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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 08 February 2024

INVINCIBLE (Canada 2022) *****

Directed by Vincent Rene-Lortie

“You know why nothing is going to happen to me?” asks the boy to his little sister.  “Because I am INVINCIBLE.  I will be back to annoy you, “ he continues as he gives her a big hug.  At this point, one wonders what is going on as it is after the scene where he had just driven a stolen car into the river and just emerged from the water in a completely different setting, not with his family by a lake.  Inspired by the true story of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest for freedom.  According to the director, who was Marc’s good friend of the same age, for a year, Marc went from being a bright, curious, loving boy to an angry and troubled young man.  Marc’s death raised many complicated questions the powerful film dives into that dark, tragic abyss in order to better understand teenage mental health and behavioural issues.  Montreal Director Rene-Lorte uses dreamlike and surrealism to create a poetic tale that is both a mesmerizing and innovative look at a boy’s life.

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RED, WHITE AND BLUE (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Nazrin Choudury

Rachel (Brittany Snow) is a single mother living paycheck to paycheck with her young daughter of around 12 years and her son. When an unexpected pregnancy threatens to unravel her already precarious position, she's forced to cross state lines to Missouri in search of an abortion.   She takes Rachel to celebrate her birthday in a girl's out and contemplates the series of events that necessitated this journey and the obstacles placed in her path.  The short seems to go along smoothly with no hitches but a major shock is in store for the audience at the abortion clinic, not to reveal the twist in the story,   The film is extremely moving, emotional and tender which marks it as special enough to warrant an Oscar nomination.

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THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF HENRY SUGAR (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Wes Anderson

Currently on Netflix.  What is more wonderful than a short by both Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl?  The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More is a 1977 short story collection by British author Roald Dahl, aimed at a slightly older audience than many of Dahl's other children's novels.  The stories were written at varying times throughout his life. Henry Sugar, an independently wealthy man who enjoys gambling, finds and reads a doctor's report on a strange patient who called himself "The Man Who Sees Without Using His Eyes".  Henry learns how to read playing cards, and wins a large sum of money that he throws out his window only to cause a  riot in the street below.  A police officer (Ralph Fiennes) scolds Henry (“You are an idiot!)” and suggests that he find a more legal form of charity, and Henry vows to establish the most well-equipped and supportive orphanages on the planet.   Director Anderson makes sure his audience is always aware that they are watching a film with the props and sets moving around as in a studio set.   The same tactic is also used with actor Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Henry Sugar.  Ralph Fiennes plays the writer, who one assumes is the writer Roald Dahl himself.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 08 February 2024

I’M HIP (USA 2023) ***½

Directed by John Musker

The short I’M HIP tells a super kool cat that is totally hip - so hip that a totally new song and musical numbers are designed format by its director John Musker,  shows the cool cat (literally) fancies himself as the hippest in the room.  The gags come at a rapid pace and are all synchronized to the jazzy tune by co-writer and vocalist Dave Frishberg.  The short contains spirited colourful palettes and musical numbers that are fun to watch from start to end,  there is no story or narrative but who really cares as the short is entertaining just as it is.  Musker is known for working as half of the team that helped revolutionize Disney animation as co-director of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and many others. This short confirms his talent for entertaining audiences.

LETTER TO A PIG (Israel/France 2022) ****

Directed by Tal Kontor

An extremely effective and emotionally animated short down largely in what looks like charcoal sketching tells about Haim, a Holocaust survivor who reads a letter to a classroom he wrote to the pig who saved his life. A young schoolgirl hears his testimony in class and sinks into a twisted dream where she confronts questions of identity, collective trauma, and the extremes of human nature. The film is divided into parts.  A venerable man, the survivor of Shoah, confessing his experience in a time of Nazi period, reading behind the students a letter to his saviour.  Teens reactions.  A girl is developing, in her thoughts, with imagination and sensitivity, the narrated story of old Haim. The teen reactions are mixed and one disturbing reaction stands out is one boy who makes fun of the whole matter and as a result, is sent out of the classroom.  This underlines words in Haim’s letter that humans are more inhuman than pigs, whom he first was taught to be disgusting and dirty till the one who took him in at the sty and treated him as one of his own,.  The third part is the most surreal while bringing the short to its conclusion.

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NINETY-FIVE SENSES (USA 2023) ***½

Directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess

This 13-minute short is an ode to the body's five senses delivered by a man, Coy (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson, THE BALLAD OPF BUSTER SCRUGGS) with little time left to enjoy them as he is now in his senior years and serving time.  The five senses of smell, hearing, touch sight and taste are talked about as well as which sense goes first upon death.  Why is the short called ninety-five senses?   Because perhaps humans are endowed with a hundred senses only fire of which we experience when alive and the other ninety -five during the life after.  “That is a nice thought,” voices Coy at the end of the short.  It is a contemplating piece animated by 5 different animators, each for each sense, voiced with a stern accent as Coy (Nelson)is a hillbilly who claims that he has never used a cell phone inches life, the effect of which destroys sight.

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OUR UNIFORM (Iran 2023) ***½

Directed by Yegane Moghaddam:

In the film, an Iranian girl recalls school-age memories through the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform, quite literally. Rather than using paper, canvas, or a digital medium, Moghaddam painted directly on the cloth used for making school uniforms to tell the story of a character who dreams of a better future.  The director is against wearing the hajib, emphasizing that outside of Iran, they can wear and do practically anything the girls want.  Also, the girls paint lipstick on the lips of an Ayatollah painting.  Schoolchildren wear uniforms for a major part of their lives.

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PACHYDERME (France 2021) *****

Directed by Stéphanie Clément

When the short opens, the colours immediately remind one of the famous Van Gogh paintings.  This short is a meticulously crafted and ultimately most beautiful and nostalgic look at a child’s memories.  “I don’t like to be left alone.” says the 9-year-old girl, Louise left at her grandparents' for 10 days.  During the 10 days, the audience is whisked to a wonderful fairytale land of childhood memories that include both fascination (butterflies), fear (of monsters at night and eyes on the ceiling) staring at her and beauty.  At the same time, this little girl i growing up, as her grandfather removes the stabilizers of her bicycle for the very first time. The short is narrated by the adult Louise as heard in the voiceover throughout the short putting perspective to the story.

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THE WAR IS OVER! (UK 2023) ***½

Directed by Dave Mullins

In an alternate WWI reality, a heroic pigeon delivers messages across the battlefield, from one side to the other. The messages are exchanged by two soldiers on opposite sides (British and German), who, unaware of who their opponent is, are playing a game of chess against each other, each move transmitted by a carrier pigeon,  As the fighting and the game both escalate, they continue to exchange their chess moves, delivered by this brave pigeon, that flies amidst bomb explosions.  The beautifully crafted and moving short is inspired by the Music of John and Yoko that features John Lennon and Yoko Ono's peace anthem "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)".  A relevant piece considering the wars between Russia and the Ukraine, Israel and Hamas that are presently going on.  The short emphasizes the message that there are no winners in any war, only casualties like the poor innocent pigeon.

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WILD SUMMON (UK 2023) ***

Directed by Karni Arieli and Saul Freed

A natural history fantasy film, following the dramatic lifecycle of the wild salmon in human form.  Narrated by Marianne Faithful WILD SUMMON is an epic story of nature that all children should be told in one form or another - and this animated short intends to do so by humanizing the take of salmon spawning.  Salmon are born and travel to the sea but eventually travel back upstream against incredible odds to their place of lay new roe.  Dangers include Predators birds, and bears but worst of all mankind in terms of pollution that kills sea life.  The salmon are animated as human figures with pink wetsuit flippers and goggles that swim through the water complete with limbs.  One of these is tagged by scientists to study the breeding patterns.  The short is largely narrated with a voiceover that explains the entire spawning process. The shot is as informative as it can be but one still wonders the reason the filmmakers have decided not to represent the salmon and salmon.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 06 February 2024

FILM REVIEWS:

BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE (USA 2024) ***

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green

Everyone knows who Bob Marley is as the words on the screen at the start of this Bob Marley biopic claim about the man: ‘the poorest who became the most important man in Jamaica’.  Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, his music fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, and he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. As the film shows, Marley’s contribution to music irrefutably increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and made him a global figure in popular culture. 

He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms.  The film concentrates more on his political desire for peace and to bring to an end the internal conflict of the two opposing political parties after the British left Jamaica.  His concert of peace designed for this purpose forms the main story, that resulted almost in his death with a home assassination attempt.   

Marley also supported legislation for cannabis and advocated for Pan-Africanism.  This can be seen in a scene, that might be too disturbing for North American audiences, in which Marley smokes a joint flagrantly while driving and with his two kids at the back of the car.  In many North American states, weed is still illegal and driving and getting high is a no-no everywhere, not to mention the importance of setting a good example for children.

The actor who plays Marley is British.  He and most of the cast speak with a mild Jamaican accent throughout the film, which can be easily understood by North American audiences.   This is compared to the real thick Jamaican accent which is almost impossible to decipher.  Words like ‘raster’, a common colloquial term are often heard in the dialogue.

The film soars when Marley’s famous songs are heard and performed in the film.  Songs like “One Love”, : No Woman No Cry” and his version of Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff” are examples.  The scene with the clip where Marley holds up the arms of the two political party opponents on stage in his peace concert is enough to inspire peace in the world.  “What is being rich like?”  Marley is asked at one point in the film.  “Richness is loving life,” is Marley’s answer.  It is not surprising he uttered these words as life came rather short for this man, who eventually died of cancer.

Though touted as a biopic, BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE is more of his work for peace and his struggle during only a few years of his life before being diagnosed with cancer.  It is easy to see the reason the filmmaker concentrated on these years, as they are the most inspirational and interesting part of his life.  His exile to Britain is largely ignored.

BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE opens in theatres on February 16th.

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EINSTEIN AND THE BOMB (UK 2023) ****½

Directed by  Anthony Pilipson

Three films based on the dreaded invention and use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the Second World War have made an impact this year,  The most notable of these is Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER, followed by the British documentary A PASSIONATE SPY and now yet another that ties the most famous Physicist of all time Albert Einstein, a Jew to the atomic bomb.

The doc attempts to inform what occurred with Einstein after he left Germany during the Second World War.  The film combines archival footage with dramatization (with actor Aidan McArdle playing Einstein) and explores key moments in science genius Einstein's life, and how his work has changed history's course.  Everything he says in the film is taken from the words he said or wrote.

The words claim at the start of the film that what is to be seen is based on true events and that all the words heard have in his lifetime, been written or said by Einstein.  One of these statements includes the one when he said if he knew that the Germans are not making an atomic bomb, he would not have opened Pandora’s Box.

Albert Einstein’s famous equation e = mc squared is the one used in atomic bombs where the difference in mass between two separate atomic particles and the one combined in the atom’s nucleus is multiplied by the speed of light (which is 3,000 million metres per second) is the energy generated.  A chain reaction of this energy would create the power of the atomic bomb that would destroy a complete city.

Among Einstein’s words:

I believe a simple and unassuming mind is best for the body and soul.

The Germans have been extremely violent towards my Jewish brothers.

To stay in Germany would be impossible for me, a pacifist.

I am a military pacifist.  I will fight for peace.

I believe that nature can be understood as a simple mathematical structure. 

And some with regard to Physics;

Time is relative.  An hour on our planet might be a century in another.

Time stretches and shrinks.

The doc is not without humour.  Einstein is given two lady bodyguards, who make light of the seriousness of their duties.

The doc’s re-enactments are done with a credible created period atmosphere and executed with conviction, humour and mystery making it an entertaining watch.  The doc opens for streaming on Netflix on Friday, February 16th.

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KILL ME IF YOU DARE (Zabij mnie, kochanie)(Poland 2023) *

Directed by Filip Zylber

KILL ME IF YOU DARE begins where most romantic comedies end.  The man is chasing and finally manages to get to the train station in time before his love leaves the platform.  He pros]poses to her to which she replies: “Till Death do Us part”.  This is a comedy in which a couple tries to kill each other after winning a lottery ticket.

Weronika Ksiazkiewiczand and Mateusz Banasiuk play the couple, Natalia and Piotr respectively.

KILL ME IF YOU DARE is an anti-romantic film that serves as something completely different for Valentine’s Day  The question asked is what one would do with such a large amount of money.  And what would you do if you were married and things were not as good as they could be?  In 1994, Andrew Bergman directed the Nicholas Cage comedy in which he shared the lottery winnings with a waitress played by.  Bridget Fonda much to the consternation of his wife, hilariously played by Rosie Perez immediately went to buy a fur coat only to get red paint splattered on her by animal protestors.  KILL ME IF YOU DARE takes the scenario of one stepfather with murder,  Well, perhaps not if each other thinks the other wants to murder them and take the money for themselves.

They get their winnings in cash and put it in a newly bought safe from their neighbour - a safe that needs two keys to unlock.  You need o trust each other,” the neighbour advises, “one can turn the nicest of wives into a murderer.:

A major segment has the couple with their two best friends who keep giving them incorrect advice, attending mountain vacation which has ample opportunity for each to do away with the other.  Opportunity is totally lost as the segment is long and boring, and less funny.  It does help that each of the best friends is totally annoying.

There is one scene nicely thought of that ends up a dud.  It is the dinner scene where the wife plans to poison him with almonds, as he is allergic to nuts.  He, on the other hand, intends to get her totally drunk and then skip on the floor of the room with tann=ing oil on the floor.  But what transpires ends up boring, unfunny and a chore to watch,

The film is interspersed with catchy English songs like “IlLove you Baby”, and  “What a Feeling:, from FLASHDANCE lifting the film’s mood and increasing its tackiness as well.  Throughout the film, the question is teased in the audience’s mind what if one won 5 million him or herself?

The film displays a modern Poland with new fashion, modern office space, and good-looking people wearing beautiful clothes.

KILL ME IF YOU DARE is a totally unfunny comedy with lots of missed opportunities for humour gone down the drain.  The only thing about the story is that the audience is kept guessing (though it does not take a genius to guess right) as to whether the couple will get together in the end,  But one has to sit through a grueling 90 minutes to fund out.

The film opens in Poland on February 14th and is also open for streaming on Netflix on Valentine’s Day.

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LAND OF BAD (USA 2023) **

Directed by William Eubank

The LAND OF BAD is the Philippines. The task of the Delta Force of the United States is the taking down of a stolen American military asset by enemy forces.  The Delta Force team is ambushed in enemy territory, their only hope lies with an Air Force drone pilot, nicknamed Reaper (Russell Crowe) to guide them through a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.

The lazy script skimps on the details.  The details of the stolen asset are not detailed.  The enemy identity is largely omitted and the real villain of the piece is left vague.  The enemy territory is the Philippines as stated by the words on the screen but the film is largely shot in the Gold Coast of Queensland in Australia.

There’s a lot of Aussie content in the film.  Besides being shot in Australia, the cast is largely Australian from the main lead, Russel Crowe to the two Hemsworth Brothers, Liam and Luke.  Australia is huge and has parts that can stand in for the Philippines.

The film is a mixed bag of tricks.  It does not start off well.  The first 30 minutes is unbelievably boring with little details given to the story and with editing moving to and fro between Reaper and Delta Force.  Nothing happens but if one can sit through the initial 30 minutes, there are some good suspenseful parts.

The last 30 minutes are quite suspenseful with Reaper rushing back (from grocery shopping, crazy as it may sound to the base to try to save Playboy (the nickname of the key Delta Force member).  To director Eubanks’ credit, he is able to wring out suspense in quite a many segments leaving the audience at the edge of the seats.  The script attempts a few funny moments like a choice of Frosty Flakes or Fruit Loops cereal and a few one-liners that are mildly amusing at best.  The trouble is the script that fails to explain the incidents and the details of the mission, who the enemy is and what the stolen asset is leaving the main plot vague and blurry.

L AND OF BAD opens in theatres on February 16th.

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THE PEASANTS (Poland 2023)

Directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

THE PEASANTS is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Reymont.  It has all the elements of a historical epic given a fairy tale look by the film’s animators.  There is poverty, the wealthy thriving on the poor, the quest for land, the hardship of farming the land, relationships and the dream of a better life.  The story is set in a Polish village and the story depicts that of the typical Polish villager.

The movie, like Reymont's novel, is divided into four parts corresponding to each of the four seasons. It takes place at the turn of the twentieth century, over the course of one year, in the village of Lipce.

Autumn. A beautiful, yet modest, young peasant Jagna Paczesiówna, with a talent for creating cutouts, is in love with Antek Boryna, the son of the richest peasant in the village, Maciej Boryna. However, Antek has a wife, Hanka, who has a hard time accepting her husband's advances towards another woman. In addition, Maciej, who is a widower looking for a new wife, decides to marry Jagna and give her six acres of land as a dowry.  Antek and Hanka disapprove of this decision. After a fight between Antek and Maciej the family's senior orders his son and daughter-in-law to leave the farm.

The film’s most magnificent scene is the wedding celebration segment where the old groom and young bride dance in circles.  There is also the effect of the camera zooming out of the celebrations showing the house from close up to afar to the land that the farm is situated on.

The animation of THE PEASANTS is quite astounding.  The film was produced using the painted animation technique over the production of five years, similar to the Welchman duo's previous film, LOVING VINCENT.  The film has a fairly tale look as the scenes share the look of the illustrations often found in children’s fairy tale books, though this is an adult tale.  Initially, the film was shot with the actors, and then more than a hundred painters in four studios in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Serbia painted oil paintings based on the shots, which became frames in the film. Animators then worked to supplement the paintings to make the whole film seamless. The artists spent over 200,000 hours in total working on the project.

The film’s world premiere took place at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was also invited to the 28th Busan International Film Festival in the 'Flash Forward' section.  The film was released in Polish cinemas on October 13, 2023, enjoying general critical acclaim. The Peasants recorded the biggest opening weekend for a Polish film in 2023 and is currently the most popular film in Poland for 2023.  The film is definitely worth a look!

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PERFECT DAYS (Japan 2023) ***1/2
Directed by Wim Wenders

PERFECT DAYS is an almost perfect little simple film about a simple man, content with his daily job as a public toilet cleaner.  He wears his form as a badge and does his job efficiently and diligently with pride and dignity.  One can also learn how to properly clean toilets from this man.  Kôji Yakusho, in one his best performances that won him the Best Actor prize at Cannes this year,  plays Hirayama, the cleaner of these toilets, named after the protagonist of Yasujiro Ozu’s last film, An Autumn Afternoon.  Hirayama lives alone in a small house full of plants, his days going by according to quiet rhythms that never seem to change.  But there is much surprise in store for the cleaner and the audience as German director Wim Wenders delivers another prized movie.

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A SOWETO LOVE STORY (Africa 2024) ***

Directed by Rolie Nikiwe

Two international comedies linked to the theme of romance open for streaming this week on Netflix in line with the Valentine’s Day celebrations.  Both are silly comedies.  One is KILL ME IF YOU DARE from Poland is about a couple attempting to kill each other after winning a lottery ticket.  Another, from Soweto, is called A SOWETO LVOE STORY.  While KILL ME IF YOU DARDE is silly and stupid, hardly generating any laughs, the one from Soweto is in contrast silly and occasionally smart and hilarious generating often a laugh-out-loud laugh per minute as can be enjoyed in the film’s first 5 minutes taking place in a church.  It is the keen observations of human behaviour that are milked for humour, something that audiences can relate to.  Coming in late during a hymn during a church service while finding a seat, praising the Lord while interjecting one’s successes and getting the spotlight in the church are all terrific funny moments.

In the film, the mother of three unmarried sons gives them an ultimatum:” Whoever gets married at the end of the year gets the house as a wedding present.”  Trouble is the one son who was supposed to propose to his girlfriend at his brother’s restaurant and gets dumped by his supposed fiancé after she finds a red bra at the back of his car.  The brother who owns the restaurant is not a worthy candidate for girls, says the eldest brother.  The third brother is assumed gay but the man keeps insisting: “I am not gay,” to which the other brother says:” It's okay to be gay.”  Mother wants to be recognized in church for a least one of her son’s weddings.  So there is a mad scramble for each of the sons to see who gets married first.  But things turn do not out right with failure after failure occurring for each of the three brothers.

Some of the humour has been used in similar films before - like dates that don’t work.  When fixed for blind dates, one laughs too annoyingly and loudly; another is too forward and yet another eats with food dribbling down her mouth.  The one who fixed the blind dates tells the man: “You are not that good-looking to be that fussy.”  the old jokes still manage to wring a laugh or two.  What works is the director’s comic timing which is passed down to both his actors and his filmed comedic pieces.

The film also suffered from the typical clichés including rushing to the airport before the flight takes off to save the romance.  Only this time it is the girl doing the chase.  It does not take a genius to guess the film’s ending, which one can likely guess though it will not be disclosed ninth review.  That aside, one still cannot help but root for the film’s happy ending.

This romantic comedy about A SOWETO LOVE STORY, actually three love stories in one is flawed with cliches with an overused storyline, but it still manages to pack quite a few laughs regardless, the biggest one involving the invoking of what is termed ‘force majeure’.  A satisfying Valentine’s Day pick.

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SWAY (Canada 2023) ***

Directed by Ramelan X Hamilton

SWAY is a Canadian gripping thriller wannabe but mostly a drama that is produced by Emmanuel Kabongo and directed by Ramelan X Hamilton.  The brisk 98-minute film follows the life of a prominent young Black community leader, nicknamed SWAY facing unexpected challenges that unravel his world.  As his brother, Cy goes missing after losing a bet of an undisclosed amount to a shady big boss character, Sway becomes ensnared in a web of blackmail orchestrated by a mysterious woman, and a murder puts his love and loyalty to the ultimate test.  The mysterious girl first appears in his bed one morning after Sway’s last rough night, though he does not remember what happened the night before or who this lady is.  Premiering in LA on Feb 8th and 10th, and in Toronto on Feb 17th, with Halifax dates to be announced in late February, SWAY promises an unforgettable cinematic experience.

The script contains a few interesting though not groundbreaking ideas.  The fight against crime is duly established and serves to be the main goal of the protagonist in the storyline,  “Crime is an occupation. It just sits on the opposite side of law and order.  Crime has to be driven out of Parkwood.” and so says Sway.  The success of the film depends mostly on the script which tends to be stage-bound.

It is important most of the time for the audience to have a likable protagonist to side with him and also the film.  Sway’s character is shown for both sides of the coin.  On his good side, he strives to do good for the foundation achieving what the press calls  40 under 40, which one assumes is the top 40 under 40 years of age.  He is concerned about his brother and loves his family.  The family is not seen in the film.  The film also shows his other side - short tempered with often use of foul language.  He also screams and mistreats his employees though one employee does deserve to be screamed at.  But there is a reason for the bad side to be shown as not to reveal any more of the plot, but some dirty goings-on are revealed to the audience about Sway at the mid-mark of the film.  The revelation occurs when his interviewer puts him in a corner when questioning an unexplained fire that occurred in one of the buildings at Parkdale.  Just when shit is about to hit the fan, the lady in his bed that morning calls him to blackmail him.  This is when the audience is forced to either take Sway’s side or do the opposite.

The film is a Canadian film shot in Toronto, though the setting is the United States. The high-rise building of Toronto can be seen throughout the film with many locations recognizable by Torontonians, 

SWAY premieres in LA on Feb 8th and 10th, and in Toronto on Feb 17th at Toronto’s Black Film Festival, with Halifax dates to be announced in late February.  The film has won an award: 2024 BAFGC (CBS Awards) Recipient: Best Film and Best Actor (SWAY).  For more information about Toronto’s Black Film Festival clink on the link: https://torontoblackfilm.com/2024-films/

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THE TASTE OF THINGS (THE POT-AU-FEU) (France 2023) ****

Directed by Anh Hung Tran

The film THE TASTE OF THINGS begins with an extended cooking scene amidst a breakfast that is enjoyed by both Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) and her boss of 20 years, Dodin (Benoît Magimel).  The audience is introduced to both Eugenie and Dodin as well as their two young helpers Pauline and Violette.  Though slow-moving and meticulously filmed, the total segment (not done with a single take but with frequent cuts, yet with the camera swirling around the kitchen) lasts more than 30 minutes and might require some patience to watch as well as to sit through this 2 hour-15 minute historical romance drama.  But the effort is well worth it.  From the gardens outside the residence where fresh vegetables are cultivated to the kitchen where all the stocks are made from scratch using exotic ingredients like crayfish, veal short ribs and quenelles, the film illustrates gastronomical delights.  Mouths will be watering as one can almost smell the fragrances of the cooking ingredients.  As the segment unfolds, the audience also learns about the couple.

The film is set in 1885 France.  Eugénie is an outstanding cook who, for 20 years has been working for the famous gourmet Dodin.  Together they create dishes, each more delicate and delicious than the previous ones.  From this union, a love affair has sprung, with Eugénie leaving her bedroom door unlocked at the manor where they live.  Although he’s proposed to Eugénie many times, she’s never wanted to marry.  So Dodin decides to do something he’s never done before – cook for her.

The film is an adult love story where the line between cooking or rather,  doing something special for the other person and love equate to the same thing.  The deed is clearly more important than one’s words and one’s deeds can surely demonstrate love, care and passion for the other person.

Three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire served as a food consultant, assisted by chef Michel Nave, with whom he worked for over 40 years.  Also starring are Galatea Bellugi as Dodin’s assistant cook, and Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire as a natural talent who reminds Eugénie of her young self.  The film is loosely based on Marcel Rouff’s The Life and Passion of Dodin-Bouffant.   The current French title is LA PASSION DE DODIN BOUFFANT.

There is a lot of information dissipated in French gourmet cooking in the film.  One of the highlights is the ortolan eating.  The ortolan (Emberiza hortulana), also called ortolan bunting, is an Eurasian bird in the bunting family.  The ortolan is served in French cuisine, typically cooked and eaten whole.  As observed in the film, the diners cover their heads with a cloth while eating the delicacy.  The bird is so widely used that its French populations dropped dangerously low,

France surprisingly submitted THE TASTE OF THINGS for the 2024 Academy Awards Best International  Feature thus shunning the Golden Globe Winner for the Best International Feature, Justine Triet’s  L’ANATOMIE D’UNE CHUTE (The Anatomy of a Fall).  THE TASTE OF THINGS did not even make it to the final 5 nominees though it made it to the shortlist.  The film did win director Anh HungTran  (THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA) the Cannes Prize for the Best Mise-en-Scene.  At the point of writing, the film has scored an impressive 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

THE TASTE OF THINGS opens February 16 in Toronto and Vancouver, February 23 in Ottawa and throughout the winter in other cities.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 25 January 2024

FILM REVIEWS:

 AFTER THE FIRE

Review, click the link:

(Effective French film that harnesses the fire of public outrage against a racist criminal justice system)

https://toronto-franco.com/article/21-cinema-movies/397-film-eview-avant-ques-les-flammes-ne-s-eteignent

ARGYLLE (UK/USA 2024) **

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise and daughter of Ron Howard of HAPPY DAYS) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly's fictional books--which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate--begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aidan (Oscar® winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly's fictional world and her real one begins to blur.  Henry Cavill with outrageous hairdo and suit plays Agent Argyle in Elly’s novel.

As an action-packed comedy thriller, ARGYLL disappoints, mainly in the overuse of unrealistic CGI effects.  The escape by parachute from the train by the couple in one of the film’s key action scenes not only looks fake but looks pale in comparison to the Tom Cruise parachute escape in his recent MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING.   The CGI action sequence at the film’s start with the motorbike is also crazily out of control.  The old-fashioned stunt work done in the past in the old action films before CGI is sadly missed.

Why is the film called Argylle?  Argyll, sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin and broadly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata less the parts which were in Ireland.  But in the film, the title refers to the name of the agent - Agent Argylle and nothing to do with the Scottish region.

There are a lot of things that make no sense in the film, like the use of the cat Alfie, used to generate laughs, that do not work most of the time.  Alfie looks cute but who needs ‘cute’ in a spy film?  The script by Jason Fuchs does not help in terms of entertaining.  For one, the story is too complicated compared to the other KINGSMAN films and the least funny.  The story feels something that Christopher Nolan could have come up with as in the spy film TENET which is almost impossible to follow - not that it matters.

Samuel L. Jackosn has a supporting role in the film and one that surprisingly does not allow him to use his trademark ‘motherfucker’ word in his dialogue.  But it is only Catherine O’Hara (from SCTV) and Sam Rockwell who shine in the movie.  Cavill is totally out of place as is John Cena.

With the overuse of plot twists and CGI-aided action sequences, the film eventually turns out to be a bore.  The film should have ended 15 minutes earlier and who cares what happens to Alfie the cat anyway?

ARGYLLE is the most terrible of the KINGSMAN franchise, the best still being the one with Elton John that was both action-packed and hilarious.This one is neither.

Trailer: 

DARIO ARGENTO PANICO (UK 2023) ***½

Directed by Simone Scafadi

Dario Argento speaks of pushing fear past the limit - into panic, hence the title of the documentary on Argento.

Dario Argento wrote his most famous films inside hotels, completely isolating himself from external reality and immersing himself in his own nightmares.  Argento is well-known for many horror Giallo films including his latest DARK GLASSES, OPERA (My personal favourite),  SUSPIRA (remade by Hollywood), THE CAT O’NINE TAILS, DEEP RED and most popular and arguably his best THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE.  After many years, advised by his agent, he decides to go back to a hotel to finish his new screenplay and to be interviewed, filmed and followed by a crew that is shooting a film about him. Within this structure, a wellness centre very far from the distressing places that characterize the cinema of the master of horror, Argento does not feel at ease and has difficulty both in finding the peace necessary to finish the screenplay, and in confiding his secrets to the crew who are interviewing him. But the demon of cinema, who has never abandoned him, will once again push him to give himself totally.

Fans of Dario Argento are in for a treat in this documentary on the Italian horror maestro of Giallo crimson slasher flicks.  The Master is also seen in many scenes in person, as he is still alive and well, working on his latest project where a documentary crew is also filming.  In the doc, the audience sees him at a hotel where he normally resides when writing for his latest film.  The man is in fine form and not without humour.

The best part of the doc is when clips of his old classics are screened with voiceover providing insight for fans and cineastes alike.  The film that is given the most attention is the slasher whodunit THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE starring Tony Musante.  This film went on to become the Italian film that became number one at the United States box office.  When the film attained such acclaim, Mutant and his producer praised Argento for the pleasure of working together.  Argento tells the audience in the doc that they were arguing with him half the time during filming and they wanted him fired from the picture.

As in all biopics, the doc includes the director’s background - from his childhood to the present.  His childhood is interesting enough - with lots of film industry background.  Dario’s mother was a photographer of the stars with clients including Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren.  As a child, Dario would watch her mother work on the stars and makeup.  His father was a film producer who would travel a lot.

Three international film directors speak highly of Argento.  The three are Guillermo del Toro, Gaspar Noe and Nicolas Winding Refn.  Noe who made the disturbing film CARNE and SEUL CONTE TOUS, both films telling the story of how a father raped his retarded daughter to prevent her from losing her virginity to a stranger.  That was a real horror film that had a quarter of the audience walking out during the last 10 minutes.  Oddly enough, Noe speaks of Argento’s relationship with his daughter in the making of THE STENDHAL SYNDROME,  Others interviewed consist mainly of family members including his daughter Asia Argento.

More interesting to fans of Giallo horror and of Dario Argento, but the doc provides an informative and deeper look at both the master’s horror psyche and his work in horror cinema.  It shows both talent and perseverance are involved.  DARIO ARGENTO PANICO opens for streaming on Shudder on February 2nd.

FITTING IN (BLOODY HELL) (Canada 2023) ***
Directed by Molly McGlynn

Most people are still unfamiliar with the intersex and non-binary community.  Many documentaries serve to educate, and many films are now made to include intersex and non-binary characters.  At TIFF 2023, two films have had two non-binary characters as the protagonists, LA VENUS D'ARGENT (THE SPIRIT OF ECSTASY) and this one, BLOODY HELL, now renamed FITTING IN to suit the tamer title.

Lindy (Maddie Ziegler)  has moved into her grandmother’s old house with her single mom Rita (Emily Hampshire) and is in the early days of deciding whether to have sex with her boyfriend Adam (D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai).  Things take a turn when she is brought to the doctor’s office to get a prescription for birth control.  One physical exam later, a cold and unfeeling male gynecologist delivers news that will turn Lindy’s world upside down.   Lyndy is the equivalent of a non-binary person with the rare reproductive abnormality called Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, which means she does not have a uterus or cervix and has a shortened vaginal canal.  In short, she cannot get f***ed  properly for lack of a proper vagina.  While other high school kids are competing in sports, dating, having sex, and going to parties, Lindy is spiralling and pushing away all her previous sources of trust and comfort, like Adam, her best friend, and her starring track and field spot.

The film follows the overfamiliar Hollywood-cliched ending that one has already seen too much of.  In FITTING IN, as in all the docs and fictional films on such characters, the key point is that these people should not be considered abnormal, but normal but different.  They have to learn to accept their bodies (in 0.02% of the American population as stated in a recent documentary) and be proud of them.  Many now do and wish not to perform any surgery to have their body ‘normalized’ to the majority of the population.  In FITTING IN, the protagonist finally accepts her body and the lack of the proper female reproductive system and can announce it to her classmates without feeling any shame any longer.  She also settles with the person who loves her and gives her the sexual desire she craves - another female instead of a boy.  Though these two components of the ending are expected and run into the cliched territory, they are still well done and satisfactorily credible enough.  FITTING IN aptly deals with a sensitive and unfamiliar topic, so for audiences unfamiliar with intersex and non-binary people, the film should serve as an eye-opener.  Yes, God gave humans, these classes of people included, their bodies and bodies to be accepted and to be proud of.  The bodies should not be altered as permanent injury could result.

Both Ziegler and Hampshire deliver impressive convincing performances, especially in their confrontational scenes, the highlight of the movie.  

The film also delves deeper into Lindy’s desperation to enjoy sex like the others.  Her sexual encounter with Adam is awkward and reminds one of the sex scene in Alan J, Pakula’s 1969’s THE STERILE CUCKOO with Liza Minelli and Wendell Burton.

The film is beautifully shot around the lakes of Sudbury in Northern Ontario.

ORION AND THE DARK (USA 2024) ***½

Directed by Sean Charmatz

ORION AND THE DARK follows the adventures of Orion.  Orion seems a lot like your average elementary school kid – shy, unassuming, harbouring a secret crush for classmate Sally. But underneath his seemingly normal exterior, Orion is a ball of adolescent anxiety, completely consumed by irrational fears of bees, dogs, the ocean, cell phone waves, murderous gutter clowns, and even falling off of a cliff. But of all his fears, the thing he's the most afraid of is what he confronts on a nightly basis: the Dark. So when the literal embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, the Dark whisks Orion away on a roller coaster ride around the world to prove there is nothing to be afraid of in the night. As the unlikely pair grows closer, Orion must decide if he can learn to accept the unknown – to stop letting fear control his life and finally embrace the joy of living.

The film is touted as a fantasy adventure and who is more appropriate to write it than Charlie Kaufman who wrote the screenplay though the film is based on the book of the same name.  Kaufman is responsible for film hits like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THS SPOTLESS MIND,  BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ADAPTATION to mention a few.  So there is much expectation in his foray into a child’s imagination.

As for animation, this animated feature contains animation within the imagination.  Or.` on keeps a sketchbook, as advised by his counselor to record all his fears.  There are sketches found in the book,  Whenever Orion goes into active imagination of his fears, these are realized in animated sequences - hence animation within animation.

There is something  endearing about a child’s fears.  Everyone in their childhood has his or her own fears, such as the fear of talking to the first person of the opposite sex, a crush on the first day of school, or of failing an exam for whatever reason.  Most children are afraid of the dark, so, ironically, onion meets a monster called Dark at night,

Orion is voiced by Canadian actor Jacob Tremblay.  Tremblay made his film debut as Blue in the live-action animated film The Smurfs 2 (2013). His breakout performance was in the dark drama ROOM (2015), for which he received critical acclaim.  Other heavyweights lending their talents to the voice characterizations include Angela Bassett, Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks) and director Werner Herzog.

The trick is never to let fear enter your life.  These are the typical messages that can be heard in the typical Disney movie.  However, there is one reference to author David Foster Wallace, when Orion asks his parent to read him a bedtime story holding a book written by him.  Wallace was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace's 1996 novel Infinite Jest was cited by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005

I know it is a bad story.  I ran out of ideas,  I do not know how it ends.  The story of ORION AND THE DARK is a story within a story - the one told by a father to his daughter to stop her from being afraid of the dark.  But Charlie Kaufman being Charlie Kaufman has good ideas in his storytelling including an intriguing timeline in which Orion meets his child, his daughter, who appears in his story -  sort of a childhood fantasy version of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH.  Not all the ideas turn to that well as expected and the film could have been funnier too, especially with all the dark entities.

ORION AND THE DARK is a Dreamworks and Netflix original movie that opens for streaming on February 2nd, 2024.

Trailer: 

LOS COLONOS (THE SETTLERS )( while 2023) ****

Directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle

Chile, beginning of the 20th century. A wealthy landowner hires three horsemen to mark out the perimeter of his extensive property and open a route for his cattle to the Atlantic Ocean across vast Patagonia. The expedition, composed of a young Chilean half-blood, an American mercenary, and led by a reckless British lieutenant, soon turns into a “civilizing” raid.

It is a tough world of settlers depicted in the film.  It is a case of dog eats dog.  Noticeably too, is the absence of women in most of the film and story. At the 30-minute film mark, not one female has appeared on screen.  The first female appears only past the film’s halfway mark, and a beautiful cultured lady singing a song finally makes her appearance at the hour mark.  And when the latter lady opens to speak her mind, it is revealed that she is even more evil than her male counterparts,

Clearly, there are no heroes in the film.  Everyone is flawed.  If there is a villain, perhaps all the characters are as many bear bad traits.  And more so, no one can tell who the real enemy is.  Is it the Indians who are the indigenous people of the land?  Or is it the lieutenant the threat?  Or perhaps it is nature itself in the form of an uninviting mountain range covered with snow and danger.

The harshness of the land is emphasized many times.  Besides the audience constantly looking at the barren landscape, a character even remarks that nobody would want to fight for the useless land.  But the land is always a favourite topic in films, especially land that is stolen from films like THE KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON to THE BEASTS (BESTAS), two of last year’s top 10 films on my list.

Despite the straightforward plot, the script contains lots of surprises or rather, shocks.  A major supporting character, for example, can be suddenly killed off in a second  There is an expected sodomy scene that appears out of nowhere.  “Hush-a-bye, Don’t you Cry, Little Baby” is a lullaby that can be heard on the soundtrack, weird as it may be.

The indigenous people are given respect in the film.  The half-breed is given a full chapter in the film.  The half-breed is described in the film as having a delicate skull structure and would be more useful if he be educated in university and hired as an engineer than just working the land as a laborer.  The man is also a crack shot.  He remains largely silent in the film, so no one really knows what he is thinking.  There is a scene where he points his rifle at his boss who is killing off innocent indigenous Indians, but they turn the barrel up and shots into the sky

The film marks Chile’s entry for this year’s Academy Award for Best International Feature.  Despite it being a remarkable film experience, the film did not make the shortlist, unfortunately.  The film did win the FIREPSCI (the Critics) Award for Best Film at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

THE SETTLERS is unsettling but in a good way.  Solid story, with solid characters in a harsh environment where anything can happen and mostly does.  An engrossing film that is definitely worth viewing. 

Trailer: 

WIL (Netherlands/Belgium/Poland 2023) ***

Directed by Tim Mielants

Antwerp is occupied by the Germans,  “We are the occupiers and we are winning the war,” the town folk is told.  They have two options: to be a German collaborator or be a resistance fighter and aid the Jews as they are slowly rounded up by the Germans.  The magic question the film asks is: “What would you do?”?

Wilfried Wils (Stef Sets) must survive as an auxiliary policeman during the Nazi occupation of Antwerp.  On his first duty, he and his partner accompany a German officer who needs to arrest someone for not working.  During the process, they witness considerable brutality that causes Will to kill the officer accidentally.  Rather germans then return to investigate what happened to the missing officer.  This is when the trouble starts and the catalyst to the story of the film.

The first introductory pep talk by a police chief to his men is always a delight to watch in many films, which many directors use for both humour and insight.  In Ladj Ly’s excellent 2019 LES MISERABLES about Parisian cops, the female police chief’s pep talk to the newbie cop for the suburbs was nothing short of brutal and hilarious.  In WIL, Wil’s police commissioner (Jan Bojvoet) introductory talk to the recruits informs them that their two and a half weeks of training is worthless and the most important thing is to observe (and perhaps do nothing.)  The advice could be for the audience too, to observe what goes on in this different type of cop film, a cop film set in Antwerp in 1942, in the Second World War.

Persecution of the Jews by the Germans is always shocking, whether seen in the past or the present, no matter how many times seen.  Director Ryan knows it and shows similar incidents a few times, to get the blood of his audience riling.  The tactic works as the emotional impact is gut-wrenching.  Wil is often a witness, forced to remain silent for fear of retaliation as well as fear of not knowing what to do.  Director Mielantls shows how much terror Will faces because he is helpless.

The period atmosphere of WWII is effectively captured by cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert and together with director Milan’s, the film manages to work its magic.  Though the events of the evil deeds done by the Germans are not new, the film still feels fresh with new fears generated by the two policemen.

The only complaint is that what transpires on screen in this well-worn genre has been seen one time or another in films of similar genres, though the film still manages to shock and intensify the audience, thanks to excellent production aves with direction by Mielants.

WIL is a Netflix original film, a co-production of Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands and is available for streaming now on Netflix.

 Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 25 January 2024

FILM REVIEWS:

FLOAT (Canada 2023) **½

Directed by Sherren Lee

FLOAT is an innocent enough title about a girl learning how to swim. A funny title that more accurately tells the story would be HOW TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM AND FALL IN LOVE IN THE PROCESS which basically is the premise of a rather simple love story that is set in the small seaside town of Holden in Florida.

The movie is based on Kate Merchant's popular Wattpad teen romance story which accumulated over 25.5 million reads on the user-generated fiction platform.  Wattpad is a website for reading and publishing original written fiction and connecting with fellow writers and readers. Its most popular genres are romance, teen fiction, and fan fiction.  As of November 2021, Wattpad has more than 90 million monthly users and there are over 665 million story uploads in total.  But having 25.5 million reads does not guarantee a good story or a good film.

Waverly (Andrea Bang) thought she had her future figured out.  She'd start her medical residency in Toronto after a summer visit to her parents in Taipei.  She feels rejected when her parents cancel her visit to Taipeh and skips Toronto, not telling them, visiting her Aunt Rachel in Holden instead. There, she meets local lifeguard Blake (Robbie Amell).  After he saves her from nearly drowning at a beach party, Blake offers to teach Waverly to swim, and as the lessons continue, the two unexpectedly find themselves falling in love.  But will Blake's ties to his past and Waverly's plans to begin a new job keep them apart once summer ends?  It does not take a genius to guess how the ending turns out.  The film also makes the point that going to medical school to advance a career as a doctor is not as important as puppy love.

The story in the film is quite different from the one in the book.  In the film, Waverly is sent to her Aunt Rachel but in the book, she makes an unannounced detour to her Aunt Rachel.  She is supposed to be in Toronto doing some coop in preparation for medical school.

For a teen romance, the story is corny and filled with cliches complete with obstacles to the romance and makeup at the end.  The Chemistry between the two actors does not quite work well, a factor being that actress Bang looks a bit too young for her age and her settling down to an adult forever relationship is too unbelievable.

Besides being a love story, the film is also one about relationships.  There are several relationships in the story - all estranged ones, of course.  One is between the lifeguard and his sister, another between Waverly’s aunt, Rachel and her mother and the all-important one between Waverly and her parents. which is the reason she has ended up in Holden instead of Toronto.  An addition alone involving two lesbians having a baby is also added for good measure.

The mediocre film has won a string of awards, mainly from the province of British  Columbia.  B.C. supports its own film industry, which is a good thing.  FLOAT opens in theatres, on-demand and on all major platforms on February 9th.

Trailer: 

HOW TO HAVE SEX (UK 2023) ****

Directed by Molly Walker

Like hundreds of others, three British teenage girls have come to party in the sun-drenched Cretan town of Malia.  Best holiday ever?  The three girls are awaiting their examination results.  The film is very British from the very start of the film - a good thing - as like many, I love everything British.  The film is based on director Walker’s own high school holiday experiences,  “My fags are all wet,”  cries one as she dips into the sea while the wave sweeps out her pack of cigarettes.  A hungry one cries: “I want big extra-large chips.” while another cries “Mum just called”.  Americans also use the term vacation instead of holidays.  The film is vibrant in the opening as the girls party it out and their enthusiasm and spirit are catching.

They decide the biggest room in their unit that overlooks the pool will belong to the one who manages to get the most sex during the vacation. And so the premise of the film is that the story is less important than the spirit of the movie.  But the premise then turns the film into a more serious setting - a rites-of-passage or coming-of-age story for the three heroines.   Indeed, it’s a rites-of-passage holiday that should be the best summer of their lives.  While awaiting their final exam results, the besties are ready to let loose and live it up, drink and hook up. 

The 3 females are Skye, Tara and Em.  Unlike Skye (Lara Peake) and Em (Enva Lewis), Tara (mesmerizing Mia McKenna-Bruce) is still a virgin.  Despite the girls being loud, crazy and all over the place, to her credit, Director Walker keeps the personalities of the three girls endearing and not annoying to the audience.  (Who should want to watch a bunch of annoying teenage girls?)  Director Walker also keeps the film smart, funny and moving.  Even the corny jokes are funny.  “Why doesn’t anyone see pigs hiding in a tree?  Answer: “Because they are pretty good at it.  Or: What is the difference between a rabbit and a plum?”  On the second day, before even the bikinis and lip gloss are barely unpacked when Tara spies the two slightly older British boys staying next door.  One is a friendly goof (Shaun Thomas, THE SELFISH GIANT) who shares Tara’s corny humour.  The other is a handsome asshole (Samuel Bottomley). 

Don’t let the film title fool you.  Despite its playful-sounding title, the film delves into serious territory and covers the material well and with flair.  Winner of the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2023, Molly Manning Walker’s stunning HOW TO HAVE SEX offers up a vibrant depiction of the agonies, ecstasies and ride-or-die glory of young female friendship.  The film also paints a painfully familiar portrait of how first sexual experiences play out.  Yes, the glories, fun and precociousness of youth!

  HOW TO HAVE SEX opens February 9 in Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Vancouver and Montreal.

Trailer: 

LISA FRANKENSTEIN (USA 2023) **

Directed by Zelda Williams

The official synopsis of LISA FRANKENSTEIN the new horror comedy goes like this: In 1989, a misunderstood teenage goth girl named Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) reanimates a handsome corpse (Cole Sprouse) from the Victorian era during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams by using a broken tanning machine in her garage.  After going through a playfully horrific transformation, the romantic duo embarks on a murderous journey to find true love, happiness, and a few missing body parts along the way.

LISA FRANKENSTEIN plays like a teen comedy with a premise that follows along the line of WEIRD SCIENCE in which teen boys create the perfect female.  Here, a female teen creates her true love. 

Director Williams borrows and pays nods (probably more accurate than using the term ‘copy)’ from various classic films through the decades.  For one, the poster of LISA FRANKENSTEIN looks quite like that of WEIRD SCIENCE so one wonders if the poster was modeled from it.  Actress Kathryn Newton as Lisa shares the same goulash hair-do as Helena Bonham Carter, ex-wife of Tim Burton.  Director Williams’ film also plays like a Tim Burton movie notably BEETLEJUICE and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.  In fact, the actor who plays the creature in the film looks like a replica of Johnny Depp in EDWARD SCISSORHANDS with makeup as in BEETLEJUICE.   There are nods to other film classes as well such as the B-horror flick THE CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON, the poster of which can be seen hanging on Lisa’s room wall.  In fact the character of Lisa and her encounter with her step-sister and other girls in school also plays like a varied version of MEAN GIRLS.  One flaw of the movie is the description of Lisa’s heartthrob, Michael Trent (Henry Eikenberry) who is twice described in the film as not having the body of an athlete.  When shown in the bedroom later on in the film, Trent has quite a chiseled body. 

LISA FRANKENSTEIN is not very good - which is a real pity as the film excels in many departments like make-up and wardrobe - generally superior production values and a clever premise that does not translate well into funny comedy.  The humour is generally teenage infantile, but teenage infantile could be hilarious if executed well, as in films like LICENCE TO DRIVE, WEIRD SCIENCE and a whole bunch of John Hughes films.  For example in the upcoming teen sex comedy which is quite good called HOW TO HAVE SEX’, There is a joke: “Why can’t you see pigs hiding in a tree?”  Answer:  “Because they are quite good at it.”  A comedy is supposed to display comedic timing, surprise and inventiveness which this horror comedy unfortunately lacks.  The main flaw is that LISA FRANKENSTEIN is just not funny enough,

LISA FRANKENSTEIN opens February the 9th in theatres together with the other teen sex comedy HOW TO HAVE SEX.  Forget the former film, see the latter.

Trailer: 

LOVER, STALKER, KILLER (UK 2024) ***½

Directed by Sam Hobkinson

A twisted and different romance for Valentine's Day!

Lover, Stalker, Killer is a real-life crime documentary that tells the complicated story of love, dating, anger, and murder. The horrific crime is explored using interviews, circumstantial evidence and archive footage. This is from Netflix and the new crime documentary that opens Friday 9th, February on the streaming services a short and sharp crime thriller that will keep one glued to their seats from start to finish.

` The film begins with a great setup pushing the start button on audience anticipation.  The audience is told that this crime, according to the prosecutor is the most bizarre and twisted while the defending attorney claims that the murder might not even have happened.  There was no weapon, no body and no crime scene. making one of the strangest murder trails.  It is all caused by a love triangle gone awry.

The doc unfolds in true Hitchcock fashion in which director Hobkinson always keeps audience anticipation at its height.  The audience is set up for a murder in which they are kept guessing as to which one is the victim and who would be the stalker and killer.  The film is narrated by the guy, Dave, an auto-mechanic, so one might guess that he would not likely be the perpetrator.  Or could he be?

Though narrated by Dave Kroupa the docs largely a re-enactment with three actors playing Liz, Cari and Dave.

Here is the gist of the story.  Dave is a lonely guy who moves to Nebraska after a failed marriage tome with his kids.  Going a doing site, Dave gets to meet Liz.  Both connect, sharing the same interests like heavy metal and motorbikes.  Dave has one.  They decide to have a plutonic relationship.  But as they stay so close to each other, they see a lot of each other.  trouble beings brewing when Cari appears one day at Dave’s garage to have her car fixed.  Dave dates her after finding her profile on the dating website and hell slowly but surely reds lose.

No more should be said of the plot at this point but that it gets more and more interesting.  The police investigation also enters the story and one can see how they were initially fooled.

LOVER, STALKER, KILLER is one of the best crime docs to be streamed on Netflix - a completely compelling watch with strong Hitchcock tones in a true story that is almost too bizarre and twisted to believe.

Trailer: 

THE PROMISED LAND (BASTARDEN) (Denmark/Germany/Sweden 2023) ***** Top 10

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel

At the Toronto International Film Festival screening, director Nikolaj Arcel mentioned that Denmark had a population of only 5 million and had vast areas of land, like Jutland, the film’s setting, in the north that goes as far as the sea.  He also said that he wanted to make an epic and often there is not that much money available.   Be that as it may, THE PROMISED LAND comes across as an efficient enough epic, epic in emotional and storytelling proportions that come with an all-important message to boot.  The film returns to filmmaking at its best, in what is definitely one of the top movies of the year.  It is a gripping adventure drama, compelling and riveting from start to finish.

The film reunites Mads Mikkelsen with director Arcel, who previously directed him in A Royal Affair (TIFF ’12).

Mads Mikkelsen stars as Ludvig Kahlen, the illegitimate son of a maid and a nobleman, who defied his low status to succeed in Denmark’s military.  Hence, the Danish film title THE BASTARD.  He took 25 years to attain the position of captain whereas a nobleman with royal blood would have taken much, much less time.  Though many had already tried and failed to realize the hopes of King Frederik V for the wild heath of Jutland (the saying goes: the heath cannot be tamed) to be tamed and cultivated.  Kahlen believes he has the necessary mettle to triumph over the inhospitable soil, roving thieves, and many other obstacles.  His most formidable enemy proves to be Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), the landowner who knows that any progress on the heath will cost him his power.  For all his stoic self-reliance, Kahlen soon realizes he cannot succeed without allies such as Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin), a worker who comes under his protection, and Edel Helene (Kristine Kujath Thorp), de Schinkel’s cousin and very reluctant betrothed.

The film is based on the book “The Captain and Barbara” but retaining this title would have given away some of the key points to the plot.  For this reason, the director chose to name his film BASTARDEN.

 BASTERDEN works as an excellent period epic full of spectacle, especially of the barren and almost impossible-to-be-tilled heath of Jutland.  Actor Mikkelsen is nothing short of superb in this role, carrying the film steadily with his serious-looking face, unable to give up his ambition.

Director Arcel does not shy away from violence, which is much needed to get his points across.  Despite the film’s setting of a male-dominated world - for example, de Schinkel rotates having sex with his different female staff, the women in the story particularly Ann Barber and de Schinkel’s cousin have major roles to play in the twists of the story.

There is also much history and geography to learn from the film, in terms of offering methods, instruments and apparatus for surveying and farming the land.  The cinematography depicting the harsh first and blowing winter snow and ice is also stunningly depicted.

THE PROMISED LAND aka BASTARDEN displays filmmaking at its best,  executed with verve and conviction, by a director and actor both at the top of their form. It is the Danish entry for the Best International Feature at the upcoming Oscars and made the shortlist.  The film opens in theatres on February 9th.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 10 January 2024

2 Tunisian films debut this week.

FILM REVIEWS:

BADLAND HUNTERS (South Korea 2023) ***

Directed by Heo Myung-haeng

Before dismissing BADLAND HUNTERS as a forgettable Korean dystopian futuristic thriller, one should not that this Netflix original film is a sequel to CONCRETE UTOPIA.  In CONCRETE UTOPIA, Seoul is devastated overnight by a major earthquake. Everything has collapsed, but only one place remains intact: Imperial Palace Apartments. Residents begin to feel threatened as external survivors who heard the rumours flock to the apartments. They unite for survival, and with the new resident leader Yeong-tak (Lee Byung-hun) at the centre, they create new rules only for residents while thoroughly blocking the entry of outsiders. Thanks to this, unlike the hellish world outside, the utopian apartments are extremely safe and peaceful for the residents. In an endless crisis for survival, however, an unexpected conflict begins among them.  The film was South Korea’s entry for Best International Feature for the upcoming Academy Awards but it did not make the shortlist.  It was not very good and the Orwellian society created is not credible and a poor man’s version of ANIMAL FARM.

BADLANF HUNTERS takes up the story post-earthquake transformation of Seoul into an apocalyptic wasteland, where everything from law and order to civilization has collapsed.  Though touted as a sequel, this film has nothing similar to CONCRETE UTOPIA, except maybe the stunning special effects.  The premise still has the same earthquake that turns Seoul into a lawless badland.   Nam San, a fearless huntsman, goes on to rescue a teenager from Yang Gi-su, a mad doctor, who held the teenager captive in a camp full of dangerous cultists.  When the film begins, the mad doctor was resurrecting his dying daughter, FRANKENSTEIN STYLE when the earthquake occurs.  This film is more of an action flick than a drama, another difference between the two films.

The film is directed by martial arts director Heo Myung-haeng in his debut directorial feature and produced by Climax Studios, Big Punch Pictures and Nova film .  As a low-expectation action flick, it succeeds as a different sequel to CONCRETE UTOPIA.  The main actor, An Ji-hye, who plays a special forces sergeant Eun-ho, performed 99% of her action scenes in the film. 

The film opens in theatres in South Korea on January 26th and is available for streaming here on Netflix. 

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BEHIND THE HAYSTACKS (Greece 2022) ****Directed by Vladimir Anastasov

BEHIND THE HAYSTACKS is a powerful and timely drama, Greece’s submission for Best International Film at this year’s Oscars that swept the 2023 Hellenic Film Awards capturing Best Film and Best Director among its 10 category wins.  The film did not meet the Oscar Best International Feature shortlist but the film is still impressive and a pretty worthy watch.

BEHIND THE HAYSTACKS is set in 2015 when several European countries had closed their borders, resulting in hundreds of refugees and immigrants being trapped near the northern borders of Greece.

The film begins at a picnic party by the lake, Lake Dorian.  Three kids playing by the shore discover two dead bodies - the incident which is laughed upon and dismissed by the adults.  What does this introduction have to do with the rest of the movie?  The reason does not become apparent until at least a third through.

Doiran Lake is a lake with an area of 43.1 km² shared between North Macedonia and Greece. To the west is the city of Nov Dojran, to the east the village of Mouries, to the north the mountain Belasica/Beles, and to the south the Greek town of Doiranh the film.  The two dead are likely refugees trying to cross the lake for a better life.

The subject of the film is Stergios, a middle-aged fisherman living on the border of Greece with North Macedonia near Doiran Lake who finds himself in deep debt. He begins trafficking immigrants* across the border, in exchange for a large sum. His wife, a housewife and devout parishioner, seeks truth, while her daughter attempts to define her own life in an oppressive environment. Then a tragic incident hits the family, pushing the three heroes to confront their own impasses and personal weaknesses, while having to consider, for the first time in their lives, the price to pay for their actions.

The story of the film unfolds in three chapters, titled Stergios, Maria and Anastasia.  The technique has been done beef in other films sorry, I cannot recall the titles) but it is an intriguing technique only done a few times in films.  The same identical story within the same timeline is told from different points of view.  In this story, there are similar incidents.  These include Anastasia going to a birthday nightclub dance against her father’s wishes and knowledge and thus not returning home after a fight with her dad after she is found out; a  tragic incident involving the droning of refugees trying to cross the Lake using Stergios’ fishing boat; Maria's brother’s Stergiostroublesome meddling that gets the family into trouble with the law; the coop and farming;  family tensions; Maria’s work at the church and the family financial problems.

Stergios is not the perfect father but he tries.  The same can be said about Maria but this is a decent family who strives to survive amidst circumstances out of their control and often against them.  In Greece's entry for this year's Best International Feature Oscar, Director Anastasov has crafted a delicate and powerful film about a family trying to survive in a harsh and cruel world.

The film opens on January 26th on SVOD (Streaming VOD)

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(Please see below on how to view this film.   The film can be seen on the newly launched channel on Prime Video called

FILM MOVEMENT PLUS.  FILM MOVEMENT PLUS (www.filmmovementplus.com) opens up a world of provocative, compelling, and award-winning films. Priced at $5.99 per month with a free 7-day trial, the SVOD subscription service is currently available as a Prime Video Channel and on  Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, mobile (iOS and Android), Chromecast, and most Samsung Smart TV.)

FOUR DAUGHTERS (France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia 2023) ***½

Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania

FOUR DAUGHTERS is a film about the four daughters of Olga, a Tunisian, the film’s French title being LES FILLES D’OLFA.    This is hardly the subject of a film that might sound interesting to a male audience but this prize winner for Best Documentary at this year’s Cannes Festival is a powerful piece of filmmaking that both genders should watch.  At Cannes 2023, FOUR DAUGHTERS won the L’Oeil d’or for best documentary.  Using actors to fill in the gaps, the film documents the story of Olfa, a Tunisian mother of four daughters, with her two eldest disappearing as teenagers.  The two have been taken away by a wolf, Olfa says of the two older daughters on camera while the two youngest daughters Eya and Tayssir (as themselves) are still living with her.   The missing ones are Ghofrane (Ichraq Matar) and Rahma (Nour Karoui).  Olfa plays herself, with actor Hend Sabri also standing in.  Majd Mastoura plays all the disappointing men – Olfra’s husband, her lover whom the kids initially see as a step-dad and a Tunisian officer who refuses to help.  Olga gets too emotionally involved, which is the reason she got an actor to play herself.  The doc examines the problem Olfa and her daughters have with their bodies - a problem that exists and continues to pose problems.  They argue if a woman’s body should belong only to her husband or only to the woman alone and no one else.  Director Tania also shows that the problem is partly due to Olfa besides the chauvinistic men.

One can appreciate the hardship faced by a family made up only of women.  According to Olga, the family would be attacked by men, sometimes breaking down the door of their house.  The eldest daughter confesses that she would dress like a man, and take up Martial Arts so as to beat up the attackers to protect the family.  The audience gets to see a different society - in Tunisia, where the male dominates.  The girls also claim that swearing is very common among any Tunisian family.

Director Hanai brings pathos and gets her audience emotionally involved with the five women.  She leaves the mystery of the reason the two older sisters disappear.  Will they reunite with the family?  That is the question director Tania leaves for the audience to guess for the rest of the film.

FOUR DAUGHTERS is an unforgettable and compelling documentary about female abuse with a strong statement that the female gender is just as strong as the male and will do anything to prove themselves and to survive.  The audience is also given a revealing and educational tour of a society that is mired in male dominance.

FOUR DAUGHTERS premiered at Cannes winning the Best Documentary Prize and was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and is opening this week in theatres.  A remarkable film that should be seen to be believed!  The film is also nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar.

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RU (Canada 2023) ***

Directed by Charles-Olivier Michaud

Based on the Governor General’s Award–winning novel by Kim Thúy who also serves as producer of the film, RU is the story of the arduous journey of a wealthy family fleeing from Vietnam in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, then spending time at a refugee camp in Malaysia, before landing in Quebec.   The story is told from the point of view of the daughter of the family, Nguyen An Tinh.  The mother is also called An Tiny but in Vietnamese, the names have different meanings for different types of ‘peace’ from the different characters used that sound the same in English or French.  There is not much story in the film, the story is replaced by experiences of what the family goes through from the time the soldiers break into the house in Vietnam to their selling in winter Montreal.  The art direction is nothing short of superb, down to the very detail of the ‘stubby’ beer bottles used during the time.  The Canadians are shown their best, thanks to Canadian director Michaud, where hospitality and kindness are shown to strangers looking for sympathy and a new home.

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TOTEM (Mexico/Denmark/France 2023) ***

Directed by Lila Aviles

In 1996, French director. Jacques Dillon broke new ground with his gut-wrenching film of how a 4-year-old coped with her mother’s sudden death in PONETTE. This January, two films feature young girls coping with death  One is MOJA & VESNA and the other reviewed here is Mexico’s entry for the Oscars, TOTEM, already shortlisted.

Sol, a seven-year-old girl, goes to her grandfather's home, where her aunts Nuri and Alejandra are throwing a surprise birthday party for her father, Tony who is suffering from cancer but refusing to do chemo,  It is probably his last, so in a sense it is also a farewell ceremony.  With the onset of dusk, an unfamiliar and unrestrained atmosphere takes over, breaking the family bonds.  For Sol, the world is about to change as she learns the essence of letting go and feels the breath of life.

Director Aviles does not restrict the film only on Sol.  Though the film shows her point of view, the film also shows the fractured relationships among the family members.

.  The sisters end up with a heated argument in the kitchen while the grandfather, who needs aid in speaking, is unhappy with the situation at hand.

Though mostly dead serious in nature director Aviles opens up her film in a comical segment where a sister hires the services of a medium to ward off the bad sprites in the house- a procedure that the grandfather dismisses as Satanic activity and another family member as just plain crazy stuff.  The sister is at the end of the procedure convinced by the medium to pay 3,000 pesos unread of 2,000 because the medium says it is much harder work and she had expected and that she has to rest the following three days,

Though Aviles’ film is engrossing for the most part, it does lose steam and it gets distracted when the focus of the film moves away from Sol.  Also with the inclusion of Sol’s young cousin, there is an additional point of view.  But Naíma Sentíes plays the young Sol with charm and innocence.

At best the film succeeds in looking at a child’s musings of death and time, trying to make sense of what is happening, and not so effective are the problems and skeletons brought out of the closet during the party by the there clan members.  What also deserves mention is Tona’s reaction to his surprise party - his mood swings from depressing to joyous especially seeing all his clan members donning masks made upon his face.  And director Aviles stays away from sentimentality and sappiness.

TOTEM was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 20 February 2023. It is a co-production between Mexico, Denmark and France.  It also received critical acclaim and was named one of the top five international films of 2023 by the National Board of Review.  TOTEM opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on January 25th. 

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UNDER THE FIG TREES (Tunisia 2021) ***

Directed by Erie Sehiri

UNDER THE FIG TREES takes place over the course of a warm summer day at a Tunisian fig orchard. As a group of workers collect the summer’s harvest, the cover of fig branches creates a space for flirting, drama, and deep connections.  The film begins with a truck carrying a group of workers – mainly teenagers, as well as some seasoned older women – arriving at a fig orchard in rural Tunisia, and the workday begins. Some of the workers flirt, and others pick fights. Some neglect their work, while others report to the boss, and the oldest of the group teaches the teens the art of fig harvesting. Although the work is hard and repetitive, the orchard becomes a kind of sanctuary for some of the workers, an opportunity to escape the gaze of society, speak freely and share secrets with each other.
Despite what sounds like a slow film with not much going on, director Sehiri works out some dramatic moments that reveal the orchard’s working environment.  A young worker is sent home without pay by the supervisor because he has broken a branch, though by accident, twice.  Breaking a branch of a fig tree is like breaking an arm, the audience learns.  The young worker begs of another chance to no avail. The audience notices the boy as he picks up the figs from a bucket turned over.  Such is the hard life and life lessons to be learnt.  

As for romance, there is a young girl and boy who meet in the orchard after some years of separation.  They share their feelings.

If one thinks the film concerns dated issues, modern social media and Twitter, Tik Tok and others are talked about during a break when the workers sit down UNDER THE FIG TREES to share their meals and chat, and yes flirt.  The girls also know how to talk dirty while remaining respectable at the same time.  Jealous and fights also break out with the girls arguing about flirting with their men.

Current social issues are brought up as well as how the Tunisians drove out the French, with male and female contributions brought to light

Though fiction, the film could also play as a documentary.   The film is an easy watch, no concentration is needed, and no stress is required either, just observation of the Tunisian workers.

The audience is given a lesson on the local way of life, both the differences as well as the similarities with North America.    What makes us question then is whether human beings are really any different from one another.

Director Erige Sehiri allows the film’s focus to flow elegantly from one character to the next, and their dreams, prospects, and predicaments. In many cases, their situations represent larger political issues, casting the group of harvesters as a microcosm of the society they belong to.  But Under the Fig Trees is first and foremost a warm and compassionate ensemble drama, and watching it feels like spending a satisfying and eventful day in the sun.

UNDER THE FIG TREES was last year’s (2023) Tunisia’s submission for the Best International Feature Academy Award (this year - Tunisia’s documentary entry  FOUR DAUGHTERS made the shortlist.  The film premieres via Digital and VOD on January 26th, 2024.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 04 January 2024

FILM REVIEWS:

FROM THE ASHES (Saudi Arabia) ***1/2

Directed by Khaled Fahad

Films set in a girl’s school have always been more than interesting fodder.  And even more so for this film that is from Saudi Arabia.  Peter Weir broke into the film industry with PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK about a disappearance during a school outing while Maggie Smith won the Best Actress Oscar for THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE as a teacher in an all-girls school.

From the ashes is a metaphor related to the mythological phoenix.  In the film with the title that borrows from the metaphor, a seemingly normal school day ends in unthinkable disaster when a mysterious fire breaks out in the school basement. Chaos, panic, and confusion prevail among students and teachers.

At the film’s start, the words inform the audience that the film is based on true events but incidents are fictionalized to enhance the storytelling process.  This becomes apparent as the film unfolds as the incidents that unfold are humorous and terribly entertaining.  The audience sees very entertaining teachers as well as students.  The disciplinary mistress at the start of the school day goes around the assembly checking nails and makeup while picking out offenders to report to the principal’s office.  The schoolgirls are also rebelliously funny making side remarks constantly.  One incident involved the disciplinary mistress confiscating gum from a student who had hidden the gum in her socks.  As the girls turn to walk away, one girl pulls out another stick of gum from her bra and pops the gum into her mouth while the teacher, her back to the students puts the gum she has confiscated into her own mouth.  But the film soon turns to a more serious tone as fire breaks out and arson is suspected.  The film also plays like a whodunit.  Who locked Amira in the storeroom that caused her death during the fire?  And who caused the fire?  Amira’s mother accuses the principal of the daughter’s death and the principal takes it upon herself to do the investigation.  Suspects like Amira’s classmate enemies are discovered and the hunt goes on in this quite interesting film

Director Fahad devotes equal time to the personalities of the teachers and the students.  Samira, always the ‘best student’ each week is picked upon and bullied.  The principal is always busy with her court case, and her appointed stand-in dislikes taking over her responsibilities when she is away.  Will the fire bring everyone together?  The script emphasizes women’s rights as it opens a discussion on how far a female should cover her body - up to the wrist.  Are women inferior to men or is the reason that men can be easily tempted?  The film goes on to show that what occurs in this all-female school is not much different than what would occur in an all-boys school and females have all the trials, tribulations and challenges like any other male.

FROM THE ASHES is a surprisingly entertaining Saudi Arabian film under the radar that deserves a look from its both entertaining and social standpoint,

FROM THE ASHES is a Netflix original movie from Saudi Arabian and opens for streaming on Thursday, January 18th, Thursday.  The film is billed as a drama and a thriller but it also plays as an entertaining comedy.

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IN THE MORNING OF LA PETITE MORT (Taiwan 2023) **

Directed by Wang Yu-Lin

Despite the part French title, there is nothing French about this film.

From the award-winning Taiwanese director Wang Yu-Lin (SEVEN DAYS IN HEAVEN), arrives what the film’s poster calls a provocative boundary-pushing erotic drama.  Whether the last adjective can be applied is arguable as this film bears quite many resemblances with fellow Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang, especially sharing common traits with Tsai’s hit VIVE L’AMOUR.

The similarities include the fact that both films deal with sex, both have characters who ride a motorcycle and both films share a French title.  The feel of both films is also similar, the way the incidents unfold, in a cinema-verite manner, which perhaps accounts for the films’ French titles.  In IN THE MORNING OF LA PETITE MORT, there is a scene in which an older Filipino woman comes and lies beside Matsui, the male protagonist, caressing his side tenderly, but he’s not interested and does not reciprocate.  In VIVE L’MOUR an identical scene occurs when one male lies besides and caresses a sleeping other male.

Because Tsai’s film came out first, I would not call Wang’s film boundary-pushing. Both films are thankfully quite entertaining and engrossing, despite their artistic slant making both films a bit of a slow burn.

IN THE MORNING OF LA PETITE MORT follows Matsui (Yusuke Fukuchi), a homeless food delivery driver by motorbike, who spends his days and nights traveling from destination to destination without any place to find true solace.  He temporarily houses himself in an abandoned building, often very cold at night,  Longing to make a connection, he becomes infatuated with a beautiful young prostitute Ching (Wang Yun-Chih).  On Matsui’s day off, he summons his courage to enlist Ching’s sex services.  It is shown while Ching is never intimate with any of her other clients, who are mostly elderly and unattractive, she is quite intimate, allowing kissing with Matsui, showing that she is attracted to him.  But her sudden disappearance drags him deeper into depression.  Disheartened, Matsui rejects the warmth and compassion of Helen (Huei-Ling Jan), a middle-aged Filipino cleaner, who is constantly harassed by Wang (Jieh-Wen King), the security guard inside her apartment complex.

IN THE MORNING OF LA PETITE MORT explores the fleeting relationships of four individuals driven by unfulfilled desires and emotionally detached from the cruel world that surrounds them.  Director Wang paints a grim view of life with little chance of hope or parts that would improve the individual’s lives.  His characters are stuck in the rut of mundane daily routines, and the need to be loved.  The depressing film arrives in the depressing month of January when all the festivities are over and winter sets in.  To Wang’s credit, despite the slow pace of his film, his characters are sympathetic and the audience can sympathize if not care for each individual one

Like Tsai’s VIVE L’AMOUR, the characters in the film are those living on the fringes ofthe city mostly rejecting trying to etch out some meaning in their lives.

IN THE MORNING OF LA PETITE MORT opened on VOD & DIGITAL  on January 19th, 2023.

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THE KITCHEN (UK 2023) ***

Directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya.

Yet another film about stealing and possessing land.  Films like THE KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, AS BESTAS (THE BEASTS), and the upcoming films, LOS COLONOS (THE SETTLERS) and THE PROMISED LAND all share this common trait.  In the new Netflix British dystopian futuristic film, social housing has been sold, one estate at a time to wealthy developers and those in the housing are forced to evacuate.  Of course, many do not.

In a dystopian future in London in the 2040s, where all social housing has been eliminated, one of the only ones left is THE KITCHEN.  The audience is introduced to this estate in the morning through the radio DJ host who broadcasts over the estate.  He is Lord Kitchener (Ian Wright) who broadcasts both sly remarks and upbeat music over the waves. The film contains a wicked R&B soundtrack.  The film slowly descends into the two subjects a man and a boy. Izi (Kane Robinson) and Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) fight to navigate the world as residents of The Kitchen - a community that refuses to abandon their homes.  Izi meets Benji at Kenji’s mother’s funeral, he works in the funeral home, which he dislikes.  (Izi appears to dislike everything.)  Izi used to date Genji’s mother; Benji figures that his real father would be at his mum’s funeral.  So the bonding could well be a father/son relationship.  It is revealed later on in the film through Benji’s words to Izzi that this is so.  “My mother told me that my father worked at the funeral home ‘Life After Life’ and lived in THE KITCHEN.”  He goes on to add that she told him that he never loved her but could love him.  The film’s display of these relationships however is often distracted by the loud surroundings of the film’s futuristic setting

The future of the film looks not much different from the present -with lots of noisy people, electronics and loud music.  There is 3D imagery and usage in the public washrooms and government drones that constantly hovering around the buildings.  In contrast, the residents of THE KITCHEN use banging of pots and pans from their buildings to warn others of police raids.

The year 2044 is not that far off from the present of 2024 - around 20 years,  For this reason, many of the scenes showing the old London estate THE KITCHEN look like the present London flat estates.

The film eventually morphs into a film about the relationship between Izi and Benji with the social commentary on land taking a step back.  Essentially, it becomes a story of two lonely souls who finally have found a reason to make sense of all the trouble surrounding their lives.

THE KITCHEN had its world premiere at the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2023, with generally favourable reviews.   It was released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2024 before its streaming debut by Netflix on 19 January 2024.  It opens for streaming in North America as well on the 19th.

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MEMORY (USA/Chile/Mexico 2023) ***½

Directed by Michel Franco

MEMORY begins with an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in which individuals share their experiences.  It feels like a documentary on AA as the testimonies sound real and gut-wrenching.  (Real AA members were used in the scene.)  This is until the audience sees Jessica Chastain who plays Sylvia in the meeting, Sylvia who has succeeded for more than 13 years without having a drink.  However, the audience learns that this individual has other problems.  She locks the door and is over-conservative in her safety.  The reason is soon made clear as she was sexually abused when she was in high school.  She comes as what one would call ‘damaged goods’.   This is the story of Sylvia who meets another man who falls in the same category of ‘damaged goods’.  He is Saul, a man suffering from dementia.

Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past.

One must give credit to director Franco for his keenly observed and meticulously executed scenes.  These help the audience both identify and sympathize with the characters.  One is the beginning segment where Saul follows Sylvia back from the High School Reunion party.  Sylvia leaves the party when Saul moves to sit beside her at the table and to her consternation, she sees him following her back  The scene on the subway platform is impressive.  The audience sees her looking at him while he looks away and him looking at her when she looks away.  The scene is so much like what happens in real life when one tries to observe without being observed.  The other is a sensitive scene where the two are in the living room watching a movie.  When Sylvia returns to the living room, she asks him what has happened in the movie.  He replies that he can rewind the movie.  Sylvia realizes he has dementia while he remarks that he never can watch a movie because of it.

Peter Sarsgaard and Jessica Chastain both deliver nuanced and credible performances.  They are key to the movie and they indeed make the movie.

MEMORY plays like a very depressing version of SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.  The film has a January opening as it would be difficult to watch such a depressing film during December the festive season.  On the other hand, in January in depressing winter, many would avoid more depression by watching a depressing film.  There can never be a good time to watch a depressing film, but if one wants to go against the flow, the well-crafted MEMORY is a challenging, demanding and satisfying watch, a case where one has to work for one’s entertainment that comes as satisfaction rather than joy or laughter.  But be not mistaken that the film is scattered with a few jokes, some laugh-out-loud funny.

Memory premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 8 September 2023 and had its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. on 10 September 2023.  The film was scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 22, 2023, and opens in theatres in Toronto on January 15th.

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MOJA & VESNA (Australia/Slovenia 2022) ****

Direct by Sara Kovacic

In 1996, French director. Jacques Dillon broke new ground with his gut-wrenching film of how a 4-year-old coped with her mother’s sudden death in PONETTE. This January, two films feature young girls coping with death  One is MOJA & VESNA, reviewed here and the other is Mexico’s entry for the Oscars, TOTEM, already shortlisted.

In MOJA & MO+VESNA, the young 10-year-old girl tries to mend her fractured family (elder sister and father) following the sudden death of the mother (not shown but detailed later on in the film) in this extremely delicate and devastating drama from down under. The family is Slovenian and the film is an Australian Slovenian co-production,   The film has already won not only numerous awards from international film festivals but surely will win one’s heart as well.

Ten-year-old Moja (Loti Kovacic) lives with her grief-stricken Slovenian father, Milos (Gergor Bakovic) and pregnant twenty-year-old sister, Vesna (Mackenzie Mazur) in the outer suburbs of Melbourne.  Unable to accept the reality of her mother’s sudden passing, Moja instead focuses on preparing for the baby while Vesna struggles to take responsibility as an expecting parent.  Mona treats her sister more like a mother.   Despite the growing strain in their relationship, Moja pushes on, hoping in vain that Vesna will eventually fill the "mother-shaped   She leads them to believe that Vesna is her mum.

As expected from the story laid out in the synopsis, the subject is heart-breaking stuff and director Kovacic knows how to pull and stretch those heartstrings she does from start to finish.

The film hangs on and features a "revelatory" performance by Loti Kovacic, playing Moja and hailed as "one of the best Australian features in recent memory" (FilmInk).  The young actress demonstrates the innocence and maturity of a young child forced into immediate adulthood by dire circumstances.  If this performance does not move you, nothing will.

The film often shows Mona as the most mature and the one most able to deal with her mother’s death.  There is one moving scene in which Vesna questions Mona on what she would do in a certain situation and when she gives the most obvious and appropriate answer, Vesna replies that Mona does not understand the question or understand her,

Director Kovacic alternates between steady cam and handheld camera, the latter more effective, as there is less distraction from the jittery framing.  She loves to film scenes from a well-staged setup.  One of the best and most intimate scenes is the one at the dinner table where the father recalls a past memory, a very funny one that gets the whole family (and the audience) laughing when Vesna got a swollen face from a sickness when she was 4.

MOJA & VESNA, nominated for a Generation Kplus Crystal Bear and the GWFF Best First Feature Award at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival, is the debut feature from writer/director Sara Kern who adapted the film from her award-winning short Vesna Goodbye.  The film makes its North American premiere on SVOD service Indiepix Unlimited on January 19, 2024.

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MY LONELINESS HAS WINGS (Mi Soldad Tiens Alas) (Caged Wings) (Spain 2023) ***

Directed by Mario Casas

From Spain, this Netflix original movie premieres this week on Netflix in North America though it opened in theatres in Spain last year.  It is an energetic enough youth drama involving Dan and his relationships with his girl, his grandmother, and his father.  the film is the directorial debut of Mario Casas who casts his brother Oscar in the lead role.  The film loses steam quite fast, limited by the material, though certain parts of the film show promise for the young director.

The film opens with a smash and grad in the middle of the night in the city of Barcelona, sirens blaring as the trio of thieves get away on a bike.  They sell their wars and end up in a club, getting wasted while flirting around with the locals.  The film then focuses on Dan (Oscar Casas, the handsome lead), a young man with a talent for art, especially street art graffiti.  Dan dreams of going to Berlin to start a new life from scratch. His day-to-day life is spent between parties and alcohol with his two friends, Reno, another energetic youth and Vio, a beautiful girl.   The romance between Vo and Dan is hinted at, though they remain good friends. Drama eventually rears its head and Dan has to figure out his life in this coming-of-age story with a different twist.  Not too and a film button too good either,

MY LONELINESS HAS WINGS (Mi Soldad Tiens Alas) is available for streaming on Netflix on January 19th.

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THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE (Das Leherzimmer)(Germany 2023) ***** Top10

Directed by İlker Çatak

Germany’s entry for Best International Feature for the upcoming Oscars in 2024 that made the shortlist, THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE is a riveting and compelling drama set in a school in which all hell breaks loose after systematic racism rears its ugly head.  THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE is where most of the drama takes place.  

The film follows a newly hired 6th grade teacher, an enthusiastic Carla hired to teach gym and mathematics.  She gains the respect of her class initially and everything appears to go well until a series of thefts occur at the school (hints of THE WINSLOW BOY) and one of her students is suspected (with hints of covert racism). 

Carla is outraged and decides to get to the bottom of the matter on her own.  But her sleuthing finds her up against outraged parents, opinionated colleagues and aggressive students, causing everyone to turn against her.   Adding to the suspense are the film’s stabbing music and a backdrop of endless hallways that Carla traverses looking for an answer.   In the midst of it all, are the adults trying to solve the problem by finding a viable solution using all their adult experience and education.  The school principal herself has a doctorate and at one point in the film tells her staff: “Let me use my experience to solve the problem.”  She also resorts to a democratic vote as to what action should be taken.  A cautionary tale evoking raw emotions!

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 31 December 2023

January of the New Year is known for its lack of outstanding films.  This is true this year as well but there will be exceptions.  One is the Italian gay drama based on a true incident called FIREWORKS which arrives on VOD on the 18th.  ALL OF US STRANGERS is another exception opening later in January.

FILM REVIEW:

BITCONNED (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Bryan Storkel

One of  Netflix’s new movies opening the week of January 2024, is BITCONNED, the docu-film about Ray Trapani’s crypto scam and the rise and fall of his company Centra Tech. 

A bit of background first is needed on what Bitcoin is to appreciate the documentary.  Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Nodes in the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network verify transactions through cryptography and record them in a public distributed ledger, called a blockchain, without central oversight.  Use of Bitcoin as a currency began in 2009, with the release of its open-source implementation.  In 2021, El Salvador adopted it as legal tender.[Bitcoin is currently used more as a store of value and less as a medium of exchange or unit of account. It is mostly seen as an investment and has been described by many scholars as an economic bubble.  As bitcoin is pseudonymous, its use by criminals, including the one featured in the doc, has attracted the attention of regulators, leading to its ban by several countries as of 2021.  Trapani foresaw the scamming g potential of bitcoin trading in the form of conversion for use via a debit card and started the ball rolling with his group of conspirators.

Trapani and his co-conspirators claimed that they "developed platforms that connect world commerce and cryptocurrencies.”  This was the Centra Card, which operated much like any other debit card, allowing "cardholders to spend their cryptocurrencies in all fiat currency transactions.”  The company claimed that its Currency Conversion Engine (CCE) Module would "enable customers to convert their blockchain assets to market value fiat to obtain near-perfect exchange rates.”  The company's investors were essentially duped into purchasing "unregistered stocks in the form of digital tokens.”

The doc shows Trapani to be an extremely interesting person, which of course, makes the doc more interesting.  Ever since he could learn to talk, the audience is told, he would say he always wanted to make money.  When he grew up, like other kids who wanted to be a doctor or lawyers, he wanted to become a criminal.  Trapani is interviewed in the doc and speaks candidly of his beliefs, regardless of the consequences of what he is saying, again making the doc more interesting.  When finally accosted by the FBI, he cooperated fully with the government resulting in him serving no jail time.  This involves ratting out all his co-conspirators all of whom serve jail time.  Truth be told, Ray Trapani should be the one in prison.

The doc should be less interesting to those uninterested in the Bitcoin business but still should be informative and educational enough to be deemed a worthwhile watch.  For those in the know, BITCONNED is not only informative but insightful providing views from both sides of the story on the bitcoin scam devised by Ray Trapani.  On a personal note, this film reviewer has absolutely no sympathy for financial scammers, as the reviewer has been scammed as well, thankfully for only a paltry sum.  They deserve the maximum punishment allowed by law.

BITCONNED is currently streaming on Netflix from the New Year.

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GOOD GRIEF (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Daniel Levy

When his husband, Oliver (Luke Evans)  unexpectedly dies in a taxi accident during Christmas and it is revealed in the Christmas card that he has another love in Paris, Marc's (Daniel Levy) world understandably shatters, sending him and his two best friends on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face.

The Christmas song “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is played in the coffee shop where Marc meets his lawyer to discuss the past finances of his late partner only to discover the awful truth that the spending included two people, the other not being himself.  Realizing that his partner had been seeing someone else mass it was one of the most awful times of his life, after spending a year in mourning.  The Christmas song serves as a stark contrast used to highlight the situation.

Daniel Levy is quick with his comedic wit and has been more than hilarious, as observed in his successful television hint SHITT’S CREEK is more ink comedic check here.  Though the humour is present, it is only slight, an example lies in the segment when the title of the film, GOOD GRIEF suddenly appears on the screen, at the film’s beginning.

Written by Levi, it is interesting to note the character's personality, Marc has written and chosen to play.  Marcus is a character that is pitiful yet not paretic, someone that the audience needs to feel sorry for.  But he can be a bit of a prick when he invites his two best friends to Paris because he needs support as to what he can dig up on Oliver’s past.  The characters Levy pens share common traits of being painful bitches half the time.  His best friend Thomas (Himesh Patel) is nothing more of a complainer who blames others rather than himself and the girl, Sophie (Ruth Negga), self-effacing, comes across as too coy and annoying.  Do all gay written characters behave this way?  Oliver, Marc’s deceased husband, however, has the personality of a straight man, confident, cheating on a relationship and able to command respect and success at work.

Performances are credible.  A bit of heavyweight casting is of British actress Celia Imrie as Marc’s lawyer.  She is an Olivier award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress, a Variety magazine 'Icon' and Women in Film and Television 'Lifetime Achievement award' winner.  Her role as a lawyer includes some pivotal advice she gives to Maqrc.

To Levy’s credit, Director Levy’s film contains a few bright spots.  One is the realization that one can still do shady shitty stuff to someone one loves.  The opening scene in which Oliver designs and delivers the Christmas song, sung in parts among the guests is a scene extremely well done, with soundtrack, editing, performances and all.

GOOD GRIEF is an impressive first full-length feature, a bit sappy but still, a film that nevertheless surpasses the typical cliched and often forced theatrical sincerity.  Daniel Levy, who has started his own production company, while making a deal with Netflix, is a talent to be reckoned with, undoubtedly and one hopes he will be able to surprise his fans in the future.

GOOD GRIEF, a Netflix original, opens for streaming on Netflix this week January 5th.

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HE WENT THAT WAY (USA 2023) **

Directed by Jeff Darling

Set in 1964, HE WENT THAT WAY is a taut thriller based on a true crime story, based on Conrad Hilberry's non-fiction book entitled Luke Karamazov that puts a wicked spin on the buddy road trip film.  The film follows 19-year-old serial killer Bobby (Jacob Elordi) as he is picked up by a celebrity animal handler, Jim (Zachary Quinto), on a desolate stretch of Route 66 with priceless cargo in tow, Jim's chimpanzee, Spanky, an American TV darling. As stress between Bobby and Jim rises and their fiery personalities combust, the road only becomes more treacherous the farther they go.

The serial killer Bobby’s real name is Larry Lee Reeves while Jim’s is Dave Pitts.  Have the real names been changed to protect the innocent or the guilty?

HE WENT THAT WAY is basically a male-oriented movie with males leading the cast of characters and a male writer (Evan M. Weiner) and director (Jeff Darling).  Even the film title has the word ‘he’ in it.  Females are largely missing in the film.  William’s wife is only heard over the telephone and never seen in person.  A bartender mentions his daughter in conversation but the daughter is never shown.  The teen girl seen at the gas station is just shown for a fleeting moment and has not much use otherwise in the tale.  The two teen partiers who end up in the motel room are shown sleeping for the most time.

Though described in the press note as a thriller, the film can hardly be described as a thriller but rather than a drama of the relationship between the two men of opposites - one of timid nature and the other too brave for his own good.

The film hardly holds much interest besides the emphasis at the start that this film is based on a true story and that it is almost impossible to guess where this true story will lead to or end.  This raises high hopes for the audience that does not come to fruition.  It is hard to identify less feel sympathetic for two losers on the road.  The first and main character Jim is a spineless being, who is used by his brother-in-law for a loan and then never paid back.   When confronting the brother-in-law he is humiliated.  When he meets Bobby, Bobby taunts and robs Jim while making Jim obey his every need.  Jim tries to change Bobby to become a better person, but this attempt fails as well.  There is also little suspense and little humour in the story.

The film is dedicated to the director Jeff Darling (this is his first film) who died in a surfing accident in March 2022 in Sydney, Australia.

The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 9, 2023.  In October 2023, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film. It is scheduled to be released in a limited release on January 5, 2024, before video on demand on January 12, 2024.

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PRIME (South Africa 2023) **

Directed by Thabiso Christopher

PRIME, a new feature set in  South Africa is about the past traumas and buried prejudice of a proud young man, Marius (Richard Gau), who threatens to push away his loving and devoted partner, Thembi (Nomsa Twala), when his racist father dies. Marius's unwillingness to forgive his father for causing his mother's suicide and his determination to not be a failure like his father pushes him to the max as he tries to keep a major project at work, one that's threatened to be taken away from him to satisfy empowerment requirements.  Added to this is Thembi's silent struggle at having lost an opportunity at a new job and being assaulted by a friend, which she struggles to speak to Marius about.  Marius witnesses the friend kissing her, but not the part where she rejects the friend.  This results in the perfect storm for the couple, a storm that is taken advantage of by Eva, an ancient demon who preys on men's souls through seduction and manipulation.

The horror part regarding Eva does not occur till after the halfway mark in the film.

January, the month right after Christmas and New Year, especially in the dead of winter is considered by many as one of the most depressing months of the year, not helped by normally mediocre films after a past of big festive season films.  PRIME is an extremely slow-moving and depressing film about a protagonist who mopes and sulks half the time.  Marius is super-depressed after his father’s death and cannot bring himself to reunite with his family, though the reason given has something to do with the inheritance and his mother's suicide.  Marius hallucinates and time seems to always go backwards a few minutes.  His wife Thembie puts up with him, trying to get him to open up with her.

South African films are usually fast and furious, take the famous DISTRICT 9 films.  PRIME is a slow burn - the slowest South African film I have seen.  The lazy script, written by director Christopher omits many details such as the real reason Marius is at loggerheads with his family, or why he does not want to open up to his wife, or what his job is as chief engineer.  In one scene, Marius claims that he wants to do something useful with his life as chief engineer.  The script includes too many hallucinations and repeated dialogue that could have been omitted in the first place.

The film is not a pleasant watch for a number of reasons, the main one being the depressing and loser behaviour of the protagonist.  Director Christopher uses a lot of annoyances like stroking lights and high-pitched sounds to highlight the trauma faced by Marius.  The frequency of the handheld camera resulting in a jittery screen does not help either.

One wonders the reason Thembie puts up with Marius.  Marius never opens up to her, wears old clothes that stink and never keeps his appointments.  (What this appointment is also never made clear, but hinted as something to do with business.)

For a film set in South Africa, not much is seen of the place.  One assumes that the film is set in the capital of Cape Town.  There are scenes of the beach and the seas South Africa borders the sea.

PRIME is Thabisco Christopher’s first feature.  To his credit, he does invest a lot of time into his characters and this comes with his characters having solid personalities.

PRIME is not a Netflix original film but it premieres in South Africa on January 3rd  and opens on Netflix on January 5th, 2024.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 27 December 2023

FILM REVIEWS: 

Only new films opening this week are on Netflix.

HELL CAMP: TEEN NIGHTMARE (USA 2023) ***½

Directed by Lisa Williams

The film is about an American program designed to kick-start teenagers out of their rebellious ways.  These are called wilderness survival camps.  The ad in the paper goes like this:  Defiant teenager?  Is your teenager irresponsible, rebellious, or out of control?  Running with the wrong crowd?  Headed down a path with no future?  Help your son or daughter before it is too late.  Powerful 63-day wilderness survival program stops destructive behaviour and puts parents back in control.  Youth learn responsibility, discipline and appreciation for home and family.  This camp is the brainchild of 35-year-old Steve Cartisano.  This documentary reveals what actually went on in these camps.  Needless to say, if the ad does not whet your appetite, probably nothing will.

The film begins with a grown-up daughter telling of her experience as a young teen.  While her parents were out at night when she was in bed sleeping, she was awakened by two strangers - looking like, in her description mountain men.  She was driven by car to the airport and transported by a private plane.  She was asked if she wanted to know where she was going but she said no, in order not to show that she was afraid.  It dawned on her then that her parents had designed the kidnapping.  Celebrity Paris Hilton also talks about the abuse in these camps as she was also an alleged victim.

Besides being a doc about wilderness therapy survival camps run by Steve Cartisano, the doc is also a film about Cartisano.  Being such a unique and according to his children, every intelligent man, his character is intriguing and the time spent on him is definitely entertaining, if not fascinating.

Steve Cartisano, a key figure in wilderness therapy, is known for his unconventional methods and the ups and downs of the Challenger Foundation, which have left a lasting impact on the field.  The film traces his evolution from a military special forces officer to the founder of a well-known but controversial wilderness therapy program.  For a fee of around $16,000, Challenger housed teens for 63 days, providing wilderness therapy and nature exercises to address behavioural issues.  His wife and children are interviewees who speak candidly of the troubled family life - mainly because of the impending lawsuits faced by the company.  Beyond the legal and moral challenges associated with the Challenger Foundation, the narrative delves into Cartisano’s personal life, shedding light on his family. The story not only addresses the controversies surrounding Cartisano but also explores the broader effects of his career choices on his closest relationships.  It portrays him as a complex individual whose legacy extends beyond his professional endeavours, leaving an enduring impact on those who encounter it.

The doc could have spent more time on the effects of the program - whether the youths attending became better human beings.  One of the attendees says on camera that he resorted to his old ways within a few months.  This attendee was seen breaking down in tears when his father paid a surprise visit to his camp.  A few said they benefited.  One would be interested in what others had to say.

HELL CAMP is one of the most intriguing docs of the year for the reason of its subject.   The doc succeeds primarily because it encompasses a wide range of interviewees of everyone involved from the camp counselors, to the patients, to the parents to the investigators to Cartisano and his family.

THANK YOU, I’M SORRY (Tack och förlåt)(Sweden 2023) ***

Directed by Lisa Aschan

Sweden is not known for its comedies.  More like sombre films in the likes of Ingmar Bergman are most of what can be expected from Swede films.  But there are surprises.  The black comedy IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE remade into Hollywood’s COLD COMFORT with Liam Neeson is one example.  During the holiday week when new film openings are very scarce, Netflix has a slew of new films from different countries opening during the week from Christmas Day to New Year’s.  THANK YOU, I’M SORRY from Sweden is a welcome quite unusual comedy-drama - more drama than comedy, with a female slant that should put a smile or two on the faces of Netflix viewers.

Sara lives in a perfect nuclear family with Daniél, their little son, Eliot and soon a second child on its way.  But their life is to be turned upside down and the heavily pregnant Sara is suddenly left alone.  Daniél died in his sleep and was only discovered dead after a few days.  The reason is that the heavily pregnant Sara is sleeping on the couch.  Sara later reveals that Daniel has been cheating on her and that he hides booze around the house.  Her in-laws butt in and move into Sara’s life, much to her consternation and they wonder the reason Sara is not mourning her deceased husband.  But Sara has other problems.  Her father is in a care home and suffering from dementia.  At the film’s start, Sara gets a phone call from her father from his home asking her to find his slippers.  But the biggest problem appears to be her elder sister, Linda, who herself is facing problems with her boyfriend.  She wants to be away from him.  Sara’s help soon appears from a completely unexpected side when Sara's estranged older sister, Linda, a helpless immature adult with a big erratic dog named Zlatan (Eliot calls the dog Satan)offers to move in and help out.

THANK YOU, I’M SORRY could not be considered true comedy as a film as a whole as it deals with serious matters like family relationships.  But the serious matters are interspersed with humour like the part Sara throws a cell phone at her mother-in-law’s head causing her to get two stitches.  And then she has to go to therapy.  She does not get along with her sister either after telling her that she does not want to see her anymore.  The film’s humour is dry and deadpan, but is quite edgy humour, making the film quite an entertaining watch,  The director blends pathos and humour well.

Directed by Lisa Aschan and written by Marie Østerbye, two women, the film has a strong female slant with men appearing only in the background.  In the case of the film, it is a good thing to see their perspective on things,  skewed as they are - not because it is all female, but because it is skewed from the female point of view.

THANK YOU, I’M SORRY is an entertaining different family relationship comedy drama that is entirely watchable and light viewing.  The film opens for Netflix this week for streaming.

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