May 16th 2025
The Salt Path
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Misericordia
The Surfer
La Cocina
It's a huge week, with the final film in the Mission Impossible series hitting the big screen. Plus four more films, all so different; all so interesting in their own way.
The Salt Path
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© Transmission - faced with calamity, a couple
decide to simply walk! A true tale. |
Some people have it tough, yet manage to make something special out of even the worst of situations. Based upon a true memoir, this heartfelt, gentle film tells the story of Raynor Winn (Gillian Anderson) and her husband Moth (Jason Isaacs), who lose their home in a botched business deal. On top of that, Moth is diagnosed with a dire neurological illness, corticobasal degeneration, (CBD) and is given only a few months to live. The couple decide there's nothing for it but to walk the coastal path from Dorset to Land's End, hoping nature will help to heal grief and loss. Not a lot happens in the film, but the stunning scenery, with the associated soundtrack, lure you in from the start. Sections of the walk, such a challenge for Moth's physical condition, make for moments of quite gruelling watching. The kindness of strangers, and the recognition of shared humanity feature large. However it is the understated and delicate performances from Anderson and Isaacs that make this study of connection and long-term love between a couple truly memorable. One is left asking what the concept of home means; for these two it is being free, and being together in nature, something quite alien to the world of possessions and striving; something totally refreshing. A truly lovely film.4 - highly recommended
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Dir: Christopher McQuarrie
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© Paramount - if it's action you're after,
here it is! |
A malicious form of AI known as The Entity is about to take over the world, by getting control of the nuclear arsenals of nine countries, which will spell the end of humankind. Our fearless hero, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) are set to make sure this doesn't happen. Ethan is, as always, on a quest to save the world. Of course there has to be a big-time baddie - Ethan's human adversary Gabriel (Esai Morales), who is in league with The Entity. Regular readers will know this is not the kind of film I usually get into, but I must say upfront, I really had a very good time with this one, even though I've never been a huge follower of the MI franchise. Although the basic plot is simple (good versus bad), I often fail to understand the convolutions of such plots, and the opening sequences of this film certainly didn't disappoint - so much AI jargon and drawn-out setting of the impending Armageddon scenario, I doubted I could follow what was happening. But once the action ramps up, the excitement is on for a nail-biting near three hours! The action set pieces are simply stunning (even if we have to suspend total disbelief to the point of ludicrousness!) Ethan's descent into a sunken submarine makes for heart-stopping action, as does the final aerial scene in which he and Gabriel both face off in light planes and Ethan/Cruise performs some of his best ever aerial acrobatics. With such a long runtime, the umpteen associated characters are nicely fleshed out, such that we can actually feel something for them. Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell) and Luther (Ving Rhames), along with newcomer Paris (Pomm Klementieff), are all loved members of Ethan's team, and all characters to enjoy spending time with, as is submarine captain Bledsoe (Tramell Tillman). It's notably heartening to see many women in roles often given to men - Angela Bassett plays a terrific US President Sloane, while many of the army dudes and 'copter pilots are also women. There are also several worthy underlying messages about the dangers of AI, and the hot-headedness of men versus the rationality of women! With all the things fans of MI have come to love, and much more, this film is spectacular, fun and a worthy finale (maybe!?) to a much-loved franchise. 4 - highly recommended
Misericordia
Dir: Alain Guiraudie
Length: 104 mins
Exclusive to Cinema Nova
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© Weird relationships, motivations, and underlying
drives feature large in this intriguing story. |
Unemployed baker Jeremie (Felix Kysyl) returns to his home town for the funeral of his former boss. He is invited to stay with the boss's wife Martine (Catherine Frot), which incurs the wrath of Martine's son Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand), who thinks the young man has designs on his mother. Anger and jealousy spill out of control, and the local priest Abbe Phillipe (Jacques Develay) gets involved, with his own particular agenda driving him. The film walks a strange tightrope between thriller, comedy and character study. We never fully understand what motivates each of the major players, and the constant undercurrent of sexual desire mingled with potential violence is ever present. Even from the opening scene, a long-drawn out shot of Jeremie's car heading into the village, accompanied by suitably ominous music, the intrigue mounts. Everyone except Vincent cuts this young man a lot of slack (misericordia means mercy), and we have to ask whether he is some sort of focus for each of their repressed desires. The film has garnered a whole swag of nominations at various festivals. If it's something out of the ordinary and left of centre you're seeking, this certainly should keep you fascinated.3.5 - well recommended
The Surfer
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© Madman - he just wants to surf, but the
locals are giving him a hard time! |
A man, aka the Surfer, (Nicolas Cage) is headed for his much-loved childhood beach to take his son (Finn Little) surfing. At the same time he is putting in a bid to purchase the clifftop home of his childhood, hoping this will get his estranged wife back. Approaching the beach he is accosted by a group of aggressive surfers, both teens and older men, who tell him "you don't live here, you don't surf here". The Surfer refuses to accept this and hangs around in the beach carpark, where things start going from bad to worse, in such a way that he will eventually end up questioning his whole identity. This film gets better for me the more I think about it, after the event. Cage remains relatively restrained, though I kept hoping he would go "full-on crazy Cage" and destroy the toxic men who bully and brutalise him. Nicholas Cassim is memorable as The Bum, who lives in the carpark and has a history to hide, while Julian McMahon as Scally, leader of the surfing group, is fabulously menacing. Things get a little weird and tribal towards the end, with dark, threatening almost psychedelic cinematography reflecting the cultishness of the men and the Surfer's progressive unhingement. Shot in Yallingup in Western Australia, the Aussie landscape is utilised well, with potentially threatening, or simply dispassionately observing animals, adding a certain frisson of mystery. The ending is possibly a bit of a letdown, but for Cage fans and those wanting a story to make you really angry, this could be the one.3.5 - well recommended
La Cocina
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© Vendetta - high drama for lovers
and immigrants in a New York resto |
Set in a busy New York restaurant, this is the story of Estela (Anna Diaz), an illegal Mexican immigrant who comes to work at The Grill, because she knows one of the cooks Pedro (Raoul Briones). Pedro is in love with a waitress, Julia, (Rooney Mara), who is pregnant and wants an abortion, while he harbors fantasies of them running away together. The restaurant's owner is an American Arab who promises the mostly illegal immigrant workers he will help them get a visa, but it never happens. This film also mixes drama and comedy with a goodly dollop of despair, while the black and white cinematography gives it a certain contrived gravitas. In some ways it's a bit like The Bear on steroids (is that even possible?), so exhausting is the pace of work in this particular kitchen. Overall, everything is a bit too loud and over-the-top, making for emotional alienation, and any desired commentary upon the plight of illegals chasing the American Dream is subsumed by the constant escalation of interpersonal dramas, and Pedro's progressive emotional meltdown. A Golden Bear nominee, the film has plenty of nominations to its name. While it certainly entertains and engages, with its frenetic pace, impressive look and Briones' memorable performance, it is not ultimately a story that fully engages me.3 - recommended
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