Month: November 2013

Thankful for World Cinema: La Playa DC (2012)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

For an introduction to the concept of Thankful for World Cinema please go here.

La Playa DC (2012)

Here is another film, this one also in this year’s crop of Oscar submitted films, that deals with some compelling cultural dynamics and sociopolitical intrigue. La Playa DC concerns three brothers, mainly Tomas (the middle child). He is an Afro-Colombian teenage whose family has fled their pacific coast home, a war-torn part of the nation.

Due to the bloody history the American institution of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and American myopia in general; it can take a moment to allow the fact that racism is an issue in other countries as well, much as immigration is oft debated in many parts of the world. The distinction of the racism faced in this film, which is reflecting Colombian society is that it’s an insidiously quiet one, and not one that’s overt or vocally discouraged. There may not be much frankness in these regards here but it is discussed.

This scarcely touching upon the issue in an open way is one of the film’s better aspects. There are reactions and attitudes that are indicators. One notable instance is the utterance of the phrase “you people” and another would be when Chaco, Tomas’ older brother, in reaction to what just happens says it’s that kind of thing he wanted to move away from.

Chaco has recently returned home after being deported. However, he knows how and where he messed up and hopes to give it another go. This acts as the MacGuffin in story, the goal: heading to North America. The other concern is for their youngest brother who is already drug-addicted and living on the streets. A lot of the action concerns him: finding and/or protecting, but its Tomas we really focus on.

He’s the one who faces the change. Though he does arc well, and is portrayed in an aptly engaging way there are some things that hold this film back despite the fact that we get a full and sensical personal journey of self-discovery. While the film goes to great lengths to have a documentarian aesthetic it also doesn’t try to look too interesting. Too often there are overly-long reverse steadicam shots which give us too long of a view of the back of a head. This is also an editing concern.

While there is some creativity to how certain situations resolve themselves usually those decisions are represented in ways completely lacking drama or any sliver of suspense. This is too low-key a concept to softly deliver some of its few shocking blows. That and the long seeming stretches between these incidents make it a disengaging watch despite all the interesting and relevant things its conveying through its narrative.

5/10

Thankful for World Cinema- Reading: It’s All So Quiet (2013)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

Please note: this is an in-depth commentary on the aforementioned film. For a spoiler-free review please go here. For an introduction to Thankful for World Cinema in general please go here.

SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read this section if you have yet to see the film.

Reading: It’s All So Quiet

As became clear when I was watching the It’s All So Quiet, and you may have inferred if you read between the lines of my above reaction, the passions and unrequited loves in question are homosexual in nature. For better or worse, when that enters the mix the film, for all else it may be, is usually lumped in LGBT films. That’s completely an affectation of society as there is an unspoken heteronormative mandate in genre cinema.

However, in thinking about this film in that regard, instead of just as a great film, a few things came to mind by way of comparison, things that this film succeeds in doing moreso than many.

When I wrote about North Sea Texas at this time last year I took to task many of the gay-themed tragic love stories. Or, to be more accurate, I took to task the notion that all the stories had to be laced with a sense of tragedy. What North Sea Texas does that I love is offer a light glimmering at the end of the tunnel for those watching it whom may need to see that light there, and know that it’s a possibility.

Not that there hadn’t been great works with a tragic framework, but that needn’t be all of them. When I considered the fact that this was a repressed romance it took me back to Brokeback Mountain. When I discuss that film I have to take care to make sure I don’t sound as if I’m flagellating it. I don’t hate it, though it’d be easier if I did, I think that there are issues with it as well as things about it that are generally overlooked.

One thing that’s fairly apparent in that film is that it is a star-crossed romance. It’s society, as well as the parties involved, that do the repressing. However, one must consider the fact that they do have the occasional, passionate, not-as-delicately-rendered-as-it-could-be tryst. This film has none of that. This film doesn’t have “I wish I could quit you” because nothing ever starts and that’s what makes it a more evocative, bitter and effective film. It speaks to that place that every gay man has been; the closet, to the terrible tongue-tied doubts, to the self-hating silent denials and crying yourself to sleep.

Emotions boil over here on occasion sure, but as a gesture, a slight overture or a half-mumbled utterance directed to a half-conscious, half-dead father and therein lies the power of this film.

It’s a shame, only to a very small extent, that the film was not constructed in a more popularly palatable way because this is the powerful statement about repression and self-ostracism; the loneliness and regret witnessed here. This film paints a sensitive portrait that you’d almost have to bend over backwards to twist into a hateful place. For the danger, the double-edged sword, of the tragic homosexual romance onscreen is that it can be seen as inadvertently reinforcing homophobic societal mores.

In short, the importance of It’s All So Quiet is in its stealth, tender telling the tale of self-repression in a very humanist way. It’s not the only thing the film deals with. It deals with Helmer in all he does, as a whole. However, this man cannot be whole (not through the duration of this film) for he refuses to accept one fraction of his nature. So, though he may seem fine at other times and we see him ably, warmly do other things; there is an underlying sadness that isn’t just due to his father’s infirmity and death. It’s due to this complete portrait of an unfulfilled that dialogue can be furthered, and it’s due to the skill from all aspects of the production of this film that this strong statement can be made.

Thankful for World Cinema- Mini-Review: It’s All So Quiet (2013)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

When summarizing It’s All So Quiet, it can be tempting to say too much seeing as how there are not a lot of salient plot points worth discussion. As such I have decided to write about in two different posts.

In the first part (below) I will merely state my reaction to the film without divulging too much of the film. In a separate post, and if you choose to see the film I hope you come back and read it, I will discuss it at bit more in depth going over those few salient plot points.

For an introduction to Thankful for World Cinema in general, please go here.

Mini-Review

It’s All So Quiet is a film that sets you up from its pace virtually from the start. The opening titles roll for two-and-a-half minutes on a shot of wheat, with farmland and sunlight behind it. From this you should be prepared for a fairly deliberately paced film. If you’re not you’ll surely get the hint from the next few scenes where the protagonist Helmer (Jeroen Willems) first moves his bedridden father and then sets him up upstairs with a new bed in the living room.

However, as deliberate as the pace is the subtext of the film is fairly clear throughout and thanks to the actors most of their thought processes communicate their sentiments where words do not.

Helmer’s deciding to move his father upstairs is just the first upheaval in this film. The next that will occur is that a new, young farmhand Henk (Martijn Lakemeier) comes to work and live there and throws things into further disarray.

The cinematography in this film is magnificent. The cast proves time and again that so little of film acting is about the spoken word but rather playing the frame and physicality; dialogue-free Willems and Lakemeier share one of the most poignant and moving scenes I’ve watched this year.

As the story progresses, despite its lack of blunt commentary on the fact you soon will see what the film is about and the tale of repressed desire and unrequited love woven so skillfully by Nanouk Leopold here is one of the best of its rare breed that I’ve seen.

10/10

Thankful for World Cinema: Once a Upon a Time Veronica (2012)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

For an introduction to the concept of Thankful for World Cinema please go here.

Once Upon a Time Veronica (2012)

How does one paint a portrait of a contemporary Brazil? How best does one illuminate the sense of utter helplessness one can feel, when faced on a daily basis with the problems others are facing both at home and in the workplace? How can one find any peace, if not by going from psychiatrist at public hospital and into private practice?

Once Upon a Time Veronica is not the only Brazilian film of recent vintage to tackle some of these questions, at least in part if not in whole. Neighboring Sounds dealt with a species of urban malaise (in the same city) not completely dissimilar from the kind illustrated in this film – and shares a cast member in common with this film (WJ Solha).

This film deals well in dichotomy, if not in an overall portrait. It hinges on the performance of the eponymous Veronica (Hermila Guedes) and does much of its soul-searching as she talks into her tape recorder. As the film ends she makes her last entry into the recorder, not that she as a person is complete, or a finished product (for who ever is?), but she’s ready to let that crutch go and accept herself.

The self-examination is a mean to an end for the character as much as it’s a MacGuffin, but is the search of an interesting person enough to hang a story upon when the narrative framework is uninteresting? It’s not quite. The investigation, even bereft of concrete answers, is usually worth it. Even if a character is deemed merely interesting.

Perhaps a lot of the issue this film faces is that its protagonist is laid bare and not commented upon. Another part of the issue is that there isn’t a great deal of externalization of her conflict, it’s a very internal debate with few decisions made. When a character is treated as such then they are open to interpretation and reactions to said character can be varied.

There are technical aspects, as well as performance aspects of this film that are admirable but it all comes down to the narrative. It’s one I saw as treading far too much water and my view on some of her decisions is colored by sections of the storytelling I found to be lacking. My take on her and the film may have been different if things were presented differently. As it stands, I find this intimate portrait as un-compelling as her conclusion of her introspective thesis.

5/10

Thankful for World Cinema: The Green Wave (2010)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

For an introduction to Thankful for World Cinema please go here.

The Green Wave (2010)

I have previously written about the events in Iran in 2009 as one documentary I had previously covered very nearly backed into those momentous events by accident. However, here with The Green Wave those events are the focal point and there are very creative things done by the filmmakers to try, as best as they possibly can, to recreate those events.

With any world events that can be described as historic, more so with those that can be considered to be movements, it’s a nearly insurmountable task to attempt to capture the totality of what occurred and how in one film. Yet, even with such a potentially massive scope this film does well in another way: it limits its scope some by mostly focusing on writings posted in blogs and on other forms of social media.

To be able to render what occurred in said writing on film there are some very well done and artistic animated scenes created. Yet there is quite a lot of video, including clips concerning the brutality regular citizens faced at the hands of the military and police. Therefore, some viewer discretion is advised as some of the images are quite disturbing.

There are also interview subjects that fill in the gaps. The time period is also limited some. The narrative of the documentary starts just before the later-contested elections and carry on through the end of the year.

As daunting a task as it is to try and capture all of that information this film does extremely well in disseminating the basics from the political climate in general, to a populous awoken, the voter suppression and fraud, the outcry, the backlash, the final straw and the activation of the nation-at-large.

Yet, perhaps the most valuable piece of the film is that its the first actual testament, which leans heavily on first-hand Internet accounts that shows the power of social media as a keeper of history as events occur. As with anything there many methods of usage that fall short of the “highest and best” use, but here unleashed before all who watch this film is the undeniable proof of one of its most powerful implementations.

The perspective of the film is also one that is very fair. It focuses mainly on the how and why and speaks to only citizens and ex-pats allowing them another outlet to speak about their country and what occurred there. This is a truly moving piece of filmmaking that offers a glimpse into one of the most important sociopolitical movements in the world in recent years. It’s the kind of watchful, necessary eye I’d like to see turned on the protests in Brazil where the internet is also a tool that has chronicle to overreaching abuses, and excessive force used by military police against protesters.

8/10

Short Film Saturday – Why Wear A Poppy

Posted on by bernardovillela

Why Wear a Poppy (2012, Encore Cinemas)

Whenever possible I like to tie these selections to an upcoming holiday. In the US November 11th is Veteran’s Day and worldwide it is Remembrance Day. This film dramatizes a poem entitle “Why Wear a Poppy” which discusses the significance of the latter holiday’s symbol. This film does start a tad shakily, but when it enters the poem it hits its stride and makes the strong decision to not return to class and ends with the poems end, which makes it all the more powerful.

Thankful for World Cinema- Short Essay and Review: In Bloom (2013)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Post-Soviet Cinema and the New Postcolonialism

One thing that jumped to mind when I had concluded In Bloom is that it holds a fairly unique place in cinema, one that I’m not sure has been fully examined or surveyed just yet. The story of this film is a coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of Tblisi, Georgia in 1992; shortly after the independence of the new nation. In essence what you have is a slice-of-life look at a new-age postcolonialism.

Much postcolonial cinema deals with the Old World and the colonies spawned from its outward expansion. Therefore, the tales both about the colonial age, and the cinemas born in new nations (mainly those in Latin America), were the First Wave of Postcolonial Films.

However, as this film underscores, there is a New Wave of Postcolonial Films to consider and that is of the former Soviet states. Throughout the entire history of the cinema (barring a brief period where Georgia declared independence following the Bolshevik revolution and was under British protection) Georgia has been a part of another nation and with no outlet to express its national identity to the world at large.

In the early 1990s with the collapse of communism 15 new Post-Soviet nation-states came into being. That’s 15 new cinemas, new voices and a brand-new wave of post-colonialism in the world. That’s just out of Russia alone, when you consider the division of the former Yugoslavia, and other changes in the Balkans, you can see this is not a small topic. It’s subject that would make a fascinating research and writing for one well-versed both in cinema and in those regions. This film is just a peephole into that newfound reality.

Review of In Bloom

In that light, In Bloom offers an interesting glimpse, not only as my first exposure to Georgian film, but also to the concept that a brand new cinematic world opened up.

That being said, there is only so much intrigue that can be generated by such non-diegetic thoughts within the diegesis of a given film. What the film does do well is sketch the backdrop and the world that these characters are growing up. It’s a society a bit difficult to swallow to a Western sensibility but the general lawlessness of the tumultuous time is apparent, and that is something often glossed over.

Usually, independence is treated as the endgame. Whereas here in this tale, and with nations, it’s really just the beginning. It’s what happens next that really matters. How does one get ones feet under oneself when their fledging nation is still war-torn and barely standing on its own two feet?

The backdrop works, and the performances of the two leads: Lika Babluani as Eka and Mariam Bokeria as Natia really are tremendous. I see many impressive performances by young actors. However, it’s very rare to see two performances in one film from neophytes that are not only exceptional, which these are, but also read as if they are veterans; and furthermore should continue acting for a very long time to come. Babluani and Bokeria certainly achieve that and make this film as watchable as it.

However, the issues that end up plaguing the film are not that unique to slice-of-life tales. Essentially, what these films boil down to is: is that approach the more effective telling of the tale than something more conventional? Quietly and without too much fanfare these girls are doing tremendous things and defying social mores but the pace struggles; the telling is a bit matter-of-fact; the eye on the story too far removed. Major occurrences are treated with ho-hum indifference by camera, edit and characters alike.

The unique backdrop and performances are enough such that I would advise people to see this film for themselves, but the facets that work against this film are such that I cannot say I enjoyed it.

5/10

Thankful for World Cinema: Blind Spot (2012)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

For an introduction to the concept of Thankful for World Cinema please go here.

Blind Spot

One thing I was reticent of many years ago was using the word “Noir,” or even the more modernist phrase Neo-Noir, in describing a film. My issue was that I was in many ways a purist and believed that to be truly a Noir film it had to be in black-and-white. However, as more time has gone by, and there have been fewer films in my experience that have been able to lay claim to any such adjective; I have a bit more ease with it now. It’s true enough that these phrases deal with presentation, plot construction and building, therefore, the phrase Neo-Noir is far more palatable to me these days than it was.

I say all that by way of introduction to the film Blind Spot. For truly, in the manner its plot is constructed and presented is a kin of Film Noir. Events start to unfold when a cop, the brother of our lead who is also a cop, Oliver Faber (Jules Werner); is murdered. As the investigation progresses and more is learned about the case a complex web is discovered, a manipulative game is played and it is apparent and highly possible that no one is what they seem.

The film really dives in with an in medias res beginning of a fight between two cops. What that fight concerns also builds character and becomes intermingled in the web of mind-play, but it really sets the tone perfectly and sets up a template for the edit which will spin us through this involved storyline quickly, yet also keeps the audience highly engaged.

What also is established early is another Noir staple of the officer (or investigator) who not only has his own demons, but is a bit unorthodox and is going to get very close to quite a few uncomfortable truths.

In this tale, setting also becomes involved in the story as it is a facet of the investigation. Seeing as how a murder investigation, with a complicated forensic profile that has occurred in Luxembourg amidst an undermanned and somewhat inexperienced squad they must await an experts arrival from Germany. There are other examples of current socioeconomic and political realities in Europe making themselves present in this tale, as well as ones specific to Luxembourg proper.

The dangers in many a Noir tale will inevitably be that it will be overly plot-heavy with not enough focus on characters. However, one of the best tricks this film pulls is that it manages to build them as well such that we get a sense for who these people are and in discovering them and their motivations we see that things do connect. It’s a delicate and deftly pulled off balancing act.

Blind Spot is hypnotically watchable and incessantly drives towards its unpredictable and thrilling conclusion. It’s a stylish, character-driven Neo Noir that is brilliantly edited and assuredly directed.

9/10

Thankful for World Cinema: Mother, I Love You (2013)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

For an introduction to the concept of Thankful for World Cinema please go here.

Mother, I Love You (2013)

Mother, I Love You tells a tale that upon initially glancing at the synopsis may seem like it’s been told a time too often.

Raimonds, a 12 year old boy, falls into a world of petty crime while trying to stay out of trouble with his mother.

However, one thing to admire about the synopsis is that it is not intent on divulging too much of the forthcoming film. A reductive synopsis, for this viewer, is preferable as opposed to an excessive amount of plot detail. This is in essence the plot.

The intriguing thing about this film is that it’s not an overly-stylized treatment. There are no affectations of gangs or syndicates. Not that the stakes aren’t high but the film is concerned first and foremost with it characters, how they react to situations and the consequences of their actions. A simple happenstance of fate, some free time and boredom are what allow Raimonds to travel down the rabbit hole.

However, the domino effect of that one choice comes into play when things start to go wrong for him. Lies are told and further crimes occur. Ultimately, he knows he’s come to a crossroads and must decide whether to head back in the right direction or wander out past the point of no return.

The film also admirably keeps these events grounded closer to what might resemble and actual reality. It still fills the dramatic need of a given conflict or scene but without going overboard with dramatic histrionics that can viewed as compulsory.

There are arcs for the main figures involved that are very believable as well as well-drawn supporting players. The two lead performances, that of Raimonds (Kristofers Konavalovs) and Mamma (Vita Varpina), are captivating and truthful. The chemistry shared and created by them as scene partners allow subtext, lines left unsaid, to speak volumes.

There is a briskness to this film in pace that may feel it feeling rushed if not well-directed and -edited, but that is not the case here. The direction and editing are first-rate. The tone of the film is established immediately, the scenes underscored effectively through wondrous musical choices.

Mother, I Love You aside from an overriding plotline that could be plucked from any corner of the globe does have its cultural specificity to Latvia and effectively opens a window into that microcosm. While doing that though, it does create its characters as individuals rather than types, they are imbued with personality and it’s their home through their eyes we see. This is a compelling, engaging, accessible film that rewards those digging a bit deeper (if they choose to), and it’s a film that should be sought out.

8/10

Thankful for World Cinema – Paradise: Faith (2012)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

For an introduction to the concept of Thankful for World Cinema please go here.

Paradise: Faith (2012)

With his initial installment in this trilogy, Paradise: Love, Siedl established his template for the precipitous decline away from any hopes of fulfillment that his leading ladies face. In this film, the starting point is a far different one wherein Anna Maria (Very ably played by Maria Hofstätter) seems to have her devoutly religious, stern life well in hand and then things change.

The challenges that this particular tale faces are some of the same the first film does in terms of borderline exploitative narrative. Where it falls is that while the prior film only seemed over-extended; here the film frequently has a vacuous feeling. Certain points are raised and later expounded on, but they frequently over-stay their welcome and scenes last long after they cease to function. Not only is this a pacing issue but a question of narrative necessity.

Furthermore, it’s plainly apparent here that he works off loose outline and through improvisation. There’s nothing wrong with that, except when it shows. In other improvisational works (See any Mike Leigh film or even the prior film) there’s nary a hint of the nature of how the script/narrative is constructed.

Whereas the film does have some undeniably comedic moments, where some may even laugh in spite of themselves; it seems a bit of spite exudes the narrative. There doesn’t seem as detached and analytical an eye to this tale as there is with Love. Instead it seems we’re given a protagonist to pillory whether we want to or not and there’s only so much gratification one can derive from that.

Again, this is not a complaint about protagonist likability. Blue Jasmine is one of the best films of the year. I wouldn’t say I like Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), however, I do understand her and am made to invest in her fate. With Anne Maria, who shares (at least in her own perception) a similarly tragic fate, it’s as if we’re watching her slowly being tied to the stake and burned – and when all is said and done this film has not aroused vengeful glee, pity or disgust but rather ennui.

5/10