Bright Star, Paris and The Burning Plain (MOD)

Yesterday was a very busy movie day for me. I saw two films in the theater and one on Movies on Demand. When you work full time you have to cram things into a short amount of time.

Jane Campion's lovely Bright Star is the story of the romance between poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his last love Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Despite their love for each other it is impossible for Fanny to marry Keats because he is almost penniless. Back in those days a woman needed to marry a man who could take care of her. But the heart knows no reason and the two embark on a heartfelt but chaste love affair. We know how things turns out because Keats dies at the young age of 25. But that doesn't take away from the film.

Bright Star is beautiful to look at. Some of the scenery is breathtaking. The film starts off rather slowly and I think that the beginning of the film should have been trimmed a bit. But things soon pick up and I got involved with the story. Cornish is wonderful as Fanny. It is possible that she might get an Oscar nomination. I felt that Whishaw was a bit weak in his role and he only gets better when his character is getting sick. Paul Schneider plays Keats' cynical friend Charles Brown and he is truly amazing. Despite a few floors I recommend this film to anyone who loves (as I do) poetry and romance.

Paris is a marvelous new film by Cedric Klapisch. And after seeing the film I wonder why it took so long for it to arrive on our shores. There are many characters in this film and they are all a joy to watch.

Pierre (Romain Duris) used to work as a dancer. He is now facing a serious illness. He needs a heart transplant. He contacts his sister Elise (Juliette Binoche) who he hasn't seen in a while. She is a single social worker with three kids. When learning about her brother's illness she and the kids move into his apartment.

Roland (Fabrice Luchini) and Phillippe (Francois Cluzet) are brothers who are very different. Roland is a professor who falls for one of his students (Melanie Laurent). Phillipe has a young wife who is expecting a child.

These are just some of the characters we meet in the film. There are people who work in a farmer's market, a woman who owns a fancy gourmet food store and people who came from Africa to start a new life (and one who is trying to get to Paris) among others.

Klapisch directs the film in a crisp style and there is never a dull moment. All of the acting is terrific. The film has humor and pathos. You see that these people are just like you with their everyday problems. And they are part of the city, which is a character in the film. I just loved Paris and hope that you will too.

The Burning Plain was supposed to come to my local art theater but its run was canceled. I guess that might have been because it got such bad reviews. But I was curious about it and decided to see it on Movies on Demand. And I am not sorry that I did. Honestly, I can't understand why it did so poorly with the critics. But this is not the first time that I really liked a film and the critics didn't (the opposite has also happened - where they loved a film and I didn't).

The film is written and directed by Guillermo Arriaga. There are different strands that come together as one whole story. Gina (Kim Basinger) is a married woman who is having an affair with a married man. She also has had a health problem that has made her self conscious. Her daughter Marina (Jennifer Lawrence) finds out about the affair and is very upset about it. We also meet a woman (living in another place and time) named Sylvia (Charlize Theron) who has a pretty good job but seems to go from man to man and also seems very disturbed. And that is all I will say about the plot. You will have to see the film to find out what happens.

Arriaga wrote some fantastic screenplays for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. He also wrote a very good one for Tommy Lee Jones. This is his directing debut. You can see that he is not in Inarritu's category. He lacks the passion and intensity of Inarritu. But I still think that he made a compelling film. And the three above mentioned women are all terrific in their roles. The supporting cast was also very good. So I don't understand all of the negative reviews. I would say see this film on demand or wait for DVD but try to see it. It is a good solid drama.

Ballad of a Soldier

Ballad of a Soldier, directed by Grigori Chukhrai, is a true film classic. I truly love this film.

The story is a very simple one. Alyosha (Vladimir Ivaahov) is a 19 year old soldier fighting the Germans in 1943. He singlehandedly kills a number of Germans and is considered a war hero. He is offered a medal for his bravery but instead wants to visit his mother and repair the roof. But along the way his train connections don't always work out and he meets Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) and they fall in love. That is it. But it is so much more than that. This film really tugged at my heartstrings. By the end of the film I had tears in my eyes. A day after I saw it I am still thinking about it.

The film is beautifully shot. It is no wonder why it is used in many film classes. And the subtitles on the black and white background are perfectly clear.

The film was nominated for an Oscar and won a few awards. I don't want to say more about the film. It is better to see it. And see it you must because I said so!!

The Informant!

I admire Steven Soderbergh for taking risks and making different kinds of film. However, I usually find his films to be lacking something. And this is the case with his latest film The Informant!

The Informant! is based on a book by Kurt Eichenwald about whistle blower Mark Whitacre (played in the film by Matt Damon). Whitacre was a big shot at Archer Daniels Midland in the 90s and works with the FBI to bring the firm down due to illegal activities. I enjoyed the beginning of the film but the then things got a bit too convoluted for me. Whitacre talks out of both sides of his mouth and you eventually find out that he has some problems (I won't say what). The truth is, I was a bit tired when I went to see the film but I understood where it was trying to go and it didn't always work.

The Informant! tries to tell a serious story in a comedic way. That is great if you can pull it off but ultimately can't. I read a few reviews that compare it to Michael Mann's The Insider. That is absurd. The Insider is a great film. The Informant! is a somewhat entertaining one. It is by no means a bad film. Just not as great as some critics say it is.

I must give high praise to Damon. He was great in the role and certainly lifts the film up. I also enjoyed Melanie Lynsy as Whitacre's wife Ginger and Scott Bakula as FBI Agent Brian Shepard who becomes Whitacre's friend. After seeing the film I realized that this is the type of film that I should have seen on DVD. And that is my recommendation to you - see it but wait for the DVD.

DVD Mini Review - The International

Tom Tykwer does a good job of directing The International. It moves along a crisp pace and I liked the way it looked. I would say that it is a pretty good film. It could have been even better if screenwriter Eric Singer's script were sharper. But it is still worth a rental.

Inerpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and New York Assistant DA Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) team up to bring down an international bank who is doing many illegal things. However, this is not so easy (big surprise). The bank will stop at nothing, including murder, because what they do makes a profit.

The film held my interest and I thought that a lot of the plot is applicable to what goes on today. Owen is good but I thought that Watts' role should have been better written. She is a fine actress and her character needed more meat on her bones. The supporting cast, including Armin Mueller-Stahl, Brian F. O'Byrne and Ulrich Thomsen were all good.

The film will make you think about what is going on in the world today. So for that alone it is worth checking out. And then there is Clive Owen, who is an actor I always look forward to seeing. Well, that in a nutshell, is it.

Cloud 9

Andreas Dresen has created a wonderful, emotionally satisfying film with Cloud 9. And it breaks a big taboo as well. It is a geriatric love triangle between two men and a woman.

Inge (Ursula Werner) is a seamstress. She has been married to Werner (Horst Rehberg) for 30 years. Perhaps she was content with the marriage. But when you see them together you can tell that something is missing. While delivering a pair of pants she has fixed to Karl (Horst Westphal) something happens. They embark on a passionate love affair that changes her life.

There is quite a bit of sex in the film and full frontal nudity as well. This is done very tastefully and with dignity. In other words, it is very real. But you would not see something like this done by an American film studio.

I really don't want to say much about what happens. But I will say that the directing and acting are wonderful. Werner is amazing as the conflicted Inge. Just look at her face. I also liked the fact that Inge was not a skinny pickle who went to the gym. She was heavy and men still loved her. Anyway, I would love to say more about the film but time is always of the essence. But I highly recommend this mature look at love and sex later on in life.

DVD Mini Review - Crossfire

Crossfire, directed by Edward Dmytryk, is a most interesting film. It is a social commentary that is cloaked in a film noir murder mystery. The film, made in 1947, focuses on anti Semitism and hatred in general.

A man named Samuels (Sam Levene) is murdered. Detective Finlay (Robert Young) is letting no corner left unturned. He suspects that Samuels was murdered by a soldier.
But he questions a few and we are not sure who the murderer is until much later in the film (although there are clues). Included in the cast are Robert Mitchum as Keeley - a soldier who wants to get to the bottom of things, Robert Ryan as Montgomery - one of the last people to see Samuels arrive and Gloria Grahame as Ginny - a woman of rather loose standard who can help clear one of the soldiers.

Crossfire is based on a book written by Richard Brooks (who was also a director). The screenplay is written by John Paxton. There was an interesting documentary on the DVD and I found out the in the book the murdered man was homosexual. But this was 1947 and Hollywood would not make a film on that subject matter. It was daring enough to make one about anti Semitism.

All of the actors are good with Ryan and Grahame nominated for supporting Oscars. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay. This was one of Dmytryk's last films in Hollwyood because he was blacklisted. Although not quite as good as Gentlemen's Agreement Crossfire is still a very good film and is a very worthwhile rent. Check it out!

The Baader Meinhoff Complex and Still Walking (MOD)

A few words (and I mean a very few because I don't have the time) on two films I just saw.

I saw The Baader Meinhoff Complex in my local arthouse. It is the last of this year's foreign language Oscar nominated films that I saw. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe. Directed by Uli Edel it is the story of the Red Army Faction (RAF) the sprung up in Germany in the 60s and 70s.

Edel has created a powerful film and gets us to understand how this group came to being. While the film introduces us to a number of the group's members it focuses on three main characters. Ulrikhe Meinhoff (Martina Gedeck) is a married with children and also a journalist. She and her husband are on the left. But she is swept away with this group to the point where she is willing to give up her children. Andreas (Moritz Bleibtreau) and Gudrun Easslin (Johanna Wokalek) are lovers who also have a child. They have no qualms about giving him up because their cause is more important.

The Baader Meinhoff Complex is an unflinching look at this group. And, yes, it is quite violent but it has to be. But it is also very real. Here is a group that had high ideals but took the wrong path in trying to achieve them. All of the acting is spot on with Gedeck being really fantastic. I highly recommend this film.

I also highly recommend Hirokazu Koreeda's beautiful film Still Walking. This one I saw on Movies on Demand IFC in Theaters. It is playing at a handful of cinemas but it was easier to see it on MOD.

This film is quite tranquil despite its subject matter. It focuses on one Japanese family. The elderly mother and father live in Yokohama. They are about to honor the anniversary of the death of their eldest son who drowned while rescuing someone else - who survived. The father seems cold and bitter and the mother is sad but tries to help her other children.

The surviving brother and sister arrive with their families in tow. Of course, they cannot measure up to the brother who no longer is here. This is especially hard for the younger brother. All of the acting is terrific. The film reminded me a bit of Ozu's Tokyo Story - which I love.

It may seem like not much happens in this film but in reality it does. It is about real life and it could apply to any family anywhere in the world. There is no need to say more about the plot. Just see this film. I am sure that you will be as moved at the end as I was.

Five Minutes of Heaven (MOD)

Five Minutes of Heaven is a simple story told in a powerful way. The story begins in 1975 in Northern Island. Young Alistair Little is a member of a Protestant terrorist group. He wants to be a big man. So he goes and kills a Catholic man name James Griffen while a young boy watches. What Little doesn't know is that the young boy is the dead man's brother Joe.

Many years later the older Little (Liam Neeson) tries to repent after leaving jail. His mission to trying to talk people out of joining terror groups. He is trying to save lives and also trying to save himself. A television station wants to tape a meeting between Alistair and the grown up Joe (James Nesbitt). And we see the setting up for the show. Both men are nervous. Does it happen? Well, dear reader, you will have to see the film to find out.

The film is well directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) from a sharp script written by Guy Hibbert. Nesbitt is amazing as the wreck of a man. Neeson is also great in the lower key role. And Anamaria Maranca is good in the small but important role of Vika.

The film didn't play long in theaters. But seeing it on MOD (as I did) or DVD is fine. It was made for British television. The film shows what hate can do and why it is important to stop it before it spreads.

DVD Mini Review - Homeboy

Homeboy is a terrific and sad little film that came out in 1988. That was 20 years before The Wrestler was released. The thing both films have in common is that Mickey Rourke gives a fabulous performance in both of them.

Johnny Walker (Rourke) is a down and out fighter. He fights for the money but he doesn't seem to have his heart in it. He is approached by a hustler named Wesley (Christopher Walken). Wesley wants Johnny to help him with a robbery. But Johnny doesn't feel comfortable with that. In the meantime, Johnny meets Ruby (Debra Feuer) a woman who runs a beaten down amusement park. He really takes a fancy to her but things are not so simple for Johnny.

I really liked this film and I felt that it was, in a way, a precursor to The Wrestler. No one can say that Rourke was not always a great actor. He always was. He will break you heart in this film. Walken in wonderful as the odd Wesley. And I thought that Feuer was also great. She and Rourke had great chemistry together. And no wonder - they were married at the time. The ending is ambiguous. I would like to discuss it with people who have seen the film. And there is a fantastic original musical score composed by Eric Clapton. Oh, I almost forgot that there is a cameo by Ruben Blades, a singer/actor that I love! Oh, I forgot something very important. The film credits Eddie Cook for writing the screenplay but the script was actually written by Rourke himself.

All I can say is rent this film. I will end with a quote from Bob Dylan in his Chronicles book. He went to see the film and this is what he had to say about Rourke- "He could break your heart with a look. The movie traveled to the moon every time he came onto the screen. Nobody could hold a candle to him. He was just there, didn't have to say hello or goodbye." And that is very true.