgh are captured in such true to life, but soft-focus, detail. I know all these places well and felt I was revisiting them through this film (that bench, that street, that train journey). It wasn't just me - our friends said the same.
There was little dialogue through this achingly sweet yet sad story of a mostly washed-up magician, his rabbit, and a hanger-on he picks up on the Scottish Islands, who eventually finds a better meal ticket than him. Music and occasional murmurings in smatterings of English, French and ?Scottish Gaelic set the scene throughout.
Definitely not feel-good, but wistful, and yes, the perfect thing to see with friends on a dull, cold day between Christmas and New Year.
****
Cecil says: This is apparently a story based on a script by Jacques Tati that never made it to the screen (though there is a moment where the main character stumbles into a cinema showing a Tati film and we see a very brief clip of the man himself, almost Hitchcock style...).
Great characters, though I have to say I saw through the young Highlands lass as soon as she appeared on the scene after the magician's first show in the Scottish pub. But the plot itself didn't really matter.
It was the animation that counted in this film. And if you look at the credits at the end, you see that there were different animators for each of the main characters. Amazing how a dozen different artists could come up with cartoon characters that all fitted so well on the screen together, from the rabbit to the Italian trapeze artists and the Scottish highlanders.
I loved some of the detailed observations. Bea is right about the geography: I could picture the shops on Grassmarket in Edinburgh, and we sat on the very same bench looking down over Waverley station last summer.
But I also loved some of the little details like the crunch of a hearty Scottish Highland handshake; or the pawnbrokers called 'Blair & Brown', which gave the whole film a kind of Aardman Animations feel, though using only-style 2D cartoon characters, which really worked well.
Overall I actually liked this film more than I ever enjoyed Tati's old movies from the 50s and 60s, so hats off to the makers.
***
Monday 27 December 2010
Monday 20 December 2010
King's Speech
Cecil says: The last time I saw a film on my own in the States, it was 25 years ago and it also starred Helena Bonham-Carter. I ended up seeing 'Room with a View' 5 times at the cinema, and after seeing King's Speech last night in a packed cinema in DC I felt exactly the same.
Fantastic cast - Bonham-Carter, Michael Gambon, Colin Firth, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Ehle, Geoffrey Rush, Derek Jacobi and a host of other familiar faces; great script; wonderful story. Just a joy to watch.
I think I'll edit my review once I get a chance to take Bea because I'd love to hear her take on it at the same time. But so much to relate to for me personally: from the early onset stammer, to the forced right handedness (well, that may not be true in my case, but some say it was...); through the soundtrack - I haven't heard 2nd movement on Beethoven's 7th for years and always loved it as a teenager, after it was soundtrack to another film in the 70s...); and I loved above all the massive historical characters (Churchill, Chamberlain, Wallis Simpson, Queen Liz herself) in cameo roles, all superbly acted.
Is it significant that the soon-to-be-closed UK Film Council was so prominent in the credits?
I'll stop there, give it my five stars and say more once Bea has been with me...
*****
Fantastic cast - Bonham-Carter, Michael Gambon, Colin Firth, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Ehle, Geoffrey Rush, Derek Jacobi and a host of other familiar faces; great script; wonderful story. Just a joy to watch.
I think I'll edit my review once I get a chance to take Bea because I'd love to hear her take on it at the same time. But so much to relate to for me personally: from the early onset stammer, to the forced right handedness (well, that may not be true in my case, but some say it was...); through the soundtrack - I haven't heard 2nd movement on Beethoven's 7th for years and always loved it as a teenager, after it was soundtrack to another film in the 70s...); and I loved above all the massive historical characters (Churchill, Chamberlain, Wallis Simpson, Queen Liz herself) in cameo roles, all superbly acted.
Is it significant that the soon-to-be-closed UK Film Council was so prominent in the credits?
I'll stop there, give it my five stars and say more once Bea has been with me...
*****
Monday 13 December 2010
White Material
Cecil says: It's not often you get a chance to see a French film on the big screen in Washington, so we jumped at the chance to see this at our local cinema round the corner.
Beautiful chaos - are the two words that spring to mind, having seen White Material. It's set somewhere in Africa (a never-defined country, but a mixture of Liberia and Somalia would give you an idea); and it's set at some point in time, maybe contemporary, maybe as long ago as the 90s.
It's all beautifully filmed (on location in Cameroon, I think), but the story is disjointed and really quite hard to follow...But that was probably the intention of the director - Claire Denis. She depicts a society in chaos and at war; and a family in the middle of all that which is going through its own chaos
It's the story of a coffee plantation family from France. The family is split over whether to stay and live through the chaos ("Just 5 days left to complete the harvest") or to get out and return to France. Trouble is, it's also a dysfunctional family: three generations are there, but offspring from different relationships make it hard to work out sometimes who is really related to who. But that is all part of the chaos. Through it all, Isabelle Huppert is brilliant as the mother and manager of the coffee plantation.
All around them there is a civil war going on: you have rebels, often boy (and girl) soldiers running amok with guns and spears; soldiers; corrupt mayors with their own personal army; and a reggae-playing rebel DJ announcing the latest names who would do best to get out of the country.
Reading about Claire Denis after the film, I saw that she too had a colonial upbringing in Cameroon, so much of the context is presumably accurate. I've not seen any of her earlier films, but on the evidence of White Material, I'd go again. This was compelling stuff.
And final tips for those who have not yet seen the film: look out for her white dress, because that gives you a hint of what is memory and what is happening now; and then try to work out the significance of the yellow dogs: they open the whole film, but I couldn't for the life of me work them out...
***
Bea says: From the very first moment of this film I was completely caught up in the atmosphere, created by the slow (but never dull) pace, the crackling tension, the African scenery so well filmed I could almost feel the hot wind blowing, and the evocative music by the Tindersticks.
The central female character played by Huppert is at times foolish in the stubbornness of her resolve to remain on the farm despite many warnings to leave, but unusually in cinema she is also strong, capable, resourceful and brave. I enjoyed watching her story unfold.
It was indeed hard at times to follow the jump-cut storyline, and trace the complex family and social relationships of the characters - meaning events would sometimes happen before I had quite figured out how they fit with the story and characters - but this of course is what happens at a time of choas and emergency.
A beautifully made film, well worth a look.
***
Beautiful chaos - are the two words that spring to mind, having seen White Material. It's set somewhere in Africa (a never-defined country, but a mixture of Liberia and Somalia would give you an idea); and it's set at some point in time, maybe contemporary, maybe as long ago as the 90s.
It's all beautifully filmed (on location in Cameroon, I think), but the story is disjointed and really quite hard to follow...But that was probably the intention of the director - Claire Denis. She depicts a society in chaos and at war; and a family in the middle of all that which is going through its own chaos
It's the story of a coffee plantation family from France. The family is split over whether to stay and live through the chaos ("Just 5 days left to complete the harvest") or to get out and return to France. Trouble is, it's also a dysfunctional family: three generations are there, but offspring from different relationships make it hard to work out sometimes who is really related to who. But that is all part of the chaos. Through it all, Isabelle Huppert is brilliant as the mother and manager of the coffee plantation.
All around them there is a civil war going on: you have rebels, often boy (and girl) soldiers running amok with guns and spears; soldiers; corrupt mayors with their own personal army; and a reggae-playing rebel DJ announcing the latest names who would do best to get out of the country.
Reading about Claire Denis after the film, I saw that she too had a colonial upbringing in Cameroon, so much of the context is presumably accurate. I've not seen any of her earlier films, but on the evidence of White Material, I'd go again. This was compelling stuff.
And final tips for those who have not yet seen the film: look out for her white dress, because that gives you a hint of what is memory and what is happening now; and then try to work out the significance of the yellow dogs: they open the whole film, but I couldn't for the life of me work them out...
***
Bea says: From the very first moment of this film I was completely caught up in the atmosphere, created by the slow (but never dull) pace, the crackling tension, the African scenery so well filmed I could almost feel the hot wind blowing, and the evocative music by the Tindersticks.
The central female character played by Huppert is at times foolish in the stubbornness of her resolve to remain on the farm despite many warnings to leave, but unusually in cinema she is also strong, capable, resourceful and brave. I enjoyed watching her story unfold.
It was indeed hard at times to follow the jump-cut storyline, and trace the complex family and social relationships of the characters - meaning events would sometimes happen before I had quite figured out how they fit with the story and characters - but this of course is what happens at a time of choas and emergency.
A beautifully made film, well worth a look.
***
Saturday 11 December 2010
Black Swan
Bea says: We had seen this previewed and thought it might be worth a go, and made our first attempt to do so on a very cold Sunday evening last week - only to find it sold out! We tried again last night, successfully this time, and noticed that the cinema was almost full. This one is proving relatively popular at the box office it seems.
Black Swan is loosely based on the story of Swan Lake it would seem, and the ballet of Swan Lake is also a key part of the film as the plot revolves aroud a ballet company's performance of this classic. Natalie Portman plays Nina, an anxious and perfectionist young dancer at the company, who is chosen to play the Swan Queen - both "white" and "black" roles, meaning she will have to discover and express the darker side of her good-girl, people-pleasing persona - a challenge for her.
The company's (male) director and a new dancer recently arrived introduce her to this darker side of herself, and Nina experiments with her sexuality and with drugs, alcohol and violence. The result is a magnificent performance as the Black Swan, and, interestingly, a rather poor one as the White Swan - her original character. Watch out for a (now) rare performance by Winona Ryder.
When summarised like this the plot actually sounds quite good - if only the director had kept a light touch and maintained this, the film might have been very good indeed. Instead, for some completely unknown reason, the plot descends into the worst and most boring kind of slasher/horror film with much gratuitous violence (dead people coming back to life covered in blood to startle audience etc). In my view, the plot was almost completely abondoned to achieve this.
I noted that the closing credits included some for 3D effects although the film did not appear to be shown in 3D. This is my worry about the effect of the current vogue for 3D - all effects, no plot or story.
A promising film that was dealt with far too heavyhandedly, and so disappoints.
**
Cecil says: As we walked through the bitter Washington cold to get to the cinema last Sunday, I assumed the little 9 year old girls heading in the same direction were probably going to this film about a ballet dancer. Actually I think they were going to the real Nutcracker ballet at the theatre round the corner, and as Bea says, probably a good thing, given the rather explicit sex and violence we were served up as the film progressed.
Having finally got to see the film last night in a still packed cinema, I have to say I'm not quite sure what all the fuss was about, or why it's such a hit over here. Sure, the dancing is good, and I guess it's cheaper to spend $10 on a cinema ticket rather than $50 at the ballet round the corner, but this film did not do a lot for me. I realised half way through that I had sat arms folded and barely moved from the start. I didn't care terribly much what happened to this anorexic, paranoid young thing who couldn't quite hack it as the star performer and had an annoyingly cloying Mom.
So when the film turned into a classic American horror film more reminiscent of Carrie or Aliens, I really wondered what I was doing there, or why the audience around me were getting so worked up at the various shocking body parts transforming or injuries that weren't really injuries.
Having said that, time did fly by and the music is great, but maybe stay warm at home and buy a good CD of Swan Lake instead. Or maybe I was just troubled by the fact that the guy who played the key male role, Thomas, just reminded me of my sister's ex-boyfriend...
**
Black Swan is loosely based on the story of Swan Lake it would seem, and the ballet of Swan Lake is also a key part of the film as the plot revolves aroud a ballet company's performance of this classic. Natalie Portman plays Nina, an anxious and perfectionist young dancer at the company, who is chosen to play the Swan Queen - both "white" and "black" roles, meaning she will have to discover and express the darker side of her good-girl, people-pleasing persona - a challenge for her.
The company's (male) director and a new dancer recently arrived introduce her to this darker side of herself, and Nina experiments with her sexuality and with drugs, alcohol and violence. The result is a magnificent performance as the Black Swan, and, interestingly, a rather poor one as the White Swan - her original character. Watch out for a (now) rare performance by Winona Ryder.
When summarised like this the plot actually sounds quite good - if only the director had kept a light touch and maintained this, the film might have been very good indeed. Instead, for some completely unknown reason, the plot descends into the worst and most boring kind of slasher/horror film with much gratuitous violence (dead people coming back to life covered in blood to startle audience etc). In my view, the plot was almost completely abondoned to achieve this.
I noted that the closing credits included some for 3D effects although the film did not appear to be shown in 3D. This is my worry about the effect of the current vogue for 3D - all effects, no plot or story.
A promising film that was dealt with far too heavyhandedly, and so disappoints.
**
Cecil says: As we walked through the bitter Washington cold to get to the cinema last Sunday, I assumed the little 9 year old girls heading in the same direction were probably going to this film about a ballet dancer. Actually I think they were going to the real Nutcracker ballet at the theatre round the corner, and as Bea says, probably a good thing, given the rather explicit sex and violence we were served up as the film progressed.
Having finally got to see the film last night in a still packed cinema, I have to say I'm not quite sure what all the fuss was about, or why it's such a hit over here. Sure, the dancing is good, and I guess it's cheaper to spend $10 on a cinema ticket rather than $50 at the ballet round the corner, but this film did not do a lot for me. I realised half way through that I had sat arms folded and barely moved from the start. I didn't care terribly much what happened to this anorexic, paranoid young thing who couldn't quite hack it as the star performer and had an annoyingly cloying Mom.
So when the film turned into a classic American horror film more reminiscent of Carrie or Aliens, I really wondered what I was doing there, or why the audience around me were getting so worked up at the various shocking body parts transforming or injuries that weren't really injuries.
Having said that, time did fly by and the music is great, but maybe stay warm at home and buy a good CD of Swan Lake instead. Or maybe I was just troubled by the fact that the guy who played the key male role, Thomas, just reminded me of my sister's ex-boyfriend...
**
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